Byline: Frances Ingraham
TEA TIME: May is Mental Health Month, and the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New York State will hold a fund-raising high tea next Sundayfrom 4 to 7 p.m. at the Chancery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. Harriet Comfort is general chairman. There will be tea, a cash bar and music.The alliance is an organization of 46 affiliated grass-roots, self-help support groups for families and friends of persons suffering from chronic mental illnesses. Proceeds will benefit public awareness programs and aid the support and advocacy activities of the affiliated groups in Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs and Troy.Tickets are $50 per patron, $25 per sponsor, $15 per donor from Patricia Goinsat 372-9803 by Thursday. ***ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT: The Capital District's newest rowing organization, the Knickerbocker Rowing Club, is seeking members and raising funds to purchase boats (the average cost of a two-person scull is $2,500; oars are $250 to $300 each) to ply the Hudson River. The club will hold a fund-raising dance at the Washington Park Lakehouse May 9, in cooperation with the Albany Knickerbocker Rugby Club.' Membership is open to anyone interested in rowing, with or without experience.' said club president Maureen Ely. The club, based in Albany, will launch its first shell this spring, and have at least one four-person crew inthe second Empire State Regatta on the river June 14-15.Institutions or individuals who donate enough money to buy a shell or scull will have the opportunity to name the boat or the oar. In the meantime, the club will be using borrowed or rented equipment.Dress is casual for the beer and wine party with hors d'oeuvres.Tickets for the dance are $10 per person from Nancy Camarota at 445-5784 and Carol King at 459-1184. For further information on the club and membership, call Maureen Ely at 459-4567. ***SPRING GALA: The Friends of Saint Gregory's will hold their 14th annual Spring Gala May 10 at the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs. Proceeds will benefit the school, which is located on Old Niskayuna Road in Loudonville.Tickets are $30 per alumnus, $65 per patron, $100 per angel, $150 per benefactor and the Headmasters Club at $250 per person. For tickets, call the school's Development Office at 785-6621 by Wednesday. ***MUSICAL TOUR: A walking tour of Historic Arbor Hill and a reception at the Ten Broeck Mansion will follow a concert by the world-renowned Empire Brass for the benefit of the Albany Academy for Girls May 8 at 3 p.m. at the Sweet Pilgrim Baptist Church, on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Ten Broeck Street.The benefit ties together elements of Albany's history and Girls Academy. The event chairmen are Dennis and Mary Buchan of Loudonville.Tickets for both the concert and reception are $30 per donor, $50 per sponsor and $75 per patron. Concert tickets only are $20 for adults and $10 for students. For information, call 463-2201 by May 12. ***DREAMS INTO REALITY: Since 1951, International Business Machines Corp.'s six traveling exhibitions of models built from Leonardo da Vinci'sscientific and technical drawings have been shown throughout the country. Hudson Valley Community College hosted opening receptions for the largest and most complete of the six exhibits, in the Chapel Gallery in the new Administration Building, which was formerly the Immaculate Conception Seminary of the Franciscan Friars.More than 175 guests attended the receptions, munching on sculpted fruits and other morsels prepared by the school. They were entertained by harpist Jill Pasternak and the University Chamber Singers of the State University at Albany.Among those attending the Monday reception were the president of Hudson Valley Community College, Joseph Bulmer, and his wife, Louann;Louis Vacarro, president of the College of St. Rose and Lynn Lasher; Bob and Linda Hill; Maureen Murray; Hy and Doris Rosenblum; Sister Angelia Bontempo, president of St. Mary's Hospital; Rayona Roy, executive director of the Rensselaer County Council for the Arts; Bernard Cohen, a professor at Harvard University;and Martha Champagne. ***THE ALBANY CONNECTION: The Rockefeller Institute of Government, a restored Dutch Renaissance building on State Street, was an appropriate place last Tuesday for the debut of the 275-page softcover volume of 'Experiencing Albany: Past, Present, Future.' The book is based on the 1984-85 lecture series prepared by Anne Roberts, who ended her presentation with, 'This was so successful that I'm thinking about another grant, this time for a series on the architecture of the city.'At the reception, Frank De Hoop Scheffer, consul to the Netherlands consulate general, was there, said he was in town to make arrangements for the consul general's visit. He will be in Albany in May for the Tulip Festival festivities and to make final arrangements for the arrival of the Dutch flat-bottom canal boats that will sail up the Hudson in July, after the Statue of Liberty reopening celebration.The $15 book will be available at area bookstores, or from the Rockefeller institute at 472-1300. ***NAA-NOO, NAA-NOO: Being caught in a traffic jam isn't always so bad, according to fans who parked several blocks away from the Houston Field House at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for Tuesday night's concert starring comedian Robin Williams.The chauffeured limousine in which Williams was riding was in that same jam. With only 15 minutes to showtime, Williams left the car, accompanied by his opening act, jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin, thanked the driver for the ride, and got in step with the rest of the crowd - until someone yelled 'autograph.' Other fans on foot greeted Williams with greeting of 'Naa-noo, naa-noo,' the phrase Williams made popular on his 'Mork and Mindy' television series. While acknowleding his fans, Williams kept a steady pace, whistling songs from his movie 'Popeye.'Even though the concert started 45 minutes late, Williams still beat the limo there. ***GOVERNING FORCE: The Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce sponsored its annual tribute to secretaries last Wednesday, and the special guest speaker was none other than the executive assistant to Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, Pamela Broughton.As a tribute to Broughton, Cuomo made a quiet entrance through a back door to the large room to hear her tell what it's like being secretary to the top manin the state. According to a guest, who didn't want to be named, 'Most people didn't know he was in the room.' That is, until someone asked Broughton how she would feel about working in Washington. She said, 'Well I wouldn't mind commuting,if it came to that,' at which point Cuomo threw his napkin up in the air in mock frustration.If you have items of social note you believe belong in this column, send them to Frances Ingraham, in care of Living Today, The Times Union, Box 15000, Albany, N.Y. 12212, or call 463-4697. Social Scene also appears Wednesdays in The Times Union.
