Thursday, July 31, 2008 Utzurrum: Of stars, stripes and Swiss alps By Chinggay V. Utzurrum The scene
WHAT'S on our social calendar for the week?
Come Saturday, Aug., Cesar III and Melissa, will be united in holy matrimony at three o'clock in the afternoon at the Redemptorist Parish. They are the son and daughter of Cesar Alexander L. Seno and Fatima Seno, and Francisco L. Unchuan and Marissa R. Unchuan, respectively.
Cocktails at 5:30 p.m. will follow at the Cebu White Sands at Maribago Beach, Lapu-Lapu City, with reception at 7 p.m. Congrats in advance, lovebirds!
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Also at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, the ongoing “Swissness From A to Z” foodfest is at full blast, with concoctions by Executive chef Luc Gagnon. On Aug. 2, the Swiss Natinal Day will be in full swing with Suissee the Cow, yodeling stints, playing of the alphorn, etc. at the Garden Terrace at 6 p.m.
Genial host is a genuine Swiss gentleman, hotel general manager Hans Hauri, assisted by lovely better-half, Bo.
Be sure to enjoy this fabulous buffet which includes: air-dried beef, landjaeger, bierstick and liver pate, Wurst salat with kaese. Two kinds of fondue seafood and Chinoise; Grautin Vau, veal emincee Zurich-style, Obwald-style cheese cake (quiche); Roesti Alper macaroni; creamy polenta with gorgonzola, etc.
Desserts are to die for: Swiss choco mousse, auger-kirsch, carrot cake and many more. Why not drop by on Saturday? Wear your favorite Swiss costume, and you might win a trip to Switzerland!
Let me remind you that Switzerland is not all watches and chocolates. There’s Swiss cheese, bread, mountains and trains!
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A very charming lady, who’s also a terrific ballroom dancer, will turn 80 on Aug. 3. Her 10 children (minus one) will see to it that this day will become a milestone for Ellen Dosdos Climaco, widow of Julio Climaco.
Venue will be Casino Español de Cebu’s Salon de Espana at 7 p.m. Must bring are your dancing shoes, says Ellen.
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Zonta Club of Cebu 2 will induct its new set of officers for years 2008 – 2010 at Casino Español on Aug. 5. To be installed by District 17 governor Narudee Kiengsiri are president Elsa B. Basubas, VP Cristina Garcia, Rec. Secretary Myrna Ngochua, Cor. Secretary Marietta Malinao, asst. Secretary Debbie Limchiu, Treasurer Cita Chan, asst. Treasurer Cynthia Dagus, Auditor Lydia Sia and PRO Liza Young. New members to be inducted by Area 3 director Sandra Gomez are Fe Cuenca, Jeannie Go and Emily Anne Neri.
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To celebrate Belgium’s National Day in Cebu, Honorary Consul to Belgium in Cebu Enrique Benedicto and smiling wife, Helena, welcomed Cebu’s officialdom, members of the Consular Corps, a group of civic leaders, media and friends to Waterfront Hotel’s Caspian Room.
Heavy cocktails met the distinguished guests led by no less than Ambassador Gregoire Vardakis, of Belgium and attractive wife, Martine. Among the top honchos noted were Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and better-half, Margot, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, former DFA Head Rodion Ramos, honorary consuls Moya Jackson, Antonio Chiu, John Domingo, and many others.
After the ceremonial toasts to Fil-Belgian friendship, the party went on and on.
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Speaking of friendships, Pinoys never fail to mark July 4 as Fil-American Friendship Day!
With the hyperactive warm bodies of the American Chamber Of Commerce (Amcham) spearheading the event, we had no doubt that this would be another Stars and Stripes to remember!
The entire ballroom foyer of Marco Polo was transformed into a gym. Were we in the right place? Was this a boxing match? Yes and no.
Theme was sports and attire was strictly sporty outfits, with guests jumping rope, bringing tennis rackets, gymnasts ready to romp; guys and gals in jogging pants, shorts, and what-have-you.
Nobody was allowed inside the ballroom, and instead were directed to the third floor roof deck where a fantastic show of fire in the sky unfolded. This just has to be the mostest I’ve ever witnessed!
Open sesame, and the ballroom had indeed been transformed into a boxing arena! To add ambience, the hunks from ALA Gym were ever-present, punching their practice bags.
But the main event was the million-dollar match between Kid Combs and Kid "Marques.
Guess who was the referre? John Domingo and the lustily applauded Alice Woolbright-Fernandez as the, olala, round girl!
Suddenly, a figure clad in a sexy sarong made an appearance onstage, also announcing Round 4. We shall leave you to guess who this figure was, rest assured, he/she brought the house down!
Very supportive were Amcham members — mostly US firms with offices in Cebu like Cebu City Marriott Hotel, Northwest Airlines, McDonalds, Lexmark, Timex, and more — flooding the event with fabulous prizes.
