Film Fest Fête Feeds
SBIFF Kickoff Party Sneak-Previews Philanthropic Good Cookie
The feast of foods from a slew of empañadas (beef, chicken, corn) to scrumptious white- and dark-chocolate Florentines, the buzz of people decked out in their cocktail party best, the thrill of rubbing elbows with celebrity chef and Santa Barbara resident Cat Cora, the Marilyn Monroe impersonator—it all would seem to add up to a usual Santa Barbara International Film Festival kickoff soirée. But on February 4 at Café Buenos Aries, the sold-out event was instead “Opening Night—Opening Hearts: A Filmanthropic Event” to benefit Casa Esperanza Homeless Center and the Community Kitchen. Not only did attendees down a Cat Cora signature ouzo-and-pomegranate cosmo, but they nibbled away on the products of a soon-to-be “nonprofit culinary venture,” as they bill it, The Good Cookie (thegoodcookie.org). The varieties say it all—Chocolate Chip’n In, Oatmeal Raisin Awareness, Peanut Butter Days Ahead—since these baked delights will benefit Santa Barbara County’s hungry and homeless. Cora might have been waxing hyperbolic when she called the fun time “the party of the year,” but given the causes, she might have been on to something.
