Category Archives: San Francisco

San Francisco Ballet Celebrates its 90th Anniversary

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The 2023 San Francisco Ballet Opening Night Gala celebrated the Company’s 90th anniversary and the next@90 festival.

The Opening Night Gala of the San Francisco Ballet traditionally kicks off the winter social season. Founded in 1933, it is America’s oldest professional ballet company. In a nod to its nine-decade history, the theme of the evening was next@90…the future starts now.

The SF Ballet boasts a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts”—among them the American debut performances of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Coppélia.

During the Champagne reception in the foyer, The War Memorial Opera House was packed wall to wall with balletomanes strolling among friends.

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SAN FRANCISCO SOCIAL DIARY: FOG DESIGN+ART FAIR PREVIEW GALA

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San Francisco’s Fog Design+Art Fair Preview Gala welcomed the crowd with a colorful installation by Bay Area artist Jenny Sharaf.

In January, the fog rolled in, yet everyone was delighted, as it was the Fog Design+Art Fair Preview Gala. Now in its ninth year, the much-anticipated international fair took place at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture.

Launched in 2014, the four-day event, dedicated to exploring modern and contemporary design, architecture, and art from around the world, has become one of the city’s most vibrant events. This year’s fair attracted 12,000 visitors, indicating that its pre-pandemic momentum is rebounding.

The Fog Design+Art Fair Preview Gala is held at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, a former military base on San Francisco Bay.

Over 2,000 viewers arrived for the opening Preview Gala, and 12,000 attended over four days.

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“Godmother of Wellness” Deborah Szekely, Visionary Founder of Rancho La Puerta, Honored on her 100th Birthday!

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Rancho La Puerta, a pioneering leader of the wellness-fitness movement, is named #1 International Destination Spa by Travel + Leisure magazine.

When my dear, longtime friend Deborah Szekely, founder of the world-renowned Rancho La Puerta Wellness Resort and Spa in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico, sent an invitation to her 100th birthday celebration, I booked my flight immediately.

For the occasion of Deborah’s birthday, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria proclaimed “Deborah Szekely Day” in honor of the health and wellness visionary, philanthropist, and community leader.

Deborah Szekely celebrated her 100th birthday at Rancho La Puerta, which she and her husband co-founded in Baja California, Mexico in the 1940s.

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SAN FRANCISCO BALLET’S 2022 SEASON GALA WAS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL EVER

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The San Francisco Ballet celebrated its 89th season in 2022 with the first in-person season gala since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Called “La Grande Fête,” the event honored Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson.

After a two-year hiatus, more than 3,000 patrons packed the sold-out San Francisco Opera House to attend “La Grande Fête,” as the evening was called. Once again, the gala upheld its reputation as one of the city’s most fashionable and magical evenings.

The evening grossed over $3.3 million, a record in the Company’s 89-year history and an astounding achievement.

The evening was held at the War Memorial Opera House.

The sold-out gala began with a Champagne reception in the foyer of the War Memorial Opera House before the performance.

Parisian-inspired floral displays designed by J. Riccardo Benavides embellished the lobby of the opera house.

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San Francisco Social Diary: A Century Of Good Taste — The Life of Culinary Icon Cecilia Chiang

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Centenarian and culinary icon Cecilia Chiang, pictured with her family in Beijing, migrated to San Francisco and revolutionized American appreciation for authentic Chinese food with her groundbreaking restaurant, the Mandarin.

During this time of Covid-19 and all its ramifications, it’s comforting to hear the inspiring story of Cecilia Chiang, a still-vital culinary icon who most recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

Cecilia Chiang, credited with introducing Americans to authentic Chinese cuisine and hailed as “the Julia Child of Chinese food” by acclaimed chef Alice Waters, is a great American success story. Cecilia is still as engaging today as when we first became friends back in the 1970s. She celebrated her 100th birthday with a spectacular party in San Francisco.

