The Scene In and Around Boston . . . The 26th Annual "A Company Christmas at Pops" with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra, one of the Boston Symphony's most important annual fundraising events, took place on December 16 at Symphony Hall. The festivities began with a cocktail-and-hors d'oeuvres reception sponsored by the Martignetti Companies. A delicious boxed dinner followed which included Shrimp Skewers with Lemon Aioli, Peppered Black Angus Tenderloin of Beef, Wild Mushroom Tartlet, Asparagus, and Pear Almond Tarts for dessert. Yum! Grammy award-winner Debby Boone headlined a list of special guests: Film and Broadway actor Frank Langella narrating "A Visit from St. Nicholas," the a cappella group The Swingle Singers, noted baritone Robert Honeysucker, who narrated "The Christmas Story," and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. William F. Achtmeyer and Richard F. Connolly, Jr. were the event chairs. This year's holiday concert raised more than $900,000 to benefit the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras, and represented support from nearly 100 New England companies. Building on a beloved 26-year tradition, 200 youngsters from children's service organizations throughout greater Boston were invited as special guests to this year's event. The children's program began at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, where the kiddos enjoyed dinner, visits from Santa and costumed characters, and goodie bags provided by a variety of in-kind donors. Silver Fox Motorcoaches provided buses to transport the children from the Fairmont Copley Plaza to Symphony Hall. Ms. Boone's singing was a definite hit with the audience. In between songs she shared wonderful slides and video clips of her family and talked about her famous father, Pat Boone, and her famous mother-in-law Rosemary Clooney. In fact, she wore a vintage black beaded dress given to her many years ago by Rosemary Clooney. It had been made specifically for her by the noted costume designer Edith Head, who had a long successful career in Hollywood. The perfect evening ended with everyone participating in "A Merry Little Sing-Along." Of course, we now all have bragging rights and can honestly say that we have sung with the Boston Pops!
Enjoy Enchanted Village at Jordans Furniture in Avon One of our fond Christmas memories is taking our children when they were youngsters to Jordan Marsh in Boston to visit the Enchanted Village. We were delighted to learn that Jordans Furniture rescued the beloved display and has set it up in its Avon store for all to enjoy. The following information is found on their Web site: "Once, called the Enchanted Village of St. Nicholas, the holiday display was originally created in 1958. At that time, Jordan Marsh Company commissioned a Bavarian toy maker to create 28 fully decorated holiday scenes with 250 "magically" animated figures. "Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, Jordan Marsh displayed the Enchanted Village in its Downtown Crossing store. The heart-warming display quickly became an integral part of New England's seasonal celebrations. Until 1972, when Jordan Marsh closed the display, a trip to The Village was a traditional event. "The Enchanted Village remained closed from 1972 until its rebirth in 1990. Then, in 1998, when Macy's purchased Jordan Marsh, the Village was sold to the City of Boston for a City Hall Plaza display. In 2003, a lack of funding forced the Village to move to the Hynes Convention Center. By 2006, Boston stopped displaying The Village altogether. In 2009, the Village was put up for auction. "Jordan's Furniture purchased the surviving pieces of the Enchanted Village at auction in May of 2009 and restored the vintage collection to its former glory. The surviving collection includes 59 mechanical figurines and 18 vignettes. The Village is on permanent display in Avon, and is open for all to enjoy during the holiday season." The Enchanted Village is free for all ages. For more information, visit www.jordans.com.
New Year's Eve Heavenly Ball II at Club Café Bistro We are all invited to Club Cafe Bistro's "New Year's Eve Heavenly Ball II," one of the most innovative New Year's Eve celebrations in Boston. We are told that cabaret performers Mary Callanan and Brian Patton will belt out Sinatra, Manilow, Rosemary Clooney, The Carpenters and others' classics. There will be full-course and a la carte dining in the brand new dining room as well as two DJ's, a Times Square countdown, champagne, dancing, favors and more. Club Cafe Bistro & Video Bar is located at 209 Columbus Ave., Boston. For more information or reservations, call 617-536-0966 or visit www.clubcafe.com. Enjoy! |
|
|
In addition to events covered and reported by the columnist, "The Scene..." |
|
Robert A. Rio, Esq., Senior VP & Counsel for Associated Industries of Mass., and his wife Sandra enjoy the reception in Higginson Hall prior to dinner and the "Company Christmas at Pops" concert at Symphony Hall. (Photo by Hilda M. Morrill)