Antiques show to benefit local charities

Young Chang

NEWPORT BEACH -- Linda Giannini likes the look of posh with patina,

contemporary American furniture with altogether other-worldly trimmings.

“Many people like to combine an [antique] piece with their more

contemporary architecture and other pieces,” said the member of the Lido

Isle Women’s Charitable Foundation. “That’s a wonderful blend.”

For their third annual Newport Beach Spring Antiques Show, to be held

Friday through April 14 at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Pavilion, the

women will strive to mix the past with the present and raise funds for

charity at the same time.

More than 50 dealers will present 18th and 19th century antiques from

Europe, America and Asia, with goods including furniture, rugs,

porcelain, glass, silver and jewelry.

A lecture series featuring three speakers will cover general lifestyle

topics. Ann Fraser, a widely respected decorator, will give a talk titled

“Style Makers Past and Present.” Arianna Huffington, a writer and

lecturer, will speak about “The Power of Style and Substance.” Laurie

Firestone, social secretary to former president George Bush, will talk

about “Entertaining in the White House.”

“It’s not just about antiques,” Giannini said. “It’s the whole

ambience of style and living around beautiful things.”

But when it comes to goods aged with history and time and even

nostalgia, antique fans say the beauty is something different.

Lorraine Hennessy, a fellow member of the foundation with Giannini,

said antiques remind people of family and origins.

“There is something special about living with a piece of history,”

Hennessy said. “I have a beautiful English trestle table that I adore,

that my mother gave me. I was with her 35 years ago when she bought it.

It has traveled with me.”

Giannini said she also has some passed down treasures in her home.

“And it’s wonderful because I look at them and I think, ‘My goodness,

somebody used this 300 years ago,”’ she said. “They bring sort of a

wealth of experience and of the past... of perhaps a more gracious time.”

Charities to benefit from the show’s funds include Childhelp USA,

Share Our Selves, the Assistance League Newport-Mesa, Human Options and

other beneficiaries.

A preview benefit dinner party will kick off the weekend on Thursday.

FYI

* What: Newport Beach Spring Antiques Show

* When: Preview benefit will be 6:30 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8:30

p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 14

* Where: The Newport Dunes Waterfront Pavilion, 1131 Back Bay Drive,

Newport Beach

* Cost: $12 for admission to show. $100 for preview benefit.

* Call: (949) 729-1234