Francine Turk, Aztec Ball, Zoran, La Bella Gina and MORE!

On Friday, October 24th, artist Francine Turk held her first annual Autumn Event for Charity at her Prairie District gallery. Her friends turned out to celebrate her artistry and to also lend support for her friend Dawn Dubsky, a nurse at Children’s Memorial Hospital who lost her limbs to malaria upon returning from Africa where she was delivering much-needed supplies to a hospital in Ghana. A percentage of the sales for this gallery event went to Dawn’s recovery. View her website here. Photos: top right, Francine Turk with Diana McCartney; bottom left, Chris Long, Misty Vitale, Jim Smith, Chuck (in back), Brooke Smith and Greg Hyder.

Francine, nationally and internationally known for her charcoal drawings, works in a variety of mediums including oil, pastel and mixed media. She was discovered by the producer from “The Break-Up” which was filmed in Chicago in 2005. She was exhibiting at the Randolph Street antique market when he came along and bought them all for the movie and requested she do more! The rest, as they say, is history! Besides being a wonderful and talented artist, Francine is also a beautiful woman inside and out. Currently, Francine partners with well-known designer showrooms including Holly Hunt and Judy Niedermaier to distribute her unique creations which she often places in customized antique frames to complete her artwork. Photos: top right: Francine's rendering of Clint Eastwood for her husband; middle left, designer Michael Del Piero and Stuart Grannen; bottom right, Francine with her mother Kathleen Miller.

The Aztec Ball was held at the Field Museum on Saturday, October 25th. The guests mingled downstairs for cocktails and then everyone in their formal finery meandered upstairs to tour the exhibit where they learned about this remarkable culture through the many artifacts on view from this era. The incredible and haunting décor by Bill Heffernan set the tone for the evening: With the dramatic lighting and two-foot-tall birds of paradise on every table, it was a sight to inspire your imagination and take you back in time. Catch this exhibit while you can; it will be at the Field Museum through April 19, 2009. For more photos from this event, click HERE. Photos: top left, room decor by Bill Heffernan; top right, Trish Rooney Alden, Linda Johnson Rice and Neal Zucker; bottom left, Dr. Ali Shariatzadeh and Michael Sneed; bottom right, Alejandro and Amelia Silva.

The Joffrey Ballet’s Clara’s Tea Party was an afternoon of fun and wonder and all of the children – big and small – had a ball! Pierre Locket led them all in dance while prima ballerina Suzanne Lopez read the delightful story of the Nutcracker to the spellbound audience. There was cupcake icing, nutcracker painting and goody bags that held a treasure trove of surprises for every boy and girl. Don’t forget the Nutcracker begins at the Auditorium Theatre on December 18th and runs through the 28th. Please call (312) 386-8944 and start this wonderful family tradition with the Joffrey Ballet. For more photos from this event, click HERE. Photos: top left, prima ballerina Suzanne Lopez with a friend; top right, Mary Ellen Dwyer with her granddaughter Molly Mason; bottom left, Tracye Tackbary with her daughter Olivia Tackbary and friend Mia Hayford; bottom right, Mary Lasky with her children Grace Sophia Lasky and Leo Allan Lasky.

There was a wonderful luncheon held at Saks Fifth Avenue on Tuesday, October 28th to honor one of my favorite designers – Zoran. He rarely makes personal appearances and his line is only being carried by Saks and Bergdorf Goodman so this was a treat for me. He showed his spring line during an intimate lunch to guests including Jane Sahlins, Cynthia Olson, Zari Azoonoush, Marie Tyler, Gail Mertz and others. I was lucky enough to sit next to him and this is what I learned: He’s originally from Yugoslavia now Serbia) and was an engineer. You can see this aspect in his carefully designed pieces with the way he cuts his garments. Until this day, I had never seen him incorporate florals into his collections and, quite frankly, I’m not sure if this really works with his true design philosophy. At any rate, he said his British customers implored him to make these florals and so he did. Just not my taste but I loved everything else he showed. His designs are timeless. Photos: top left, Gail Mertz; middle right, Joy Sandler and Zari Azoonoush; bottom left, Zoran.

On October 30th, a party was held for broadcasting legend Merri Dee at the Dana Hotel. The Vertigo Nightclub was packed to capacity as Merri Dee’s many friends, admirers and colleagues gathered to celebrate and toast her recent retirement and birthday – although “retirement” is never a word to use for this energetic woman! As a surprise to Merri, event planners Andrew Hayes and Mary Jo Basler presented her with tickets for two to Obama’s inauguration AND a custom-designed gown by Maria Pinto to wear to it! The crowd went WILD. The evening’s host was Art Norman and guests included Deloris Jordan, Pat Brickhouse, Brenda Sexton and Ken Cook, Janice and Ray Blaney, Mary Jo Basler and others. By the way, if you haven’t had a chance to visit the Dana Hotel and Vertigo, you’re missing a really cool space: On the top floor, there is an outdoor fire pit with leather surround seating and the most incredible views of the city – a real surprise! Photo: Art Norman and Merri Dee.

Onto another amazing woman: Gina Lollobrigida! My lucky friend Christina Gilberti, the salon director for Harry Winston, had a trip most of us only dream of. She toured Sicily on a giant yacht with some Chicago friends and wound up at the villa of La Bella Gina in Rome! It was very rare that Gina invites people into her home but Christina said she was very gracious and showed her the beautiful villa with black and white wall portraits of her with Marilyn, Paul Newman, Liz Taylor, Orson Welles and John Wayne. Oh, for the Golden Age of Hollywood! And by the way, Christina looks like a pretty gorgeous young Gina herself! Photos: top left, Gina Lollobrigida, Debra Selch and Christina Gilberti; bottom left, La Bella Gina.

Well, I guess you’ve all heard the sad news by now: Kendra Wilkinson is engaged. Just kidding…not sad at all! Anyway, she’s engaged to Hank Baskett of the Philadelphia Eagles. But according to rumors, her former beau Hef is happy with the 19-year-old Shannon twins, Karissa and Kristina…although my spies at the Mansion said that Hef had to send his security guards to find them on Halloween. Draw your own conclusions there! At any rate, I wish him and the girls all the best. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching “The Girls Next Door” and even appeared on an episode. May the saga continue! Photo: Hef surrounded by new girlfriends Karissa and Kristina Shannon.

I also want to thank the fabulous Gibson Girls for always showing everyone how to have fun AND support a good cause! This time, they were the “Pink Ladies” on Halloween to brighten the day and to support finding a cure for breast cancer. Love you and thanks for helping to make Chicago such a special and caring place to live! Photo: Kathy Piccone, Carol Gipson, Mellisa Cohen, Diana Chavez, Jamie Vela and Peaches.

And last but not least, I want to give a heartfelt thanks to my crack blog assistant from Sanderson & Associates, Alexis Mattera! She has formatted my blog perfectly and I couldn’t do this without her! Thanks also to Remy Vaudelle and Todd Chebuhar, who have so many computer skills I’ve stopped counting! You all have been so helpful and patient with me! I will thank you again at my blog party on Thursday, December 4th at DISMERO on Oak Street! It’s from 6 to 9 p.m. Be there! Photo: Remy Vaudelle and Alexis Mattera.