Gala-Hopping with Bentley Owners and Leslie Odom Jr.

Riccardo Dallai Jr., Jack Yeaton, and Valerie Hsia. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

If there were a high school yearbook for Boston monuments, we know who’d be voted most popular. Some 300 people in formalwear came out to support Friends of the Public Garden during the Green & White ball, held at the Newbury Boston.

The venue was transformed into a sylvan glade—complete with a tunnel of lush greenery leading into the cocktail reception and raffle tickets fashioned into wreaths made out of ivy and white roses—while dinner was served in the ballroom, with its windows overlooking the evening’s beneficiary.

Adding to the stunning visuals was the sparkly crowd, which included cochairs Gloria and Kenda Coleman and Victoria Sullivan; force of nature Brooke Sikora; man-about-town Jack Yeaton; Tiffany’s charmer Cedric Tonello; car czarina Melissa Steffy; fashion plate Sofia Ostrer; diamond dealer Jennifer Kinsman; art collectors and aesthetes Karen and Michael Rotenberg; dashing meteorologist Eric Fisher; Newbury Street threads peddler Riccardo Dallai Jr.; and the debonair Michael Forrester with his lucky other half, Courtney, who seems to win the raffle prize at every charity gala she attends and went home that evening with a pair of emerald earrings.

Rondella Richardson hitting the dance floor. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

Overheard during the event:

“I have to be up at the crack of dawn to take my daughter to rowing practice.”

“Just be thankful she didn’t get into horses, or you’d be in Wellington, Florida, right now.”

However, the evening’s most amusing exchange came during the cocktail hour:

“Whose table are you sitting at?”

“Bentley’s.”

“Bentley who?”

“Bentley, like my car.”

Dinner is served. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

Gloria Coleman, Leslie Singleton Adam, Liz Vizza, Victoria Sullivan, and Kenda Coleman. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

Cedric Tonello. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

Sofia Ostrer. / Photo by Cheryl Richards

Joe Berman, Alyce Lee, Thomas O’Brien, Katherine Clark, and Patrick Lee. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

The centerpieces. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Bookworms, Unite!

As cochair Lisa Pierpont astutely pointed out, “Hollywood might have actors and movies, but Boston has writers and books.” Accordingly, the Associates of the Boston Public Library held their annual Literary Lights dinner at the Fairmont Copley Plaza to honor a group of prominent authors and raise funds for the library’s Special Collections.

See more photos here: Bookworms Unite! Scenes from the Literary Lights Dinner at the Boston Public Library

Leslie Odom Jr. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Tickled Pink

It was a giant ballroom filled with haute-couture Barbies and their adoring Kens when the Breast Cancer Research Foundation hosted its annual Hot Pink Party at the Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. Front and center was the evening’s Unsung Hero Award recipient, Nancy Adams, introduced by Julie Joyal and surrounded by their impressive posse. The evening raised an eye-popping sum, and Leslie Odom Jr. gave a dazzling performance that lent the party its trademark kiss of magic.

Lynn Dale, Frank Wisneski, and Kelley Doyle. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Julie Joyal and Nancy Adams. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Daniel Mathieu and Simone Winston. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

First published in the print edition of the July 2024 issue with the headline, “Parks and Recreation.”