Yahoo News Sherry Lansing Toasts 39th Annual California Spirit Event Benefitting the American Cancer Society
The annual California Spirit Food and Wine Event celebrated its 39th year of support for the American Cancer Society on Sunday.
Held on the Fox Lot, the event — of which The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor — welcomed top chefs from across Los Angeles for an afternoon of eating and drinking, while also celebrating the American Cancer Society’s progress in the fight against cancer and kicking off the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Chefs from A.O.C., Mozza, Badmaash, Shake Shack, Salt & Straw, Yangban, Slab, Here’s Looking At You, Jitlada, The Lobster, Tacos 1986 and Fox Studios chef Kyle Nelson dolled out bites for the event’s 500 guests throughout the course of the party.
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California Spirit was co-founded by Wolfgang Puck and Sherry Lansing in 1984, and has raised more than $18 million for the American Cancer Society since its inception. Lansing and Phil Rosenthal currently serve as honorary co-chairs, as Lansing told the crowd during her speech, “I look forward to this event every year.”
“As I realized that this is 39 years that we’ve been doing this, I’m struck by so many things. First of all, I’m struck by the fact that when we started this event, we had about 80 people and it was at somebody’s home and we were really happy with that. Today we have 500 people, and we actually could probably fill a stadium for our 40th anniversary,” she said, noting that even more important are the cancer developments that have happened during that time. “When we started this, when I would hear that a friend of mine or someone in my family had cancer, I was terrified, because usually it meant a death sentence. But today, 39 years later, when I hear that somebody has cancer, I’m often extremely hopeful. And I go, ‘No, you’re gonna be fine. There’s an 85 percent cure rate for your type of cancer.’ And that’s because of the research that the scientists have been doing.”
Lansing discussed the many new treatments that have been developed, saying, “That didn’t happen overnight; how does that happen? It simply happens when you give money to good science and that’s what we’re doing today. So when you’re sitting here today, having a great time with this glorious weather and the best food in the entire world, just think that what you’re also doing is saving lives. I’m so grateful to all of you who are here today. I’m so grateful to the money that we have raised, and I know that because of what we are doing someday cancer will be no more.”
Rosenthal, usually a staple at the event, was not present this year as he’s currently in Australia on a live book tour for Somebody Feed Phil The Book; Lansing nonetheless thanked him for being a tireless partner and introduced a video message from Rosenthal, who told attendees, “This is more than just a great food and wine event. It’s an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of cancer patients, survivors and their families.”
The event, hosted by Billy Harris, also welcomed speeches from chair Jae Wu and co-chair Sarah Simms, as well as honored breast cancer survivor Tracie Kimbrough and featured a live auction.
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