Corpus Christi Hosts Emerald Soiree After Two-Year Hiatus

By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter

Corpus Christi School hosted its annual fundraising Emerald Soiree at The Riviera Country Club on Saturday, May 21, after a two-year hiatus.

The community came together for an evening that included dinner, an auction—emceed by Blake Schinto and Paul DiMartini—and ended with parents and teachers cutting loose on the dance floor.

Donned in country club attire, everyone ate from a buffet of tacos, sushi, sliders and more, as they caught up with one another after two years of not having the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I became principal four years ago and the [following] year, this event was scheduled [for] March 18, so we did a livestream from inside the Riviera,” Principal Suzanne Duffy shared. “Then the last two years we weren’t able to, so we’re here and we couldn’t ask for a more beautiful setting.”

Duffy led the event, alongside Father Liam Kidney. The two shared they were pleased with the turnout.

“I think the biggest thing coming [out] of COVID is all of us getting together,” Kidney said to the Palisadian-Post. “We’ve not been able to do this. We’ve been together in different ways, but we’ve not been able to get together and do this, chit-chat and laugh. I’m hoping that people today experience that we are a great community. The dream is that we’re there for each other, no matter who we are, that we’re just one big family at Corpus.”

President of the Board Julie Jennison shared excitement over meeting and greeting families at the event, which had a total of four fundraisers throughout the evening.

“To start, the big highlight of the night is not just having the fundraising but having our community back together,” Jennison said. “That was really the reason we did this. At the end of the day, we do want the fundraising back, but we really wanted to get everyone together. We have so many new families that started with us since COVID and they haven’t gotten the opportunity to see what the Corpus community is like … Tonight is that first big snapshot to really see and feel the love of our community.”

The first item auctioned was a “Siempre Adelante” Platter, which would award the winning bidder an engraving of the family’s name on a Christofle silver platter, as well as a membership for the Winner’s Club. Bidders also had the chance to win certificates for local Pacific Palisades restaurants such as The Draycott, a five-night retreat to Balboa Island, a week in Maui, a Dodgers package—comprised of four tickets to a choice of five home games—and more.

More than $100,000 was raised for the school in the paddle-raise auction.

“COVID-19 was a massive adventure, and it’s still an adventure, an adventure is something that you don’t know what’s coming next,” Kidney said. “For us, in our community at Corpus Christi, we got through it pretty well.”