BIG MAC UNDER GLASS—A MAGICAL AFFAIR AT NAVY PIER

The 6th Annual Big Mac Under Glass event was held Saturday night at Navy Pier and benefitted Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. The theme was an “Evening of Magic” and there was indeed magic around every corner. From the roaming magicians throughout the silent auction tables to co-chair Sheila Musolino popping out of a box onstage, there was a wonderful sense of fun in the air. Even the weather cooperated: There were supposed to be showers but instead the night was gorgeous and many guests roamed outside to view our magnificent skyline. Sheila and her co-chairs, Paul Huebener and Marlo Keyser, secured some fantastic silent and live auction items offered including a week’s stay at Riad des Artistes in Marrakech, a VIP package with David Copperfield and an opportunity to be Charlie Trotter’s Chef-for-a-Day. The live auction packages included a private vineyard  tour and lodging in Bordeaux, Oprah’s Final Season Package and a grand family trip to Walt Disney World. After guests perused the silent auction table during cocktail hour, they were ushered into the Rotunda where the tables were decorated with magician’s top hats, canes and other items of magic. The delicious menu included a strawberry salad, petite filet of beef with Caribbean tilapia and portabella ravioli and dessert of chocolate banana caramelized mousse. I am so glad they had a great band so we could dance off this meal…whew! The group was called “Chef Dan and The Appetizers” and included chefs and food experts from McDonald’s and its suppliers. Eddie Volkman, of B-96 fame, sung a mean mix of rock, blues and pop with special guest, 10-year -old Kate Wild, who was featured as a soloist. Bears Coach Lovie Smith and his beautiful wife Mary Anne gave an impassioned and humorous plea for funds which was very successful. The evening raised over $900,000 which translates into 18,037 family nights at one of the Houses. Ronald McDonald House Charities are dedicated to improving the health, well-being and education of children through their three core programs: Four Houses, a Care Mobile and a Scholarship Program. Each House provides a “home away from home” allowing families to eat, sleep and find the emotional support they need, just blocks from where their child is being treated. This year, Macy’s Glamorama (which will be held on Friday, August 13th) will benefit the building of the world’s largest Ronald McDonald House in Streeterville. I am honored that I will be the chair for Glamorama along with an amazing Honorary Host Committee for this always wonderful event so please mark your calendars now!! (The Kick-Off Party will be on Thursday, June 10th—details to follow!) Illustrious guests on this night included my host with the most Ken Norgan, Dori Wilson, Mary Ann Rose (who is the first woman elected to Chair-Elect for the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau) and her husband Heinz Kern, Sun-Times publisher John Barron and his wife Maureen, Jose Conforme, Greg Koerner (Capital Campaign Chair who has already helped raise $14.5 million towards their goal of $30 million), Cara Hughes, designer Young Kim and her mom Yeon, Scott Leavitt, Ashley Evans, Alma Williams, newlyweds Erin and Truman Tolefree, Sue Gray, Paula McGrath, Tania Haigh, Lauren Guilbrand, Barbara Jenkins-Buddig, Christina Thomas and Jamie Haberkorn among many others. For more info on the charity and to purchase tickets to Glamorama, please visit www.RonaldHouseChicago.org. (Extra photos courtesy of David Neesley…click here for more!)
 
The “Gown Elephant” was held recently at the Brown Elephant resale space at 5404 N. Clark Street to benefit the Howard Brown Health Center, the Midwest’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender health organization. The event was co-chaired by Michigan Avenue Magazine’s Susanna Negovan and Whitney Lasky. The dress code was “Slumdog Millionaire” with a Bollywood attitude and the guests complied happily. There were hundreds of gowns, jewelry and handbags donated by members of the host committee as well as many other fashionable locals. In 1915, this site was the Calo Theater (owned by the Ascher Brothers chain) and was considered a cinema treasure; you can still see the old projection booths and much of the original ornamentation including frescoes and part of a beautifully painted wall! It was a wonderful space brought to life with colorful Bollywood décor and four-foot-tall trees on the “buffet” table courtesy of “So Stacy” (Stacy Saltzman’s full-service event planning company). There were lots of great finds and everyone left feeling very happy that they could have fun AND contribute to such a wonderful cause! Seen on the scene were Michaela Parillo, Lynn McMahan, Greg Hyder, Sheryl Dyer, Chilli Pepper, Helen Melchior, ABC’s Michelle Alegria and her darling daughter, Quenten Shumacher, Amy Wimer, Aletha Noonan, Lori Daniels, Leah Brown, The “Lavender Menace” Kate Carolyn, Mary Ann Murphy, Cheryl Coleman, Scott Bobek, Robin Berger, Linda Johnson Rice, Shauna Montgomery, Shelley Farley, Rochelle Trotter, Toni Canada, Hollye Jacobs and Mary Lasky among others. Designer John Ansehl brought the star of the evening, supermodel and real Bollywood star Saira Mohan Cooper. She previously appeared on the cover of Newsweek with the title of “The Perfect Face.” How can you top this?! And she is as nice in person as she is gorgeous in all of her photos! Howard Brown’s next event will be “Garden of Eve” on Saturday, May 15th, at Christy Webber Landscapes located at 2900 W. Ferdinand St. This event will include food tastings from over 20 local restaurants, open bar, entertainment, dancing and tours of Rancho Verde—the beautiful award-winning “green” home of the presenting sponsor, Christy Webber Landscapes. Event chairs are Tamara Allen, Kat Fitzgerald, Dalila Fridi and Melissa Mansfield and honorary co-chairs are Christy Webber and Jennifer Rule. For tickets, starting at $100, to “Garden of Eve 2010” and for more info please visit www.HowardBrown.org. For more photos from this wonderful evening, please click here!

