Withtwinkle lights glowing, Santa cozied up in his house, and holiday tunes fillingthe air, Grace Center of Five Acres kicked off the holiday season at TheAmericana at Brand on Sunday, November 14 with a festive fashion show. Morethan 200 supporters gathered to cheer on their fellow board members and theirchildren as they walked the catwalk. Hosted by Lauren Sanchez of Extra TV,Bella Winter netted more than $65,000 for the life-changing services GraceCenter provides to women and children affected by domestic violence.

Guests wereushered into a winter wonderland complete with festive cocktails compliments ofPAMA and IZZE and mouthwatering treats. Martha Macker of Macker Entertainmentwowed the audience with Dancing through the Ages, bringing together dancers andmodels telling a whimsical winter fashion story. The show began with a balletinterpretation and concluded with a sizzling salsa, featuring more than 20 FiveAcres supporters and their children modeling the season’s hottest styles.Children in the audience lit up when Santa made a surprise appearance in themiddle of the show singing Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer.

Host andKey Sponsor of Bella Winter was The Americana at Brand, and Pasadena Magazinewas the media sponsor. Generous sponsors and donors of Bella Winter includeMarilyn and John Wells Family Foundation, Wendy and Barry Meyer, CreativeArtists Agency and Stephen and Susan Chandler. Bravo Spa and Salon transformedall of the models’ hair while The Factory and Vow of Makeup worked their makeupmagic. Co-chairs of Bella Winter were Michele Hall of Altadena and Pamela Scottof La Canada.

Localfamilies who walked the catwalk include Michael and Christine Antonovich’schildren (Glendale), Stephen and Chantal Bennett and their children (SanMarino), Vivian Chan and her children (San Marino), Ryan and Maggie Dietz’schildren (Pasadena), John and Jill Fosselman and their son Will (Pasadena), Tomand Page Haralambos along with their children and family friends (San Marino),and the son and his friend of John and Marilyn Wells (Los Angeles).

For moreinformation in how you can become involved with Grace Center,contact Margaret Morici at mmorici@5acres.org or 626.798.6793 ext.2244.

Establishedas an independent non-profit in 1996, Grace Centerhas been a Five Acres program since 2004. Grace Center’smission is to empower women to break the cycle of domestic violence in theirlives and in their children’s lives so that they can live in a safe environmentand regain their dignity and self-esteem. Its Family Violence Program provides supportservices throughout the San Gabriel Valley at three differentlocations. All of the services that Grace Centerprovides are either low cost or no cost, how-ever no one is turned away for theinability to pay. Last year Grace Centervolunteers collectively donated over 3,500 hours of service.

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