BLinG POnG

800-558-5674, ventureshuffeboard.com

There’s Ping-Pong and there’s bling- pong. most tables from sporting goods stores are green-painted particleboard with metal tubing for legs. The Winston from Venture breaks the mold. One version is constructed of solid 1¾-inch maple with walnut inlays and a UV-coated fnish. another is solid walnut with maple inlays. The playing surface is regulation size and is set on tapered solid-wood legs and solid-wood aprons. The tables some with a retractable net, paddles and balls. Optional dining chairs and benches convert the pieces into dining, serving or craft tables. Price:

More than 300 guests converged on Newport Shipyard on a sun-dappled evening in August for an elegant event that raised $200,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County. The Newport Yacht Rendezvous was the 36th annual dinner-dance fundraiser the club has organized. Last year, the event was restructured to include a yacht hop. The yacht hop this year featured seven yachts ranging from an Ocean Alexander 72 Pilothouse to 171-foot (52.1-meter) Feadship Gravitas. After cocktails on the yachts and bidding on silent auction items, guests sat down for a dinner on the shipyard grounds created by Blackstone Caterers, followed by a live auction and dancing to the Mac Chrupcala Orchestra. Sponsors included Peter de Savary and family, Linda and John Purdy, event partner Yachts International and venue sponsor Newport Shipyard.