By Aliza Zaidi
Town Crier Editorial Intern
For the late Josephine and Frank Duveneck of Los Altos Hills life proceeded on the ideology that respect for human diversity and protection of the natural environment were the foundation for a healthy, peaceful and humane world.
To this end, the estate they left behind, Hidden Villa, was dedicated to the community as a 1,600-acre environmental farm and wilderness preserve serving children and adults of all nationalities and incomes.
The Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Awards honor those who organizers feel have contributed to forwarding their causes of multiculturalism and environmental conservation. The seventh annual awards ceremony and dinner is set for 5-9:30 p.m., Sept. 28, at the Los Altos Hills preserve. The $150 admission fee includes a social hour with organic wine and hors d’oeuvres in the newly restored Duveneck House gardens. Guided tours of the educational garden for children are available.
There will be a viewing of the Frank Duveneck and Lizzie Boott Duveneck family art collection, and a silent auction of four hybrid gasoline and electric engine cars.
In the charming tented pavilion an elegant organic dinner will be served, catered by Now We’re Cooking. The evening will come to a close with the presentation of the Humanitarian Awards.
“This year’s Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Awards Dinner continues the Duveneck legacy of encouraging humanitarian values by honoring individuals who have made major contributions to improving humanity through their extraordinary personal and professional accomplishments,” stated Judith Steiner, executive director of Hidden Villa.
The awards are presented to a national honoree, regional honoree and local honoree.
“We are pleased to honor Alice Waters for commitment to sustainable agriculture and earth stewardship; Dr. John Francis for his global environmental activism; and George Chippendale for his volunteer commitment to the children and youth of East Palo Alto by encouraging and enabling them to attend Hidden Villa’s multicultural summer camp on scholarship,” Steiner said.
Waters, an internationally known chef, author and proprietor of Chez Panisse restaurant, will also be the keynote speaker at the dinner. She pioneered the culinary philosophy of using only the freshest organic ingredients picked in the season.
Francis has been selected as the regional honoree. Francis is regarded as an expert at environmental issues and an environmental activist.
Globally he has made efforts to increase the awareness of the fragility of our planet’s health.
Chippendale, who is the local honoree, lives in Palo Alto. His commitment to the youth of East Palo Alto has led him to this honor. His hard work led to 1,000 low-income youth participate in Hidden Villa’s multicultural summer camps on free scholarships.
For more information, call Hidden Villa at 949-8651 by Monday or logon to www.hiddenvilla.org.
Hidden Villa is located at 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills.
