Last Scene Here
Family Matters
Bluebloods ’R’ Us
The Winter Ball, which used to mark the presentation of Boston’s debutantes, still endures, although in a somewhat altered form. Instead of a receiving line of girls in white gowns making their debut in society, guests are treated to part prep-school reunion, part sorority mixer, with a smattering of Brahmins and people who simply like to dance. In short: an elegant, inter-generational evening.
Another sign of the changing times: This year, instead of the Park Plaza, it was held in the rococo ballroom of the Fairmont Copley Plaza, which lent it a distinctly F. Scott Fitzgerald flavor, as it was so easy to sneak off to the Oak Bar for a martini.
Among the attendees were super-suave architect Juan Guillermo Uribe Rubio and his brunette intended, Maggie Feazell, I.T. impresario William Grote, the empress of Back Bay Smoki Bacon and her royal consort, Dick Concannon, Louisberg Square swells Hillary and Chris Gabrielli, the adorable Chynna Pope, über-outdoorsman Carl Deane, stunning redhead Laurie Consoli, my sister from another mother, Lucy Read Coolidge, Polish aristocrat Krystian von Speidel with his high-powered other half, Nathan Frank, Beacon Hellion Kimberlea Tracey, statuesque art dealer Charlotte Riggs, and one pedigreed young woman who helped investigate an interesting sociological query: How many of the other guests, we wondered, was she related to?
“Well, there’s a Lowell, and that one’s a Gardner, while that guy over there is a Gardiner with an ‘i.’ We call them ‘the one-eyed Gardiners’ and the ‘blind Gardners.’ I think that girl’s a Saltonstall, etc., etc….”
We eventually lost count at “a lot” (and sneaking off to the Oak Bar for martinis didn’t help matters), but it’s safe to say that the Old Guard can still represent, and overall, it was a gilded evening.
The most amusing remark: “Among the blind, he could be considered a tennis pro.”
En Vino Veritas
Some people keep their New Year’s resolutions for days. Weeks even. And then there are those who go to the Grand Opening of the Boston Wine Festival at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
Chef Daniel Bruce got the 23rd annual celebration off to an excellent start with a Champagne reception at Meritage, where the Taittinger flowed like it’s supposed to and trays of indescribably scrumptious little things circulated like clockwork.
On hand to partake was an intimate and excellent crowd that included Louboutin-rocking radio blabbermouth Lauren Beckham Falcone and her other half, David, TV grande dame Mary Richardson and her teddy bear of a husband, Stan Leven, soignée opinion maker Shelly Cohen, rock ’n’ roll scribe Jim Sullivan and the ballerina-like Roza Yarchun.
Once everyone was well-lubricated, it was time to head downstairs to the Wharf Room for the official kickoff of the three-month festival and, not coincidentally, more wine and food. That’s where we bumped into the likes of broadcasting behemoth Bill Fine and his fabulous wife, Gail, brunette bombshell Kim Richard, salty dog Ryan Stranz, and a guy who was a dead-ringer for Finnish trumpet virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger.
The funniest comment of the evening, however, was from a nice Irish girl who said, “After years of dating Irish guys, I finally got it right and married an Italian.”
Credits: Chynna Pope, Patrick Calhoun Hickox and Kristen Burns at the Winter Ball; Gail and Bill Fine at the Boston Wine Festival opening
Photo Credits: Winter Ball: Bill Brett; Boston Wine Festival: Michael Blanchard.
