SOCIAL LIGHTS/SALLY GERAK Here is the update on the recent social scene. Many more photos from each event appear online each week at downtownpublications.com where readers can sign up for an e-mail notice when the latest social scene column is posted. Past columns and photos are also archived at the website for Downtown.
BBAC Fine Art of Summer
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BBAC Fine Art of Summer More than 100 supporters ($150-per person) of the Birmingham Bloomfield Sally Gerak Art Center sipped and supped at historic Wabeek Manor, the Tudor style home architect Albert Kahn designed for James Couzens. It is now the home of Enid and Gary Goodman, who welcomed guests in the Grand Foyer. Not only were the Goodmans gracious and friendly hosts, providing detailed room guides and inviting all to explore the entire three floors, they have been exceptional stewards of the historic treasure which had been hopelessly neglected for many years. The restoration they oversaw required far more than the three years of original construction (1924-1927). In fact, it took Enid three years simply to clean, a few pieces at a time, all the sterling and bronze hardware throughout the house. And like the Couzens, they engaged local and European artisans in the project. I’m sure the Couzens would be pleased with, for example, the formal dining room where a superb buffet was lighted by a chandelier and sconces Enid found in Murano. But as glorious as the interior restoration is, the gardens and the pool are equally magnificent. Enid credited James Meyers of Historical Courtyards and Gardens as “a super hero” landscape designer. The project won first place in Detroit Home’s 2006 Best Pool Design. The classical features have whimsical counterpoints like a bistro table and chairs with candelabra in the shallow end of the pool and a handsomely dressed bed for poolside lounging. You can see more of the features at www.historicalcourtyards.com/residential/wabeekmansion. The al fresco setting, a popular gathering place after people toured the house, epitomized The Fine Art of Summer. Thanks to sponsors like TriMas, Patty and Ken Eisenbraun, Honigman, Fred Avery and U.S. Trust, proceeds will support the BBAC’s educational and access programming. Go to www.BBArtCenter.org for the center’s fall program schedule.
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1. Event hosts Gary (left) and Enid Goodman of Bloomfield with sponsors Annie VanGelderen, BBAC CEO, and her husband Glenn of Commerce. 2. Kevin Price (left) of Rochester Hills, Marie Marcotte of Birmingham and Linda Sutherland of Southfield looking over the buffet spread on the dining room table. 3. Caterer Anabel Cohen and Bob Michaels. 4. Susie Citrin (left) of Birmingham, Andrea and Ely Tama of Farmington Hills and Sara and Mike Frank of W. Bloomfield. 5. Kareem George (left) and Fritz Morsches of Franklin and Lynn Gandhi of Bloomfield with her husband Bharat. 6. Caterer Anabel Cohen (left) and Laura and Rich Marsolais of Bloomfield. 7. Susie Citrin (left) of Birmingham and Joyce Leban of Bloomfield. 8. Lou (left) and Ellen Demaris with Nancy and Chris Chafut of Bloomfield. 9. Malverne Reinhart (left) of Ann Arbor, Carol Breen of Birmingham and Janet Reinhart Hall of Bloomfield. 10. Lou and Ellen Demaris of Bloomfield checking out garden statue of Pan.
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ChildSafe Michigan’s Gala Celebration ChildSafe Michigan, which evolved from ChildHelp Michigan but focuses strictly on finding forever homes for Michigan children in foster care, sold out its first fundraiser (300 plus) at the Townsend. Andrea Partrich Brown and Cathy Sosnick Schwartz chaired the soiree which they dubbed Celebrities, Cards & Monte Carlo. The celebrities in attendance were athletes from Danny Sillman’s Compass Management Group. And they surely caused a lot of excitement during the VIP cocktail hour as the foster and adopted kids scrambled to get autographs and pictures taken with stars like University of Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner. We were also pleased to meet Gardner’s fiancée, who said she’ll be starting med school in the fall. Gaming tables were available for diversion before and after the program, live auction and dinner. The program featured award presentations to ChildSafe loyalists Keith Pomeroy and Doug Carey. The live auction offered one-of-a-kind experiences and trips and raised $109,000 of the $200,000 event total. Not too shabby for an inaugural effort. Rose Hill Annual Golf Invitational Greg Schwartz chaired the 22nd annual golf Invitational fundraiser for the residential treatment center for adults with serious mental illness. It attracted 110 golfers to Bloomfield Hills Country Club. They were joined by more guests for the social hour and fine buffet dinner at which Rose Hill Center co-founder Dan Kelly thanked them for the “best ever” event net ($100,000). However, the highlight of the dinner program was the testimony by Stephen Lindsay, who entered Rose Hill in March, 2012, and is now living in a transition apartment there. “It’s been quite a journey,” he reported, adding that he had felt like running away. However, he has learned responsibility, patience, perseverance, communication and “...the courage to face my problems…I’m living proof that (RHC’s therapy) works,” he concluded. All guests took home some of the 1,400 rose bushes the RHC residents grow at the 400-acre center in Holly. BHCC valet
DOWNTOWN
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