RSVP Magazine April 2013 by RSVP Magazine

April 2013

Memphis Heart Ball Oscar速 Experience Memphis Hands of Hope Auction Party Opera Memphis Wild Game Dinner Q&A with Dr. Lawrence Edwards Featuring: The Emerging Memphis Designer Project

CONTENTS

Contents April 201 3

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Signature Memphis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Bob Westbrook, a man with many roles within the musical and entertainment world, invites RSVP to his office in Old Germantown.

The Ambassador Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Hampton Sides Part 2: Tracing His “Foote Steps” The second part of this piece discusses the influence the late narrative historian Shelby Foote had on Sides.

12 MEMPHIS HEART BALL Carol Ann Jordan and Eli Jones

Memphis Heart Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 This 37th annual event at The Peabody brought a taste of India to the Delta. StreetSeens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 & 22 Providing loving homes for abandoned or stray dogs in Memphis is this special cou-

34 HANDS OF HOPE AUCTION PARTY Brad and Jacki Lindsay

ple’s mission. She’s making Memphis a cleaner and greener place with a grassroots organization. StreetSeens highlight Melanie and Kent Pafford and Janet Boscarino.

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® Oscar Experience Memphis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Memphians roll out the red carpet and enjoy the Oscars® in style at The Columns at One Commerce Square.

Onsites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30, 31, 48 & 50 Gatherings that have earned an honorable mention.

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Vox Popular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Q&A with Dr. Lawrence Edwards, the artistic director of the Memphis Symphony Chorus and the director of choral activities at U of M.

22 STREETSEEN Janet Boscarino

Hands of Hope Auction Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 The Exchange Club Family Center asked guests to plant seeds of change and help break the cycle of domestic violence during its annual benefit at The Columns at One Commerce Square.

42 RSVP ROOM VIEW Midtown Master Bath

Memphis Fashion Week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 These emerging designers are leading the way for local fashion at this year’s second annual Memphis Fashion Week.

RSVP Room View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 From ruins to a Grecian oasis, this Midtown master bath combines natural light and clean lines to create a stunning ocean-inspired refuge.

Opera Memphis Wild Game Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Guests enjoyed a delectable feast while raising funds at the Clark Opera Memphis Center.

RSVPhillippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Dennis Phillippi muses about what to do to celebrate his 50th birthday.

OSCAR® EXPERIENCE MEMPHIS Niki Richard and Alexandria Roberts

44 OPERA MEMPHIS WILD GAME DINNER Janet and John Golon

Cover Photo Tim and Victoria Disalvo at Oscar® Experience Memphis Photo by Don Perry

R SV P S TA F F Volume XVIII

Number VII

April 2013 PUBLISHER

Roy Haithcock EDITOR

Leah Fitzpatrick CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Ruth Cassin Kelly Cox Dennis Phillippi Eugene Pidgeon Suzanne Thompson Lesley Young ART DIRECTOR

CHRIS PUGH, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE 901.276.7787, EXT. 103 chris@rsvpmagazine.com

Chris has been exercising his talent in the advertising world since 1999. He joined the RSVP team in 2009 and brought with him a love for laughter and creativity. Originally from New Albany, Mississippi, Chris has settled in Memphis and enjoys being active in the fashion community.

Patrick Aker s PHOTOGRAPHERS

Baxter Buck Roy Haithcock Don Perry Steve Roberts

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

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Chris Pugh Kristen Miller KRISTEN MILLER,

ACCOUNTING

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE 901.276.7787, EXT. 104 kristen@rsvpmagazine.com

Ruth Cassin EDITORIAL INTERN

R achel Warren RSVP Memphis is published monthly by Haithcock Communications, Inc. First class subscriptions are available for $55.00 per year. Send name and address with a check to: Haithcock Communications, Inc. 2282 Central Avenue Memphis, TN 38104

Having worked in print advertising for nearly eight years, Kristen Miller felt it was a natural fit to join the RSVP team as an account executive. Kristen, who lives in Arlington with her husband and four children, loves to cook, fish, watch college and Arlington Tigers football, spend time with her family and advertising, of course.

For advertising information contact Roy Haithcock Phone (901) 276-7787, ext. 101 Fax (901) 276-7785 e-mail publisher@rsvpmagazine.com WEB

www.rsvpmagazine.com For editorial information or to request coverage of an event, please contact RSVP Magazine one month prior to the event. Call 901-276-7787, ext. 105 or fax to 901-276-7785. e-mail editor@rsvpmagazine.com Follow us on & RSVP Memphis Magazine

RACHEL WARREN, EDITORIAL INTERN 901.276.7787, EXT. 108 rachel@rsvpmagazine.com

Rachel is passionate about print media and has covered many local events in Jackson, Mississippi in the past. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Millsaps College, and in 2011, she moved back to her hometown of Memphis. She is delighted to be part of the RSVP team as an editorial intern. She loves writing about all the amazing people and places in Memphis, enjoying a great book and chasing a good story.

From the Editor

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ince it’s the first day of spring as I write this column, I can officially say the winter doldrums are no longer. Thank goodness! Nice weather (and sunshine) couldn’t come any sooner because I was in serious need of my favorite mood booster, vitamin D, and some time exploring the great outdoors when wearing several layers to stay warm isn’t necessary; by the way, if you haven’t been to Lucius Burch Natural Area, go now for its great hiking and bike trails that meander through a budding forest and alongside the peaceful Wolf River. Perhaps biased since I’m an Aries, I think this time of year is simply the best because it symbolizes so much hope in all the new vegetation you see. Something else springing to life this month will be Memphis Fashion Week (MFW), which RSVP has proudly signed on to support as a media sponsor. Much anticipated in its second go-round, the event not only serves to highlight native Southerners who have already made it in the fashion industry, like Hilton Hollis, Annie Griffin and Billy Reid, but also those rising local designers awaiting their big break, which MFW might very well be for them. In fact, we’ve got those designers that the MFW board, of which our own Chris Pugh is a member, selected for its Emerging Memphis Designer Project featured on pages 38-41. If you’d like to check out these designs and many more in person, please click on memphisfashionweekend.com for all of the official parties, runway shows and boutique events associated with this important fashion movement. Remember, everyone’s got to start somewhere, so why can’t that somewhere be Memphis? Being a lover of quotes and a big believer in MFW’s mission, I thought I’d leave you this month with several entertaining quotes from a few high-profile forces in fashion through the decades. “Fashion has two purposes: comfort and love. Beauty comes when fashion succeeds.”—Coco Chanel “Fashion is very important. It is life-enhancing and, like everything that gives pleasure, it is worth doing well.”— Vivienne Westwood “Doing collections, doing fashion is like a non-stop dialogue.”—Karl Lagerfeld “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contacts go so fast. Fashion is instant language.”—Miuccia Prada

Leah Fitzpatrick editor@rsvpmagazine.com

Editor’s Correction: On page 57 of the March issue, Fran Riley was incorrectly identified as Fran Ridley in the Association of Women Attorneys Banquet and Silent Auction story, and also Diana Comes was incorrectly identified as Diane Comes in the same story. We regret that these errors were made.

Vocal Coach and Manager of Young Actors/Pianist/Arranger/Bandleader

Hometown: Germantown. Favorite Song: Anything jazz. Biggest Pet Peeve: Being tardy. Who Inspires You: My students. Best Gift You Ever Received: My family. Best Memphis Hangout: First Evangelical Church. Place You Go to Think: My car, when I’m driving. Your Most Annoying Habit: Neatness—look at the desk in my office. Best Dish You Cook: Anything I can microwave in three minutes or less. First Car You Drove: A ’57 Chevy Impala that was paid for with my paper route and by cutting yards. Best Advice You Ever Got: Enjoy what you do and you will never work a day in your life. The Highlight of Your Day: Hearing that one of my students has booked a big role or won an award for singing. Coolest Thing About Memphis: It’s a great place to raise a family and still has deep musical roots in the music industry. Something You’ll Never Live Down: I am a U.S. champion accordion player. Have you ever seen me in lederhosen? One Goal You’d Still Like to Accomplish: To write a number one hit song for radio.

Photo by Steve Roberts

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Bob Westbrook

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THE AMBASSADOR SERIES

The Ambassador Series By Eugene Pidgeon

HAMPTON SIDES PART 2: TRACING HIS “FOOTE STEPS”

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s Shelby practiced it, the profession of writing seemed impossibly remote and inaccessible to me. He worked like a druid in a dark, musty, cave-like study somewhere in the back of the house, a room that was strictly off-limits. When he wasn’t at his desk, Shelby would pad around the house in some sort of a robe or smoking jacket, as I recall. He’d endlessly fuss with his pipe as classical music blared from enormous stereo speakers. I vaguely sensed even as a high school teenager that I wanted to be a writer, but watching him, studying him, I couldn’t see how I could get there. I couldn’t see myself wielding a quill pen. My Southern accent was strong enough, but lacked Shelby’s beautiful custardy lilts and Delta diphthongs. And I knew I could never pull off a masterpiece of a beard like his.”—Hampton Sides, from “Entirely His Own Man,” an original essay written about Shelby Foote; RSVP is the first to publish this excerpt. Hampton Sides grew up in Memphis. By his own admission and via a fragile mosaic of ideas—collected and spent like polished grains of smooth stone to mark his trail—he knew from a young age he wanted to be a writer. He just was not certain what kind. Sides says, “I think writing is innate. I think most writers know they want to be a writer pretty early on and that was certainly the case with me. But, the trick is figuring out what kind of writer. For the longest time, I wrestled with that question…should I write fiction…should I write poetry, or should I be a playwright or stick to investigative reporting?” He says he was even considering broadcast journalism. Sides admits, “I dabbled in all of those things. I did some radio. I did some film. It was a real struggle for me as it is for most writers…because once they answer the call…you spend your time honing and sharpening that calling until you discover what kind of writer you are going to be!” After 40 years of quickening his porous imagination and supping the very pangs of his literary and figurative curiosity, Sides has evolved into a writer of the historical narrative. “The very first writer I ever met growing up as a boy in Memphis was Shelby Foote—he was one of the great narrative historians,” he says. Pausing, as if to show respect, Sides takes a moment to collect his thoughts.

