Candid Candace: Arianna Huffington Thrills the Casino Crowd

What a thrill it was to be included in the by-invite-only luncheon with Arianna Huffington last week at the Casino! It was a crowd filled with bold-faced names including Maggie Daley (who sat next to Arianna at the head table) along with 100 other lucky guests. Thanks to Sugar Rautbord, who knows everyone on the planet, for putting this event together along with sponsor Oak Family Advisors, which is an investment advisory firm for wealthy families. (Sadly, I don’t need their info.) From the moment Arianna took to the podium, you knew this was not going to be one of those ho-hum luncheons. A lot of guests were surprised she even bothered showing up after the Huffington Post’s merger with AOL for $315 million ($300 million in cash) which was finalized during the halftime of the Super Bowl. The Huffington Post is privately owned by its co-founders, Arianna, chairman Kenneth Lerer and a group of happy investors. AOL says a combination of the two sites will reach a total of 117 million unique U.S. visitors (globally, 250 million). Before the merger, the Huffington Post reported 24 million unique visitors a month. (In comparison, the NY Times receives 30 million unique visitors a month.) Arianna was introduced by the National Editor of HP, Timothy O’Brien, the former editor of the NY Times Sunday business section. She was also presented with a lovely crystal bowl by Oak Financial Advisors Chairman John Fitzpatrick. Arianna’s first comment made everyone laugh, “For those of you who haven’t heard me before, this accent is real.” She was funny, charming, obviously brilliant, attractive with beautiful blond hair and impeccably dressed. In other words, this girl has it all and you could’ve heard a pin drop during her speech. She talked about growing up in Greece not speaking a word of English and yet she visualized attending Cambridge by taping a photo of the university on her mirror. You can imagine the success she achieved there when her goal was realized. She also said her mother taught her to never be afraid of failure. She said no one has succeeded without multiple failures and that her two daughters are tired of hearing about them. Her comments about social media in the 21st century were so insightful, too. She said, “Old media is consumed by sitting on a couch. New media is consumed by galloping on a horse.” Her initial plans for the Huffington Post included bringing together the greatest minds of our time. The first person she asked to blog was Arthur Schlesinger…and he had no idea what a blog even was! She said, “People love to blog because it gives them immediate gratification and also makes them feel like they are a voice of our times. There are no deadlines or obligations. They can write or not write.” She explained that the Huffington Post challenges conventional wisdom and there is no left or right. They strive to bring you the best journalists from around the world. The Post has 26 sections including a popular one recently suggested by writer Nora Ephron on divorce. When Arianna had lunch with the head of Twitter recently, he told her there should be three goals to success: Number one, make money; number 2, make a positive global impact; and number 3, make sure people have fun doing it along the way. After the merger was finalized, Arianna had her first analyst’s call. She told them, “I intend to stay here forever because I don’t want to do anything else.” She plans on expanding video and including more women’s content among other ideas. I can’t wait to see what this dynamo does next! Thanks again to Sugar Rautbord and Oak Financial Advisors for this remarkable opportunity to see how social media is changing the world. Guests spotted in the crowd included Maggie Daley, Bill Farley, Ross Glickman, Kristina and Mike McGrath, Helen Melchior, Kerrie Kennedy Mudd, Christopher Clinton Conway, Barbara Kipper, Chaz Ebert, Sarah and Ted Tetzlaff, Laura and Andrea Schwartz, Laurie Davis, Lynda Silverman, Melissa Babcock, Christine Ott, Lydia Alouf, Kathy Lidbury, Margaret O'Connor, Jim Hennessey, Bill Zwecker, Susanna Negovan, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Melinda Jakovich, Cynthia Pacholick, Shirley Ryan, Margot Pritzker, Grace Barry, Marilyn Miglin, Tracy Clifford and her dad Bob Clifford, Carol Prins and hubby John Hart, AOL top brass, NY Times top brass, co-host Oak Financial Advisors' Chairman John Fitzpatrick and his wife Susan, Paula and Alexis Fasseas, Larry Wert, Maureen Smith, Martha Melman, Diane Primo and Jim Cobb among others. (Photos by Mitchell Canoff)

This week, Ted Baker London celebrated their Chicago debut with an evening of “London eccentricity.” Fun loving fashionistas gathered at the store at 1009 N. Rush to view the sophisticated spring collection on this balmy evening. The finger food was plentiful from Public House and there was even double-decker bus transportation from the store to the after party (at Public House) provided by Chicago Trolley & Chicago Double Decker Bus Co. Veddy British, don’t cha know?! Ted Baker appointed two Brand Ambassadors for the city: Lynne Bredfeldt (Park Hyatt) and Corri McFadden (E-Drop Off)…excellent choices! A portion of the proceeds from the event benefitted The Joffrey Ballet. DJ Megan Taylor kept the energy high for the shoppers taking advantage of the evening’s discount. There was even a sign-up to win a $1,000 shopping spree! This party had it all. British retailer Ted Baker began in Glasgow in 1988 and has become a global brand which produces men’s, women’s and children’s clothing as well as fragrances, accessories, eyewear and cosmetics. Seen in the crowd of revelers were Julee White, Cece Gonzalez and Melinda Joseph, Joni Kilmurry, Gail Dobinson, Bill Zwecker, the Joffrey’s Christopher Clinton Conway and Ashley Wheater, Helen Melchior, Ken Norgan, Rich Foreside, Ben Soldinger, Kevin Aeh, Monica Dimperio and Isaiah Freeman-Schub among many others. Welcome to the Windy City, mates! (Additional pics courtesy of Jack Edinger and www.yourtrendy.com. Click here for more!)

