Thursday, November 15, 2018. Colder in New York yesterday with temps reaching to the high 40s and falling to the very low 30s at night. Clear with the weather forecasting maybe some snow. It’s definitely the end of foliage time this year but JH has a few of the beauties that we’ve had around us in the last few days of autumn’s color.
Out in the Windy City, HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex paid a visit and was the guest of honor for The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA Gala. As the Prince entered the ballroom, he was welcomed by the 300 guests, accompanied by Alex Donner’s orchestra playing “Rule, Britannia”.
The Prince spoke of the sixty-year-old project which Prince Philip founded to inspire and equip millions of young people to be leaders by stepping outside their comfort zones, learning new skills, getting physically active, volunteering in their communities and partaking in adventurous journeys.
“My father wanted young people, from ages 14 to 24, to grow and learn new things through these progressive awards which have been given to more than 1.3 million young people across the world. India, Zambia, South Africa, Canada and many other countries have participated for years, but tonight we are launching tonight a US presence in Chicago.”
Prince Edward had spent the previous afternoon playing Court Tennis with young people and adults. His more than 45 stops in nine US cities had one feature in common: an opportunity to play what is often called “Real Tennis” on a range of courts around the country. Hampton Court, outside of London, has the oldest court where Henry VIII played beginning in 1528 when the sport was known as royal tennis. Those who played Court Tennis with the Prince in Chicago mentioned not only his courtly presence, but also his skill at the game.
The evening’s chairs were Brian D. White and Desiree Rogers. The gala was co-sponsored by the Social Register Association, whose owners Christopher Wolf and Lise Honore-Wolf were among the more than fifty out of town guests. Nichelle Carr is the President Elect and Elizabeth Higgins-Beard, leads Award USA as CEO.
When the speeches were over, there was a live auction which offered Truffle Hunting in Tuscany, as well as a visit to Machu Picchu, among the donated prizes benefitting the Award. Auction over, Alex Donner drew the crowds from their tables to the dance floor completing a beautiful evening.
Back in New York. Kati Marton hosted a cocktail reception at her home for the Friends of the Budapest Festival Orchestra with their beloved Maestro, Iván Fischer, as guest of honor. There were more than 100 jubilant well-wishers who braved a rainy night to celebrate on Riverside Drive. Fischer was in the middle of conducting The New York Philharmonic in three remarkable concerts.
Guests included F.B.F.O. board members including Daisy M. Soros (chairman emeritus), Redka and Stephen Benko, Sylvia Hemingway, Heidi Lee-Komaromi and Andrew Komaromi, Peter Thomas Roth (and of course Kati Marton); Tony Bechara, Mirjana Blokar, David Denby, Patricia Duff, Jaqueline Weld Drake, David Koranyi, Eva and Yoel Haller, Leana Kaplan, Kristina Allegra Kingston, Helen Marx, Sana H. Sabbagh, Kathy and Harvey Sloane, Adrienne and Gianluigi Vittadini, Sandra and Stanford Warshawsky, Hall J. Witt, and Victoria Wyman.
On April 5th and 6th Maestro Fischer returns to New York with the full Budapest Festival Orchestra for two concerts at Carnegie Hall.
The Friends of Budapest Festival Orchestra offers members unique opportunities to build a closer relationship with the Orchestra, both in North America and at home in Budapest, through special events with Maestro Fischer and the orchestra musicians. The FBFO hosts and participates in special events throughout the year including patron travel, back-stage access, an annual New York gala, the new Vicenza Opera Festival, and chamber concerts in private homes.
The Budapest Festival Orchestra, founded by Maestro Fischer in 1983, and is acknowledged as one of the finest orchestras in the world.
Down in Palm Beach, designer Jennifer Garrigues, ASID, opens the Palm Beach season next week at her Peruvian Avenue studio and gallery with an opening reception for New York Social Diary columnist Augustus Mayhew’s photography.
The show, VIEWPOINTS: The Photography of Augustus Mayhew, features a retrospective of 40 images from Mayhew’s past decade of columns focused on Palm Beach as well as his travels in Italy, Maine, The Hamptons, and Montecito. His spontaneous aesthetic portrays the scenic, the sublime, the traditional, and the surreal. His photographs have informed his Palm Beach Social Diary column for more than a decade, having also been published at The Palm Beach Daily News and Palm Beach Life magazine.
The show is an ensemble of images utilizing historical artifacts. His Behind the Camera series features well-known photographers. As a cultural explorer and longtime historic preservationist, Mayhew is the author of Lost in Wonderland: Reflections on Palm Beach and Palm Beach: A Greater Grandeur, essays focused on the island’s larger-than-life characters and unrestrained diversions.
A long-established designer on Palm Beach with outposts in New York and London, Jennifer Garrigues began her career in New York where projects at The Carlyle were among her first clients. Known for her refined eclectic style, her Palm Beach design studio and gallery are filled with antiques, furniture, and accessories, making her exotic collections from Mumbai to Marrakech an ideal setting works of art.
VIEWPOINTS: The Photography of Augustus Mayhew
Opening Reception & Cocktails
Tuesday, November 20th, 6 – 8 pm
Jennifer Garrigues
308 Peruvian Avenue
For further information, please call 561-659-7085
Photographs by Jennifer Girard Photography (Donner); Annie Watt (Budapest)