Opened in 1961, Cecilia’s legendary San Francisco restaurant, the Mandarin, was arguably the best Chinese restaurant in the U.S. for over 30 years. Today, she continues to inspire everyone from friends and colleagues to top chefs and restaurateurs the world over. She challenged the American idea of Chinese food and transformed our appreciation for authentic cuisine whatever its origin.

The beloved Cecilia Chiang celebrated her 100th birthday at 3-Michelin-star Benu in San Francisco and received a letter of congratulations from California Governor Gavin Newsom.

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San Francisco Social Diary: SF Ballet’s 2020 Opening Night Gala

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The San Francisco Ballet’s Opening Night Gala was a magical evening of brilliant performances plus socializing, dining, and dancing.

The theme of the San Francisco Ballet’s 2020 Opening Night Gala and performance was “Spellbound” — inspired by the magical, fairy tale-like elements of its 87th season program, which includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cinderella.

The gala celebrated Helgi Tomasson’s record-breaking 35th year as artistic director and principal choreographer. The company also welcomed new Executive Director Kelly Tweeddale and principal dancer Vitor Luiz made his final appearance.

The “Spellbound” theme was reflected in City Hall’s glittering décor.

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San Francisco Social Diary: Seventh Annual FOG Design + Art Fair Kickoff

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The seventh annual FOG Design+Art Fair attracted a record number of visitors, cementing its reputation as a major player among international art fairs.

Now in its seventh year, the annual FOG Design+Art Fair has helped turn the third week of January into the city’s unofficial art week. The contemporary art fair kicked off with a preview gala at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture to benefit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

This year’s fair featured 48 of the leading visual art and design galleries from around the world. During its four-day run, the record-breaking 15,000 visitors also enjoyed a series of programming with artists, curators, dealers, and other art and design leaders.

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San Francisco Social Diary: San Francisco Opera’s 97th Opening Gala

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The San Francisco Opera Opening Night production of Romeo and Juliet inspired the gala theme of “The Capulets’ Masked Ball.”

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA’S 97TH OPENING GALA

Los Angeles has the Oscar’s Red Carpet, New York has the Met Ball, and San Francisco has its Opera opening galas that are their equal in glamour and excitement. For many, it is a tradition to attend the prestigious Opera Gala that opens the San Francisco fall social season and is one of the West Coast’s most glamorous events.

The Opera Guild produced the highly anticipated opening night gala that launched the San Francisco Opera 2019-20 season.

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La Jolla Social Diary: La Jolla Music Society’s New Home ~ The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

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La Jolla Music Society’s highly anticipated Grand Opening Weekend to inaugurate The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center.

The La Jolla Music Society (LJMS), one of the West Coast’s foremost performing arts institutions, this spring held three consecutive days of concerts and celebrations to launch its 50th season and celebrate moving to its new home, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, known as “The Conrad.” As I had lived for many years in La Jolla and it’s dear to my heart, I flew out to participate in this highly anticipated and historic evening.

La Jolla Music Society’s new home, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, a $82 million complex, opened just in time to celebrate LJMS’s 50th anniversary season.

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San Francisco Social Diary: California Pacific Medical Center Holds Creative Opening Gala

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San Francisco California Pacific Medical Center Hospital celebrated the launch of its new Van Ness Campus, a $2.3 billion state-of the-art facility, with a creative opening night gala.

Following ten years of planning and several years of construction, Sutter Health opened its new $2.3 billion state-of the-art California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) hospital in the heart of San Francisco. The new Van Ness Campus is one of four CMPC campuses in the city.

In celebration, the CPMC Foundation hosted a grand gala featuring bountiful buffets, music performances throughout, and interactive exhibitions that introduced attendees to the Van Ness Campus’s advanced medical technology and personal touches.

The CPMC Van Ness building is the first in North America to incorporate fluid viscous wall dampers, energy dissipation devices that have been widely used for earthquake protection of structures in Japan.

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