HughE Dillon: Rodin Garden Party

The Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art go roaring '20s for the annual bash.

The Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a lively group of young professionals and art enthusiasts, hosted the 21st annual Rodin Garden Party on Friday evening. The evening celebrated the completion of the Rodin’s museum and garden rejuvenation project, which restored the building and grounds in the spirit of the original 1929 design. That’s why this year’s event was a flapper-era bash inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Originally the party was going to be held at the newly restored museum, but because of weather issues it was moved to the Perelman annex at the Art Museum. Below: Sporting their best Jazz Age outfits, Erika Berlinghof, Leslie Mignin, Emily Gerstell and Jenny Hobbs enjoying the evening.
 

 
Below: Co-chairs of the event, Jacqueline Cassidy and Jay Park, hosted a pre-party at 6 p.m. for VIP attendees, which included private guided tour of the newly reinstalled galleries at the Rodin Museum. After, the guests were shuttled over to the Perelman building.
 

 
Below: Max Tuttleman, Christine Bugg, Chelsea Wurzak and Brian Govberg enjoyed the evening before heading over to Zama for a bite to eat.
 

 
Below: Jessica Loschky, Chelsea Plesnitzer, and Allison Schwartz. The gals and I chatted about fashion. They’re so excited about the new stores on Walnut Street like Anne Klein, Intermix and Bettie Page joining the ranks of one of their favorites, Joan Shepp. They enjoyed the exhibit at the Perelman building, “Prom: Photographs by Mary Ellen Mark,” which runs until October 28th. After the event the girls were heading to XIX where bartender Steven makes a killer cucumber mint gimlet.
 

 
Below: Brittany Verga and Christopher Boneth. Boneth collects watches, and to accessorize his Gatsby look, he’s sporting a pocket watch. Surprisingly the only one in his collection.
 

 
Below: Marti Gordon, Ilana Zdorovyak and Kaila Dickstein. Ilana tells me she’s looking forward to Restaurant Week this week. She has five favorite restaurants (Chifa, Union Trust, XIX, Zahav and Kanella) that she and her BFF rotate into their dining-out schedule throughout the year. But for Restaurant Week, she says they’ll eat at each restaurant at least once during the next two weeks.
 

 
Below: Karen Young, Pamela Mudd, Lee Zarzecki and Gil Young. The original Great Gatsby movie starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in 1974. Next year Leonardo DiCaprio is starring in a modern version direction by Baz Luhrmann. It will premiere May 10, 2013.
 

 
Below: Leah Davis and Jennifer Munez. The girls told me they were looking forward to several things in October, including Restaurant Week, the Midtown Village Fall Festival on October 6th, and pumpkin beer.
 

 
Below: Daniel Robbins, Kayla Bolyai (wearing Nicole Miller), Alexander Hankin (center, co-chair of the Young Friends Winter Gala held in February), sister Danielle Hankin, who is wearing her prom dress, and Ashley Begley (wearing Nanette Lepore). After dancing the Charleston at the affair, they were looking forward to going to the speakeasy-inspired Hop Sing Laundromat.
 

 
Below: Kirsten Henderson and James Price had a great time at the party, but look forward to next year, better weather and the return to the Rodin Museum. I caught them as they were headed over to the main building of the Art Museum to enjoy Art After 5, which was extended for the evening to accommodate the Young Friends affair.
 

 
Below: Keith and Maureen Newberry head home with Bethann Conduit, and in the back there, Christine Grandzol. Conduit won the basket of doggie treats, and Newberry was kind enough to carry it for her.