Wonder Struck

Missives from the Jet Set.

The Joys of Parenthood

(Top Left: Olufemi and Nicole Obi at the Wonder Ball; Top Middle: Roger Stone, Carole Charnow and Sharon Stone at the Wonder Ball; Top Right: Ginger Dagli, Tony Bordon and Nirav Dagli at the Wonder Ball; Bottom Left: Ashley Karger, Jodi Hess, Julie Hume Gordon and Aisha Al Riyami at the Wonder Ball; Bottom Right: Philip Gordon, Julie Hume Gordon, Rob Small and Christine Olsen at the Wonder Ball)

There’s something perversely gratifying about sipping cocktails at the Boston Children’s Museum, and that was only one of the many things that made its black-tie Wonder Ball simply wunderbar.

Another was the crowd, a blindingly beautiful assortment that included the likes of the incandescent Julie Hume Gordon and her devilishly handsome husband, Philip, gorgeous blond global health do-gooder Vanessa Kerry and her brain surgeon husband, Brian Nahed, hedge fund hottie Cate Faddis and her main squeeze, Dave, London-bred beauty Aisha Al Riyami, news anchor studmuffin David Wade and the flawless Francy, the soignée Carola Cadley, brunette bombshell Jodi Hess, goddess of all things Jody Adams, head honcha Carole Charnow, the high priestess of preservation, Barbara Erickson, and her handsome other half, Peter Torrebiarte, and a boatload of equally bodacious others.

The guests wandered among the museum’s three floors, grazing on delicious nibbles from some of the city’s top restaurants, and the evening raised beaucoup dinero for the initiative to increase access for disadvantaged and disabled kids.

“I really hope they doused this place with Purell,” joked one woman. However, the funniest comment came from the young father who said, “Have you ever been here on a Saturday afternoon? It’s the world’s biggest argument for a vasectomy.”

 

Paging Mr. Ed

(Left: Dante Stallone, Coryn and Babak Bina, and Terry Snow at Horsing Around at the Ritz; Middle: Harold and Linda Schwartz, Ronald Ssemanda, Robert Beal and Garrison Corben at Horsing Around at the Ritz; Right: Joyce Kulhawik and Coryn Bina at Horsing Around at the Ritz)

It was a high-octane crowd that turned out for Horsing Around at the Ritz, a fundraiser for therapeutic horseback riding programs at the Bina Farm Center. Held at the Ritz-Carlton, the super-swanky affair attracted the likes of cofounders Coryn and Babak Bina and Terry Snow, Hollywood scion Dante Stallone, celebrated cinematographer Terrence Hayes, alternative energy guru Jim Gordon and his daughter, Grace, animal activist Amber D’Amelio and her other half, Michael, babe-a-licious blonde Shannon Pastuszak and Richard Gere lookalike Alex Vlachos, a whole gaggle of Krupps, including Harris and Paul and Judi and Douglas, the achingly lovely Jill Krupp de Uribe and her main man, Juan, yummy mummy Liz Fish, XV Beacon chatelaine Amy Finsilver, the ever-delightful Allyce Najimy, casting agent extraordinaire Angela Peri and wedding officiant to the stars Leslie Zises, to name a mere handful.

Champagne and cocktails fueled the bidding in the silent auction, after which everyone was ushered into the ballroom for a sumptuous dinner. Overheard by the bar: “You look so dewy and well-hydrated,” to which the response was “I guess vodka becomes me.”

However, the evening’s best comment came from the person who quipped, “I think it’s wonderful that kids in wheelchairs can ride horses. If I even tried to get onto a horse, I’d end up in a wheelchair.”

 

Soulful Cycling

(Left: Bagpipers at the PMC Check Presentation; Middle: Erin Langton and Mike Casey at the PMC Check Presentation; Right: Billy Starr and David Fialkow at the PMC Check Presentation)

Riding a bike from one end of Massachusetts to the other is exhausting, but so is toasting the riders who do the Pan-Mass Challenge to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Those people know how to party.

The annual Check Presentation, held at the Black Falcon Terminal, attracted a fit and fabulous crew that boasted the likes of founder Billy Starr and his sparkling wife, Meredith, overgrown kid David Fialkow (who vowed to raise a million bucks when he became the organization’s board chair, and did), his flawless other half, Nina, WBZ babe Lisa Hughes and her debonair lens man, Mike Casey, brunette babe Dana Smith and the dashing Rob, Bain bigwig Josh Bekenstein and the lovely Anita, 36-year rider Barry Kraft, blond beauties Erin Langton and Alyssa Kaitz, and so on and so forth.

Guests noshed, nibbled and sipped in between shaking their groove things, but the evening’s highlight was when a platoon of bagpipers announced the presentation of this year’s check: a cool $45 million, which means the PMC has raised half a billion dollars. Memo to cancer: You don’t stand a chance.


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