Recap: Night at Nemours and Best of Delaware

Hello, dahlings. This month Gabby flits between two fabulous fetes—all for the kids. Night at Nemours and the Best of Delaware Party both knocked her socks off. Here’s why.

AFFAIR OF THE HEART

A Night at Nemours  was one occasion where the pomp fit the circumstance. At least 700 guests mingled under the billowing white tents on the clear, balmy evening, anxious to raise their glasses to a new cardiac catheterization lab. It just happened to be Marsha Borin’s birthday, and the best-dressed woman in town couldn’t be missed. Wearing a sparkling red jacket and diamond brooch, Marsha, a former ballerina  who is passionate about dance, is representing Rasta Thomas, a performer everyone in the world seems to know except us in Delaware. “Rasta’s coming soon, I promise,” she said. Her pretty daughter, Lisa Borin-Ogden, was accompanied by husband and nightclub king, Paul Ogden. “I’m up to 18 now,” Ogden said, referring, of course, to the number of joints he’s opened. Club 317 is his baby now. “I buy and sell. That’s what I do.” Lisa, who works legislature policy magic for Senator Joe Biden, was dazzling in an Armani pantsuit and Ralph Lauren shades. “Can our Joe be VP?” Gabby asked. Lisa smiled demurely. Her dad, the  great pediatrician Howard Borin, looked better than ever. Maybe it was because he took down his shingle to join A.I.’s staff after 37 years of magnificent service. A.I. is lucky to have him.
Jennifer Cassidy, a specialty nurse at A.I.,  looked fab in a purple Alex evening gown. Talk about work ethic. “I drove all the way to Middletown and back just to get my hair done,” she said. Her tall, model-slim, blond-haired  pal Thea Giaguintd of West Chester, looked magazine-cover perfect in a Mark Bower lavender gown. Purple, by the way, surpassed pragmatic black in the night’s evening gown category.
Andy Barabasz, who sells wine for Kressler Liquors, saluted his wife, Nemours communications coordinator Chris Barabasz. “I’m just the significant other,” he said. “Nah. I’d be here anyway. How can you say no to a sick child?”
Speaking of significant others, Brian DiSabatino, president of EDiS Building Systems, showed off his striking wife, Kelly, who dazzled in a gold ensemble from Talbot’s. Hal and Meg Erskin of Westover Hills looked spiffy, Meg rocking a black number from Ellie while her studly hubby wore a Hickey-Freeman tux. As George and Debby Hobbs of Wilmington approached, DiSabatino, always the jokester, blurted, “Here comes the two best Ping-Pong players in Delaware.” The Hobbses did not argue the point. Debby did admit to stealing her airy purple and white sundress from her 13-year-old daughter.
Gabby left hungry, not having relished what she hears was sumptuous surf and turf. So it was off to Luigi Vitrone’s Pastabilities for lobster gnocchi, where the greeting was grand. By all accounts, A Night at Nemours was a smashing success.
 

 

Page 2: A Pair of Twos

 

A Pair of Twos

Delaware Today and more than 2,000 of its closest friends celebrated two big decades of the Best of Delaware Party at the newly expanded—to twice its size—Dover Downs Hotel & Conference Center. A big, big blowout bash was too huge for just one ballroom. It was so big, it had not one, but two Chers.
Partygoers had essentially two excellent choices of everything to taste, sip and groove to. There were two Mexican restaurants, two Japanese offerings, two local brews, two beefs, two chickens, two lobsters, two tunas and two desserts (ice creams from Sweet Lucy’s and Woodside Farms Creamery and gelatos from Caffé Gelato and Grotto Pizza). And that doesn’t begin to cover the range of food and services offered by 100 participating businesses.
The one and only Jayla Boire, marketing maven for The Right Idea, led a fun group directly to the Harry’s Savoy Grill space for well chilled cucumber-mint mini martinis—or should we say mar-teenies? Delicious. We had two.
We couldn’t help notice a large fellow in a brilliant turquoise linen blazer with black pants and black-and-white patent wing tips looking cool as a cucumber. Ed Przelomski, we learned, is husband to Cher No. 1, Planning Factory owner, Cher Przelomski, who, as a party sponsor, donated decorations in a tropical palette of lime purple and pink. I’ll bet she had a say in her Ed’s jacket selection, too. Vying for the revelers’ attention was a shiny black Mercedes-Benz parked in the middle of the Rollins Center ballroom. The fine C-300W was donated for raffle by the i.g.Burton dealership and was proudly presented by i.g.’s own Pete Renzi. The lucky winner, Carolyn McCarty, was happy the money raised by the raffle would help Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth. Development director Susan Hillebrecht explained how the funds would help the organization continue to provide mental health services to local young people. The party’s other beneficiaries were Big Brothers Big Sisters Delaware and the Delaware Children’s Museum.
Nikki Boone, PR whiz for the Delaware Economic Development Office, enthusiastically introduced us to Gerry Wright of Monster Racing at Dover Downs. Gerry shared a humorous story of having to eat 14 Hatfield’s hot dogs while driving over 120 mph on the Dover International Speedway to film a commercial. That didn’t stop him from leading us to the Grotto Pizza table for a slice of that famous taste. Moments later, Grotto owner Dominic Pulieri posed with DT’s July covergirl, Delaware State University cheerleader Megan Marie Simms, and DSU’s Brenda Farmer.
On the topic of the best of the state, our new Miss Delaware America, Galen Giaccone, is certainly one of the prettiest and intelligent young woman we’ve had represent us, which she will do at the national competition in Las Vegas in January. Galen, a biology student at the University of Delaware, is soon headed to dental school (which may explain her terrific smile). Galen told us she enjoys serious hiking and chocolate-covered pretzels, which she picked up at the Govatos Chocolate table—one of the two chocolate shrines in the room.
Lady’s Image of Wilmington and Hockessin provided Galen with four stunning outfits to model throughout the night, so there were almost as many “costume” changes as a Cher concert. Wait a minute—could it be? Over there, in Dover Downs’ brand new Fire & Ice Lounge? Black hair, leather jacket, and thigh-high boots ablaze in rhinestones—it must be Cher herself.
Well, almost. The other Cher, aka  Helene Masiko, a most convincing impersonator, looks like the real thing. It’s all in the cheekbones. (That’s two Chers for those who are counting.) Her escort? Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Mr. Rod Stewart (portrayed by Cher’s real life hubby, Steven Crews.) They made quite a sight together on the baby grand piano! Ciao for now.

Our Best of Delaware Elimination Ballot is open through February 22!

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