The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show Hosted a Reception to Celebrate The Lighting Committee of The Fund for Park Avenue

Barbara McLaughlin and Michael Scully (Photo Credit: Laurie Lambrecht)

The Fund for Park Avenue 's 65th year of sustaining the Park Avenue Tree Lighting which remembers fallen heroes to be lit on December 5th


A private reception and viewing of The International Fine Art and Antiques Dealers Show celebrated the 65th anniversary of The Park Avenue Tree Lighting, a tradition of lighting the trees along Park Avenue each winter that began as a way to honor the men and women who died in WWII.

Today, the illuminated trees serve as a memorial to all who have lost their lives defending our country. The trees will be lit on Sunday, December 5th, following a ceremony outside the Brick Presbyterian Church (Park Avenue and 91st Street) at 6:30 p.m. that serves both as a reminder of the original meaning of the lights and a celebration of the holiday season.

The Fund for Park Avenue is a non-profit organization that plants, lights and maintains the trees and flowers on the Park Avenue Malls. The Park Avenue Tree Lighting would not happen without support from the community (the Lighting Committee, the buildings on Park Avenue, friends and neighbors from New York City and as far away as California). In the early days, a few families underwrote the costs, however, today The Fund relies on over 1,000 donors to ensure that the tradition of honoring the men and women who have died defending our country continues.

Guests included NYC Dept of Parks and Recreation’s Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro, members of The Fund’s Board of Directors and Lighting Committee as well as Pat and Steven Attoe, Jeremy and Friederike Biggs, Amy and Carter Beal, Charles C. Bergman (Chairman of The Fund’s Sculpture Advisory Committee), Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bonner, Tom and Paula Burchill, Robert Burton, Rob Byrnes, Blaine and Robert Caravaggi, Blair and Alastair Clark, Robin Cofer, Dr. and Mrs. John Espy, Debbie Fechter, John Erickson, Anne Garonzik, Marshall Keating and Judith Harper, Konrad Keesee with son, Chris, and grandson, Michèle Gerber Klein, Blake, Stuart Alan Levy, Hildegard Mahoney, Roman Martinez IV, Kevin McLaughln, Seton Melvin, Helen Miller, Marie Norton, Susan Oliver, Dan Oliver, Liz and Jeffrey Peek, Susan and George Relyea, Barbara Saltzman, Michael Scully, Bob and Lisa Semple, Dr. and Mrs. Peter Som, Polly and Bob Sheehan, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gonzalez, Anne Rapp, Jean Shafiroff, Michel Witmer, and interior designers Jonathan Tait and Jennifer Bradford Davis.

All enjoyed cocktails and Glorious Food selections including Curried Chicken Tartlets with Coconut and Mint, Smoked Salmon on Tarragon Buttered Toast, Tartlets of Sautéed Wild Mushrooms and other favorites as they gather among one of the most glamorous showcases in the world for top-flight art and antiques.

Barbara McLaughlin, The Fund’s president, thanked everyone for their support. Anna and Brian Haughton the organizers of the International Fine Arts and Antique Dealers Show were also on hand to greet the crowd who viewed the prestigious “International Show” which continues to be one of the most glamorous showcases in America for top dealers from Europe and the USA for the past 22 years. It is a must for collectors, connoisseurs, museum curators and interior designers the world over.

Fund for Park Avenue Board: Ronald D. Spencer, Chairman, Mary Davidson, Eugenie Niven Goodman, Derek Limbocker, Helena Martinez, James McCollom, Jr., Judith Steckler, and Margaret Ternes and Jo-Ann Polise, Executive Director.

Park Avenue Tree Lighting Committee: Muffie Potter and Dr. Sherrell J. Aston, David Rockefeller, Michael E. Scully, Daisy Soros, Joanne Woodward, Jane Wyeth, Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henckels, Hugh D. Auchincloss, John Atwater Bradley, Mr. and Mrs. Bates Brown, Patricia Burnham, Catherine and Bryan J. Carey, Stephanie and Fred Clark, Mrs. Charles Dana, Jr., Catherine and Douglas Davis, Eleanor Acquavella Dejoux, Debbie Fechter, Amy Mazzola Flynn, Jamie Gibbs, Martha Vietor Glass, Christopher Gray , Mrs. Mark Hampton, Madeleine Rudin Johnson, Victoria and Douglas Larson, Roman Martinez IV, Vanessa and Stuart McLean , Mr. and Mrs. Lester Morse, Jr., Melinda Nelson, Lisa Podos, Mrs. Warrie Price, N. Anthony Rolfe, Pat and John Rosenwald, Mrs. Arnold Schwartz, Muriel Siebert, Polly Vietor Sheehan, Samantha McLean Spruance, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Strauss, John C. Whitehead, and Mr. and Mrs. H. Joe Witte.

