Wayde and I had a truly enjoyable experience last Saturday night that I thought I would share with you. There is a Six Event Series For the Appreciation of Art Deco held the second Saturday of each month at the Ark in downtown Newport. We were a little unsure if we would be allowed in as we were greeted at the door by our friend Mike Larsen and he was in a tux!!! I was afraid I was seriously underdressed in my sweatshirt and levis but Mike assured me it would be fine. You can tell by the photo above that my concerns were soon put to rest (needless to say, if one of these four were friends of ours, it has to be the one in the hat).
As you walk through the door it is like entering another time and place. You expect to see Rick (Humphry Bogart) standing by the piano, and the music playing could be from the 1930's or 1940's. In fact, I had to blink twice when I saw this good looking young man in a white suit dancing with a beautiful woman down on the dance floor. There were comfortable chairs and tables of all shapes and sizes situated around the room with a warm fire blazing in the wood stove. You could go up the bar and get a glass of your favorite wine or, in our case, we got coffee. Mine was Cafe Vienna with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon on top! It was perfect. We then were treated to a cartoon and newswreel from 1930, a short with Our Gang from 1934 and a serial with Crash Corrigan from 1936. There was even a short PSA from the March of Dimes with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney from 1939! The movie was from 2008, "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day", however, the book was written in and the movie was set in 1939 London. It was one of those 1930's screwball comedies that has fantastic costumes and sets and was very well done.
Even though we didn't win the Trivia Challenge, we had a wonderful evening and would certainly recommended it to everyone who would like to step back in the past for a few hours a month. For more information check out the City Center Newport Association, Inc. at citycenternewport.com.
I also want to give my thanks to Wayde for taking me. This was obviously something he would never have gone to if not for me. Being the sweetheart that he is, he has even offered to take me in February, on Valentine's Day, to a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers movie. I don't know yet if I am willing to put him through that but I sure appreciate the offer.
