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An affair everyone can love

Celebrities mingle with locals at Flanders fundraiser  click for video
BY ERIN SCHULTZ |STAFF WRITER

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO Dhonna Goodale with documentary filmaker Albert Maysles (left) and choreographer George Faison, owner of Firehouse Theater in New York City. Mr. Faison was the choreographer of the musical "The Wiz" in the early '70s, in which Ms. Goodale performed. Each year, Ms. Goodale throws a party in Flanders to raise money for a scholarship fund in her late sister's name.
An R&B star sang in the background as an ecumenical monk chatted with a Broadway actress. Meanwhile, a legendary documentary filmmaker sat for an interview with a Brooklyn-based broadcast company called "Good News."

And this was while around 800 other people enjoyed either a catered dinner inside or an elaborate spread of barbecued food outside, one of several fully stocked bars, a giant outdoor chessboard, a basketball court, and a putting green -- with massage therapists, caricature artists and baby sitters in the wings, all waiting to serve.

Talk about an affair to remember.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DHONNA GOODALE Tara Stevens
Stuff like this happens only once a year -- and only at the home of Bobby and Dhonna Goodale at the end of Point Road overlooking Reeves Bay in Flanders.

"We all need to feel validated," Ms. Goodale said. "And this was my year."

Saturday night's sixth annual "An Affair to Remember" was an elaborate party to raise funds for a memorial scholarship in the name of Ms. Goodale's deceased sister, Tara Stevens.

In 2003, Ms. Stevens was a 25-year-old mother of two when she was murdered by her husband just before graduating from nursing school.

Boris Winfried, Ms. Goodale's cousin, said he's been coming to the fundraiser since its inception, and he said this was the best party yet.

"It's a beautiful, beautiful thing," he said.

Kathy Fava, a friend of Ms. Goodale's who helped organize the fundraiser, said the event gets "bigger and better every year."

"I'm a single mom and have been going through a tough custody battle," she said. "Dhonna is my rock. She's here to help, so I'm here to help."

Harry Wilkinson, president of the nonprofit Kiwanis Club in Riverhead, donated ice cream from his Bungalow Ice Cream truck for the party. The service organization honored Ms. Goodale this spring with a "star breakfast."

"I volunteered because it's a very good cause," Mr. Wilkinson said. "Because the things she does for this community and the kids goes beyond being a star."

Over the years, Mr. and Ms. Goodale have donated millions to various charities and organizations, including Peconic Bay Medical Center, Ecumenical Missionaries in New Jersey and various student scholarships. They've also sponsored the Riverhead Blues Festival and a recent International Black Film Festival special screening of "Pride," starring the late Bernie Mac.

The Tara Stevens scholarship funds, said Ms. Goodale, are reserved for those who thrive despite poor life circumstances.

With that in mind, Grammy Award-winning singer Freddie Jackson, probably best known for his 1980s quiet-storm R&B hits "Rock Me Tonight (for Old Times Sake)" and "You Are My Lady," performed Saturday night, as did singers from the Goodales' Riverhead Building Supply choir, named for Mr. Goodale's long-standing business.

Also, Albert Maysles, an 82-year-old filmmaker who captured some famous footage of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s, introduced his new book, "Grey Gardens" at the fundraiser. The book depicts the making of his noted 1976 documentary of the same name that was recently adapted into a Broadway musical.

Ms. Goodale, herself a multitalented entertainer who has had parts in movies such as "Working Girl" and in international theatrical tours like "The Wiz," said that as of Tuesday afternoon, she didn't know how much money was raised yet from the party. But she described the type of people who might be entitled to the scholarship funds.

"Anyone who joins my choir, for one," she said. "And if you graduated from the alternative school in Riverhead. The alternative school is my baby."

But, Ms. Goodale added, even those folks have to prove to her by letter that they are pursuing a degree in higher education.

"Some children are less than honest, that's why I need proof," she said. "I'm not just giving money away. I'm trying to teach responsibility in life. And it's best to learn now."

Born and raised in Harlem but spending much of her young life in Riverhead, Ms. Goodale began her career in show business in soap operas in the early 1980s under the stage name Donna Harris.

Though she recently finished touring with Roberta Flack, singing backup and helping with production, Ms. Goodale added that she's been staying closer to home more often to raise her children, 11-year-old Jesse and 9-year-old Jared.

"I'm supposed to be in Saudi Arabia right now on tour with Engelbert Humperdinck," she added. "But I want to be a great mom, not a pretty good mom."

There is no doubt, however, that Ms. Goodale is a great host. She plans to throw another party in honor of her sister -- and the scholarship in her name -- in the winter.

"I couldn't do this without all of you," Ms. Goodale announced Saturday night, her voice beginning to quiver. "We keep my sister's memory alive."

eschultz@timesreview.com