Amused by the possible influence of kismet, he chimes, “I am sure that is not purely an accident, and I am not saying we were close friends; it is just very funny to me how I ended up being a writer in his genre. The historical narrative is a very specific and focused genre, and he was one of the greats. So, I am sure Shelby was a much more influential contact than I realize.” Sides’ relationship with Shelby Foote was forged and tempered in a perco-

lating heat of battle, though one never as black and white as the bloody ones fought between the Blue and Gray that Foote rediscovered and redefined. When Sides first encountered Foote, he was in his teens, when his struggles were against the unsettling encroachments of puberty and adolescence. What can a po’ boy do but join a rock ‘n’ roll band? That is exactly what he did. Not surprisingly, the Keith Richards to Sides’ Mick Jagger or vice versa was Huger Foote, Shelby’s son. It was in Mr. Foote’s spacious living room that the electric guitar and drum found parity with the quill pen and single-spaced typewriter. When Sides is asked about the pastoral or mentoring contributions of Foote as his writing career took wing, he carefully and insightfully balances his expectations with a prudent awareness of the differences between Foote as an artist and as a human being and father. Without necessarily having to temper his critique or impressions because of his personal relationship with Foote, Sides answers the

question fully as a writer. Thus, the following must be regarded as a constitutional and professional assessment, one invoked with a loving and compassionate voice. “I never had much mentoring from Shelby…no, not really,” Sides tells. “Shelby hardly noticed my existence, although I think he liked me well enough. He was, as far as I could tell, often oblivious to anyone but himself. He loved the sound of his own voice and his own peculiar ideas and his own well-cultivated eccentricities. Writers can be very self-centered creatures— almost have to be—and he was certainly that. If he mentored me, it was only by example, and he was thoroughly unaware of it. He never critiqued anything I wrote. In fact, as far as I knew, he almost never read anything except great books—especially anything by Proust. He didn’t much like contemporary things.” One must note that Foote actually penned a three-volume set of The Civil War: A Narrative (about 700,000 words) in the style of Marcel Proust, who himself once wrote roughly 68 pages about the ingestion of a single madeleine in an essay called “In Search of Lost Time.” Amending his thoughts, Sides recalls, “When I was working at Memphis Magazine, however, I did do a series of interviews with him that were later published in a book called Conversations with Shelby Foote (Literary Conversations) by Professor William C. Carter. Those conversations—well, they were more monologues in which I occasionally inserted a question—were very insightful and, in retrospect, very influential to my development as a writer of historical narrative. I was young and impressionable then, and hunting for ideas and models for how to think about writing, how to structure stories, how to develop a true voice and style, those kinds of things. And in this way, Shelby Foote helped me enormously!”

Be sure to grab your spot when Hampton Sides comes to Memphis for the weekend of April 25-27. He will be the keynote speaker and guest of honor at the very first “Libration,” a benefit to support and celebrate the Memphis Public Library & Information Center. For more information, please contact Diane Jalfon, the Memphis Library Foundation executive director, at djalfon@memphislibraryfoundation.org, or visit memphislibraryfoundation.org.

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Memphis Heart Ball

MEMPHIS HEART BALL

“Delhi to the Delta”

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Anita and Patrick Dickerson

Jason and Laura Wallace

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he local outposts of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association celebrated the 37th Memphis Heart Ball by giving a nod to both Indian culture and that of the Mid-South with its “Delhi to the Delta” benefit. While the theme was left open to lots of interpretation, the event’s purpose remained steadfast: to “unlock the next generation of lifesaving discoveries.” Though it unfolded again in The Peabody’s Grand Ballroom, this year’s Heart Ball didn’t resemble anything seen before by attendees, some of whom arrived in traditional Indian clothing and jewelry. Upon entering the ballroom, guests were transported to a colorful world filled with plenty of references to India, from Bollywood movies showing on two giant screens to henna artists painting intricate designs and, of course, hearts on guests’ arms, hands and fingers. A photo booth was conveniently stationed nearby so that newly “tattooed” patrons could show off their temporary body art in a permanent way, and a silent auction was in full swing as well, with items inclusive of a Midtown package featuring a Café 1912 gift certificate and eight tickets to Playhouse on the Square, a $160 gift certificate to Mirimichi, a Huey’s dinner and jewelry from James Avery in The Shops of Saddle Creek. The theme also carried over into the dinner menu, which boasted Tandoori shrimp with chickpea, tomato and cucumber salad with coriander yogurt vinaigrette for the first course and turmeric marinated chicken breast, grilled salmon, a brown rice pulao cake and cauliflower puree with cardamom cream for the second course. Dessert didn’t fall short either, as it catered to Delhi and the Delta with a coconut cheesecake with saffron Chantilly and pistachio anglaise and a milk chocolate praline dome with roasted peanut crunch and Jack Daniel’s bourbon anglaise. After dinner, Shannon Arthur, who co-chaired the ball along with her husband, Dr. Adam Arthur, said that it was time to get everyone’s hearts pumping with some dancing to the Nashville band Burning Las Vegas. Arthur jokingly apologized in advance for her Elaine (of “Seinfeld” fame) style of dancing, but moments before, the party held a serious tone when a video aired of the 2013 “Open Your Heart” honoree, Larry Andrews. Andrews, a project engineer for FedEx Express, shared his experience of going through a stroke, which is more of a harsh reality than many people think, as it was pointed out that someone dies from a stroke every four minutes. With that message at the forefront of their attention, multiple patrons generously gave varying amounts of donations in the “Open Your Hearts” portion of the evening conducted by Jeff Morris, who also oversaw the live auction. Total donations this night exceeded $250,000. Emcee Andrew Douglas of WMC-TV 5 couldn’t have put it better when he said, “This is a great celebration—a celebration of the AHA and the impact it’s had on lives in the community.” See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP

Carol and Dr. David Stewart

Story by Leah Fitzpatrick Photos by Don Perry

Emily Hopkins and Gary Yang

Gabriel Phillips and Jennifer Emo

Monica and Tyler Auschwitz

Ray Finke and Elizabeth Whitten

Paula and Dr. Barry Bertolet with Olga and Dr. Murray Estes

Dr. Adam and Shannon Arthur

EVENT MEMPHIS HEART BALL

Kirsten and Bryan Watson

Mark and Mandy Morse

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Valerie and Jeff Morris

Drs. Dharmesh and Purvisha Patel

Juni Ganguli and Dr. Malini Gupta-Ganguli

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Jack and Deana Weathers

Shirley and Walter Banks

China and Ryan Jenkins

Elizabeth and Bobby Rouse

JoAnn Phillips Wood and Grady Phillips

Jeshenna and Jonathan Watkins

EVENT Justin Talley and Julia Kavanagh

Staci and Scott Gill

Debbie Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Cain and Sam Henderson

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MEMPHIS HEART BALL Katy and Graham Laster

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Joe Tice and Kathy Myers

Dr. Matthew and Megan Dress

Drs. Adam Willis and Michele Battles

Drs. Linda and Jim Porterfield

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Rebecca and Kevin Floyd

Philip and Mindy Johnson

Ben and Dianne Traylor

Tom and Christine Shelton

Diana Dawson and Traci Pangonas

Sara Hall and Ken McCown

Susheel and Deepthi Kumar

Cheryl and Terry Ford

Lucas Eligovich and Janet Lo

Drs. Brooke and Dwight Dishmon

Tom and Constance Conley

Misty and James Stamper

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Michael and Kelly Codega with Dana and David Dye

Beth and Jeremy Kitchen

Lori Simpson and Adam Pope

EVENT MEMPHIS HEART BALL Ellen and Bennett Rudorfer

David and Christina Metzger with Charles and Monique Jalenak

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Carolina Montes and John Brown

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Vikki Nolan with Dr. Vinodh and Amy Doss

