The Crimson Lounge at 333 N. Dearborn was the scene of the latest in the red-hot Diva Series parties organized by Sarah Vargo. These unique events celebrate influential women in media, fashion, beauty, finesse, PR and more. Last Thursday’s party toasted the talented and beautiful members of the NBC Chicago Street Team. Members include 
Ashley Lobo, Joy Di Naro, Jen Knoedl, Theresa Carter, Katrell Mendenhall, Kaylee King, Desiree Prieto, Liz Holland, LaShonda Matlock. Natalia Avilez, Kaylee King, Rikki Greenberg, Amanda Hunt, Damaris Woodbury, Blagica Bottigliero, Amanda Hunt and many other fabulous ladies! There were also plenty of NBC MALE 
Street Team members to keep the party exciting including the handsome D. C. Crenshaw, Glenn Murray, Jim Grillo, Raminder Chadha, Zoran "Hungry Z" Sopcic, Street Team boss Marcus Riley and Shlomi Rabi to name a few. I was fortunate to be one of the three 
Teamers chosen to tape a short segment for 24/7 along with Ashley Lobo and Blagica Bottigliero. (I will let you all know when it will air. Catie Keogh is the host of the show and it’s on every Saturday night at 12:30 a.m. on NBC5.) The 
Crimson Lounge, if you haven’t been, is a very handsome space with a clubby feel a la Annabel’s in London. The crowd was happy and having fun. Other guests included Gregg Zgonena, Mark Dunnett, Ed and Mike Howlett, Chuck and Charley Jordan, Loretta and Sven Asmus, Gerry Xydis, Loreta Corsetti, Joey 
Majumdar, Huzefa Kapadia, Nisha and Neal Goyal, the sexy Romantika girls, Kate Gordin and Sasha Tsupina and Joffrey dancers Abigail Simon and Lauren Stewart. Post Diva Party took us to the late night favorite Bijan’s Bistro at 663 N. State for dinner. It’s become quite the hangout for celeb 
spotting. The night we went, gorgeous Carla Gugino was there dining with friends. She will be leaving the Goodman Theatre Production of “Desire Under the Elms” on February 17th to promote her two upcoming films so catch her while you can! Photos: top right, event organizer Sarah Vargo, Joy Di Naro and Jen Knoedl; top left, Natalia Criollo-Avilez, me, Marcus Riley and Ashley Lobo; middle right, me taping a segment for 24/7; middle left, cameraman Scott Conway and producer Meredith Ogilvie; bottom right, Joffrey dancers Lauren Stewart and Abigail Simon; bottom left, Sven and Loretta Asmus; bottom right, Carla Gugino. For more photos from this event, click HERE. A big thank you to Joy Di Naro, Gerry Xydis and Ed Howlett for these fantastic pics!
And speaking of talented partygoers, I want to commend Angela Rose (a dynamic woman I met at the Diva event) for her strength and courage to start the national non-profit organization called PAVE which stands for "Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment."
At the age of 17, Angela was abducted at knifepoint and assaulted by a repeat sex offender. At the police station, the detective didn’t even believe her story. Through her anger and a strong sense of vigilance, she started PAVE and this Sunday, February 15th, Angela will be celebrating eight years of shattering the 
silence of sexual violence with a party/fundraiser called “Love Fest” at Martyrs at 3855 N. Lincoln Ave. from 4 to 8 p.m. The emcee is Frida Lay with music by Anne Harris. They have a variety of entertainment planned with a burlesque show starring Red Hot Annie and HBO Def Jam poet, Nikki Patin. Raffle will include a W Hotel getaway and Bulls tickets. There will be many surprises throughout the evening so please come out, have fun and support this very worthy cause started by this brave, strong and determined woman, Angela Rose. Tickets are $25 at the door and $20 pre-event. Photo: top left, PAVE founder Angela Rose; bottom right, Angela Rose and me.
And another Street Teamer’s performance you won’t want to miss is Miss Amanda Hunt’s at Green Dolphin Street on Friday, February 13th. Selected as a “Woman Making a Powerful Difference Through Song” and featured in Jet Magazine, this is a performance you won’t want to miss. Amanda will be singing hits from Nancy Wilson, Etta James, Dinah Washington and Nina Simone using her own renowned vocal skills… I’ll see you there! :) For a sample, please go to www.myspace.com/amandahuntsings. Photo: Amanda Hunt.
The Joffrey Ballet is on a roll! On January 5th, they launched the Academy of Dance, the Official School of the Joffrey Ballet located in the Exelon Education Center at the Joffrey Tower at 10 E. Randolph St. All course offerings are overseen by Joffrey artistic director, Ashley Wheater and include Community Open Classes which offer training to anyone, ages 3 and up, with kids options including basic training in ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop and Latin dance techniques. They also offer a pre-professional division for serious students ages 7 to 17. This program is by audition only and teaches many different dance styles as well as ballet technique. 
The Academy will also offer open classes for children and adults in Pilates, yoga, ballet, hip-hop, modern, jazz, tap, African, Latin and contemporary plus two dance-based workout classes. Registration is ongoing so visit www.Joffrey.org for more information. And don’t miss their dynamic Winter Program beginning February 18th through March 1st. It includes four riveting ballets by Gerald Arpino, George Balanchine, Nijinsky and Tom Ruud. You can purchase tickets by calling 312-902-1500 or visit www.Joffrey.org. Photos: top right, Joffrey students in a photo by Herbert Migdoll; bottom left, Joffrey Winter Program.
Yoshi’s Cafe at 3257 N. Halsted has been in business since 1982 so they are certainly not the new kids in town but don’t tell owners Yoshi and Nobuko Katsumura this. Every night they are creating new experiences and excitement with their ever-changing but always delicious menu selections. The night we were there, they had created a special dinner featuring the menu from President Obama’s Inaugural luncheon. It included seafood stew with lobster and shrimp, duck breast with sour cherry chutney and herb roasted pheasant with molasses whipped sweet potatoes and apple cinnamon cake served with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. I sure hope President Obama keeps up his workout routine with lunches like this! Congrats on your 27th anniversary, Nobuko and Yoshi! Photo: Yoshi and Nobuko Katsumura with their "special guest."
I want to congratulate my friend, Chris Long, on her fabulous 50th birthday celebration at MK recently! She was surrounded by friends that included Christopher Clinton Conway, Jonathan Ryan, Helen Melchior, Christine Ott, Mary Jo Basler, Sandy Deromedi, Ann Waters, Amelia Silva, Chuck and me. Her cake said it all: “Here’s to growing young!” Congrats, dear Chris! Photo: Chris Long blows out the candles at her fabulous 50th birthday party. For more photos from this event, click HERE.
A huge congratulations to one of the best-dressed women on the Grammy Red Carpet last night – Jennifer Hudson – who won for Best R&B Album! I LOVED her dress and what’s even better is that the designer, Roland Mouret, is carried at Nordstrom! And if you have an extra $3,200 burning a hole in your pocket, pick up one of your own. Photo: Chicago's own Jennifer Hudson in Roland Mouret on the Grammy red carpet.
Hope you’re enjoying the first hints of spring…I know I am!!! I’ve been scouring all of the fashion magazines for spring and all I can say is GET READY FOR SOME COLOR!! Woooo Hooooo! We sure need it right about now! And whether you like her or not, Kate Moss rules ALL of the ad campaigns; she also happens to be my personal favorite. What a chameleon…. Photo: fashion icon Kate Moss.
And now, I would like to close with a song! Who knew he was a fan? Song and video by J. Rutherford.
Love, CandidCandace
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