HughE Dillon: A Night at Delilah’s

Wednesday night I attended Delilah’s 8th Annual Diamond G-String Award. It’s the only competition of its kind, and is open to dance teams. Entertainers and individuals from around the country work the stage and stripper pole and battle it out for the $10,000 winner-take-all prize.  The annual event usually draws a nice crowd of who’s who on the young social circuit, as well as regulars, those who enjoy watching erotic dancing, the curious and the uninhibited. The place was packed; the atmosphere was a huge Mardi Gras party.

Deciding the outcome was a panel of celebrity judges including: Playmate Megan Heaton; Infamous Blogger/Model Arthur Kade; Greater Philadelphia Tourism & Marketing Corporation’s (and PhillyChitChat It Girl) Sabrina Tamburino Thorne; WYSP’s Danny Bonaduce; Red Bull’s Heather Boling; nightlife guru Brian Taylor; Dustin Kaplan; and Jessica Scott of Jessica Scott, LLC.

Host for the evening was Robert Schimmel, recently named one of Comedy Central’s “100 Greatest Standups of All Time.”  Schimmel is in remission from cancer, but Arthur Kade reports on his blog that the popular comedian is scheduled for a liver transplant next week. Danny Bonaduce gave a tribute to Schimmel, praising him for being an inspiration to him.

Having gotten most of my stripper knowledge from the movie Showgirls, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the event. But I was pleasantly surprised and floored when I saw the production numbers performed. Not only were they creative, but darn these girls are in great shape strength-wise. Working the strippers bar, or hanging perpendicular. Just amazing. Plus, what a range of role-playing, er, I mean characters. Above is Isabella and her team of circus performers. At one point, one of these girls swallowed a sword. Julie Abramson worked the trapeze high in the sky, and some of her Jewelz Girls performed various circus acts as a guy on stilts juggled. It was quite a show like cirque de soleil but eventually the clothes came off.

Another highlight of the night was Contestant #1, Angela. Her team performed “Flashdance Foward,” bringing up a lot of awesome memories of my favorite decade.

ABOVE: Roller skating to the beat box, team Maniac danced with a bucket of water. Girls with ripped sweat shirts and amazing pole work was what helped Angela capture the $10,000 and a trip to Las Vegas.

In between acts I had time to roam through the crowd and see who was around.

ABOVE: Sabrina Strickland and Dan Kramer with ringside seats.  Out of the corner of my eye I spied an occasional lap dance, but very discreetly; not a problem as everyone was over 21 and consenting.

ABOVE: Katherine Rosado and Eliana Raggio, who’s known as the Voice of Delilah’s. Razzio does the radio commercials, as well as the answering service for the club; it’s her voice that instructs you what to do.

ABOVE: Legend in his own mind Arthur Kade.

ABOVE: Steve Thorne, Sabrina Tamburino Thorne, Lauren Beloff and fiance Anthony Sembello.

ABOVE: Delilah’s owner Joe Shamy, his daughter and son-in-law who run the day-to-day operations there and at Zee Bar, Bryan and Jenn Exlay, Tumoor, and Kelly Haye with party promoter Scotty “Buck” LeBon. (And all this time I thought Buck was his last name.) I really enjoyed the entire night. The club reminded me of a high-class speakeasy. I really appreciate that Delilah’s allowed me to shoot the show, and as much as I enjoyed capturing the night, I would probably go next time even if I wasn’t allowed to shoot it.  For a few shots from the night that are NSFW check out my site PhillyChitChat.com

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Mike Toub’s Birthday and our 16th Anniversary Dinner Celebration at Fish last Friday.

July is birthday month in my life, and last Friday it was Mike’s turn. We went to for dinner at Fish, at 1708 Lombard Street. Mike started with the Maine scallops and a beet salad (above). Yum. I had the octopus; I’m going through that phase. The menu changes often as they buy their fish according to what’s immediately fresh and available.  Last Friday that fish was grouper, which we love and can usually only get fresh in Florida, so we were ecstatic. We finished off the night with cheesecake, which is made on the premises by chef/owner Mike Stollenwerk’s mom; I kid you not. Looking forward to returning to Fish, especially after a few of our friends told us we have to try the skate.

On Tuesday, July 27th, Fish is hosting the Maine Event, a seven-course dinner pairing the fresh bounty of the rocky shores of Maine with beers from the Pine Tree State. Dinner is $85 per person; and seating is available at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (I’m a Leo so I don’t have a problem saying today’s my birthday, and there’s no doubt that come Monday, I’ll be writing about where I ate for my national holiday. No doubt my new workout trainer will not be happy with me come Sunday when we do weigh in.)

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OUT AND ABOUT

The October issue of  InStyle magazine nominates Ursula Augustine for Best Make-Up Artist in the Country.

I ran into real estate agent Alison Frick and NBC10’s weatherman Dave Warren the other night. You’ll recall that in May I reported on their upcoming August nuptials near Dave’s family home in North Carolina. Alison tells me that her bacherlorette party will be held at the Chelsea Hotel next week. Dave, on the other hand, is having a three-day bonanza celebration: one night at the Borgata, another night at the Wind Drift in Avalon eating chicken wings, and another surprise event in the City. No big honeymoon plans yet (until Sweeps Week is over). And Alison will be taking Warren as her last name. Just in case you were wondering like I was.

Bandmates Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, who are playing 37 cities on the 2010 Rush Tour, bunked two nights at the Ritz-Carlton Tuesday night before Wednesday’s concert at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden.

Last night Philadelphia’s Le Meridien GM Evan Evans welcomed contemporary artist Fernando Luis Alvarez to Trumbauer Ballroom. Alvarez was in town to kick off Le Meridien’s “A New Perspective” arts program, which will include an event series featuring contemporary culture talks. Alvarez didn’t disappoint as he put on quite a show with two female assistants, using clothing and body parts to complete his canvas. At the end the piece he produced included the luscious lips he is so famous for.

Down the Shore: Last night Jen Utley hosted an invite-only cocktail party for Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelers. The event at One Atlantic in Atlantic City is a first in a series of Thursday night invite-only jewelry and watch trunk shows.

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I HEAR
Philadelphians with type 2 diabetes can be interviewed for a TV segment on Accent Health next week. No acting experience is necessary. If you’re interested or know of anyone who would be great for this, please send an email to griffinburke@gmail.com.