Karin, Cassidy and Steve Gubin

STREETSEEN

Melanie and Kent Pafford Canine Savers

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our-legged friends hold a special place in the hearts of Melanie and Kent Pafford, however the couple are anything but your average dog people. Wanting to do more to help stray or abandoned dogs they came across on the side of the road or at kill shelters, the Paffords pooled their personal resources to found the Streetdog Foundation to get dogs fostered or adopted by responsible, caring owners. Kent somewhat jokes when he says, “My job as an air traffic controller helps pay for this.” (Melanie works as a choreographer when not tending to the foundation’s needs.) Since last November, people have been donating to Streetdog at Hollywood Feed checkout counters, and there are more fund-raisers planned, but Melanie says they still usually supplement the foundation with their incomes after paying vet bills and kennel fees through the Streetdog account every month. Money issues are irrelevant to the Paffords though, as they won’t waver from their mission to search for the “most fantastic homes ever” for animals needing it most, especially those large or bully dog breeds that no other rescues will take. To date, Streetdog has found owners for 300 animals, with that number entailing both dogs and cats. “We follow our rescues from the cradle to the grave—our promise is always to them,” Melanie says. “We look at them as orphaned children.” What triggered the Paffords to upstart their nonprofit in the first place was a visit to the Memphis Animal Shelter in August 2009. Melanie went to the shelter to help locate a lost dog for a lady who runs a local pit bull rescue, and even though she couldn’t find the specific dog, she ended up being so moved by the faces of those she saw on the “Green Mile” (where animals are placed their last 24 hours before being euthanized), that she told her husband she wanted to save two of them. Hearing the urgency of Melanie’s plea, Kent headed to the shelter with Melanie the next morning to rescue the two dogs, one an American bulldog and the other a cinnamon-colored puppy. After walking past all of the cages, Kent began to understand the fear Melanie had seen in the dogs’ eyes the day before. She says, “It was like going to a third world country with starving children, not to mention the fact that no one looks at those dogs in their eyes—I knew we had to go back and pull more from the shelter.” Feeling the call to do something, Melanie and Kent returned home and thought about what to do next, and soon thereafter, Streetdog was born. They then began picking up lots of breeds like pit bulls, bulldogs and rottweilers, and either temporarily keeping them at home or boarding them until placed with a potential foster or adopter. Of those strays they take in, about 80 percent are heartworm positive—an expensive problem to fix with no government or grant money to fund each $700-$1,000 treatment. Medical costs and the fact that all Streetdogs are microchipped are some reasons why Streetdog’s adoption fee is $250, but it also weeds out those less serious applicants who probably can’t afford to take care of a dog long-term. However, the Paffords urge those who just want to foster a dog for a weekend or volunteer at one of their adoption events, which take place every second Saturday at Overton Bark and every fourth Saturday at Hollywood Feed on Union, to do so by contacting them through Streetdogfoundation.com. “I didn’t have my first dog till I was 45, but if I had known about an organization like ours where you could just take a dog for a weekend, I would have done it— I just needed a dog sometimes,” Melanie says, as she and her husband proudly sport shirts with Streetdog’s “Rescue Me…Rescue You” motto. Story by Leah Fitzpatrick Photo by Steve Roberts

STREETSEEN

Janet Boscarino Getting Out the Grime

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ometimes a trip outside the city limits gives someone all the perspective needed to enact change within his or her hometown, as was the case for Janet Boscarino, the executive director of Clean Memphis. After traveling a bit for her former business development job, Boscarino noticed that Memphis looked dirtier than other places, and then, she read an article about Memphis losing some of its population to other cities like Nashville and Charlotte, North Carolina. None of these discoveries sat well with Boscarino, so she turned to friends to help alleviate Memphis’ issues with litter and neighborhood blight. “I talked to Darrin Hillis and Mark Lovell, who both have been involved with show promotions for years, and they were interested in a clean-up project,” Boscarino says, “and also, Mark said, ‘We could complain, move or do something.’” Do something they did when the three launched the grassroots organization, Clean Memphis, back in 2008. The nonprofit’s whole premise is that “a cleaner city will help to reduce crime, promote a sense of pride in our community and cultivate economic prosperity.” Boscarino points out that in order to get the city’s citizens on board with the effort, there are three platforms: working with existing community partnerships or zone collaboratives; doing high-profile, monthly clean-up sweeps (around the South Main area, the Memphis Area Medical Center, Victorian Village, the Stax Museum, Sun Studio and the Memphis aerotropolis) utilizing community service workers or nonviolent, non-sex offender inmates about to be paroled; and creating service learning projects with kindergarteners through high school seniors, who learn about topics from how a watershed works and the importance of not placing harmful chemicals in storm drains to recycling and environmental career options. “When we started, we went to Memphis City Beautiful and neighborhood groups to see what was going on, and it seemed there was stuff happening, but not a real strategy,” she explains. “So, we developed our strategic plan based on research from other cities, including Minneapolis and Charlotte.” With a shoestring budget, Clean Memphis operates out of donated space at 1859 Madison Ave. in Midtown and only has two full-time employees, consisting of Boscarino and educator Cindy Black, who has worked in environmental education for 15 years. The nonprofit also has an intern, who reports things like code enforcement violations, and a nine-member board, which Boscarino hopes to grow to 11 members. Numerous volunteers assist with the group’s efforts in capacities ranging from being on an event-planning committee for the upcoming Hook Up 2 Clean Up, a downtown clean-up day on April 13 kicking off at 9 a.m. at AutoZone Park, to becoming trained team leaders in their communities. As a first step for someone looking to make their lives greener, Boscarino suggests, “Pay attention to how you dispose of things and how you consume energy at work and at home.” She goes on to say that maybe people simply walking the talk might help, which is very fitting considering that Clean Memphis will be rolling out a new logo, a “Walk the Talk” footprint containing various hues of green, in May. “We can’t be a city of people who talk about things—we need to be a city of people who do things,” she reiterates. Story by Leah Fitzpatrick Photo by Steve Roberts

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Oscar Experience Memphis

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OSCAR ® EXPERIENCE MEMPHIS

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Benefiting the Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis

A April and Bill Bizot

Betha Gill and Caron Byrd

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nticipation for the 85th Academy Awards® was at its peak in the Bluff City in late February, as everyone was awaiting the night’s big award winners to be announced on the big screen at The Columns at One Commerce Square. Luckily, for 12 years now, Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Memphis has hosted an official Oscar® viewing party sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences so that Memphians can feel part of the occasion in a local glamorous setting, and also help raise funding (more than $100,000 this year) for the organization. But even though the party’s formula stayed the same, one noticeable change was the event’s rebranding from Oscar Night® America to Oscar® Experience Memphis. The event’s name change didn’t stop movie lovers from finding out where to go for a night of star-watching, at least judging by the stellar turnout of 600 mostly black-tie clad attendees. Ready to indulge, patrons sidled up to an open bar featuring Prichard’s Distillery’s signature drink, “The Tarantini,” during the pre-show cocktail hour, during which freeze models wore fashions from boutiques in Laurelwood Shopping Center while standing atop white platforms. Who needs to watch the stars walk the red carpet on T.V. anyway when you have beautiful fashions featured on models right in front of you? Saxophonist Pat Register added to the energy in the foyer, which also boasted a step and repeat backdrop for those wanting to feel like they were celebrities being snapped by the paparazzi. Following cocktails, everyone moved into the larger main room of The Columns to find their tables and enjoy the sounds of G3: The Garry Goin Group. Positioned around the perimeter were silent auction tables offering items ranging from a custom Ghost River Brewing growler package to Coke bottle art of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Volunteers roamed throughout the crowd trying to get patrons to donate $20 for Oscar Experience chocolate bars, but for heartier fare, partygoers headed to food tasting stations set up by area restaurants, including L’École Culinaire, Mosa Asian Bistro, Old Venice Pizza Company, The Melting Pot and ’37 in Harrah’s Tunica, to name a few. Downstairs, in the Malco Viewing Room, guests nibbled on popcorn while they watched their favorite actors, filmmakers and directors pick up coveted film awards. As Anne Hathaway picked up her first best supporting actress win, she said, “It came true,” which are words that can hopefully be spoken one day by those children who stay at Ronald McDonald House once they achieve their dreams. See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP

David and Andrea Harano

Story by Leah Fitzpatrick Photos by Don Perry

Erin Baker and Chris Stuart

Terricka and LaVincent Hardy

Hall and Gay Prewitt

Stephen and Elizabeth Monte

Steven and Amanda Hankins with David Mather

Reagan Kuehan and Mike Maxey

EVENT Isabelle and Angie Smith

Mike and Laura Hairston

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Jim and Hannah Hillegas

OSCAR 速 EXPERIENCE MEMPHIS

CW4 Phil and Andrea Wulff

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Donna and Mark Glover

Karl and Gail Schledwitz

Mariangela and Fred Schardt

Valerie Smith and Jennifer Jaudon

EVENT OSCAR 速 EXPERIENCE MEMPHIS

Burton Bridges and Kaci Murley

John Clark and Margo Price

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Mary Catherine Tagg and Cory Prewitt

Scott and Courtney Woodmansee

Justin and Lesa Vernon

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J.C. and Sandra Hannah

Bobby and Pam John

Caralee Barrett and Lee Southard

Debbie Neal and Parker Patterson

Jason and Amanda Strain

Barry Yoakum and Penelope Huston

EVENT Kristin Bennett, Marcie Lykins and Patrick McNicholas

Becky and Tim Simcoe

Catherine and Bill Milligan

Juanita Castellanos with Lt. Col. Chago and Renee Santiago

OSCAR 速 EXPERIENCE MEMPHIS

Jackie and Brent Adams

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Keaton Frick and Brian Patterson

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Linda and Andy Henry

Lynn and Gary Leviton

Kay Christian, Taylor Arnold, Britnee Stringfellow and Rebecca Buckley

Rosemary, Kiko, Rosa and Santos Martinez

Ross and Lori Braithwait with Jennifer DeClerk and Ron Carelle

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Memphi Mid-Winter Ball

Italian Winterfest

The Mystic Society of the Memphi cast a spell over the Memphis County Club at its MidWinter Ball, transporting mesdames et messieurs to another time and place: a “Return to Versailles.” This year’s six royal duchesses and their dukes were to be unveiled in this magical atmosphere of pink roses, candlelight, confections and, yes, big hair. Kaki Smith, the wife of Memphi general chairman Vince Smith and an art teacher at the Neighborhood School in Binghampton, encouraged the ladies of Memphi to wear elaborate coiffures as a nod to “Her Highness.” Kaki herself wore a tiny Spanish galleon on her head while offering a handcrafted fascinator made of a fake cupcake. Let them eat cake–and wear it, too! After dinner to the strains of the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, a cry of “The Revolution Has Begun!” introduced a surprise rock band that carried the party through the night. C’était magnifique, y’all!

