The Cake

August 16, 2008

I guess the best place to start is with a little background. Many of you already know this, but for those who don't - back in 1975 when Donna came back to the US with Love To Love You Baby, Casablanca welcomed her back with a little surprise to promote the album. The surprise was was a big cake, hand painted to look like the back of the Love To Love You album cover. (See the photo below.) The story goes that they had this famous bakery in Los Angeles make the cake. Then it was taken by ambulance to the airport where it was flown to New York in 2 first class seats. (Ah, the excesses of the 70s! LOL)

So here it is, 33 years later and we're celebrating the comeback that never really left with a brand new album. And because of that, one fan named Eduardo Hanke got the brilliant idea that history should repeat itself - well sort of. ;-) He hooked up with a local bakery (Chef Ken's Patisserie Ganache Bakery Shop), got them to make a special Crayons cake, and then made arrangements to surprise Donna with it at the Oakland show. This page is the story of the cake - and no there won't be any ambulances in it this time. ;-)

[In keeping with my no spoilers for people who don't want to hear any yet, I'll keep all the fan reports about the Oakland show separate from the cake reports. :-) ]

A Midnight Summer's Dream

"Once upon a time, there was a boy who dreamed of a cake - A Crayons Cake." He had to wake up so that he could write his idea down in a piece of paper before falling asleep again. On Saturday, August 16th at the beautiful Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California this magical cake was unveiled to Donna in a very special private party for close fans and associates. We wanted to celebrate our "Empress" brand new album - CRAYONS!

I gathered everyone around - My San Francisco street team members, close fans and Donna's family and associates for a short speech.
I started by thanking Donna for coming to the Bay Area, for recording another album and for gracing us with her beautiful voice for four decades!!!
Like back in the days of the famous "Love to Love You Baby cake", we wanted to celebrate this special night with a sensational CRAYONS cake!

I said - "Donna, we love you so very much. Please accept this Crayons cake on behalf of your loyal fans all over the world as a symbol of our love for you." I proceeded to unveil the cake for all... Donna was speechless for a moment.... Everybody was in awe!!!

My SF street team members helped pass slices of the delicious cake around. Donna was delighted! The cake was made by Bay Area Culinary Chef, Ken O'Neil. All cake pieces that you see are edible. The main cake is of a rich German chocolate with raspberries inside. The CD art cover and CD itself on top of the cake are hand-painted chocolate plates. The assorted colored crayons around are also edible. Each one has another different cake rolled inside matching the crayon color. A true work of art!

Please enjoy the pictures below of this unforgettable evening honoring our Diva, Ms Donna Summer.

Eduardo Hanke
San Francisco

Click any image for a larger version. Photos below courtesy of Eduardo.			Donna's parents with the original 1975 cake. (Photo by Dagmar)

Below is a list with all my team names. They are...

Eduardo Hanke - San Francisco, CA via Porto Alegre, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan... :)
Armin Ciriaco - San Francisco, CA
Kenneth Fletcher - Oakland, CA
Tom Stewart - Jacksonville, Florida
Jim Morrow - San Francisco, CA
Reka Horvath - Budapest, Hungary
Kriztian Kiss - Budapest, Hungary
Nadene Uys - Johanesburg, South Africa
Kotaro Fujita - Tokyo, Japan

and from Boston: Joe Solis and Jerry Ringuette

Dreams do come true............ THANK YOU!!!

- Eduardo Hanke

The Cake

August 16, 2008

A Midnight Summer's Dream

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