Lifestyles

The roses were red, the violets were blue, but nothing could hold a candle to seeing our favorite Art in Bloom.

Hypnotized upon arrival by the 26 exquisite floral creations designed by local garden clubs and non-profits, we were in awe of the fantabulous job done by the Women's Committee to cultivate this dandy at the Carnegie Museum of Art that charmed the petals right off of 290 of us!

What a tremendous breath of fresh air that breezily danced through the Scaife Galleries, brought alive with the spellbinding fragrance from flowering dogwood, dendrobium orchids, vendela roses, Fiji mums, calla lilies, birds of paradise, blue delphiniums and Queen Anne's lace. As we posie-d along, it was only natural that our appreciation for the timeless elegance of the museum's permanent collection grew from budding to blossoming. From delicate to daring, each distinctly unique floral interpretation did a spectacular job of capturing the sheer joy and poetic exuberance of such masterpieces as Jackson Pollock's "Number 4," Mark Rothko's "Yellow and Blue (Yellow, Blue on Orange)," and Vincent van Gogh's "The Plain of Auvers."

Downstairs, early evening cocktails were enjoyed amidst an ambiance that boasted 13 additional ooh-la-la designs from the magic gardens of our city's finest, including a 100-year-old antique cast-iron garden fountain adorned with blue and purple hydrangea, and azaleas in shades of white, pale pink and fuchsia, all accented with an assortment of lush, leafy greens à la Allison McGeary Floral.

Friday morning, green thumbs gathered within the Music Hall to watch designer extraordinaire Ron Morgan dazzle us with his flower power as he shared tips on how to make a lasting impression (Keep your arrangements subtle; they shouldn't slap you in the face when you walk in the door ...) and tricks on ways to keep our posies fresh (fill the vase with 1/2 water, 1/2 chlorine bleach ...), punctuated with brilliant witty banter that had us rolling in the aisles. "We are so spoiled in California! Every flower you could possibly want is right at your fingertips 12 months out of the year!" It's a hard-knock life out on the West Coast for sure, but by the time he was done effortlessly creating no fewer than five knockouts with his signature combination of flowers, fruits and vegetables, we were ready to cancel his car service to the airport and move him into our spare bedrooms.

Ten dozen American Beauties for co-chairs Ranny Ferguson (with Jay) and Jennifer Muse (with Jay) for treating us to one heck of a bloomin' good time!

Floating amongst the floral were WC prexy Susanne Wilkinson, Janet and Bill Hunt, Wallis and Marshall Katz, Peggy McKnight, Gail and Tom Murphy, Kenny and Gordon Nelson, Jill Sandilla, Jodi Amos, Bernadette Smith, Nancy Scranton, Betsy Amis, Lowrie Ebbert, Jo-Anne Bates, Tracey Reading, Mernie Berger, Art Stroyd, Mary Lynn Majors, Martha McClellan, Melissa and Matt Ferrari, and Anna Quintana and Mark DeSantis.

Also, Bill Ferguson (Ranny's son) with Katie O'Malley, Toto Fisher, Nancy Byrnes, Antoinette DePasquale, Suzie Katz and Michael Samakow, Karen Meck, Elizabeth and Worth Hobbs, Bonnie and John Kristofic, Ann and Marty McGuinn and Bill Chisnell.

Top of the Class

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Do not go where the path may lead: go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." A gorgeous Thursday afternoon and no better way to spend it than in the company of some of our city's best and brightest for the 11th annual Fund for the Advancement of Minorities Through Education (FAME) luncheon at the Duquesne Club.

Recognized for their outstanding academic achievement at The Ellis School, Shady Side Academy, Winchester Thurston, St. Edmund's Academy and Sewickley Academy, there's no doubt that the future is wide open for these talented young trailblazers, and we look forward to seeing the impact that they will continue to make on our world.

Standing tall were scholars Janessa Benn, Kaila Elliott, Michelle Lemani, Dane Johnson, Raediah Lyles, Ashley Jones, Eric Dingess, Michael Fulmore II, Shayne Harris and Maya Dean, along with director Constance Horton, Jane Nicholson, Margaret Gilfillan and Steven Reinsel.

Cheers to 20 Years!

The ballroom of the Westin was a literal Grand Central Station on Saturday as the good ol' boys (accompanied by their favorite gals) reunited once again for Central Catholic's 20th Annual Viking Victory Auction, where 760 alums exchanged war stories about their days walking the quad and tossing the pigskin with their now-legendary brethren.

"We're going to create an auction item that your brother is going to have to fulfill. I'm thinking a dozen or so people at the Marino house in Florida ... Dan can play the role of host," joked Master of Ceremonies Larry Richert to his wife, Cindi.

Three cheers for chairs Duffy and Dana Hanna and Hoby and Stacey Hanna for their glorious evening that raised more than $250K for the blue and gold! Also, honorary chairs Hoddy and Mary Anne Hanna, Principal Richard Grzeskiewicz, Brother Pat Powers (his senior class was first to graduate in 1931!), Steve Jr. and Mary Zappala, the Rev. John O'Toole, Jimmy Dunn and Jan Wagner, Jim, Sara and Max Wymard, James, Nancy and Debbie Donahue, and Pat Griffin.

Shooting Stars

We're lucky enough to live in a city that not only has the distinction of being "Most Livable", but one that raises the curtain on an extraordinary treasure trove of talent in theater and the arts, from seasoned pros to young up and comers.

Saturday evening and we rolled out the red carpet for Point Park University's Starmakers Gala, which this year honored Shirley Barasch (with Ron), Nadine Bognar, Dolores Bold, Dennis and Annie Cestra and Marsetta Lane Schweiger (with Richard) with the Performing Arts Partnership & Achievement Award. During the past 15 years, the tireless dedication of these dynamos has helped raise more than $2 million for the school's prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts.

Luminaries also included prez Paul Hennigan and Colleen, honorary chairs Rich and Anne Marie Boyd, Nancy and Milt Washington, Dennis and Ronnie Yablonsky, Dee Jay Oshry, Mariann and Dr. Stan Geyer, Ron and Penny Lindblom, Jean and Charlie Horne, Jack Tomayko and Martha Yannessa and Tom and Bonnie VanKirk.

Spectacular Six

A brutal rush-hour bottleneck Thursday evening brought on by the quittin' time whistles from the downtownies combined with the traffic from the fans making their way home after the Bucco game weren't enough to keep more than 500 from saluting six of Sixburgh's community champions at during the Art Rooney Award Dinner at the Westin.

"I thought I'd have to abandon my car on the Fort Duquesne Bridge and walk over," laughed one die-hard who made it just in time for the ceremonies to begin, which this year benefitted the Catholic Youth Association.

Dan and Art Rooney II did the honors, presenting Eat'n Park's Suzy and Jim Broadhurst with this year's Art Rooney Award for their commitment to making (and baking!) our Three Rivers even better before we waved our Terrible Towels for additional honorees Dr. Eileen Zungolo, Jamie Dixon, Stacy Smith, Andrew Kerr and Joseph Pryor.

Amongst the crowd were CYA CEO Mary Ann Heneroty, Judy Owen, Bernadette West, Jim Sadowski, Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and John and Marlene McGrady.

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