Restaurants and beverage distributors from all throughout the Mid-South came together for the third annual Italian Winterfest. Benefiting the Catholic Education Scholarship Fund and the Ave Maria Home, the event was held at the Racquet Club of Memphis and featured terrific Italian food from Ciao Bella Italian Grill, Coletta’s, Folk’s Folly, Frank Grisanti’s, Pete and Sam’s and Rendezvous, to name a few. As guests helped themselves to heaping plates of Italian favorites, they washed down dinner with wines provided by Al LaRocca, Lucchesi’s, Jackie Aaron, Victor Robilio Company, Inc./Glazer’s and Wanda and John Barzizza. Tony Barrasso and Mike Spano provided the traditional Italian music that accompanied the meal. Joe Birch of WMC-TV Channel 5 emceed the live auction, and Joyce Cobb, a local jazz legend, amazed the crowd with her soulful voice, picking up musical genres on a whim and singing a range of styles from pop to jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. More than $39,000 was raised for Ave Maria Home and the Catholic Education Scholarship Fund.

Story and Photos by Kelly Cox

Story and Photos by Rachel Warren

Metcalf and Madeleine Crump

Zack and Angie Street with Bonnie and Tony Barrasso

Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Grassroots Gala and Banquet

Read-to-Me Gala

Journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner, best-selling author and senior fellow at The Nation Institute, Chris Hedges was the keynote speaker at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Grassroots Gala and Banquet to celebrate the center’s 31st anniversary. Held in the sanctuary of First Congregational Church, the celebration included a diverse and lively mix of arts and movement, great music and delicious food. Four hundred guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar as they listened to the smooth sounds of DJ No Request. Just For Lunch catered the event, serving up heaping portions of chicken stuffed with spinach and sundried tomatoes, brown rice and grilled vegetables, green beans with tomatoes and basil, Mediterranean salad, French bread and fruit tea. The program started off with a bang as Darius Wallace captivated the audience with his moving performance of “The Starry Road To Freedom: The Life of Frederick Douglass,” a one-man piece, told through song and speech excerpts that illustrated Douglass’ journey for understanding and meaning as he revisited his slave quarters. Hedges wrapped up the evening with a powerful speech that took a deep and scrutinizing look at the injustices of modern day society, touching on issues of homeland security, the Occupy Wall Street Movement, health care, corporate mega-powers and environmental concerns. With Martin Luther King Day just around the corner, Jacob Flowers, the center director, summed up the mood of the evening saying, “Tonight is a call to action.” The night ended with Hedges signing copies of his most recent book, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt.

It is never too early to start reading to children, and sadly many children go without an early foundation in reading readiness. Fortunately, Shelby County Books From Birth has dedicated itself to providing age-appropriate books for Shelby County children from birth to age 5. In January, Shelby County Books From Birth hosted its Read-to-Me Gala in the lovely Tower Center. More than 200 guests started the evening by mingling in the VIP room and bidding at the silent auction. In addition to the silent auction, attendees could opt to buy a pair of sunglasses for $60 that would provide young children with books. Mayor A C Wharton, a strong advocate of the Books From Birth program, made an appearance and joined in on the festivities. As the night progressed, guests made their way into the dining room, where Elmo and the Shades got everyone dancing with their magnetic R&B style and Mearl Purvis of Fox 13 News emceed the live auction. The Read-to-Me Gala raised more than $75,000, guaranteeing that many Shelby County children will receive the books they need. Story and Photos by Rachel Warren

Story and Photos by Rachel Warren

Tom and Katie Midgley Mike and Donna McManus

Aliza Moran and Kinon Keplinger

Janet Donato, Angelo Lucchesi and Frank Gattuso

Mia Madison, Ace Madjlesi and Chad Johnson

Skeet and Beth Haag with Patty and Nick Scully

Emily Holmes and Emily Fulmer

Andra DeVincenzo, Lisa Hord, Dana Buford and Tia and Pat Byrd

Keeping the Blues Alive Awards Luncheon

Literacy is Key: A Book and Author Affair

Burns Nicht Gala

Getting acquainted with the programs and services of the Church Health Center was the order of the evening at the inaugural Church Health Center Happy Hour at A. Schwab on Beale. Upon arrival, guests were given free passes to try Church Health Center Wellness and also urged to venture to the volunteer sign-up table, where many brochures detailed volunteer opportunities within the organization and at its fund-raisers, including Rock for Love and the Church Health Center 5K/10K. Church Health Center employee Carrie Hormann said, “We’re also trying to promote our monthly giving program, where you can give $5, $25 or $50 a month, or whatever you’re comfortable with to the center.” Fellow employee Jeff Hulett added to the occasion by treating guests and co-workers to music from his one-man band, which proved the perfect performance to get the crowd in the happy hour spirit.

To recognize those non-performers who have contributed greatly to blues music, The Blues Foundation hosts the annual Keeping the Blues Alive Awards, an event that attracts a number of out-of-town blues artists, media and promoters to Memphis each spring, being that it’s held the same week as the International Blues Challenge. This time, the KBA Awards ceremony was held at the Doubletree Hotel, where attendees mingled before enjoying Southern-style fare like barbecue white beans, catfish and banana pudding. Jay Sieleman, the president and CEO of The Blues Foundation, recognized all past KBA recipients at the luncheon and pointed out that this year’s 15 award recipients represented four countries—Norway, Spain, the U.S. and Canada—and that the Blues Challenge itself boasted participants from 40 states and 17 countries. Remarking of how small a world it is among blues music lovers, KBA award recipient Lloyd Peterson of the Mt. Baker Blues Festival in Deming, Washington said, “I would like to thank The Blues Foundation for shining a light in the Pacific Northwest, which typically isn’t a blues part of the country, and I’d like to add that I’m sitting next to Norwegian KBA recipients, which is where some of my family is from.”

Kappa Kappa Gamma alum Charlotte Bray said of the Literacy is Key: A Book and Author Affair, which the Memphis Alumnae Association of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity presents, “Every year we’re trying to get bigger and better.” And that the event certainly did in its third incarnation, bringing in more than 400 book lovers and literacy advocates to the U of M Holiday Inn to raise funds for Literacy Mid-South. To kick off the event, a Prologue Party took place beforehand, giving attendees a chance to meet the three participating authors: Mary Kay Andrews, author of New York Times bestsellers Summer Rental and Spring Fever; Claire Cook of Must Love Dogs fame; and Courtney Miller Santo, a new local author who debuted her first novel, The Roots of the Olive Tree, last August. Darrell Greene of Fox 13 News served as the guest emcee during the luncheon, a benefit that raised more than $23,000 the two previous years for Literacy Mid-South.

For more than 200 years, admirers of renowned Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns have gathered to celebrate his life and works on or close to his birth date of January 26. The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. (MSSI), established in 1984 to foster education and promote understanding of Scottish heritage and culture, has long honored Scotland’s favorite son with a Burns Nicht Gala. This year’s fete was held at the beautiful Woodland Hills Event Center, where society members and their guests, many clad in tartan plaid kilts and sashes, gathered for an evening of fellowship and fun. Prior to opening ceremonies, a Scotch tasting and silent auction featuring “things Scottish” got everyone in the mood for the festivities. Joe Lyle, president of the society, addressed the crowd with “Cead mile failte” (a thousand welcomes) and encouraged everyone to join him in a lovely rendition of the unofficial Scottish national anthem, “O Flower of Scotland.” A tasty traditional Scottish supper was served, and guests were treated to rousing performances by Wolf River Pipes and Drums and Edinburgh native and folksong master Ed Miller.

Story and Photos by Leah Fitzpatrick

Story by Ruth Cassin Photos by Roy Haithcock

Story and Photos by Leah Fitzpatrick

Kathleen Behnke, Scott Lewis, Jennie Robbins and Annie Christoff

Lynn Calzada and Heather Heath-Grosvenor

Dick Bevier and G. Vernon Drane

Sarah DiNicolantonio, Courtney Miller Santo, Claire Cook, Mary Kay Andrews and Hillery Efkeman

Phil and Marilyn Lucas

Brian Slack, Gary Quadros, Veronique Martino and Guy Primeau

Karen Useldinger with Lloyd and Marsha Peterson

Kristen Wright, Susan Wallace, Lynn Buck, Heather Barry, Beverly Roesel, Susan Goudge and Sandy Gould

Mary Ann Lucas and Jane Kikel

Priscilla Hernandez and Jay Sieleman

Lauren Johnston and Kate Smith

Jonathan Lyons, Kate Marshall, Angela Michaels and Carrie Hormann

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Church Health Center Happy Hour

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Vox Popular Q&A with Dr. Lawrence Edwards

RSVP: When did you develop a passion for music?

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Edwards: I feel as if I was born to make music. My mother was a violinist, and I was always interested in music, so my folks bought me a piano at a young age. Even though my dad worked a blue collar job, I never went without piano lessons—I have such respect for my parents for that. I also had a great high school music program and started college as a music major, but I didn’t enjoy sitting in a practice room by myself. Being in an ensemble was my salvation. It’s who I am.

