Gardens Plaza Women Keep the Good Times Rolling

The calendar might indicate the second week in October, but you’d never know it speaking to the women of the Gardens Plaza Condominium. This week, the women held two of their signature social events: the Annual End of Season Community Covered Dish Dinner, held Saturday night, and the monthly Ladies Lunch on Friday. “It’s a way to keep the fun going and to keep us connected in the off-season,” said Rhoda Brown, who has been organizing the Ladies Lunches for the past three or four years. Before that they were run by Tracie Balk. The luncheons take place every second Friday of the month except July and August. Each month a different restaurant is selected. Some are old favorites such as the Crab Trap, other times, new eateries such as this month’s destination, Frankie’s On the Bay. “We try new places or hear about them and we give them a try,” Rhoda said. “We don’t always score a hit, but it’s still a lot of fun. I thought (Frankie’s) was very, very good. I thought the ladies who attended loved it.” Frankie's by the Bay was the site of this month's Ladies Lunch of the Garden's Plaza. Brown said about 10 to 15 women will attend each luncheon. The year-round residents are naturally well-represented, but many residents normally seen mostly in the summertime come back to take part in the festivities. Letters are sent out to the participants to advise them of the upcoming luncheon, and a flier is displayed in the elevators of the condo at Park Place and the Boardwalk. The Covered Dish diner is another eagerly anticipated event. Coordinated by Pam and Scott Perry, this year’s event drew approximately 60 residents.  Each participant signed up on a board and brought a specialty dish, or other item such as wine, snacks, and desserts. “It was a great success and Pam and Scott did a fantastic job of putting it all together,” Brown said. Some of the dishes included homemade lasagna, roast beef and provolone sandwiches on Atlantic City rolls, smoked Alaskan king salmon, sausage, chicken parm, four dozen ears of fresh Jersey corn, tomato pie, and desserts included key lime and other fresh baked pies, brownies, and much more. Jack Baldwin, Irene Dickey and Tamika Cortez enjoy the pot luck dinner Saturday at Gardens Plaza. For the first time, this year’s dinner also featured live entertainment with sax player Pierre Brown, a popular player on the boardwalk during the summertime. It was the second time running the event for Perry, who also put it together 2014. “It was fun,” she said. “By this time of the year it is truly our community. People sit down with people they might not ordinarily be with during the summer.”