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<\/a>The stage where the awards and live auction took place. Photo by Laura Saul, as is the one of the atmosphere, at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
Of course, the best part of the Block Party for most attendees is the fabulous food and drink, but for me, all of that ranks way behind Concern Foundation\u2019s raison d\u2019\u00eatre. And that is to raise much-needed funds for cancer research. It\u2019s a safe guess that cancer has unfortunately touched all<\/em> of our lives in one way or another, so getting more research done to rid the world of this insidious disease should be all our, well, concern<\/em>!\u00a0I so admire the smart and kind people who work so hard on this foundation, not just on this Block Party, but in\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0their important endeavors. And the best news is that, as of this writing, the total funds raised by that one event are about $2.1 million! How wonderful!<\/p>\n As always, the Block Party had so many aspects to it, beginning with the beautiful silent auction right as we entered the premises. I loved all the timely Barbie offerings! But I was the most happy to see the guests paying so much attention to the centerpiece of the occasion\u2014the on-stage live auction and the awards portion of the evening.<\/p>\n If you missed my preview last week, the honorees were the Kallick family, who received the Lifetime of Giving Award, which means they’re incredibly kind, which I consider to be the most important thing in life. They said afterwards, \u201cWe were humbled by the recognition. We were so pleased to assist in raising funds for cancer research.\u201d And Cedars Sinai Cancer was acknowledged for their groundbreaking work focused on conquering cancer. As someone who has most of my doctors at Cedars, I can assure you that the cancer program patients are in the best hands possible.<\/p>\n As to the venue itself, Laura says, \u201cThere is something very magical about being on the Paramount backlot, where we\u2019re surrounded by Hollywood history.\u201d She and I even \u201cstoop sat\u201d for a bit, so my Brooklynite self can attest to the fact that it really does feel like you\u2019re on a New York street.<\/p>\n One of the music stages, where the DJ and dance troop entertained the crowd. Photo by Laura Saul.<\/p><\/div>\n One thing we both noticed this time is how nice\u00a0all\u00a0the workers were, from the Paramount staff to the Concern personnel and volunteers to the people who manned all the food and beverage booths and specialty areas. It was truly a collection of people coming together to put on something world-class.<\/p>\n And I adored seeing so many age groups represented.\u00a0 In the past, I had noticed mainly over-fifties at the Block Party. But\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0time, we kept coming upon giddy kids, teens, and twenty-somethings who all appeared to be having the time of their lives, especially with the many fun photo ops, and in the \u201cbeauty\u201d room where you could get colorful clip-ons in your hair, or sparkles on your eyes and hands. I even spied a few\u00a0babies<\/em>\u00a0in the crowd!\u00a0\u00a0Concern\u2019s Block Party is perfect for families. (So make sure to bring yours<\/em> next year!)<\/p>\n Each Block Party has a theme, and this year it was\u00a0The Land Before Time: The Extinction of Cancer<\/em>, that latter part of which we\u2019re all praying for. The designers must have loved working with that theme, which really lent itself to the decorations, which were mainly dinosaurs, big and small. A big moving one greeted us as we entered, and there were giant ones all over.\u00a0 I got a kick out of seeing a trio of forty-somethings taking a selfie leaning into the mouth of one of them. (I\u2019m not enough up on my dinosaur lessons to tell you what each one was. But I\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0spot a pterodactyl flying high above one of the\u00a0facades toward the back of the lot; I have to admit, it\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0scare me for a second.)<\/p>\n The moving dinosaur who greeted us as we walked into the Block Party. Photo by Laura Saul.<\/p><\/div>\n The theme really appealed to me because back in the day, I had played a cavewoman on a children\u2019s show. It was a really fun experience, even though the wardrobe people forgot to get my cute \u201cWilma Flintstone\u201d costume. So they handed me a black skirt and top\u2014and shoes!\u2014belonging to the\u00a0ten-year-old\u00a0girl<\/em> star, and shockingly, I fit into them all! (Remember\u2014this was back in the day, when I was my formerly very<\/em> skinny self.) And when we were done shooting, (meaning it was too late to change,) they finally showed-up with my\u00a0real<\/em>\u00a0costume, which I would have loved to rock on camera! And at this Block Party, as well! (Thank goodness I spared everyone from that<\/em> sight!)<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s get to the food and drinks already!\u00a0 Laura says, \u201cIt\u2019s so much fun to walk around the streets of Paramount\u2019s backlot, sampling the great offerings from the different vendors. I enjoyed seeing some of my favorites from last year there again, as well as discovering many new treasures.\u201d For example, Westwood’s Emporium Thai made her cut again.\u00a0 She told me, \u201cTheir vegetable curry is some of the best I’ve ever had; I love that they don’t dull down the spice level. And they augmented it with the best Thai iced tea ever!\u201d<\/p>\n To continue the Westwood eateries theme, she once again greatly enjoyed STK\u2019s famous sliders this year, (which surprised the guests with the \u201caddition of truffle oil,\u201d)\u00a0saying, \u201cI\u2019m not much of a red meat eater, but I always make an exception for this event.\u201d A new<\/em> fave for her was Tao\u2019s \u201cdelicious lobster wontons.\u201d<\/p>\n My<\/em>\u00a0faves were all desserts this time. I could have lived at the table of La Conversation Bakery, which used to be an adorable cafe in West Hollywood, but is now delivery-only until they find a new location. The unbelievably pleasant servers there let each guest choose as many delicacies as they liked, and plated them for everyone, wearing gloves, so no one\u2019s hands touched them, which I, and my fellow germaphobes, really appreciated. There were about twenty different tiny tidbits on offer, and the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance–a full-size croquembouche that they pulled pieces off for the guests who wanted them!<\/p>\n La Conversation’s offerings. Note the gorgeous croquembouche on the right. Photo by Laura Saul.<\/p><\/div>\n But for those who wanted just a duo of superior cookies<\/em>, there was the Gourmandise School from Santa Monica. They baked chocolate chip and triple chocolate cookies all night, from the second we walked in. We were all welcome to grab one or two which were already housed in little paper bags for us. I could have just stopped right there and been happy, but we\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0begin and end with them. Yum-my!!!<\/p>\n Since\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0drink only water, Laura reviewed all the beverages by herself. She tried as many as she could; I laughed a few times when I noticed her juggling three cups or cans at a time! She noted\u00a0that, along with \u201cestablished<\/em>\u00a0brands\u201d of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, \u201cwe were able to sample some\u00a0new<\/em>\u00a0products. There were some hard seltzers, a Tequila soda<\/em>, canned Kombucha, and organic, vitamin-infused, flavored coconut waters in colorful bottles.\u201d And here\u2019s a shock\u2014she enjoyed them all!\u00a0\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0really appreciated that there were big icy containers of giant bottles of flat water at every turn. A girl’s gotta stay hydrated!<\/p>\n Obviously, it\u2019s over for 2023, and I feel bad for everyone who missed it. But if you\u2019re smart, you\u2019ll circle July on your 2024 calendars right now, so you don\u2019t miss another<\/em> Block Party.<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re looking for a charitable organization to support, at any<\/em> time, please check into the Concern Foundation. It will be worth your time. All you need to do to get started is click on this link: www.concernfoundation.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CONCERN FOUNDATION 2023 BLOCK PARTY REVIEW My co-writer, Laura, and I were privileged to attend last week-end\u2019s Block Party at Paramount Studios thrown by the wonderful cancer research organization Concern Foundation. Laura deemed this \u201cfun and festive event\u201d\u00a0to be \u201cthe best one of the year,\u201d once again, an assessment I wholeheartedly agree with. And my<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>