Derby Day brought together town & gown, arts & ideas, education & business & sports, government & philanthropy, at two separate rollickin’ bashes. And wouldn’t you know — Gone Dishin’ made it to both.
The 162nd “Run for the Roses,” the Kentucky Derby, was celebrated in grand style at the annual celebration of the event that is co-hosted by Claudia Merson (at left in top photo, with Frank Mitchell and James Welbourne) and Mike Morand (in center of second photo, between Peter Salovey and Joshua Viertel). Sporting bonnets and fedoras, the festive crowd gathered to place their wagers, knowing that the big winner of the day would be the Courtland Seymour Wilson branch of the New Haven Free Public Library.
It is in the home stretch of a capital campaign!
No ordinary crowd, this group was armed with excel spread sheets rather than scratch sheets, with which to make “educated” guesses. This year’s party was all the more generous and festive with the addition of the non-stop music by The Professors of Bluegrass: Peter Salovey – bass/vocals (and dean of Yale College), Katie Scharf, fiddle and vocals (Yale Law ’06/history ’10), Aaron O’Connell, guitar/vocals (Yale history ’10) , Justin May , mandolin/vocals (Dartmouth ’00) , Josh Viertel, guitar/vocals (Yale Sustainable Food Project), Oscar Hills, banjo (associate clinical professor, psychiatry, Yale class of long ago…). Louis Audette, academician and neighbor, supplemented on bass until he had to leave for another gig.
A true spirit of “communiversity” pervaded the event. Barbara Lamb (New Haven Office of Cultural Affairs) and Elsie Chapman (Yale development office and NHFPL board member) (in photo) …
… and Maryann Ott (New Alliance Bank Foundation) and Louise Endel (right and center in photo, with Andrea Pizziconi) were joined by the Wilson family, Ruth, Jon and Jacqueline.
Gloria Arons, in full riding regalia, and husband Marvin surveyed the creative millinery array.
Allen and Hazel Williams (in photo) coordinated their lilac attire, matching the blooming garden flora. Alderman Charles Blango stayed close to the fabulous buffet of traditional Derby favorites while others did not stray from the display of Kentucky bourbon libations. The crowd was a true assemblage of New Haven’s real life arts and ideas; the worlds of education, business, profession, art, architecture, sports, government and philanthropy were a perfect mix.
The celebration continued with a birthday celebration, for Andrea Pizziconi, at the Johnson Simons building on Church Street, a project she is co-developing with John Wareck. The fabulous condo/loft space was a perfect indoor setting for more dining and dancing, led by dual party animals Reggie Solomon (Yale’s Office of New Haven and Government Affairs), Lindy Gold (CT State Dep’t of Economic and Community Development), David Slifka (Yale’s Investment Office) and his wife, Lisa (in photo). Conversations resumed, mid-sentence, with none having missed a beat during the short drive over to the newest adaptive reuse of real estate.
All bets are that the Friends of the New Haven Free Public Library and the Christie Wareck Company and their pals and associates will strengthen their efforts to improve every aspect of life in the city — ¬¶ — ¬¶..All for the Greater Good!!!