Members of The Opera Company of Philadelphia's Club Bravi enjoyed a short reception during the intermission of Porgy and Bess at The Academy of Music on Friday, April 27th. The performance was just spectacular and received a lengthy standing ovation. This is the 25th Anniversary Season of The Opera Company of Philadelphia.

The Main Ballroom at the Park Hyatt Bellevue was filled on April 25 with over 300 women, mostly, who were there for the annual Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Daisy Day Luncheon fundraiser. Then event raises money to help cover the financial gap between the amount that insurance companies will cover and what the children's families can afford to pay. Over the past 25 years, the annual campaign has raised more than five million dollars. CHOP provided more than fifty-eight million dollars in uncompensated care in 2000. A fashion show with designer Michael Kors' Fall 2001 collection was presented by Saks Fifth Avenue and featured supermodels Maggie Rizer, Missy Rayder, Karen Elson and Oluchi; all of whom came in from New York to support CHOP's humanitarian efforts.

Members of Club Bravi, the opera Company of Philadelphia's premiere patron program, gathered during intermission of the opera Werther, for an Intermezzo reception in the Academy of Music Ballroom on Wednesday, March 14th. The opera returned to the Academy nearly two decades after its last performance. This is the 25th Anniversary Season of The Opera Company of Philadelphia.

The Morris Animal Refuge held its annual FurBall at The College of Physicians - Mutter Museum on Saturday, March 10th. The shelter is the country's second oldest and has the support of many Philadelphia animal lovers.

We were hearing a lot of buzz about Barry Gutin's Cuba Libre, a fairly new restaurant and bar in Old City, so naturally we had to check it out. Our hotspot check revealed a fun restaurant with authentic Cuban cuisine. As the night wore on and people finished eating, the bar area filled up. The crowd was along the lines of Gutin's clientele from his other establishments Egypt and Shampoo. Try the appetizer sampler plate to start off your meal or, if you're bound for the bar, try a Mojito, a blend of white rum, hierba buena (mint), lime juice and guarapo (pure sugar cane juice).