‘Twere the Sites before Christmas

And All through the Houses

Each yuletide season, the Preservation Resource Center holds its Holiday Home Tour of significant houses in the Garden District or nearby. Featured for 2023 were those of Erika and Ted Elliott, W. Howard Moses, Neely and Steve Griffith, Scott K. James and Gregory Morey, Courtney and RJ Marse, and Anna and Tim Lucas. The bonus properties were St. Mary’s Assumption Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Chapel, while the tour headquarters and boutique location was the Louise S. McGehee School.

A number of those homeowners socialized the previous week at the showplace home of Mary and Bill Hines for the tour’s patron party, presented by Jones Walker. A beautiful Christmas tree set the merry mood. Peach and white floral arrangement complemented the Gracie Studio Chinoiserie wallpaper in the dining room, where gastronomic pleasures beckoned. The St. James Cheese Company, Joel Catering, Sazerac House & Goldring Family Foundation, and NOLA Wine Merchant rated thanks. So did the purveyors of the musical menu, Aurelian Barnes, Matt Perrine and Seva Vinet of the Excelsior Trio.

Headliners were PRC board president Charles Urstadt, vice president Aulston Taylor with wife Sevetri Wilson and guest Jenny Vorhoff, HHT committee chair Mirell Gallo and committee members Andrew Bofinger, Vivian Grandal, Lauren Jardell, Lorraine Lorio, Celeste Marshall, and Karon Reese. Also, PRC executive director Danielle Del Sol with husband Ramsey Green; from tour sponsor McEnery Residential, Parke McEnery, Sarah Martzoff, Hayley Bumpas, Kristen Nelson, Lesley Poché, and Ansley Seaver Marshall; Nomita Joshi- Gupta and husband Dr. Shaminder Gupta; and former PRC board presidents Jackie Derks, Jeanne Boughton, David Campbell, Naydja Bynum (with Adolph), Randy Opotowsky (with Kathy) and Tony Gelderman (with Katherine). And Hartley and Blair Crunk, Kimberly Field-Marvin and Michael Marvin, Amy and Garrison Neill and hundreds more, who Home-d in for seasonal sights. And delights!

Courting Cheer

The party spirit was palpable at the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club’s 147th anniversary celebration. Two “firsts” were noted: It’s the oldest tennis club in the Americas, and Elizabeth Brinson, who hosted the President’s Reception prior to the general-member bash, is the club’s first female president. NOLTC’s management team produced the popular event.

Festive features were numerous and included delicious food by the club, including a croquembouche and signature cocktails; decorations of hunter green and ivory; hunter green luggage tags as party favors; and two sets of music makers. Respectively on the first floor and upstairs in The 1876 party space were The Eric Merchant Trio and The Boogie Men.

Board of Governors members included president Brinson and husband Steve, immediate predecessor Dr. Claude Williams with Dr. Laurie, vice president John Jeremiah Jr. with Lisa, secretary Leo Congemi with Jane, and board members Patrick Summerour with Dana, David Kearney with Caroline, and William Wolf. Among the club members socializing were Timothy Francis and Ashley, Mary Marshall Seaver, Jason and Catherine Kuuskraa, Dr. Barry Faust Jr. and Hristina Koleva, Dr. Sanjay Dravid and Marlowe Maylin, Robert and Barbara Olivier, Jonathan and Deidre Roniger, Mahlon and Karen Sanford, Walker and Margaret Saik, Claiborne and Carter Perrilliat, Robert and Danielle LeBlanc, and Matthew and Jeri Ann Glodowski. The party consensus? Everyone had a ball.

A Jingle and a Bingle

Count them! Hundreds and hundreds of attendees! A top event of not only the Christmas season, but of the year, the annual Fête de Noël of the Ladies Leukemia League filled the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton New Orleans Riverside with gratitude and glee. Doctors Zhen Lin, Rasoul Pourebrahimabadi and William C. Wimley were the 2023-2024 grant recipients. Anita Hymel and Rosalie Edwards did the presentation.

LLL co-presidents Jacquelyn Milan and Angela Riviere garnered limelight, as did Fête chairmen Julie Vanderbrook and Lisa Baynham, Parade of Prizes chairmen Colleen Tassin and Kathy Pastorek, mistress of ceremonies Camille Wentworth, Janet Patterson for the invocation, entertainer Marshall Harris, and Eugenie Williams and Michelle Landry of Dillard’s, which staged the fabulous seven-scenes fashion show. Further notables were Harold and Eulalie Petit, Sue Webber of Webber Productions, Mary Jane Becker, Vincent Saia, Cynthia Guidry, Michele Danos, and leukemia survivors/patients Ronny Michel and Elise Michel Southwick, adults, and children Carson Landry and Syndey Schuler. That foursome appeared at the end of the fashion show to a hearty ovation. Joining them as they coursed the runway were Mr. Bingle and, ho, ho, ho!, Santa Claus.

The luncheon’s streetcar-related theme “On Track and Tooting our Horn for a Cure” figured in the decor, as did the ceiling-high and brilliantly lighted (Christmas) Tree of Hope, which recognized donors. The 114 auction items — and Harold Petit as the purchaser of a Ramsey’s Diamond Jewelers necklace; raffles with Carole Bauer, Fallon Esponge and Bonnie LeBlanc as winners; a tasty meal of salad, short ribs and a yule log dessert; and the spirit of giving were on track during the LLL largesse.

The Bingle Brigade

Christmas decor was party pervasive at the home of Carrel Epling, when the Metairie Woman’s Club assembled — with Kayla Gilberti and Kathy McLeod as spearheaders — to celebrate the success of the club’s “Christmas in October.”

Passed hors d’oeuvres and a sumptuous buffet array were relished by MWC president Dee Dee Lancaster, Melissa Monaghan, state Rep. Polly Thomas and Dr. Bob, Jo Ann Bohm, Freddie Landry, Beth Buchler, Bunnie and Bob Emery, Janet and Irvin Schwary, Judy and Elm Wood, Linda Lancaster, and past presidents Joy Babin, Ginger Crawford, Jerry Gast, Melanie Rose, Patricia Seale (with Glenn), Coleen Perilloux Landry, and Beverly Randazzo. Catching every eye was Mr. Bingle, whose many likenesses filled the 10-foot Christmas tree.