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Central Park Conservancy’s Green Ball Celebrated Halloween in the Center of the City’s Greenest Space

Press Contact:
Roger Webster, Webster Light Grant Communications: 212.280.3380, roger@websterlightgrant.com

More than 400 revelers ascended on Central Park for the first major costumed event of Halloween week in New York on Tuesday, October 26, 2010: the Central Park Conservancy’s Green Ball, its 15th annual Halloween party. Held mid-Park at Rumsey Playfield, guests enjoyed a night of festive costumes, dancing, dining and cocktails under tents transformed into a magical green wonderland, designed by Frank Alexander NYC.

Chaired by Suzanne and Robert Cochran and Co-Chaired Judy and John Angelo, Kristy and Jonathan Korngold, John Stossel, Anita and Stuart Subotnick, Patsy and Jeff Tarr, Julie Wurts, Kipton Cronkite, Corrente Schankler and Amy Tarr, the ball was a monster success. The event raised nearly $700,000 for the Conservancy and its mission to restore, manage and enhance Central Park.

Guests dined on pan-seared Creekstone Farms sirloin, chocolate brioche bread pudding and more from the mouthwatering menu by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events; and danced to music by DJ Tom Finn.

Revelers included CPC President and Central Park Administrator Douglas Blonsky; NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe; Women’s Committee President Gillian Miniter with her husband Sylvester; emcee and WABC meteorologist Lee Goldberg; Spencer Wadama representing The Surrey hotel; Liz and Jeff Peek; Fiona and Eric Rudin; Jeff Tarr, Jr.; Fiona and James Benenson; Christine Cochran; Lauren Cochran; Judith-Ann Corrente; Vim Kooyker; Jennie Tarr Coyne; Chris Coyne; Clay Floren; Beatriz Garcia; Jennifer and Stephen Rich; and Sabrina Wirth.

WABC personalities Lauren Glassberg and Kemberly Richardson joined Harlan Bratcher, President and CEO of A/X Armani Exchange, to judge the wildly popular costume contest. The winners were: Best Group: The Tea Partiers; Best Individual: The Concession Lady, Julie Smith, who was a part of the Treasures of the Park group; Best Green Costume: The Tea Bag Couple, Rosalind and Ken Landis; and Best Couple: Sully and the Wayward Goose: Ana and Rick Blank. Winners were awarded fabulous gift packages from The Surrey hotel.

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Sharon Bush's Teddy Share Bears Celebrate Their First Birthday at The East Side Social Club

Teddy Share Bears Celebrate Their First Birthday at
The East Side Social Club
photo: Hannah Fagadau, Ellen Gustafson, Sharon Bush, Patrick McMullan, Dylan Lauren, Lauren Bush and Ashley Bush–by Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan.com

Sharon Bush and her daughters Lauren and Ashley with good pal Patrick McMullan invited a group of their friends to celebrate Mother’s Day and the first anniversary of Teddy Share Bears with a luncheon at the East Side Social Club (230 East 51st Street). The party was generously sponsored by Dior Beauty and llanllyr Source Water.

Teddy Share is a company Sharon founded in 2008. “Since everyone loves teddy bears, my idea was to create a series of bears that could be individualized to represent any organization. Selling the loveable bears could be used to raise money for various charities.”

The first charity to seize the on idea was FEED Projects, which raises money to feed hungry school children around the world. FEED Bears, made from organic cotton and burlap, raise funds for Industrial Revelation and the production of Plumpy'nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food proven to treat acute malnutrition with astounding success rates. The proceeds from each of their two bears, aptly named Plumpy and Nut, provide the nutritious paste respectively to 5 and 3 malnourished children. You can order them from their website: TeddyShareBears.com.

