Philly Chit Chat

 The Supremes was an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s

PNC Bank regional president Bill Mills escorts original Supremes’ Mary Wilson, who is partnering with the African American Museum of
Philadelphia to present “Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection” which will feature more
than 30 of the Supremes glorious gowns, videos, images and artifacts
that tell of the meteoric rise of one of the most famous American groups of all time. A collection that Mary has had stored at her house she said, she received most of the groups clothing as she was the last Supreme in the group.

The exhibit is made possibly by a PNC Arts Alive Grant, a five year, $5 million initiative through the PNC foundation. Not only were the Supremes’ talented and beautiful, but they were fashionable too. Their gowns were made with fabric, beads and sequins from designers such as Bob Mackie, Michael Travis and Pat Campano.

William Mills, President of PNC Bank, Ramona Riscoe Benson, The African
American Museum, Famed DJ Jerry Jerry Blavat and Mary Wilson, Mayor Michael
Nutter . The Mayor got a little choked up when he talked about what an honor it was to meet Mary Wilson, as she and the Supremes busted the door wide open so that people like him could excel in life.

Mary is excited to see one of her early albums, which had been in award winning make-up artist About Phace’s Ursula Augustine collection since she was a kid. The Supremes’ were role models for me, Ursula told me. They were the first African American women I saw on TV that were beautiful and showed me how make-up could be used to accentuate our beauty.

Come See About Me: The Mary Wilson Supremes Collection will run from January 25th to June 30th, 2013.

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Papa can you hear me? Barbra Streisand waves to Jacob Porter as she leaves the Four Seasons Hotel Monday night around 6PM for her concert at the Wells Fargo Center.
 
Thanks to

Jacob Porter for this shot he sent me on Monday. Babs was in town since October 3 rehearsing at  Temple’s Liacouras Center. On Friday she gave a special dress performance for 500 people. In the audience was Nichole Maurer from Philly Style Mag who told me the rehearsal began at 130 and ended about 530.  She said it was much fun to watch Barbra perform, while also tweaking the performance. Stopping sometimes in mid song when things didn’t go right, or if she missed a word.  Also in the audience was “Carole Radziwill of Real Housewives of New
York City, former “Biggest Loser” host Caroline Rhea, who described
Streisand as “phenomenal,” and Pat Ciarocchi of CBS were some of the
invited guests.” (says Laura Goldman on her blog Naked Philadelphian) 

While in town Barbra barely left the Four Seasons hotel except to go rehearse. Surprisingly she didn’t stop by R2L this time to visit her favorite table, #94, the one I dubbed the Barbra Streisand table as she had dinner there last year while in town for the opening of The National Museum of American Jewish History. Opting instead to order room service and eating the foods she packed, in preparation for her upcoming tour.  She did sign for fans outside the Liacoura Center on Friday. She checked out of the hotel yesterday afternoon.

The GRAMMY® Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus, who sang with Barbra toured the City on Friday. They stayed at the Sofitel Hotel for the weekend.

Where has Jason Gould been hiding. His voice is like butter.

 Last week I did catch up with another favorite of my childhood, Andrew McCarthy, who stopped by The Philadelphia Public Library on his book tour “The Longest Way Home.” The
Geographical Society of Philadelphia presents WHYY’s Patrick Stoner, host of Flicks and Quick Pics, in conversation with McCarthy, dissecting his forthcoming
memoir The Longest
Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down, in
which he relates how his travel experiences helped him become the man
he wanted to be.

 But first there was a meet and greet dinner for him at the Rose Tattoo with the
Geographical Society of Philadelphia members. Above Andrew McCarthy and Patrick Stoner. Andrew told me it was good to be back in Philly. He had spent the day wandering around Chinatown and unlike Babs just randomly chose the foods he was going to eat throwing caution to the wind that it wouldn’t cause ill during his tour. He said he’s been to Philly many times, and had already had a cheesesteak. His first one was during the months he filmed Mannequin with Kim Catrall in 1987.

