12.17.12: Holiday Dinners | New York Social Diary

Holiday Dinners

The table settings at ACRIA's 17th Annual Holiday Dinner at the Stephan Weiss Studio at 711 Greenwich Streeet in the Village.

Last Tuesday night, ACRIA held its 17th Annual Holiday Dinner at the Stephan Weiss Studio at 711 Greenwich Street in the Village. They honored the Elton John AIDS Foundation for their years of generous support.

There were 275 guests. Among those attending were Francisco Costa, Donna Karan, Steven Kolb, Prabal Gurung, Ariel Foxman, Kate Lanphear, Kelly Klein, Barry and Sheryl Schwartz, Jason Wu, Sam Shahid, Hunt Slonem, Donald Baechler, Alex Betak, Adam Lippes, Connie Anne Phillips, Doug Lloyd, Victoria Bartlett, Ross Bleckner, Lisa Marie Fernandez, Amy Fine Collins, David Furnish, and Bruce Weber and Nan Bush.

This is always a beautifully designed evening, with an appropriate low-key vibe and a a warmly friendly atmosphere. Guests dined by candlelight, and they raised funds for the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America.

Cindy Weber Cleary, Amy Synnott Dannibale, Charla Lawhon, and Donna Bulseco

Sir Elton could not be there because he is touring in the Far East – Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. But his partner David Furnish was there to accept the award from Martha Nelson, the President of the ACRIA board. Ms. Nelson pointed out that this year both the Elton John AIDS Foundation and ACRIA are celebrating the 20th anniversaries.

Both organizations which over the past two decades have made great strides possible in a variety of ways surrounding AIDS. Both were an “idea” of one or two or three individuals who were provoked by the epidemic that is all over the world. And both organizations are now leaders in fund-raising for this cause.

They raised $400,000 for ACRIA, with support from Tiffany & Co., InStyle and Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation.

David Furnish and Martha Nelson

Olivier Clemont and Nadja Romain

Gabby Karan De Felice and Donna Karan

Rachel Robison and Adam Robison

Melissa Berkelhammer, Dawne Marie Grannum, and Benjamin Le Hay

Lisa Marie Fernandez and Kevin Carrigan

Charla Lawhon and Richard Lambertson

Casey Fremont and friend

Jake Deutsch and Matt Sevoia

Steven Kolb

Nicole Snoep and Malcolm Carfrae

Kelly Klein

Arden Wohl

Chelsea Burns and Stephen Kinsella

Connie Anne Phillips and Jason Weisenfeld

Jay Johnson and Ales Ortuzar

David Kleinberg, Jonathan Klein, and Debby Klein

Gianpaolo De Felice and Julia LaReza

Francisco Costa, Sheryl Schwartz, and Barry Schwartz

Melanie Lazenby and Lacary Sharpe

Jon Gilman and Brad Learmonth

Paul Beirne and Ross Bleckner

John Truex, Michelle Butler, and Alan Nissim

Sofia Sanchez, Meredith Melling Burke, and Alex de Betak

Ariel Foxman, Gustavo Rangel, and Jason Wu

David Furnish and Marjorie Gubelmann

Malcolm Carfrae and Hal Rubenstein

Hunt Slonem and Liliana Cavendish

Then last Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden was the 12/12/12 Concert benefiting The Robin Hood Relief Fund to Aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Walter "Clyde" Frazier, Allen Houston, Baron Davis, and John Starks

The whole world has heard about this already, so there is nothing more to say than it was an extraordinary event produced by an extraordinary organization, the Robin Hood Foundation.

Roger Waters

Olivia Wilde and Sean John Combs

Susan Sarandon

Chanel Iman

Jimmy Fallon and Nancy Fallon

Chelsea Clinton

Katie Holmes

Blake Lively

Gina Gershon

Martha Stewart

Jeremy Piven

Amare Stoudemire and Alexis Welch

Jesse Jackson

Bobby Moynihan and Seth Meyers

Richie Sambora

Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls

Billy Crystal

Maureen Van Zandt and Steven Van Zandt

David Saltzman

Also last Tuesday night, the Whitney Museum held its annual gala and studio party at its Madison Avenue headquarters. This event was one of the major events that were canceled in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. They honored the great Photography and Art Collector and philanthropist Sondra Gilman Gonzalez-Falla.

Allison Kanders, Amy Phelan, Pamella Roland Devos, Adam Weinberg, and Sondra Gilman

This particular gala has one of the most notable after-parties in the events activities. The uptown lowdown, and that is the party of ostensibly “the younger set” (whatever) on the lower level of the museum. There’s an open bar and a DJ (Nate Lowman). It’s back-to-back belly-to-belly and a crowded gallery party of potentially interesting, creative, (rich), gorgeousness is what New Yorkers love. And why not?

