Charleston Ballet Theater & Other Newsy Bits

All day long, designers have been busy at The William Aiken House, preparing for this evening's Oscar Gala 2008: a celebration of Charleston Ballet Theatre's 20th Anniversary. The event is five-star all the way: Oscar nominee-inspired dance performances, fine dining courtesy of Fish, Hollywood themed tables, a spoof of the evening's events by The Have Nots!, an auction, and much more.

Let me just say: the tables are phenomenal. I spied a "Black Dahlia" table (fantastic black and white linens and black orchids), Godfather table (no horse head, sicko) and one that had mini pool table, stogies and a bottle of Gentleman Jack (NICE!)

In just a bit, Nico and I are heading over to Charleston Cooks! on East Bay. Nico's doing a four-course cooking demonstration, regaling folks with stories and the how-to of crab ragoons, sambuca mussels, pan-seared scallops and slow-cooked grouper. YUM and YUM. I will be on-hand briefly to take photos and look longingly at the food I don't get to eat.

Sent some feedback to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council based on the meeting Nico and I attended yesterday. Here's a bit: We’d like to state that the restaurant and hospitality community will be directly impacted by changes in allocation. If our commercial fisherman has to start charging more to make his fewer trips worth taking, we will in turn have to raise our prices. Suddenly, eating local, sustainable seafood is not something everyone can afford. Making smart, environmentally conscious decisions don’t have to be cost-prohibitive, so long as the planning is thoughtful and the dialogue remains open.

And lastly, in soccer news, the PP team took a bit of a beating last night (somehow I still think we might be in second place). The thing about arena soccer is this: things are going along beautifully and suddenly all hell breaks loose in a moment and things go willy-nilly. Like Kris taking a ball to the eye, and still rocking the house might I add. Or Nico getting his foot kicked by an extremely aggressive woman with an axe to grind. Or Shannon nursing an injured knee. I took a shoulder check myself. It's rough out there, kids.