CS Magazine hosted a “Night in Monaco” recently at the new Fletcher Jones dealership on North Avenue. Fashion forward guests were treated to an Agga B fashion show, chef presentations by Chris Macchia of Coco Pazzo, Ryan Pitts of RL Restaurant, Chris Pandel of The Bristol and Stephen Wambach of Epic. DJ Rock City rocked the crowd and the attire was "jewels and jackets." Check out the party pics by Tyler Curtis of Darkroom Demons and Steve Starr here!

When I met Rona Gaye Stevenson at the Modern Wing Opening in 2009, I had no idea that this chic woman owned the wildly popular LA vintage boutique, Coquette! She and her magnificent collections have been featured in every major fashion magazine and she is an icon to the vintage- hungry fashion forward celebs she sells to. Her fashion royalty client list includes Jennifer Lopez, Mary Kate Olsen, Nelly Furtado, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Rosario Dawson, Charlize Theron, Thalia, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sean Combs, Kanye West, Pamela Anderson, Heather Graham and Sandra Oh among many others. Coquette specializes in rare, one-of-a-kind designer pieces and accessories and now you can see her beautiful things for yourself at her trunk show at the Four Seasons from May 7th through 10th. This Chicago native will be happy to help you with selections to create a look just for you! Her charm will win you over and her vintage selections will appeal to your inner fashionista! I will see you there! For more info on Coquette, visit www.CoquetteCouture.com. In the meantime, see more celebs sporting Stevenson's wares here!

The Brixen Ivy Rooftop was the perfect venue to watch the Cubs trounce the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday afternoon! The event was donated by generous supporters Lisa and Mark  
Schlenker with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Service Club of Chicago. If you’ve never seen a rooftop game, I highly recommend it. The views are fantastic, you can see all of the street action as well as Wrigley Field, it’s infinitely more comfortable than being crammed into stadium seats and if you miss a play on the field, you can watch it repeated on the TV screens on every floor which are on 10 second delays. It also makes it so much easier to socialize with your friends like Tracy Tarantino and her gorgeous daughter Disa, Bonnie and Jack Rickard, Peggy and Bill Martay, Kate Gaynor, Myra and John Reilly, Heather Farley, Scott Bobek, Sherrill and John Bodine and my stepson Charley! We celebrated his birthday there!! All so much fun! For more info on Brixen Ivy, please visit www.BrixenIvy.com and click here for more pics!

I wish I had Aisha Murff’s life! First, she sends me incredible photos from the lovely tribute in NY for Eunice Johnson Rice and the next thing I know she’s at a Wild West Party in LA (on the Paramount Ranch to be exact) rubbing shoulders with Jamie Foxx and friends! This girl goes to the best parties! This one was hosted by actor Lamont Clayton to celebrate his birthday as well as raise funds for Hearts4Haiti’s Global Initiative. Other guests included Queen Latifah, Gerard Butler, LisaRaye, Brandy and Shannen Doherty. You go girl! 🙂

We have two big events coming up on May 8th and 11th. The first event will be the 23rd Annual Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala on Saturday, May 8th at the Fairmont starting at 6:30 p.m. Princess Yasmin Aga Khan (daughter of the Hollywood legend Rita Hayworth) will be in Chicago to serve as General Chair. To purchase tickets, starting at $500, please call 312-604-2453 and to view the invitation, please click here. On Tuesday, May 11th, Fashion Columbia 2010 will present a luncheon and fashion show at the Chicago Public Library in the Winter Garden Room. Hosted by ABC’s Michelle Alegria and Michigan Avenue Magazine’s Susanna Negovan, this event (the third annual) showcases student design and benefits the Dennis Brozynski and Dianne Erpenbach Scholarship for fashion design and fashion retail management. Tickets are $200 per person and can be either purchased online at www.colum.edu/fashioncolumbia.com or by calling 312-369-7420. Check out the invite here!

I hope you’ve enjoyed the news this week! Have fun, be healthy and laugh a lot…we’ll “talk” next week! 🙂

Love,
Candace 🙂
Candace@CandidCandace.com

P.S. Awwwwww! Look at my beautiful friend, Patti Connors, and her gorgeous daughter Aubree at the Emerald Ball 2010 ballroom dance competition held in California recently. Watch out “Dancing with the Stars”…these gals have your number! :)