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RSVP: You have lived in Seattle, Illinois and West Virginia, so just wondering how you ended up in Memphis as the artistic director of the Memphis Symphony Chorus and the director of choral activities at the University of Memphis? Edwards: I had been the director of choirs at West Virginia University in Morgantown for five years before moving here in 1987. I took the job at U of M before also getting the job with the symphony in 1988, and financially, this was a more sound program [at U of M]. My world definitely never gets old, and I love that I’m involved with both age spectrums musically, both at U of M and with the Memphis Symphony Chorus. I’m currently also the interim director of choirs at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. I took this on for a nine-month commitment. RSVP: As the artistic director of the Memphis Symphony Chorus, what are your responsibilities? Edwards: My job is to prepare the chorus to be a flexible choir that can immediately transition to another conductor. Though, conducting is something I enjoy when I do it because I have an interest in conveying musical ideas through gesture. Lisa Mendel, who is president of the Memphis Symphony Chorus, helps a lot, and I answer directly to Mei-Ann Chen [the Memphis Symphony Chorus music director], as we are an extension of her musical vision. I try to get as much info from her or any other conductor as possible. I’m also an accompanist sometimes. I work really hard to prepare the chorus…choruses just take much longer than an orchestra to get ready for a concert. The orchestra will start on Tuesday for their first rehearsal for that Saturday’s concert. I’ve been working on it for

Photos by Don Perry

he Memphis Symphony Chorus has been steadily increasing in quality and quantity for 47 years, and much of this is in part to its artistic director, Dr. Lawrence Edwards, who is now celebrating his 25th season with the group. Only the second director in the history of the Memphis Symphony Chorus, Edwards has spent a great deal of time shaping the chorus into one that can easily adapt to different conductors and one that rivals those found in much larger cities than Memphis. With important outreach efforts happening, a forward-thinking music director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra to work alongside and a few upcoming performance “firsts” for the chorus, Edwards vouches, “I think it’s an exciting time to be a part of this whole organization of the Memphis Symphony.” RSVP editor Leah Fitzpatrick couldn’t agree more and felt lucky that Edwards found time in his schedule to meet during a break from his other job at the University of Memphis, where he serves as the director of choral activities. Under this umbrella, he conducts the University Singers, the University Chamber Choir and Sound Fuzion; teaches undergraduate choral conducting; advises choral music education majors; and is the director of graduate studies in choral conducting.

three months. There’s all my hard work, and I give it to somebody else, and they get to sort of bring them in to home. I think some people just can’t do that because it’s really tough for their ego, but I think that I just love to watch people be successful. I love it though when I come out and take a bow at the end—the chorus is usually seated, and Mei-Ann or the music director will motion for me to come out to take a bow, and at that time, I usually ask the chorus to stand up because I’m really taking a bow for all of us. Then, when I hear the audience cheer, I turn around and look at this group of business people, housewives and retirees, and they just have these smiles on their faces. They get to work hard on a project and have people applaud their success. In our culture, people don’t get to experience people standing up and cheering at the job that they did. RSVP: What is one of the biggest changes you’ve witnessed with the Memphis Symphony Chorus during your time as its artistic director? Edwards: Well, I think technology has really helped us a lot. Of course, there’s a Web site [memphissymphonychorus.org], and we use it to let the world know that the chorus exists, but it’s mostly for me to communicate to the chorus easily. I now scan my score, which is marked with all of my breath marks and tempo markings, so the chorus can go at any time to the site and look at my score and transfer any kind of markings or things I’ve got. We use MIDI files, which are files that take notes in a score and convert them to actual pitches, and those pitches are reproduced in time. You can assign any voice to any of those notes, and all of a sudden, that piece of music can be converted into an audio representation of the work. For instance, in this Bach piece we’re working on, which is for a double chorus where each chorus is four-part, you could go to the chorus site, and there’s an audio file that has all eight parts. Then, we actually can adjust the tempo; we have a performance tempo and a rehearsal tempo, which is much slower. So, technology has been really helpful for us. I also think the experience level of the chorus has constantly grown. My bar for letting someone come into the chorus—we’re an audition chorus, one of the only ones in town that is—has just gone up every year. It makes us be able to learn music quicker. Their ability to respond musically to different conductors is

Edwards: We just have one a week, and during any prep period, there are a set number of absences or tardies allowed, and when you cross the line and miss more than the allotted number, there’s one make-up rehearsal that’s scheduled that you must attend to get your number back below the line. If you can’t make that, you’re not kicked out of the chorus, but you can’t perform that particular project. We rehearse at Balmoral Presbyterian Church on Quince, which is a wonderful facility for us. We have the whole sanctuary and rehearse on Monday nights from about 7-9:15. People have to be flexible though. Since January, we’re working on three projects at the same time involving different segments of the chorus. Last weekend, the women finished up Holst’s “The Planets,” so I only had the women on that project. At the same time, I was working on the If Bach Were a Beekeeper concert with the chamber chorus, but some of the women who were in the large chorus aren’t in the small chorus. I would work with the full women from 7-7:45, and then I would break, and the women who weren’t in chamber left and the men who were in chamber came back. That meant I had a new chorus from 7:45 on. Then, I am also working on the concert version of “Porgy & Bess,” and that involves all the men and women in the chorus. Again, that’s why this chorus is unique—it’s about the needs of the Memphis Symphony. We put together the ensemble that they need for any project. You can see there’s a great deal of flexibility needed for the chorus, and I just think the world of them and believe we have one of the finer symphony choruses in the country. I would hold them up to what’s going on in Chicago and Seattle, which is where I have a home and have heard their symphony, and it doesn’t hold a candle to ours. Another reason why I think the chorus is important is because it’s important to the symphony players. They love it when this group of volunteers comes on that stage, not for a paycheck, but for their love and passion for music. They’re also committed, prepared and on top of it, and they just energize the orchestra. RSVP: What would you tell someone who has never been to see the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus? Edwards: We’re used to hearing perfection and have amazing stereos, but there is nothing that will ever replace walking into a room and sitting in the audience with 2,000 other people and hearing a group like the Memphis Symphony. You’re not hearing one bit of energy from anything that man has made that is electronically based. If a reader hasn’t experienced that, they must. We have an amazing orchestra and an amazing chorus, so just give yourself a treat and experience something new. I’ll tell people that it won’t be perfect because there’s no such thing as a perfect live performance, but there are those magical moments when everybody knows that something special is happening and that it will never happen or sound this way ever again. RSVP: What are some of the Memphis Symphony Chorus’ outreach efforts?

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RSVP: What can we expect from the Memphis Symphony Chorus going forward? I know you already have two concerts coming up [If Bach Were a Beekeeper on March 22 and “Porgy & Bess” on May 18-19]. Edwards: Well, we’ve already got the ’13’14 season planned, so in October this year, we’re doing a piece by Brahms called “Schicksalslied.” This will be another first, which again, I think, is a testament to Mei-Ann being a risk taker. So, as a part of the [First Tennessee] Masterworks series, which is the Cadillac series of the symphony with these monthly big concerts at the Cannon Center, the Memphis Symphony Chorus is going to be doing a set of five spirituals by the English composer Tippett. We’re going to sing with the orchestra, then the orchestra’s going to play without us and then we’re going to 33 sing without the orchestra—that’s never happened at a Masterworks concert in the 25 years I’ve been involved with the chorus, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the first time in 45 years that the chorus is actually singing a set of a cappella pieces without the orchestra at a Masterworks concert. I think it’s really going to be a treat for the audience because to hear the chorus apart from the orchestra will let them hear a different color we have. We have a different vocal production when we’re not singing through an 80-piece orchestra. I think it also attests to the faith that the symphony organization has in the chorus. Of course, we will have the Holiday Pops concert, which is an annual sort of gift to the community, but not only this community. We go into Arkansas, alternating between doing a show in Jonesboro and Forrest City the past two or three years, and we go to Dyersburg every year before having two concerts at the Cannon Center. We’ll be doing the Brahms’ “Requiem” in February [2014], which is one of my personal favorites. Then, we’re doing “Daphnis et Chloé” in May [2014], and they’re working on commissioning a piece for the symphony—actually hiring a composer to compose something for the Memphis Symphony—and we’re looking at doing that at the end of May 2014. We have five separate concerts total scheduled for ’13-’14, so the chorus is busy. Another interesting thing is that we’re premiering a work at the 45th International Horn Symposium, which is going to be held in Memphis this summer in late July and August. The finest horn players in the world gather some place around the world every year, and this year it’s in Memphis. They commissioned a composer, Pamela Marshall, to write a brand-new piece called “Walden at Evening” for chorus, horns and percussion that we’re premiering on August 1. I think the concert will be at Second Presbyterian Church. The chorus members are rolling up their shirt sleeves and stretching what we do, and it’s exciting! A P R I L 2 013

RSVP: How often are rehearsals?

Edwards: Most of our work in that area has been with public elementary schools in their music programs. We’ve donated instruments, for instance, to Peabody Elementary School. We were at The Magnet [879 McLemore Ave.] also—the Memphis Symphony has a program now where they’re doing free concerts there—so we were there giving a free Holst’s “The Planets” concert to the community around there. The whole symphony organization has done an amazing job of believing that we have to be relevant to the entire community. It’s not just about the elite people who can afford to spend $60 for a ticket to a concert. Symphonies can’t survive that way anymore. We have to be an organization that’s invested in all people. We also donate money from our fruit sale to invest and help other organizations, as well as the symphony. For instance, I think we gave them $5,000 to help buy new stage modules that the symphony needed to make some of these outreach programs happen.

