 |
|
|
 News from Around Banderas Bay | November 2007 
2007 Paradise Village Celebrity Sports Invitational
 Bob Cohen - PVNN
| | Dennis Franz (NYPD Blue, Hill Street Blues) with his wife, getting ready for the wave runner competition. | 
| | Corbin Bernsen (LA Law, Major League) steps into the water, ready to get on his wave runner. | 
| | Robin Leach (Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous) enjoying watching his fellow celebrities in the beach competition and with a microphone in hand, doing what he does best - Talk! | 
| | From left to right, Genie Ireland, Michelle Phillips, Phyllis Somer and Bert Beatson. Michelle Phillips was an original member of the 60's rock band the Mamas and the Papas and is the only original member still alive. Their trademark song among so many hits was California Dreamin'. |
From November 1st-4th, 2007, Hollywood came to Paradise Village and Nuevo Vallarta for the sixth time and the event was disguised as a sports invitational. There were three sports competitions, but the outcomes and winning wasn't at all important. The events held were the Wave Runner competition, Volleyball competition and golf tournament. Charity was the big winner and two were chosen; one by the Hollywood stars and one by Paradise Village for local indigent families.
The Dream Foundation was the beneficiary of well over $200,000 USD. This group grants dreams to terminally ill adults and is based out of Santa Barbara, California and their mission is to "enhance the quality of life for individuals and families during the end of life's journey." Talking with one of the group and looking at their website, I was impressed with the fact that 86% of every dollar goes to the program, only 4% to administration and 10% to fundraising. Visit their website at DreamFoundation.org.
The charity chosen to benefit locally was "Families at the Dump," a group that Paradise Village has adopted. Their mission is to "meet physical, spiritual and educational needs of families living on and around the Puerto Vallarta garbage dump and in surrounding communities." Visit their website at FamiliesAtTheDump.org. The reported amount raised for Families at the Dump was over $12,000 USD.
There was much camaraderie among the stars during the whole weekend as the television and movie stars enjoyed beautiful weather on our wonderful beaches in Nuevo Vallarta. For those not exposed to Hollywood stars; they are as kind and friendly as you would be to them. As a writer and photographer, I had mixed feelings prior to the weekend as to how I would be treated; that the group might just want to be left alone. It couldn't be further from the truth; they were accommodating, friendly and generous.
The Saturday night dinner was superb and the auction bids were jumping up $1000 USD every 10 seconds, with the stars and hosts eager to help those less fortunate. The evening closed with the legendary Dave Mason of the group "Traffic" playing with the Dave Mason Band. Traffic had their debut in 1967, with Mason the co-founder. The group was extremely popular but short lived, and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He closed the fantastic rock concert with his classic "Feelin' Alright," which had everyone dancing in front of the stage.
Sponsors of the event were Paradise Village, Paul Mitchell Systems, Alaska Airlines, Patron Tequila, Yamaha Sports Boats, PRX Performance, Pevonia Botanica Skincare and Simple Shoes. The event and dinner was produced by Marjoe Gortner.
| | American success story Ron Rice founder and sole owner of Hawaiian Tropic (he just sold the company this year) with Hawaiian Tropic competition winning model Claudia Nell of Houston. Claudia is now with Pevonia Skincare who was a promoter this year. |
| 
| | Robert Davi (The Profiler, Predator 2, License to Kill) was relaxing at the beach competition but active in the other events. |
| 
| | David Keith (Men of Honor, Independence day, An Officer and a Gentleman, Brubaker) getting ready to put on his life vest for his chance in the wave runner competition. |
| 
| | The Paradise Village beach volleyball court just an hour before the start, What better place would one like to play volleyball? |
| 
| | Marcia Gay Harden (Canvas, Mystic River) in the volleyball competition. |
| 
| | Team Paul Mitchell awaiting serve. |
| 
| | Al Joyner (Gold Medal winner in the 1984 Olympic Games in the Triple Jump) in the longest drive competition. Al won the competition. |
| 
| | Dennis Franz after taking his swings in the long driving competition. Dennis was on the team that won the overall best ball tournament at 8 under par. |
| 
| | Two TV wise guys, Robert Davi and Robert Loggia (The Sopranos, Jagged Edge, Scarface) are teamed up together and ready to drive to the first tee. |
| 
| | Paradise Village El Tigre golf pro Francisco Salazar. Francisco has been at El Tigre for more than half a year as the head pro and plays on the Mexican and Canadian Golf Tours. His career best round is a 64. Welcome to El Tigre! |
| 
| | Tom Arnold (True Lies, McHale's Navy, Roseanne) at the Saturday night dinner party, auction and rock concert. |
| 
| | John Paul DeJoria, Chairman and CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems hair products. John Paul has been an original supporter of the event. |
| 
| | Kenny Johnson (The Shield, Saving Grace, Wings of Gold) at the dinner reception, quite a friendly and talkative celebrity. |
| 
| | Mexican government official Dr. Hector Regalado Curiel is the General Secretary of the Bahia De Banderas area. |
| 
| | From left to right - Carlos with wife Kelly and daughters Luna and Venus Oceguera. Kelly is better known as Kelly Trainor, the head of the United States Consulate now located in Paradise Plaza. |
| 
| | On the left, the creator and owner of Paradise Village, Graziano Sovernigo with Barry Cohen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. |
| 
| | Dave Mason, co-founder and lead singer of the 60's rock group "Traffic" played a post dinner rock concert. The crowd loved the show and the Dave Mason Band played old favorites and new songs recently recorded. Traffic was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. |
| 
| | Two colorful personalities, Dennis Franz and Bob Cohen at the Saturday night dinner. |
|
|
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us