On the Town: A hoe-down meets the solar eclipse

It was shortly after 6:30 p.m. when a sizable throng of the 250 members and supporters of The La Providencia Guild of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, who had gathered for the organization’s spring dance fundraiser, diverted their attention from fun and fundraising and made their way outside the Calamigos Equestrian Center to watch the “ring of fire” partial solar eclipse as it reached its peak on Sunday evening.

Once the solar show concluded, it was back to the business of bellying up to the saloon’s bar, waiting for the dinner bell to chime, and then hoofin’ and stompin’ on the dance floor to the music of the band Main Street, featuring Jon Lundgren, Doug Miller, Joe Tabris and Fred Gillet.

Along with the guild’s operation of their Burbank Boulevard thrift store, a gala fall fashion show and the group’s summer membership drive meeting, the spring dinner dance rounds out the organization’s main annual fundraising events.

Welcomed by the guild’s president, Nancy Johnson, and the evening’s co-chairs, Alicia Katz and Glenda Jones, the evening’s attendees were treated to a western hoedown-themed evening that included square- and line-dance demonstrations prior to being invited to the dance floor to try their hand (or rather, their feet) at do-si-doing.

A Burbank-based charity chartered in 1947 to foster interest in and support of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, La Providencia Guild’s current project is to raise funds that will assist in the pediatric medical faculty’s $6 million magnetic resonance imaging project.

Among the committee members who helped make that support a reality by staging Sunday’s event were Sue Ann Gordon, Sharon Terranova, Marilyn Teasley, Katherine Richards, Judy Gragg, Irene Metzger, Rosemarie Witten, Ann Schwab, Maria Kerrigan, Janel Clausen, Mary Hurst, Jill Welker, Mary Jo Hjelmstrom, Doris Palmer, Pat Maskell, Lynn White-Shelby and Mary Ramsey.

As guild members now gear up for their summer event to be held at Glendale’s Oakmont Country Club on July 28, they remind all Burbankers that if you have donations of clothes, jewelry, household items, books, collectibles or small furniture, the Children’s Hospital Thrift Shop, located at 3301 Burbank Blvd., is always in need of both new and vintage items. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the boutique-style shop is also a great place to find a treasure at a bargain price.