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easier to do now because they just come in with stronger musical skills than they did 25 years ago. That’s been a major shift. I tell them, and I believe, that the Memphis Symphony Chorus is a professional chorus that doesn’t get paid. That makes it also a challenge to be in the chorus because it’s not a “y’all come when you can” chorus. You have to make a commitment.

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HANDS OF HOPE AUCTION PARTY

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Hands of Hope Auction Party “Seeds of Change”

I Pat Tronsor and Margaret Tronsor

Dorothy and Pat Burke

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nvitations to this year’s Hands of Hope Auction Party included a little something extra—flower seeds for planting. Event co-chair Dorothy Burke said they were included “in the hope that they will bloom,” and fittingly, the theme for this year’s fund-raiser, which is the largest of the year for the Exchange Club Family Center, was “Seeds of Change.” The invitations also called for cocktail attire, and the response was keen, as ladies donned the latest frocks and were greeted with a glass of champagne upon entering the night of merrymaking held at The Columns at One Commerce Square in downtown Memphis. Civvies were cool, but the bidding was hot, with more than 230 items up for grabs during the silent and live auctions. Club Windward provided passed hors d’oeuvres and gourmet food stations to feast upon, and while ticket purchases included wine and beer to drink, liquor libations were offered for purchase to raise further funds for the center. Memphis Jones and DJ Mark Anderson kept the party rolling well into the evening for those who like to dance. “Memphis Jones is a great entertainer,” added Burke, who cochaired the event with her husband, Pat. IBERIABANK presented the benefit. “We strongly believe in supporting the communities we serve and the mission of the Exchange Club Family Center,” IBERIABANK market president Greg Smithers said. “We are proud to be the presenting sponsor of the Hands of Hope Auction Party.” The Exchange Club Family Center is a nonprofit organization that opened in 1984 with only one class and a staff of three, and now employs more than 35 staff members and volunteers while offering 23-plus programs a year to families affected by abuse and violence. Intervention, anger management and positive parenting are a few of these programs, which all play a key role in breaking the cycle of family violence by helping children deal with the consequences of witnessing violence in the home. The center served more than 5,000 clients last year. “Pat and I got involved with the Exchange Club Family Center several years ago, and we believe in what they’re doing,” Burke said.

See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP

Kathryn Stallins and Christina Ponnath

Story by Lesley Young Photos by Baxter Buck

Danielle Hobbs and Daneren Davis

Vickie and Steve Jones

Sky Hamilton and Loren Smith

Eddy Argote and Alyssa Garza

Katrina Bradshaw, Grace Ingram, Kerri Campbell and Nishel Patel

Anne and Hunter Jones

EVENT Greg and Kelli DeWitt

Tee and Julie Cloar

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Brooke and Martin Shannon

HANDS OF HOPE AUCTION PARTY

Mady Alexander and Micah Lacefield

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Trevor Schlafer with Diane and Herbert Montgomery

Ruchee Patel and Adam Johnson

John and Michelle Vincent

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Katie and Craig Wright

Jake and Kate Van Namen

Ashley Demsky and Bonnie Voldeng

Jackie and Todd Richardson

Clay and Tara Holder

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Valerie Smith and Mike Schween

Valerie Nelson and Catherine Schumacher

Raquel and Tommy Carls

Ashley and Cameron McCormack

Teri and Bart Hanners

Amy and Johnny Lamberson

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The Emerging Memphis Designer Project Presented by Memphis Fashion Week

Top l to r: Karen Krog, Najee Strickland, Terial Lee, Jobe 88 (Nick Hall and Aharon Thomas), Eliz Bottom L to r: Regina Dickerson, Sarah Hascher, Megan Travis Carr, Molly Doan, Star Hawks, and

he Emerging Memphis Designer Project was created by the director of Memphis Fashion Week (MFW), Abby Phillips, to encourage growth of the fashion industry in Memphis. MFW had more than 30 submissions for the Emerging Memphis Designer Project from applicants as young as 9 years old. Applicants ranged from art teachers to design students and costumers, all from the Memphis area. The MFW advisory board had a tough time making a decision, but narrowed the finalists down to 14 designers with 31 looks based off sketches they submitted for Spring/Summer 2013, which are shown on the following pages.

Those chosen designers will see their final garments on models walking the runway on Friday, April 5, at the historic Cadre Building downtown. This will be a great experience for the designers to see their works through, from conception to production. Audience members will have the opportunity to vote on their favorite designer, and the audience choice winner will be announced on April 6 at the runway shows held at Memphis College of Art. Proceeds from the official event will benefit the Emerging Memphis Designer Project and ArtsMemphis. Visit MemphisFashionWeekend.com for more information. Photography: Marta Felix Special thanks to: Stash and the Levitt Shell

zabeth Crider, Tara Skelley, Brittany Jones (designer not pictured), and Mari Givens d Les Lumieres (Madison Miller and Adair Smith)

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RSVP ROOM VIEW Interview by Kelly Cox | Photos by Steve Roberts ack in 2007, around two in the afternoon, Robyn Calloway was at work when a freak wind gust blew through her Midtown neighborhood. She got a call from a neighbor saying, “You probably need to come home. I think you have some tree damage.” When Calloway got there, her upstairs bathroom was in the kitchen. It was the day before her birthday. “So, here comes the delivery guy up the driveway holding flowers from my friends,” she remembers, “and we’re all standing there boohooing.” With the home only 20 percent salvageable, Calloway had no choice but to demolish and rebuild. The home that was destroyed by the fallen tree had been built in 1954 in an architectural style now associated with East Memphis, but faced with a blank slate, she realized she wanted to go in a different direction. That’s where architect John Pruett, owner of John Pruett Architects, came in, as did Nancy Adair, who did most of the interior design for the bathroom. Now the home is both Midtown and modern, and the master bath is an oasis of calm.

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RSVP: How did you decide to use John Pruett for your house remodel? Robyn: John and I met through a mutual friend. I said, “I want you to build me a Midtown house that looks like Midtown.” I figured somebody who lives in Midtown and works in Midtown could do that for me! And, this is what he came up with. When I saw the plans, I was like, “How did he think of that?”

Top Left: This Midtown master bath has a spa-like atmosphere. Matte, white marble for the floors and tub platform is carried into the shower, where a brilliant azure mosaic evokes the blue doors of the Greek Isles. The chandelier was salvaged from Calloway's previous home, which was destroyed by a tree on the site where her new house now stands. Top Right: By not continuing tile all the way up the wall as originally suggested, Calloway was able to hang art like this fish sculpture in the master bath. Above: The homeowner adores the meditation pig that sits on the corner of the tub, as it was a Christmas gift from two of her close friends.

John: Of course, when I saw Robyn’s house, it was all squashed, but still, I could see that there were opportunities to have better views and better light. The site is really wonderful. So, the whole house, including the master bath, has an open plan with lots of natural light. RSVP: The master bath is so light and airy; it’s absolutely spalike! Love the clean, simple lines.

John: Well, Robyn likes marble, so we went with this matte, white marble for the floor and the tub platform and took it into the shower. Robyn: I think John wanted to take the tile all the way up the wall, but to me that was too masculine. Without tile walls, I had the opportunity to hang some pictures. Although, to me, these windows over the tub are just like having a picture. RSVP: I can see that the view is green and gorgeous all year long, and very private. I love that the windows are square and don’t have sills. And, the reddish-brown stain is a perfect frame for the view. John: I was trying to infuse a contemporary look. I just liked not having that little sill projection. When you go around Midtown and look at older houses, you’ll see a lot of times a raised edge around the outside of door jambs, sometimes ornate and sometimes simple. So, I picked up that idea for the doors and played with it for these windows. It’s the details that bring the Midtown look to this house, though it’s arguably a contemporary, open-plan house. Robyn: My builder wanted to put in a rectangular bathtub, and I wanted the oval tub. I know the big thing is to have rectangular

RSVP: You had to fight for your feminine touches! I like the chandelier over the tub. Robyn: I know! All these men, designing my house! That chandelier is one of the few things saved from the other home. It was in my bedroom. RSVP: The color palette is so spare, really just white, blue, a little sea-glass green and the auburn of the wood trim. Robyn: Having been in the Greek Isles, I told John I wanted a blue door. Because everywhere in the Greek Isles you saw these blue doors set into stark white, like the contrast of the sea. He was like, “Robyn, I don’t know where I can put your blue door.” So, what he came up with was to do the blue mosaic on the shower wall as a reference to the blue door. That’s a very special touch for me.

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RSVP ROOM VIEW RSVP: What can you tell me about the flooring? I love that it’s not shiny.

tubs right now, but the oval tub felt more feminine to me.

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Robyn: It is spa-like. And, look at my meditation pig–he was a gift from dear friends of mine. Pigs became sort of an unofficial motif of the new house. I have a flying pig on the top of my garage. It took about 18 months from destruction to completion, so I had thought, you know, this house will be built when pigs fly.

Left: A linen tower divides the double vanity and quadruples storage space. In rebuilding the house, architect John Pruett introduced an open plan that afforded an abundance of natural light. Above: The room is not overfurnished, and the color palette is equally spare and well chosen, with mostly white, blue and little splashes of seaglass green, which can be found in this mosaic created by Nancy Adair. Below: Square windows without sills are stained reddish-brown. They infuse a contemporary look while providing a perfect frame for the view.

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OPERA MEMPHIS WILD GAME DINNER

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Opera Memphis Wild Game Dinner “Vittles. Vino. Verdi.”