Spring is in the air and thoughts turn to love: whiteCHICAGO and Brides Against Breast Cancer are co-hosting their fifth annual gown sale in Chicago on April 15th and 16th. Proceeds will enable the Making Memories Foundation to grant wishes to breast cancer patients. Over the past four years, whiteCHICAGO and their brides have donated over $787,000 in gowns to Brides Against Breast Cancer! For this “dress drive” (which will take place throughout the month of March), they are in need of contemporary style gowns, slips and veils that are less than seven years old. So if your wedding gown is hanging in the closet or taking up space underneath your bed, please consider finding a new home for it and support this worthy cause. With over 32 shows every year across the nation this event enables brides-to-be to find the gown of their dreams at incredible savings while making wishes and dreams come true for women and men diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. For more info, please visit www.whitechicago.com and www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org.

If you haven’t heard of The Happiness Club, you should know about it. Founded in 1992, this group of Chicago kids are committed to helping their peers by encouraging positive values and social change through original hip-hop, pop music and dance. Diverse in age, race and background, The Happiness Kids sing out against drugs, gangs, violence and smoking and say “yes” to education, tolerance, high self-esteem and helping the environment. Their upcoming fundraiser on Sunday, March 6th, at the Park West (322 W. Armitage) will be chaired by Marc and Maureen Schulman and your support will help change the lives of every child in the club by giving them the opportunity to receive professional training in the arts. They, in turn, use these skills to create a show that addresses vital issues relevant to kids today. There will be a silent auction, beginning at 5:30 p.m., with a Best of Chicago Buffet, Lou Malnati’s pizza, Vienna hot dogs and, of course, fabulous Eli’s cheesecake among other tasty treats. At 6:30 p.m., The Happiness Club will perform featuring Grammy Award-winning recording artist Rhymefest with Kevin Coval, urban poet and founder of Louder Than a Bomb (the biggest poetry contest in the country). For tickets and more info, please visit www.thehappinessclub.com/pages/mainEvent.php.

If you love the Oscars, there is no party in town like the Center on Halsted’s! Co-chairs Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, James Baptist and Doug Sandborn invite you to an evening of glitz and glamour on Sunday, February 27th. Beginning with a Red Carpet Pre-Show at 6 p.m., the event will be held at the Center, located at 3656 N. Halsted. There will be a silent auction as well as cocktails and a delicious buffet. Attire is fun & fabulous! Believe me, I’ve been in years past and there is no way I would miss this parteeeeeee! Please visit centeronhalsted.org for tickets (beginning at $75) and for more info. To view more event pics, click here!

We are so lucky to have THREE Chicago designers in competition for the “Oscars Designer Challenge 2011!” With only nine designers competing nationwide, this is a wonderful coup for the City of Big Shoulder...Pads! I wish Miriam Cecilia Carlson, James De Colon and Borris Powell the best of luck! Voting ended Monday and the winning design will be announced during “Oscars Red Carpet Live,” the live arrivals show that will air on ABC beginning at 6 p.m. CT on February 27th.

I’m looking forward to the 2011 Bearcat Ball, “Tropicure,” benefitting Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation on Saturday, February 26th at Union Station! This island adventure will feature raffles, auctions with iTouch bidding and dancing until midnight! For tickets and more info, please visit www.bearnecessities.org or call 312-214-1200, ext. 29. (The artwork on the invitation was created by Lorenzo, age 5.)

Congrats are in order for my fit and determined friend, Rochelle Smith Trotter, for recently completing the New Orleans Marathon in 2 hours and 19 minutes! Her goal is to run 50 marathons before age 50 in 50 different locations! Next up: The Boston Marathon in April! Charlie must be so proud!

Congrats to Macy’s for the tribute to the late Judy Neidermaier in two of their windows. What a classy gesture for this Chicago icon!

The Cabaret Queen of Chicago, Denise Tomasello, will be performing at Maxim’s (24 E. Goethe) on Wednesday, March 9th, with a 7 p.m. reception and 7:30 p.m. show. I can’t wait to see her again! For tickets and more info, please call 312-742-8497. The Chicago Tribune calls her a “showstopper” and I do, too!!!!

That’s Candid Candace for this week! Please check in next week for more party and event news of the movers, shakers and just plain cool!

Love,
Candace
[email protected]

P.S. Huge thanks to Luxe File Chicago’s Kerry and Sally Schorr for including me in their fun segment, “What’s in Her Bag!” I just love this clever idea and their always awesome website! Check it out here!