 Kimberly and Erica were excited to meet Baine. I think I can see a little Molly Ringwold style on Erica.

 A Molly Ringwold lookalike Rachel, with fellow geographicalsociety.org members Teresa and Janet.

 

 Since 1891, the Geographical Society has supported world exploration and
presented programs focused on travel, adventure, science and history.
You too can enjoy films, internationally themed events and illustrated
talks with professional filmmakers, photographers, authors, explorers,
scientists and scholars.

 Stephanie had Andrew sign three printed out photos. One for her, one for a friend and another for a friends 40th Birthday, which was signed “Love Blaine”. So fun!

Every year I would hear about this event where 1000 – 1500 restaurant & bar movers and shakers would attend to try out the new liquors being offered by Southern Wine & Spirits brands. For the past few years the event has been held at the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt at the Bellevue.

 Brad Waxman (r) is a veteran of 32 years in the
wine and spirits industry. Mr. Waxman started his career with Superior
Wine & Spirits of Pennsylvania in 1977. In January 1999, he joined Southern
Wine and Spirits of Pennsylvania as General Manager of the Pennsylvania
Wine and Spirits Division.  In January 2002, he was named Executive Vice
President, General Sales Manager of Southern Wine and Spirits of
Pennsylvania. In January 2008, Mr. Waxman was promoted to the position
of Executive Vice President / General Manager. Above with his son Alex Waxman, who also works for Southern Wine & Spirits.

 Mary Becht and Zach Seidman, GM Craft & Claw. Zach tells me the place has gotten a great start. I can’t wait to have a chance to go check it out. It’s the old Mad River at 126 Chestnut Stree. YELP of course is right on top of things yelping it up.

This was a free event. I always wondered how many people could crash this event, although we all had to wear wristbands to allow us in the various rooms. I think if I were a drinker and not a blogger, and I had well you know, I would go out and buy a lot of wristbands. Do people still try and crash parties these days? I know when I lived in NYC it was a sport, especially the celebrity parties.

 Joanne Donahoe and Patrick Donohoe

Sharon Phillips Waxman and Moi

Gaby Gock, GM McGillin’s, Chris Mullins, McGillin’s,, with Megan Woody, Megan’s great grandmother was Mercedes McGillin Hooper who sold McGillin’s to sold it to brothers and experienced barkeeps, Henry Spaniak and Joe Shepaniak in 1958 (who spelled their last names differently, odd.) Keeping it in the family, Henry’s daughter, Mary Ellen Spaniak Mullins and her husband, Chris Mullins have run the restaurant since 1993.

Mary Ellen and Chris’ son, Christopher, Jr. (Henry’s grandson), recently joined the business.Gaby knew Megan and by chance they ran into her at the event, and by chance I was standing there and got this photo. Valerie Bryant (r) (Source)

I want to thank Southern Wine & Spirits for providing the liquor to my 5th Anniversary Party held at Reserve via rep Christal Watkins in September. We raised nearly 3,000 for Gilda’s Club of SJ.

Bluestone Fine Art Gallery and RHD’s Center for Creative Works presented an exhibition titled OUTSIDER: 1, New Works by the Artists of the Center
for Creative Works, a benefit exhibition.  It ran for the month of September, and they had a closing reception two weeks ago on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Old City.

Center for Creative Works is a unique, studio based vocational art program for people with developmental/intellectual disabilities.  At
Center for Creative Works we are committed to an environment in which
our participants learn, engage, create, build skills and take ownership
and pride in their work and in their place in their community.

Many of the artists came with their family to celebrate one last time among their beautiful works of art.

Some people were there to pick up works that they had purchased earlier in the month long exhibit.

 

 Matthew Correale and mom Debbie Hardimon in front of some of his art work. He also did

Brittany Thomas, Floyd Anderson and Erica Thomas were there. Erica works at the Center For Creative Works.

Matthew Correale, Lori Bartol, director, Erica Thomas, and teacher Cliff Ward. Lori tells me that the work the students do is viable in a lot of areas. They aren’t only exploring canvas talent, but there’s music, film making and other arts. 