Rachel Hampton and Stewart Guenther

Mark and Martha Billions

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here’s a good reason why Opera Memphis’ annual Wild Game Dinner continues to attract a large and enthusiastic crowd—it just keeps getting better each year! The 2013 event, themed “Vittles. Vino. Verdi.,” did not disappoint, and a great many guests, who were encouraged to wear safari and hunting garb, happily complied, sporting attire from kangaroo hats to zebra prints and full camouflage. A lively cocktail hour in the Clark Opera Memphis Center’s lobby found attendees mingling and bidding on an impressive array of silent auction items generously donated by some of our area’s finest eateries and merchants. There were gift certificates galore, including those from Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House, The Elegant Farmer, Erling Jensen, Delta Blues, Crown Winery, Coletta’s Restaurant, The Peabody hotel, Café 1912 and The Brass Door. Among other offerings were several pieces of Le Creuset cookware, a deluxe slow cooker, a “Hunter’s Delight” basket with soups and sauces, a Ninja chopper, a selection of extra virgin olive oils and many good wines. As hungry partygoers moved into the main hall, there was a veritable feast to behold. Chef Michael Francis of Heart & Soul Catering prepared a whole wild boar (dubbed “Arnold”), accompanied by a green bean and a squash and zucchini medley, as well as slaw relish and duck breast with roasted garlic on crostinis. Neely Draughon of Off The Square Catering presented venison ravioli, and Club Winward passed around delicious venison poppers, while Coletta’s pleased with a Pheasant Cacciatore with forest mushrooms. Just for Lunch’s Ann Barnes wowed the crowd with duck poppers stuffed with jalapenos and wrapped in bacon, thus winning the “Best Bites” award for the dinner. A very popular place to be was “Ray Jamieson’s Corner Bar,” a spot in which Mr. Jamieson held court and provided tastings of his Jamieson Gun Oil—a spiced bourbon liqueur. The highlight of the evening was a wine pull, where guests had the opportunity to purchase a chance(s) to pull numbered wine corks that corresponded to a nice, very nice or great bottle of wine. Wrapping up the festivities, and back by popular demand, was the rousing “postmodern barrelhouse Tennessee music” of the Bluff City Backsliders. John Ryder, event chairman, was elated with the great success of the dinner, which is the opera’s largest annual fundraiser, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s dinner! See all the party photos at rsvpmagazine.com Password: RSVP

Mike and Sherry Murphy

Story by Ruth Cassin Photos by Baxter Buck

Raymond Berglund and Jennifer Hust

Jack and Laurence Kenner

Amy and Cameron Mann

Dawn and Harold Graeter

David Dorsett, Spencer Blank and Sarah Squire

Kathy and Daniel Moore

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For underwriting information, call 901-678-2560 Visit us online at wumr wumr.memphis.edu .memphis.edu

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EVENT OPERA MEMPHIS WILD GAME DINNER A P R I L 2 013

Lucy Fox and Michelle Grider

Dean and Angela Fowler

Linda Gail and John David Douglas

Charlie and Mickey Schaffler

Jonathan Ealy and David Goffman

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Jessica Toliuszis and John Dawkins

John and Sandy Brewer

Jill and Adam Botten

Alice Higdon and Daniel Reid

Lesley and Frank Colvett

Mark and Mary Lou Nowak

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Nancy and Rodgers Menzies

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Jan and Bill Spencer

OPERA MEMPHIS WILD GAME DINNER

Sandy and Harvey Kennedy

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Gene McDermott, Anne Gibson, Karen Canty and Marsh Gibson

Todd and Mary Wilson

Aimee Hurley and Ned Canty

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Onsite III Page Robbins Winter Gala

River Oaks Garden Club Valentine Dinner Dance

Tennessee Shakespeare Company Valentine’s Gala

Works of Heart Valentine Auction

It was “Showtime” at the annual Page Robbins Winter Gala and fittingly, the walls of Esplanade Memphis were plastered with marquee decorations. Live auction items included two 100-DVD collections (one for children and one for adults), and scads of silent auction items contained something to keep almost anyone entertained. Pam and Jay Jefferies, each of whom has a parent affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, co-chaired the event for the fifth consecutive year. “The cause is very dear to our own hearts, and they do such a wonderful job,” Pam said of the Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center. After dinner and dessert, the AIMS Gang band got the crowd to its feet. This gala serves as the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year.

When members of the River Oaks Garden Club arrived at their annual Valentine Dinner Dance at the Memphis Hunt and Polo Club, the floor was strewn with rose petals and decorations reflecting Cupid’s presence everywhere. During the cocktail hour, servers passed throughout the crowed with the club’s famous fried oysters and mini Brie tarts, and while enjoying a sumptuous dinner, partygoers were entertained by music from the Captain Phil McGee band. A special surprise performer, Palmer Whittington, the 11-yearold granddaughter of member Jayne Whittington, also took the stage and wowed the crowd with her amazingly powerful voice.

Story and Photos by Suzanne Thompson

Love was the guest of honor at the fourth annual Tennessee Shakespeare Company Valentine’s Gala. Held in the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, the gala featured award-winning Broadway stars and couple Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, who performed an inspiring medley of Broadway hits centering on the perils and highs of romantic love. Upon arrival, guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at tables decorated with soft candlelight and decorative heart pieces, and they even got cozy in a photo booth, where attendees were encouraged to rekindle fond memories and make some new ones by putting on silly hats or a moustache and cheesing it up. René Koopman provided the musical entertainment for the night, which also included both a live and silent auction to benefit the TSC’s education and performance programs. Specifically, the proceeds go to support the Romeo and Juliet Project, funded in part by ArtsMemphis; this TSC program creates a space for free discussion within Bartlett, Ridgeway and Kirby High Schools, centering around modern issues of armed violence, peer pressure and decision-making in the absence of parental role models through performances of “Romeo and Juliet.” Photos and a dessert reception with Ms. Mazzie and Mr. Danieley concluded the lovefilled evening, which was attended by 320 guests who helped raise more than $100,000 for the TSC.

Most would probably agree that their 21st birthday was an especially fun one, but that sentiment also carried over to the Memphis Child Advocacy Center, which hosted its 21st Works of Heart Valentine Auction this February. Participating artists, dubbed “heartists” for the occasion, displayed their creative takes on a single wooden heart provided to them, at Memphis College of Art’s Rust Hall a week prior to the event, which gave people an opportunity to place early bids on their favorite works. At the actual party, early and regular bidders got acquainted with some of the 100-plus heartists, including Sharron Barrett, Laurie Bartholomew, Donna Blackard, Ellen and Dale Cox, Katherine Rhodes Fields and Sally Markell, to name a few. For the mother/daughter duo of Sheryl Bowen and Laura Nathan, the auction became a family affair, as Bowen designed the heart necklaces that all the heartists wore, while Nathan served on the Works of Heart host committee. Nancy Williams, the Memphis CAC executive director, expressed her gratitude for those who helped make the event a success by saying, “There’s not too much space to move around—that’s a good thing. We depend on you to help us serve children who need it.” Happy 21 Works of Heart!

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Carey and Judy Parsons with Pam and Jay Jeffries

Dr. John Pender Jr. and Kathleen Pender with Cindy and Craig Nauert

Story and Photos by Leah Fitzpatrick

Story and Photos by Rachel Warren

Bob and Jo Lynn Edwards with Jeff Walker

Betty and Dr. Jim Green

Nancy Williams and Beryl Wight

Kayla Myers and Sydney Armstrong Sheryl Bowen and Laura Nathan Silvia and Michael Membreno

John and Paula Buttross with Mary Jane and Chip Hamlett

Mike and Paige Omar

Deborah Matthews, Jeff Fioranelli, Mark Matthews and Jeanne Fortney

Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie

Becky Bartholomew and Laurie Bartholomew

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Onsite IV Scotch Tasting Benefit

Polar Bear Plunge and Chili Cook-Off

Sandy Hook Benefit

Dress For Success Suit and Salad Luncheon

A few dozen Mid-Southerners now know more about the casking, maturation and character of Glenturret, Glen Elgin and Laphroaig than most others in the region thanks to Theatre Memphis. The local playhouse held its second whiskey tasting on site at the theater this February as a fund-raising effort for the Memphis institution. Since the theater paused the show and tore down the set for one evening, whiskey enthusiasts, some in kilts, took advantage of the opportunity to dine on stage, where they feasted on a regale of food created by Memphis culinary darling Erling Jensen. The Loyal and Royal Order of the Kirk presented the tasting in conjunction with the theater, and Seldon Murray acted as maestro of the tasting.

Participants made a big splash on a crisp February afternoon in the frosty waters of the Wolf River Harbor. In an effort to raise funds for Special Olympics Greater Memphis, “plungers” dressed in their wackiest costumes, including ’80s inspired jogging suits, Hawaiian shirts, pirate ensembles and clown suits, leapt into the icy water in exchange for donations. Held at Mud River Island Park, the 14th annual Polar Bear Plunge was more than just a plunge into the river, as the fun-filled day began at 10 a.m. with its seventh annual Chili Cook-Off. Teams competed in a heated battle to earn the most points in the categories of Best Chili, Best Salsa and Showmanship. As the morning progressed, more than 800 attendees enjoyed copious samples of Memphis’ best chili and cast their votes for the People’s Choice Award. At the end of the afternoon, all scores were settled with the announcement of the winning results: Blue Horn Chili-People’s Choice Award; Los Hermanos Peligroso-Best Salsa; the Mid-South BuccaneersShowmanship; and Hot Air Chili-Best Chili. Plunger Awards were given to those plunge participants who raised the most money and had the best costume, with this year’s Golden Plunger Award going to Mr. and Mrs. Clean, dressed appropriately as a washing machine and a laundry basket. This wonderful event raised more than $69,000 for Special Olympics Greater Memphis.

