CASITA MARIA FIESTA
left to right: Table; sarah calderon, prince dimitri of yugoslavia, france desmarais, eddie palmieri, jacqueline wedl drake, john dempsey, alina cho. photographs by jonathan zeigler
There was barely room to move a very fashionable group crowded into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for the annual Casita Maria Fiesta Gala. With Estee Lauder’s John Demsey, musician Eddie Palmieri and philanthropist France Chretien Desmarais as honorees, Jacqueline Weld Drake, Aileen Mehle, and Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia as dinner chairs along with honorary chairs Alina Cho, Cornelia Guest, Jane Bloomingdale and Henrique Cisneros, and annual emcee Mario Buatta on board it was bound to be the bash it was. After sipping champagne and mojitos, guests made their way into the ballroom to salute the honorees, dine on filet mignon and dance into the night. www.casitamaria.org
Click here for a gallery view of images of all in attendance for the annual Casita Maria Fiesta Gala
PRECIOUS PORCELAINS
That same evening, just across the street at the Museum of Arts and Design, Spanish porcelain firm Lladro was celebrating its Sixtieth Anniversary. Mingling gingerly among displays of the firm’s amazing but breakable creations, guests, sipped cocktails while admiring the extraordinary craftsmanship of sculptures, objets d’arts, lamps, mirrors, all wrought in Valencia, Spain, the City of Porcelain. www.lladro.com
ALL AMERICAN SALUTES
B.B. King, Dakota Fanning, sculptor Joel Shapiro and education supporters Alberto Carvalho, John and Mary Pappajohn were the honorees at this year’s Americans for the Arts Awards. The leading organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America held its gala at Cipriani Midtown with visual artist Will Cotton’s work featured during cocktail hour. Guests including artists, collectors, musicians, writers, actors and designers sat together at tables decorated with candy and giant lollipops. Each guest took home a boxed cupcake topped with the organization’s all-star logo. www.AmericansForTheArts.org