Although the works of art are no longer on display you can contact the gallery if you had seen a piece you wanted to buy.

Twitter:      https://twitter.com/#!/search/BluestonePhilly

New policy here at PhillyChitChat & PhillyMag.com Please don’t take your pix off these sites until after 24 hrs, then when possible include a link back to page. If I see the pic on your FB page or twitter beforehand you go into the “Do Not Shoot List” until I completely cut off all of Philly and I add you again back on top, ok maybe not so harsh but my mortgage company thanks you.

Saturday was the 7th Annual Midtown Village Festival, and the largest ever with activities and vendors on at least 7 blocks surrounding the epicenter. I loved that not only were there vendors representing from the neighborhood, but this year they had a craft area and individual vendors. The more the merrier I say.

I love when people get into the spirit and wear balloon hats. Now I did try and wait til she looked up, but she never did. She got her message and ran off.

Jason, PBS DC, Steve McCann, owner of PhillyGayCalendar.com and Mark Segal, owner of Philadelphia Gay News

Meaghan Peeler, Nel Roch and Meredith Setzman. The last time Nel had this much fun it was at the Color Race this past summer.

Looks like Jose Garces is not going to build his bratwurst restaurant here

If there was every a bad place to put on performance art, it was the epicenter of the festival at 13th and Sansom. What a bottleneck it created. 

The 1st Annual King of Prussia Beerfest Royale preview party was held last night,

 it featured two beer tents, a
midway outdoor plaza (sponsored by Valley Forge Convention &
Visitors Bureau) filled with delicious concessions and other activities,
live music and much more! Presented by the King of Prussia Business
Improvement District (KOP-BID). Visit www.kopbeerfest.com for additional
information.

To enter, Beerfest Royale guests can purchase a six-pack of raffle tickets for $20 during the
entire festival weekend. The winner will be selected at the completion of Saturday, October 6
Session 2. The winner will have 10 days to claim the prize.

The two Saturday General Admission sessions (12:30pm-4pm and 5pm-8:30pm) offer a more casual, festival atmosphere and are currently on sale for $45 per person. Purchases of six tickets or more will also qualify for the “six-pack discount.” All attendees will receive a KOP Beerfest Royale tasting glass for unlimited beer samples during their session.

Plenty of room and parking, since it’s in the KOP Mall Parking lot. The Mall not the court. It’s along Rt 202

There will be bands, so bring your dancing shoes cause after a few brewskies you might want to do a jig

You do have to buy tickets to the two different sessions. It’s the last day of “Summer” why not go to them both. There’s lots of porta potties on site, with running water, just sayin’

Get there early for the couches. It’ll be like partying in your living room.

ABOUT KOP-BID

King of Prussia District (KOP-BID) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, special services organization. KOP-BID engages
public and private partners to collaboratively improve the economic environment in King of Prussia by making it
more vibrant, attractive and prosperous.
Event Website: www.kopbeerfest.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kopbeerfest
Twitter: @KOPBeerfest

Earlier this week I attended the University City District (UCD), the
neighborhood improvement and economic development organization in West
Philadelphia,  The State of University City 2012, conference at World Cafe in University City.

It’s amazing the growth of University City District has done in the past few years.   While the City was looking to other areas in the City to be the next hot neighborhood, UCD was steady as they go and should now be bestowed with the hot Philadelphia neighborhood title.

University City, the 2.4 square mile area just west of the Schuylkill River, has
become a place where Philadelphia’s future is happening today. It’s a
boomtown with roughly 70,000 jobs and $3 billion in current real estate
projects.  Each year, neighborhood institutions are investing more than
$1 billion dollars in R&D spending into new cures and innovation,
and University City is now home to 27 acres of new green space created
in the last year alone. Global innovators, venture capitalists, Iron
Chefs, and three hotels all call University City home.(Source)

 Built on the indispensable foundation of
clean and safe, UCD has steered its work to match the vision of its
partners, and to create new possibilities for the neighborhood. From The
Porch at 30th Street Station to parklets and pedestrian
plazas to transforming public space with art and even a neighborhood
composting facility, UCD continues to put its stamp on one of the most vibrant and vital neighborhoods in the region.