The boisterous luncheon with delicious food prepared by Chef Devon Gilroy was a perfect way to celebrate the first anniversary of such noble bears. Among those joining in the fun were Tinsley Mortimer, Nicole Miller, Dylan Lauren, Gillian Miniter, Felicia Taylor, Somers Farkas, Michèle Gerber Klein, Patricia Duff, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Faye Wattleton, Janna Bullock, Elizabeth Kabler, Jean Shafiroff, Jennifer Bradford Davis, Patty Raynes, Alison Mazzola, Ellen Gustafson, Alice Weil Judelson, Ann Rapp, Samantha Yanks, Irina Alexander, Liam McMullan, Sam Bolton and Plumpy’nut representative Navyn Salem. Also mothers and daughters: Elaine and Dianne Vavra, Marlene and Nicole Sexton, Marsha and Bryn Kenny, Eleanora Kennedy and Anna Safir, and Sarah Michels and Haley Strader.

See feature on Hampton.com.

Central Park Conservany's 28th Annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon

The Central Park Conservancy
28th Annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon
photo: Evelyn Lauder, Karen LeFrak and Gillian Miniter –by Nick Hunt/Patrick McMullan.com

(May 5, 2010, New York, NY) The 28th Annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon, hosted by the Women’s Committee of The Central Park Conservancy was held in the six-acre Conservatory Garden, the Park’s only formal garden. It was a smashing success, raising nearly $2.5 million dollars to support the Conservancy’s work in maintaining and preserving Central Park. Guests filled 120 tables, including corporate tables sponsored by Chanel, Dior, Graff, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.

Co-Chairs Noreen Buckfire, Anne Harrison, Marcia Mishaan and Sarah Robertson greeted over 1,200 supporters. Most of them wore glamorous hats, which is why the event has been nicknamed the “Hat Luncheon.” Looking from above, it was a sea of color.

Women’s Committee President Gillian Miniter opened the Awards program, welcoming guests and acknowledging Norma Dana and Jean Clark, two of the four Women’s Committee founders; Tom Kempner, current Chairman of the Board of Trustees; the Conservancy’s founder Betsy Barlow Rogers; and Douglas Blonsky, President of the Central Park Conservancy and Central Park Administrator, who is celebrating his 25th year with the Conservancy.

Honorees of this year’s event included Corporate Chairman Tom Glocer, Thomson Reuters CEO, who has raised vital funds for the Conservancy. The Frederick Law Olmsted Award, given to individuals whose remarkable leadership contribute to the Park’s lasting health, was presented to Betsy Messerschmitt, past president of the Women’s Committee. The Award was also presented to Patsy and Jeff Tarr, longtime supporters of Women’s Committee initiatives. The Tarrs recently funded the renovation of the Park’s West 100th Street Playground, renamed the Tarr Family Playground.

The Women’s Committee thanked Evelyn Lauder, Richard Mishaan and Thorunn Wathne for their in-kind contributions. Also Abigail Kirsch Catering and Andrew Pascoe Flowers.

Leading the applause were Sigourney Weaver, Martha Stewart, Michelle Paige Paterson, Silda Wall Spitzer, Hilary Geary Ross, Deputy Mayor Patti Harris, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Karen LeFrak, Fe Fendi, Allison Rockefeller, Tara Rockefeller, Blaine Trump, Susan Rudin, Fiona and Eric Rudin, Suzanne Johnson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Susan Fales-Hill, Amy Fine Collins, Eric Javits, Michelle Smith, Wendy Carduner, Eleanora Kennedy, Sheila Labrecque, Gail Hilson, Jessie Araskog, Kamie Lightburn, Lally Weymouth, Marlene Hess and Muffy Miller.

About the Central Park Conservancy:

The Women's Committee is an association dedicated to fundraising for Central Park and enhancing the Conservancy's programs in education, conservation and horticulture.

The Central Park Conservancy is a private, not-for-profit organization founded in 1980 as a public-private partnership with the City of New York. Thanks to the generosity of many individuals, corporations, foundations, and the City, the Conservancy has invested more for than $530 million to date into the Park, transforming it into a model for urban parks worldwide. The Conservancy provides 85% of Central Park’s annual $25 million operating budget and is responsible for the maintenance and management of the Park.

See Hamptons.com feature.