Every year on Labor Day, the Miss Continental Pageant finals are held at Park West and it sells out minutes after the tickets go on sale. This year was no exception for the 
Pageant’s 30th anniversary; everyone is in a very festive mood and all of the contestants have their fans passing out info in the hopes it will sway the judges to vote for them. This year, my 
friends included Wayne Harth, Jeremy Dobbie, Keith Olenik and Jonathan Van Derkuyo and we had a blast. Founder/owner Jim Flint and his team of dedicated staffers ensure that every year is better 
than the last. These staffers include Ginger Grant, Scott Palmer, emcee Nikki Adams, Harrison McEldowney, Tim Gideon, Dan Neniskis and Cai Holyon. Jim had this to say about 
past pageants: “Through the years, we have seen some amazing things and some jaw-dropping talent. From Cherine Alexander turning 
into a tiger before our very eyes, to Andrea Nicole flying into the rafters of Park West! There have been numerous Broadway productions that brought the house down! Some of those you may remember: Dana Douglas’ “42nd Street,” Mimi Marks’ 
“Will Rogers’ Follies” and Erika Norell’s “Man of La Mancha.” Jim is so right in that the talent section of this event is a crowd favorite! The production numbers are so entertaining and include back up dancers, singers, elaborate staging and gorgeous costuming. As they say, it takes a village for some of these contestants to even be there to perform. Besides the talent portion, there is also an evening gown competition, swimsuit competition and, of course, the final 
question. In the past, some of the winners have gone on to appear on TV and films. Candis Cayne was featured in ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money” starring along with William Baldwin and Donald 
and Mr. Continental. All of these contests have a legion of fans. The opening number for this year’s pageant was a homage to the ‘60s and ‘70s. There were a lot of clever hippie outfits with Maya Douglas scoring a 10 for her authenticity. Chilli Pepper, who was the first Miss Continental in 1980, wowed the crowd in her 
original Bob Mackie-designed ensemble which included a brightly colored feather cape. Her new short blond hair brought the sellout crowd to its feet in appreciation of her 
30th anniversary in the pageant. Other past Miss Continentals include Mimi Marks (1992), Monica Munro (1993), Cezanne (1994), Tommie Ross (1999, who was a judge this year) and Candis Cayne (2001) among others. The judges 
this year included Jim DeMundo, Skip Mackall, Brian Reams, Howard Meyer, Tommie Ross, Antonio Edwards, Denis Sabol, Shawn Batton, Robert Hamm, Parker Nelson, David Hudspeth, Steven Moore and long-time favorite and my girlfriend, Nadine Epstein. And 
after all of the votes were tallied, the moment everyone was waiting for– the winner was announced! A surprised and tearful Mokha Montrese was crowned Miss Continental 2010 to wild applause from the highly entertained crowd. And now 
the planning begins for next year! Good luck Mokha and I hope this year is a great one for you! (Pics by Mystic Images Photography, Debra Lynne Harris and moi; to see ALL of the event pics, please click here!) The Baton Show Lounge at 436 N. Clark is one of the most entertaining venues in town! I highly recommend it and have 
been a longtime fan! I have even had the privilege of riding on the Baton Show Lounge float in the Gay Pride Parade for the last two years which has been thrilling! Those “girls” have more fans than Lady Gaga!!! The Baton shows are at 8:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling (312) 644-5269.