In an effort to help fellow school shooting survivors heal, former Memphians Mary Hollis Inboden and Evan Linder collaborated to write and produce the play “The Warriors,” inspired by stories told by their fellow students at Jonesboro’s Westside Middle School, which had a school shooting in 1998. After the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, Inboden and Linder presented the play in their current hometown of Chicago in an effort to raise funds for the survivors in Newtown. In February, Inboden had the opportunity to share the play to a packed house of Memphis supporters at Circuit Playhouse in Midtown Memphis, again raising funds for survivors at Sandy Hook, but also with proceeds going to benefit the “Memphis Gun Down” initiative.

Everyone got the memo for the Dress for Success Suit and Salad Luncheon held in February at the U of M Holiday Inn, as there was a sea of red and hats at the luncheon as women in attendance had replied with a resounding red “Yes.” This year’s annual luncheon marked 15 years of the organization’s helping local women transition into the work place. WREG-TV News Channel 3 anchor April Thompson Larsha served as mistress of ceremonies, while Estella Mayhue-Greer, president and CEO of the Mid-South Food Bank, and Cathy Ross, CFO of Federal Express Corporation, were honored as outstanding examples of courage in the working world. In addition to ticket sales and note cards available for purchase, additional funds were raised by the auction of a painting donated by Peggy Van Buren.

Story and Photos by Lesley Young

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Bill and Seldon Murray

Story and Photos by Lesley Young

Lynette Thetford, Betty Fuller, Debbie Spencer and Michelle McCloud

Cathy Ross, Cheryl Bingham and Estella Mayhue-Greer

Ann Marie Hall and Dave Landis

Trina, Brittany and Doris Hyman

Story and Photos by Rachel Warren

Rick Clausi and Ben Lewis

Ara and Gina Hanissian

Anna Miller and Jenny McKenzie

Carrie Linder Lotterhos and Whitney Jo

Anne Jones, Mary McIntosh, Kelly Blair and Michelle Miller

Jeff McEvoy, Morris McGehee and Steve Waggoner

Brian and Missy Lurie

Jan Winterburn and Linda Feathers

Shirley Tipler and Ella Lewis

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Rush Compass point Period Hanker Wetter City in Pakistan 12 month period Creed Yes Southernmost of the Great Lakes Great ape Impel

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DOWN 1 Belt up 2 Fake butter 3 Type of dressing 4 Major world religion 5 Neater 6 Fellow 7 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 8 Business mail 9 Any of the eight large heavenly bodies revolving about the sun and shining by reflected light 10 Valley 11 Exploiter 12 Capital of the Ukraine 13 Move gently 21 Ridge 23 Body of water 25 Turn over 27 Philippine dish with marinated chicken or pork 28 Shaving tool 29 Behave theatrically 31 Printer need 33 Train unit 34 Large musical instruments 35 Clothes pressers

36 Ala __ (menu listing) 39 Asian nation 42 Hen-peck 44 Playing field 47 Branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment 50 Poem of praise 51 Sargeant, e.g. 55 __ cotta (clay) 57 Grave robber 58 Tinter 59 Air (prefix) 60 Domestic help 61 President (abbr.) 62 Concrete 64 Gumbo vegetable 65 Torn up material 66 Potato sprouts 69 Cell stuff E Y E S

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74 Staffs 75 Thailand始s Peninsula 76 Young girl

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ACROSS 1 2 1 Mongolian desert 14 5 Walk noisily 17 10 Nobleman 20 14 Evils 15 Jacket part 16 Continent 27 28 17 Rod始s partner 37 18 Water retention 19 Dregs 41 20 W. Cameroon seaport 45 22 To use or manage 49 (natural resources) wisely 24 List of meals 58 59 26 Meet 67 27 Is (2nd person) 71 30 Division (abbr.) 32 Ruse 74 37 Dike 38 Color between yellow and blue in the spectrum 40 Halo 41 A form of oxygen, O 3 that is biologically corrosive 43 Compass Point 44 A leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches, shrubs, etc. 45 Wine bottle 46 Drugger 48 Picnic visitor 49 N. Western state

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By Dennis Phillippi

Honestly, because my buddy and I have both spent most of our adult lives in show business, we’ve gotten to do a lot of those stupid cool things that can get you killed. The difference being that not only were we not paying to do them, someone was paying us to do them, and in my case pointing a camera at me while I was doing them so they could be shown on TV later. It’s a lot easier to make yourself get in an open-cockpit biplane in that situation. These suggestions, along with the ones where I go to Fiji with my wife, or to an all-expenses-paid resort in the Caribbean, or visit the Pyramids in Egypt involve one obvious, but cheerfully ignored, factor: they all cost a fortune. It’s

It’s easy to suggest ideas when you stand no chance of being the one run over while running with the bulls. counterintuitive to someone as allergic to debt as this writer to go spend a trunk load of money to celebrate my birthday. “Hey, I’m 50, let’s go spend a bunch of money we won’t be able to retire on.” These are the suggestions from the people who claim that life is too short to not occasionally live like there’s no tomorrow. See, here’s the thing, there is a tomorrow, and as someone who has been around since the Kennedy administration, I can tell you, life is not short. Picture yourself in the waiting room of, well, anywhere. Is that time flying by? A very popular choice among my friends is for me to “throw a huge party.” The reason this is such a frequent choice is because I already “throw a huge party” every year at Christmas, and my ingrate friends just want another occasion where there’s lots of free food and booze. Oh, and I prepare that food, so what they want is free booze and food that is cooked by me. Somehow that doesn’t have the ring of carefree celebration. It just sounds like a

lot of work for me. Not that they care. Ingrates. People closer to my age tend to have ideas that make more sense. When I posted about this on social media, my peers tended to say that the best option is to take a nap, get a massage or “have a few cocktails.” Those are all good, with the only problem being that I do those things anyway. A nap, a massage and a few cocktails describe a really good Saturday in my world. What I’ve noticed in recent weeks having this conversation is that no one ever asks me what it is I want to do. It’s a good thing they don’t ask that because this is the one topic for which I don’t have an answer. I’m perfectly happy to weigh in on practically anything, whether I have any knowledge to back up my opinions or not, but on this one I am tapped. The truth is, no matter what I choose to do, it’s going to be all about spending money and other people’s time and energy to acknowledge that I have managed to make it for 50 years without stupidly getting killed. Anyone who knows me knows that nothing makes me happier than celebrating me, but even for me, this is an embarrassing self-indulgence. Not that I’m going the other way. Some people, people who clearly don’t know me very well, went with the thought that I should spend that day building homes for the homeless, or gathering coats for the coatless, or feeding soup to the soupless, but I’m much more of a write a check for charity kind of charitable person. When the time comes, I’ll probably opt for a few drinks with friends while watching baseball on the TV above the bar. Is that something I’d do anyway? Yes, it is. How do you think I lived this long?

Happy birthday you quinquagenarian! Welcome to the second century of your life, which is one hopefully filled with lots of fun-filled nights propping yourself up in what would be the ultimate birthday gift: a massage chair. And if your friends decide not to invest in one for your longevity, you can always go to the nearest nail salon and try one out for size.

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y sheer coincidence, my best friend, at least my best friend to whom I am not married, turns 50 three days before I do in the fall, so you can imagine there’s a constant conversation about how we should commemorate this watershed event. When the two of us discuss it, the attitude is more about how we can make turning half a century old less depressing. We talk about how we should probably just get hammered and pretend the whole thing isn’t happening. When there are other people involved, it becomes more of a fantasy game for them. Everyone seems to be just rooting around in their own bucket list and throwing items at us. They claim we should go skydiving or bungee jumping or go to NASCAR fantasy camp. That’s what they say they think we should do. The reason they say this is because we would be the ones plummeting to earth or screaming around a racetrack at 150 miles an hour. It’s easy to suggest ideas when you stand no chance of being the one run over while running with the bulls. While all of these things are probably perfectly sound ways to celebrate five decades of life, they don’t take into account that nearly 50-year-old men who spend a lot of time watching sports in bars don’t exactly have a brimming load of excess energy. Going skydiving isn’t something you do half-heartedly, the way we do virtually everything we do. The same thing is true for bungee jumping. These are not things you can do with little effort, like say, spending weeks pretending to start a jai alai fantasy league or talking nonstop about going boar hunting. It’s not like there’s a good skydiving place in Midtown. There’s not a bungee jumping outfit in my neighborhood. NASCAR fantasy camp sounds fun until you consider that it’s probably in Vegas or someplace like that. The last thing I want to do is have to travel a long distance to put my life in danger.

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The Brown Daughters

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his picture, which is about 100 years old, shows the Brown daughters. On the left is Betty Brown, who was Jane Lettesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mother, and on the right is Dorothy Brown, who was Kathy Katzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandmother. Betty and Dorothy resided at the old Parkview Hotel (until their marriages) with their parents, Arthur Halle Brown and Blanche Brown, who chose the Parkview as their permanent home for their 62 years of marriage. PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHY KATZ, COOPER STREET 20/20 If you have a past photo you would like to share with RSVP readers, please contact Leah Fitzpatrick at 276-7787 ext. 105 or e-mail the photo and caption to editor@rsvpmagazine.com All photos will be returned promptly.