·        The
number of hotel rooms in University City increased to 759 in 2012, a
jump of 18% propelled by the opening of the Homewood Suites by Hilton.
·        Approximately
2.4 million SF of new development is currently under construction,
representing approximately $1.3 billion in investment.
·        Approximately
2.3 million SF of new development is planned for construction in the
next 1-2 years representing hundreds of millions of additional dollars.
·        Including planned projects, more than 27 acres of new green space will have been added in 2011 and 2012.

 

·        Despite
the slow national economy in 2011, new retail and dining options
continued to flourish in University City. Overall, University City’s
vacancy rate for ground floor commercial spaces fell from 11.3% to 10.6%
as the number of restaurants, cafes and bakeries increased by 5.3% and
the number of stores increased by 5.5%. Those totals include 19 new
dining and drinking establishments in University City.
·        In
2011, University City saw an 8% increase in restaurant and sidewalk
seating representing an increase in sidewalk and retail vitality.
·        Pedestrian
counts continue to grow, particularly on University City’s commercial
corridors, including Baltimore Avenue, where the number of pedestrians
has increased by 99% at peak times over five years.
·        UCD’s
signature events such as University City Dining Days presented by Wells
Fargo, and the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, which bring thousands of
new faces to our commercial corridors and shops, are vastly increasing
sales for our local merchants.

·        With
roughly 70,000 employees, University City accounts for approximately
12% of the city’s total employment, a number that has been increasing
consistently.
·        The
office market continues to be among the strongest in the region with a
vacancy rate of 8.8%, third lowest among 29 regional submarkets.

There was a board there where people could write their hopes, dreams and plans for what University City should look like in the next 15 years.

·        University
City universities have increased their R&D expenditures in science
and engineering by 83% in the last 10 years and by 316% in the last 20
years.
·        University
City researchers received more than 44% of all NIH funding distributed
statewide, as well as more than $42 million from the National Science
Foundation, an increase of more than 5% from 2010.

·        Median
home prices have risen dramatically – more than tripling over ten years
– and held their value despite the national housing downturn.
·        Enrollment
at University City institutions continues to climb, 6% in the last five
years, and tellingly, the percentage of graduate students choosing to
live in University City has risen dramatically
·        The
population of young and educated people in University City has
increased dramatically as the total population continues to grow:
Residents aged 20-34 increased by nearly 21% between 2000 and 2010; More
than 54% of UC residents have a Bachelor’s Degree or above,
representing an increase of nearly 41% since 2000; UC’s population grew
by 2.6% since 2000 and 4.9% since 1990.
·        Growth
in income is outpacing that in the city overall. Average household
income grew by 49% since 2000, compared to 23% in the city overall.
·        Thanks
to our density, excellent public transit service, and extensive network
of bicycle lanes, University City residents overwhelmingly commute
without using private vehicles, in stark contrast to the city or nation
overall – nearly 66% commute by walking, public transit, or bicycle,
compared to 36% in Philadelphia overall and 8% nationally.

  At UCD, we believe that University City’s
future is critical to the future of our city and region, and that the
unique assets, opportunities and environment here are both an engine of
prosperity and an exemplar of community.   UCD promotes a world class,
vibrant University City through major investments in public space
development, public maintenance and public safety, by connecting
entrepreneurs and residents to economic opportunity, and through the
creation and management of destination events. This publication
illustrates the exciting progress of the neighborhood and the impact of
University City District. To obtain copies, contact the UCD by phone at 215-243-0555 or by email at ucd@universitycity.org

University City District – Most of the information on this page came directly from the Press Release as it was much more extensive than my brain could comprehend besides, wow University City is a hot neighborhood to live in. So much going on. I love that Porch!!