TCW hosted a fun party at Saks this week called “Style & Savvy: Celebrating the Women Who Do it All.” It was a wonderful turnout and everybody got a chance to see a great fall fashion 
Samantha Lurie, Monika Lotter, Kali Evans-Raoul, Erin Carpenter, Kimberly 
Egonmwan, Kim Lichtenstein and moi. Mark your calendars now for TCW’s next event with my favorite hairdresser, Charles Ifergan, along with Grace PR when they host the first annual Inspired Awards on Wednesday, October 14th at the Dana Hotel, located at 660 N. State St.). This event will recognize inspiring women who have demonstrated leadership in their respective fields and include Melissa Gamble (Columbia College Fashion Studies), Karyn 
Calabrese (Karyn’s), Lindsay Avner (Bright Pink Founder), Jenn Gibbons (ROW Founder), Chloe 
Ifergan (Marketing Director for Charles Ifergan), Sherren Leigh (TCW Prez), Sarah Levy (Sarah’s Candies), Andrea Metcalf (NBC fitness guru), Maggie Morgan (stylist), Sephanie Neely (City of Chicago Treasurer), Angela Rose (PAVE founder), Marion Simon (lifelong philanthropist), Veronica Sullivan (Pure Vibes Fitness/Goddess Warrior Studios), Marisa Swystun (designer), Kelli Zink (Celeb TV host), Ashley Zisook (Sofia Vintage owner), Jessica Zweig (Cheeky Chicago founder) and moi for Candid Candace!!! The event will begin at 6 p.m. and tickets are only $20! The proceeds will benefit the TCW Foundation, which works to raise money for organizations that help women and children. Please visit www.FanFueled.com for tickets and more info. See more pics here!
I couldn’t be prouder and happier to celebrate the venerable Palmer House Hilton’s 140th anniversary and historical landmark dedication on Wednesday, 
September 15th! Everyone will be there to honor the country’s oldest continually operating hotel which was built in 1871 by Potter Palmer as a wedding gift to his wife Bertha. Speaking at the ceremony will be Governor Pat Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley along with notables Alderman Brendan Reilly, MC Bill Kurtis, Potter Palmer IV, GM 
Dean Lane and Thor Equities’ Joseph Sitt. During this historic occasion, the property will unveil its recently appointed Chicago landmark plaque in front of the main entrance at 17 E. Monroe beginning at 11:30 a.m. After the dedication, there will be a champagne toast and an architecturally-correct cake with edible 24 carat gold created by Pastry Chef Fabrice Bouet presented in the Grand Lobby. Nobody does it better…congrats dear PALMER HOUSE!!!
A Silver Lining Foundation is holding their 6th Annual Sterling Gala on Saturday, October 2nd, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. The organization was founded in 2002 by Dr. Sandy Goldberg to honor her late mother and 
its mission is to ensure dignified, respectful and equal access to quality cancer education and services for all regardless of your socioeconomic status. This black tie evening will begin with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception and 7:30 p.m. dinner and entertainment by The Legendary Drifters! Tickets begin at $300 and can be purchased by calling 312-345-1322 or by visiting www.asilverliningfoundation.org. This is a wonderful cause that helps so many people. I hope you can join me!
Stanley Paul will present “Red Hot & Rich,” a cabaret evening about the music and life of Cole Porter, on Wednesday, October 6th, at the Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark) beginning at 6 p.m. with cocktails and dinner. If you haven’t heard Stanley perform before you are really in for a 
treat. His stories alone are priceless and for this event he will take us back to the glamorous lifestyle of Cole and Linda Porter in Paris and Venice during the 1920’s and to Broadway and Hollywood in the 1930’s and 1940’s. He will also feature over 30 legendary Cole Porter songs played the way they were originally introduced. I’m sure Cole would approve! I can’t wait! Tickets are $95 and can be purchased by calling Wendy Schiller at 312-799-2113.
Lastly, I want to give a fond farewell to my friend Martin Gapshis. He left us all too soon and his legion of friends will be lost without him. He was a dedicated philanthropist who loved the arts. I was e-mailing back and forth with 
Martin, Helen Melchior and Ken Norgan regarding upcoming dinner plans and his last email “thanked me for taking this on” and gave me dates he was available. Hold your friends close and never waste a minute telling them how much they are loved and appreciated. Life is so unpredictable. Heaven has just become a much nicer place with Martin in it. Another friend who has left us all too soon is Kelly Mulqueeny. She fought a long battle with cancer and most of her friends were sure she had it beat when the bad news came. She was surrounded by loved ones to the end. You will be missed, dear Kelly…thank goodness your sweet spirit will shine on.
Love,
Candace
Candace@CandidCandace.com
P.S. A big thank you to WGN Chicago Now radio’s Alex Quigley and Amy Guth for having me on their show Saturday morning! If you’d like to listen to it, please click here!!! Also, if you would like to be added to my Blog Alert List, please send me your e-mail and you will be notified each week when a new entry is posted. 🙂
Another great post!