Lo Bosworth

Freddie Leiba and Amy Fine Collins

Zani Gugelmann and Dori Cooperman

Kyle DeWoody

Thelma Golden

Elizabeth Stribling and Sondra Gilman

Beth Rudin DeWoody

Robert Verdi

Jay Alexander

Ryan Humphrey

Spencer Tunick and Chrissie Tunick

Thakoon Panichgul

Jonathan and Lizzie Tisch

Timo Weiland

Polina Proshkina

Jay Manuel

Anne Pasternak and Mike Starn

Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman

Manish Vora

Nigel Barker and Crissy Barker

Adam Green

Scott Rothkopf

Matt Tague and Ross Oliver

Joanne Cassullo

Tony Ingrao

Allison Kanders and Warren Kanders

Lisa Greenblatt and Alex Bindero

Nancy Crown and A. Steven Crown

Karolina Zmarlak and Jenna Elizabeth

Iona Rozeal Brown

Tina Antoniades and Sara LaFontaine

Dana Hammond Stubgen

Ashley Sousa

Suzanna Lee

Alessandra Brawn

Angela Goding and Jeremy Kost

Andrea Mary Marshall

Matthew Lauretti and Eve Kleinmenova

Delia von Neuschatz for NYSD: Gretchen Mol, star of HBO’s hit series, “Boardwalk Empire” and Alexandra “Pookie” Burch, co-hosted a 1920’s-themed bash to benefit Animal Haven, the Soho-based animal shelter. The venue was the private downtown club, Norwood, which had been turned into a speakeasy for the night, complete with lively sets played by Boardwalk Empire’s orchestra, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks. Tory Burch, Sandra Bernhard, Nate Berkus, Sabrina Soto, David Colbert, Harold Smith and John Bartlett among others, turned out in support of the evening which raised more than $45,000 through ticket sales and a silent auction.

Shilly and Shamus were the star attractions of the night

Founded in 1967, Animal Haven is a nonprofit organization which works to find homes for abandoned cats and dogs. The raised funds will help Animal Haven recoup some of the costs it incurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. Animal Haven, located in Lower Manhattan, was directly affected by the storm. The shelter was without power for five days. Unable to evacuate its animals due to the pressing needs of other shelters and the public, Animal Haven ran operations at capacity without lights for nearly a week. The shelter is still operating over capacity as a result of the storm. If you’d like to help, or for more information, go to: www.animalhavenshelter.org.

Lauri Hoban and Kevin Morgan

Tory Burch and Tiffany Lacey, Executive Director of Animal Haven

Rachel Marin and Brad Williams who has really gotten into the Boardwalk Empire spirit

Candace DiConza and Loren Cole

Caroline Connolly and Dana Ashley

Christian Sullivan, Sylvester Rowe, and Jacob Dunn

Gary Sazer, Lois Sazer, Kate Thoman, and Keith Sazer

Heather Curatolo, Matthew Jones, and Ariana Johnston

Burlesque dancer, Bettina May

Band members from Vince Giordano's Nighthawks and the Gatsby ladies

JoAnn and Tom Mara

John Meyers and Mike Ponella, two bandmembers from Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. I was told that Boardwalk Empire was just renewed for a fourth season

John Partilla, Carol Anne Riddell, A. J. Bellas, and Richard Bellas

Lara Clear and Carolina Santos Read, volunteering their time to help out at the event

Lawrence Selevan and Jo Kosewski

Michelle Bochynski and Elena Tarsitani, two Gatsby-esque ladies helping out at the event

Paula Campos, Alessia Pagnotta, and Kristin Lasher

Rachel Aschenbrand and Barry Robinson

Rebecca Metzger and Marc Ritter

Rebecca Zagen, Martina Pet and Angela Petrigliano

Scott Ornstein and Andre Langus

Victoria Malloy and Lisa Malloy

Yael Maxwell holding Shilly and Martha Kamberi holding Shamus. Yael and Martha are Animal Haven volunteers. Shilly and Shamus are brother and sister beagle puppies who are up for adoption

Vince Girodano's Nighthawks

Two dancing duos stepping to the beat of Vince Giordano's Nighthawks

Last Wednesday night over at Bergdorf's, vBeaute celebrated its first anniversary at the store. Julie Macklowe was there, wearing her company's color(s), and so was vintage clothing maven Cameron Silver plus a lot of Macklowe's friend who can't live without the product.