Artisically Social
Amy Rosenberg's February Arts Recap
Amy Rosenberg is an attorney and arts and environmental advocate who founded the Arsht Center’s young patrons group and is the co-founder of the environmental non-profit organization Dream in Green. Amy is a member of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and sits on the boards of LegalArt, the Funding Arts Network, New World Symphony’s executive committee and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.
If grazing on 27 hamburgers, slurping down an apple pie bacon milkshake and spending $200 on all of the above doesn’t sound half bad, you may have been at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival’s Amstel Light Burger Bash this past weekend. Thousands of burger lovers turned out for Iron Chef Morimoto’s “Kakuni” burger topped with tender pork belly and hometown hero Michael Schwartz’s tantalizingly cheesy bacon cheeseburger.
Following a night of burgers, brews (and quite possibly Nexium), many of us regrouped and headed to the Perriet-Jouet BubbleQ, perhaps the most decadent of the Wine and Food Festival events, where we stood in line for Chef Emeril Lagasse’s ridiculously moist pulled pork and spicy slaw sandwich and washed it down with a little bit too much champagne.
One of the most swoonworthy dishes of the evening belonged to Gordon Maybury of the Loews Hotel. His perfectly cooked brisket bundled in a slightly sweet crepe reminiscent of a swedish pancake made this writer’s knees buckle. Nicest person award of the evening went to Matthieu, General Manager of Pacific Time, who went above and beyond the call of duty when the line at his restaurant’s station became too long for this writer and her friend. He kindly made sure we got to try several slices of the restaurant’s perfectly seasoned offering.
Sadly, many of the restaurants had run out of food (ahem, John Besh, Todd English and Susan Spicer) by 9:30. Guests settled their stomachs and their broken hearts with (you guessed it) more champagne and the musical renderings of Michael Jackson and Elvis Crespo.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami also had a blowout party in February with their Bohemian Bash, a night of cutting edge creativity inspired by the Dada movement. 800 people dressed in Bohemian chic danced, drank Grey Goose cocktails and got their fortunes told. Each of the Museum’s exhibit spaces was transformed for the evening. The most decadent room was the one filled with heavenly chocolate desserts and a gorgeous tablescape by the inimitable Israel Sands.
100 people gathered at ECCO Pizzateca and Lounge to listen to Maurice Ferre speak about current issues facing the arts in Florida. Ferre, a public servant for 25 years, spoke about his past support of Christo’s “Surrounded Islands” and Noguchi’s sculpture “The Slide” at Bayfront Park during his six terms as Mayor of Miami.
The Arsht Center’s Green Room Society threw a party at the W Hotel’s lounge, Wall, featuring complimentary Bombay Sapphire gin cocktails and the awesome Big Brooklyn Red. DJ Maneuvers kept the crowd on its feet. In attendance GRS Chairs Max Pierre, Jimmy Vargas, DonnaMarie Baptiste and Aurelia Crews.
The magnificent Vizcaya Museum & Gardens offered its members a lunch and learn event focused on preservation. Over a delectable lunch of poached salmon, cous cous and some of the best chocolate cake this writer has ever tasted, guests learned about Vizcaya’s painstaking efforts to preserve and salvage its gardens and statuary. The guests included Gene Sulzberger and the always affable Deputy Director for Advancement, Dennis Fruitt.
Hundreds of non-profit leaders crowded into UM’s Storer Auditorium for an eye-opening presentation by the University of Miami’s Center for NonProfit Management. The seminar, Branding & Differentiation: Communicate Your Organization’s Unique Role was helmed by Bruce Turkel, CEO of the visionary brand management firm, TURKEL, and Barbara Kahn, Dean of the UM School of Business Administration. Turkel’s father helped create the Center and paid moving tribute to him in his presentation.
The Tropees, the Historical Museum of Southern Florida’s young professionals group met at Bardot for cocktails and schmoozing. The groups’s mission is to support the Museum through social events, community projects and volunteer service.
New World Symphony presented Vivace: Great Loves of the Silver Screen. Six hundred guests representing the established as well as emerging leadership gathered for a concert at the Gusman Center followed by a glittering gala at The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building. The night was a romantic homage to such classic films as Doctor Zhivago and Madame Bovary.
New World Symphony’s Friends came together for an edgy percussion concert featuring the works of Edgard Varese and John Cage at the Lincoln Theatre followed by a festive party at Maxine’s Bistro & Lounge for Grey Goose vodka cocktails, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, light bites and a live show featuring Jude Papaloko and his drumming ensemble. Guests donated to Papaloko 4 Kids, a non-profit organization with the mission of empowering children through the arts.
Until next time…
Amy Rosenberg is an attorney and arts advocate who founded the Overtown Music Project and the Arsht Center’s young patrons group. She is the co-founder of the environmental non-profit Dream in Green. Amy is a member of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and sits on the Board of the Funding Arts Network. She also serves on the New World Symphony’s Friends Committee as well as The Wolfsonian-FIU’s Visionaries Committee.
