Bellarmine fashion show struts on despite COVID-19

If you’ve seen an episode of “Project Runway,” you could guess that putting on a fashion show — with models crowded together quickly changing in a dressing room or backstage — would be a near-impossibility in the COVID-19 era.

For San Jose’s Bellarmine College Prep, it was an even bigger challenge. The Jesuit boys school’s fashion show annually involves more than 100 models and dancers and packs an audience of more than 1,500 moms, dads, relatives and alumni into a ballroom — all to raise money for student financial tuition assistance.

Knowing a normal event wouldn’t be possible, the Bellarmine Mothers Guild, which organizes the show, decided to make the 66th annual show virtual instead of skipping a year. It will be livestreamed to ticketholders Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. (Get more information and tickets at www.bcp.org/fashionshow.)

Of course, producing a virtual fashion show during a pandemic presented its own set of challenges, starting with keeping everyone safe. Fortunately, Bellarmine had an ace up its sleeve: In addition to being a Bellarmine mom, this year’s fashion show chair, Caroline Stratz, is a medical doctor with a practice in Mountain View.

“As a physician, I was well aware of the potential risks. However, I was extremely confident that we could pull this off by following all recommended guidelines and still produce an amazing show,” she said. “Our focus has always been on raising money for the tuition assistance program, where close to 30% of our student body receives some level of assistance. We did not want to let those boys down.”

Bellarmine Vice President of Advancement Brian Adams said the school anticipates distributing $6 million in tuition assistance this year, up 20 percent from last year — with about $500,000 of that increase due to financial impacts on families related to COVID-19. “Thirty-two percent of students who receive tuition assistance this year are the first generation in their families expected to attend college,” he said.

Over the past eight months, the Mothers Guild’s nine-person executive committee overhauled the entire program. Tryouts were held outdoors on the Bellarmine campus in late September, with runway hopefuls masked as they walked for judges, who were also seated at safe distances. Rehearsals have taken place on athletic fields, and the show itself will happen in the school gym, with only one model walking the runway at a time.

More than three dozen Bellarmine seniors will take part in the show, along with 20 girls from seven South Bay high schools. Eleven moms also will hit the runway, along with eight faculty members including Bellarmine President Chris Meyercord, Principal Kristina Luscher and the Rev. Mario Prietto. There are 10 fashion partners, including Eli Thomas Menswear, Bloomingdale’s Valley Fair, Ted Baker London at Santana Row, Park Place Vintage, Black Cat Hats in Los Gatos and Moon Zoom in San Jose.

Stratz said it’s been nice to give a little normalcy to the students who are participating. “Knowing that we did not give up and that we have all been committed to this mission has been wonderful,” she said.

Carolyn Duque LeBaron, left, her brother, Rick Duque, and her daughter, K.T. LeBaron, help distribute shoes to students at Sacred Heart Nativity Schools on Friday, Nov. 6. 2020. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

WALKING THE WALK: Rick Duque said his parents Judy and Henry Duque, who passed away in 2012 and 2019, left him and his siblings with important lessons about community. “They taught us that it’s bigger than just us and that we should help out people when we can,” he said.

So Rick and other family members came up with an idea to honor their memories by doing just that. On Friday, they helped distribute new shoes and socks to the 85 students at San Jose’s Sacred Heart Nativity Schools, made possible by a memorial gift the family made to the Claremont-based nonprofit Shoes That Fit. The Duques had been longtime volunteers at the school, which is aimed at low-income students on Edwards Avenue in the Calle Willow neighborhood.

A steady stream of families drove up for 90 minutes Friday to receive the footwear, along with books and other supplies. It brought a smile to the face of Duque’s sister, Carolyn LeBaron. “What I’ve seen in this whole COVID era is the spirit of people,” she said.

Tenor Pasquale Esposito sings “O Sole Mio” at the groundbreaking for the Italian Cultural Center and Museum in San Jose’s Little Italy neighborhood on St. John Street on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

BIG STEP FOR LITTLE ITALY: Sal Caruso was wearing three hats at Friday afternoon’s groundbreaking for the Italian Cultural Center and Museum in San Jose’s Little Italy neighborhood between the Guadalupe River Park and Highway 87. Not only is Caruso the architect and general contractor on the project, he was also there as the Honorary Consul of Italy.

The long-gestating project has received a significant financial boost from John A. Sobrato, who was on hand along with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Little Italy San Jose Executive Director Joshua DeVincenzi Melander, and representatives of families that helped secure the 120-year-old house on St. John Street, including Helen Marchese Owen, Michael Mulcahy and Chris Marchese.

Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito sang a couple of verses of “O Sole Mio” from the front porch, as VIPs posed with a gold-plated shovel to mark the occasion. Melander says the renovation of the home will create more than a museum, as the plans include adding a puppet theater as part an outdoor children’s play area and renovating the basement into a Prohibition-era “speakeasy” style bar called the Italian Cellar. “We want it to be a destination for people,” he said.

The property has some great history already. From 1915 to 1924 it was occupied by Eugene Vinassa, who was a manager at the nearby Hotel Torino, which is now Henry’s Hi-Life. Starting in 1919 until the 1950s, the house was owned by Lorenzo Beltramo and members of his family lived there until the 1950s. Descendants of the family are still in the area. You can find out more about the plans for the cultural center at www.littleitalysj.com/cultural-center-museum.

SALUTING OUR VETERANS: San Jose’s Veterans Day celebration will be very different this year, as Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 health orders mean there’ll be no downtown parade on Wednesday. While it is a shame to lose that tradition this year, saluting those who have served in uniform means a lot more than marching with Cub Scouts — as I have — or politicians riding in classic cars on Santa Clara Street.

Mike Hennessy, the man behind the “Car Guy Channel,” got together with the United Veterans Council — which puts on the annual event — to create a virtual parade, along with military personnel, elected officials and other community members talking about what Veterans Day means to them. It will be broadcast on Nov. 11 at noon and 4 p.m. on Comcast Ch. 30, and you can also see it at www.creatvsj.org/watch/ch-30.