Movie Madness: Opening night of the fifth annual Milwaukee Film Festival brought out the usual cast of a thousand-plus. After the initial film, Break Up Man, cinema fans flooded Discovery World to schmooze and enjoy the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, guitarist Evan Christian, and Dead Man’s Carnival with Gypsy Geoff Marsh, Sir Pinkerton Xyloma and illusionist Gregory (Sideshow) Dobbs.
Filmmakers were out in force, including Cecelia Condit, Rob Yeo, Tate Bunker, Andrew Gralton, Brad Lichtenstein, Jessica Farrell, Susan Kerns and Anita Alkhas, new co-director of the Festival of Films in French. Also partying were donors Carmen and Bill Haberman, plus Pat and George Kashou, Deb Brehmer, Nic Bernstein, Chris Zapf, Becky Bell, Joan Janus and the dapper Shaverick Allen. Milwaukeean George Tillman Jr. was greeted at the airport by almost a dozen relatives when he arrived from Los Angeles with his Milwaukee-native wife, Marcia, and son Chase to celebrate his Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete. A blowout reception at Hotel Foster prior to the screening was packed with Brew Town glitterati, from Mayor Tom Barrett to another Milwaukee native, Defeat screenwriter Michael Starrbury, who scooted down from the Twin Cities with his wife, Tina. The Tillman/Starrbury collaboration, a Sundance sensation, played to an overflowing house at the Oriental, where the mayor proclaimed it George Tillman Jr. Day.
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Happy B-Day: The Iron Horse celebrated its first five years with a fun-filled evening of champagne and style. Milwaukee’s trendy Who’s Who included hotel owner Tim Dixon; primo stylists Matt Mackai and Parker Davis of Scottfree Salon; Ruvin Brothers’ Tony Enea; Barb Pellegrino, Bon-Ton ad/creative VP; custom jeweler David Liska and lady love Jill Hackbarth; plus Saud Khazal, Kohl’s art director; Jaime Levine and Jamie Berger, owners of the to-be-opened event space, The Box; and twin sisters Adriana Guardia and Gabriela Grbic, owners of Canela-Canela. Jhousy Leon, who owns Blush Beauty with Tom Schaefer, performed her makeup magic while Jennifer Dale and Chantal Otto of Faye’s peddled exotic accessories. Models Hanna Edstrom and Neda Stevic posed. Holding court outside was Rufus, a 150-pound South African mastiff Boerboel, with owners Tim and Kim Staacke.
Donor-Do: The Florentine Opera Company hosted a donor party to celebrate the completion of the Kate & Don Wilson Casa di Opera. The Florentine’s 2013-14 studio artists who will live in the house—Julie Tabash, Erin Gonzalez, Aaron Short and Pablo Siqueiros—performed a beautiful rendition of “Bless this House.”
General Director Bill Florescu guided tours of the state-of-the-art residence designed by La Lune owners Mario and Cathy Costantini. Music lovers included Julie and Jon Berlin, Barb and Harry Drake, and Mary and Ross Read. From the Florentine were artistic administration director Lisa Kay Hanson, marketing czar Richard Clark, and director of development Eric Lind with his wife, Susi.
Afghan Tales: More than 600 people poured into the opening weekend at Villa Terrace to admire the exquisite and poignant exhibition of Afghan war rugs. Explaining the story behind the traditional artwork were curators Enrico Mascelloni and Annemarie Sawkins. Listening in were Sylvie Horvath, owner of Jewel of India Yoga; artist Pat Hidson; Milwaukee Public Theatre’s Jill Haas; MATC teacher Bill Hiltner and his wife, Edna; as well as artmeister Graeme Reid and mum Kay, in town from Scotland to celebrate his big 5-0.
Literary Lunch: Packers star/dancing wiz Donald Driver, author of three children’s books, was integral to attracting nearly 700 supporters to SHARP Literacy’s luncheon, “A Novel Event,” at the Pfister Hotel. We Energies’ Thelma Sias and SHARP board member Jan Lennon, with WTMJ’s Susan Kim as emcee, hosted. Driver, the featured speaker, received an enthusiastic standing ovation. Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee students Narayanna Brown, Thomas Lacy and Erin Frazier and others “interviewed” Driver. Chaperones were curriculum director La Donna Leazer and academy director Damion Woods.
The SHARP crew included President and CEO Lynda Kohler, Executive Director Marlene Doerr Kreilkamp, and Board President Dan Meyer. Selling their SHARP books were artist Francisco Mora and his wife, Eileen Gourdoux. Sales were brisk at the Boswell booth, where Dan Goldin was pre-selling Driven, Driver’s upcoming memoir. Circulating were Rachelle Shurn, one of nine volunteers from Marquette; Linda Wright and Maureen Hansen, each eager to get a photo with Driver; software developer Paul Fricano; restaurateur Omar Shaikh and his wife, Connie; Wells Fargo’s T.J. Marini; and Kristin Sheehan with pals Janice Pennington, Melanie Booth and Angela Vogel.
Beverage Celebration: Among Milwaukee’s 21 events during Cocktail Week, B&D paused at Distil, where Broker’s Gin gurus Kurt Boustead and Keri Eliason discussed that alcohol’s fabled history. At the bar were Stefanie and Keith Reid and friend Boyce Velazquez, plus Jim and Sharon Medved from New Berlin and their pal, retired principal Jim Griswold. In charge were Alcoholmanac publisher Brian West, Ryan Casey and Distil’s GM Jeff Kinder, the latter starting new jobs at c.1880 and Lucky Joe’s Tiki Room later that week.
Fifty Big Ones: EconomicsWisconsin (EW), the Wisconsin Council on Economic Education, celebrated 50 years with a soiree at Manpower’s corporate offices. Charlie Sykes emceed, while UWM Emeritus Professor Mark Schug led the presentation and new EW President Enrique Bacalao offered an overview of the organization’s programs. Chairman Greg Charlesworth recognized key EW supporters and an auction for a New York City jaunt was won by Emory Ireland.
Organizers were Michael Lamm and Lavinia Ketchum, with EW’s Stephanie Czosnek and Kathy Gardner. Board members included Janet Cohen, Beth Ratway and Al Haas, whose wife, Kris Jenson from Bader Rutter, was at the United Adworkers Milwaukee 99 Awards Show at the Harley-Davidson Museum. An ad she worked on for Johnson Controls, the “Classic Buildings,” was inducted into the Wisconsin Advertising Hall of Fame.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the Oct. 17 issue of the Shepherd.
