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Bologna Performing Art Center to host gala fundraiser

By December 1, 2010General

Chef Robert St. John

Wyatt Waters

The Bologna Performing Arts Center (BPAC) will host a gala fundraiser at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 10, at the Cleveland Country Club.  This special event will feature nationally known restaurateur, chef and author Robert St. John alongside Mississippi watercolor artist Wyatt Waters.

As St. John prepares a five course dinner with some of his famous southern recipes, Waters will complement the cuisine with an original painting.  Tickets are $250 for premier seating and $150 for reserved seating. All proceeds will benefit the Bologna Performing Arts Center.

St. John, a Hattiesburg native,  is known for his combination of creativity and love of food. This self taught cook has been featured on The Food Network, The Travel Channel, and the Turner South network. For the last 20 years, St. John has served as executive chef, president, and CEO of the Purple Parrot Café, the Crescent City Grill, and the Mahogany Bar in Hattiesburg. He was named Mississippi’s Top Chef by Mississippi Magazine in 2006 and 2007. His restaurant, The Purple Parrot Café, was named the best fine dining restaurant in Mississippi and is a two time recipient of the AAA Four Diamond award.  St. John has two television projects in development.

Widely known for his watercolors of southern culture,  Waters creates paintings of the roadside South as well as domestic still life. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections and have been featured in Art & Antiques, American Artist, Watercolor, Mississippi Magazine, and Delta Magazine.  Waters has also illustrated 13 books. He received the Mississippi Institute of Art and Letters Award for an Oxford Sketchbook, the 2009 Governor’s Award, and the Mississippi Library Association Special Award for Art for his collaboration with Robert St. John in their first book, A Southern Palate.  He currently operates the Wyatt Waters gallery in Clinton.

For more information or to make reservations, contact Carol Tatum at 662-588-1003. To make your reservations, send a check to Carol Tatum at 204 South Leflore Avenue, Cleveland, MS 38732. Valet and self parking will be available.