Diana Maiman Wins Dinner for Eight on the Village Green

Pacific Palisades resident Diana Maiman received a phone call from Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod on Monday afternoon, announcing her as the winner of the Village Green’s fundraising raffle.   Maiman and seven friends and family of her choosing will be served a free dinner catered by Tivoli Caf’ on Village Green, a privately owned park in the heart of the community. Alden Marin, a wine merchant, has donated wine for the dinner, which will take place on an agreed-upon date later this month.   Violinists and twins Avery and Alexandra Morris will provide entertainment before the dinner begins, and Village Green board members will be servers for the evening. Avery and Alexandra are members of the Elizabeth Mandell Music Institute at Crossroads School and studying with Alexander Treger, co-concertmaster of the L.A. Philharmonic. Their parents are Jeffery Morris and Patricia Kovic of Pacific Palisades.   The Village Green raised $4,377 from the raffle, and all the proceeds will be used to pay for landscaping, maintenance and liability insurance for the park, said board president Marge Gold, who came up with the idea.   ’I knew that we needed to generate some income for the park, and I wanted to do something fun,’ she told the Palisadian-Post.   Village Green board members sold the raffle tickets for various rates (i.e., $25 per ticket, $50 for three tickets, $75 for five tickets and $100 for seven tickets) six Sundays at the farmers’ market on Swarthmore. This past Sunday, they gathered on the Green dressed like servers to sell tickets. They stood behind a table covered with a white tablecloth, decorated with candlesticks and displaying a sign designed by board member Fred Zolan that read ‘Picture Yourself Here.’ Zolan, owner of Running Images Printing, donated all of the printed materials for the raffle.   ’People were amazingly generous,’ Gold said, noting that in all, the group sold about 235 tickets to approximately 71 people and received 15 outright donations. ‘It was a wonderful effort.’   On Monday at the Village Green, MacLeod drew the lucky winner’s name from a plastic jar in front of Gold and her husband, Bob; Village Green supporter Lee Calvert; and board members Chris Van Scoyk, Arnie Wishnick, Joan Graves and her daughter Amanda Graves.   ’I was shocked to hear that I won the raffle,’ said Maiman, who has lived in Pacific Palisades for 15 years. ‘I think it is super; I only bought one raffle ticket.’   Maiman bought her ticket from Marice McCrory-Irwin of Michelle International, who was selling the tickets because Graves is a client. The winner says she is putting together a list of potential dinner guests, but will definitely invite her husband, Steve (owner of Stony Apparel) and McCrory-Irwin.   ’We’re happy to support the park,’ Maiman added, noting that she and her 7-year-old son used to while away the time there when he was a baby.