What a Labor Day, scenesters! I think I needed more than one day off. My genetic equal, twin sister Blair, flew in from the other bay area - San Francisco - to celebrate with me. And WOW! What a turnout at the Seminole Hard Rock, with an all-day, all-night soiree that didn't seem to end. I also hit the opening of Chanel at Saks and Friday Night Fights, which were held the weekend before. I won't "be-labor" you with any more, so on to the scene.
Chanel's number is now 813
On Wednesday (8/30), Saks welcomed the newest in luxe to Tampa, Chanel, with the opening of its new in-store boutique. Tampa Bay Illustrated, Saks and the Children's Dream Fund partnered for an intimate cocktail soiree. Ever the one to score the good gift bag (and yes, they were GOOD!), I was bummed I lost out on the $3,000 shopping spree they raffled off for the dream fund. Seen shopping and sipping were the St. Petersburg Times' own Mary Jane Park, Tampa Bay Illustrated's Lou Keelan, Casey Slott and Cindy Brown, Bank of Florida's Alison Tutwiler, newly married Elise Gruman, Saks general manager Heather Shaw and club director Denise Richardson.
Rocking out Labor Day
The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is known to host good parties. Johnny Pease and Regis Gillespie with ROCK TAMPA and Groove Productions are known for packing the place with hot beauties and even hotter crowds. Labor Day was no exception as the crowd swelled at the pool, despite the swells of rain.
The Malibu Rum Bikini contest was the real highlight of the day, with Casey " Mingle Mixx" Turner and TQuest sharing emcee duties. The 23 contestants competed for three top prizes: First place received $1,000, second got $750 and third $250. The winner was Sevasti Biondi of Tampa.
Our Luis Santana discovered a bevy of beauties (check them out on the opposite page or at photos.tampabay.com). One such set was the the Minxxs Girls of Sarasota: Jessica Walsh, Nancy Himes, Stacie Koups and Angela Hassay.
Also spinning were DJ Structure, Chris Craze, Jason Perez, Tony Faline and special guest Ivano Bellini from Club Space in Miami. Also grooving were Crystal Lewis, Jenny Cook, LeighAnne Jones, Ray Bohns, Calvin Wolfman, Ashley Albers, Shawn Thomas, Scott Woodbury, Heather Treasure and Jim Steuer.
Sparkling evening of boxing
A regular who's who of Tampa made it out to the latest installment of Fight Night at the Pavilion in Tampa on Friday (9/1). With the fights concluding Nov. 10, the action was sizzling! Most sparkling was Jordan Scorevich and his fianc Diane, sporting a gorgeous 7-carat canary diamond engagement ring! Equally as dazzling were Tom and Deanne Harmon, Alan Bridges and girlfriend Kellie Newsome, Steve Hagstrom, Ernie McDowell, Eddie Del Rio, partner of Garcia and Ortiz, Mel Klinghoffer of A-1 Contract staffing, Dr. Dan Tapia, Dr. Dick DeMarsh and his band of Fight Night regulars, Sam Ballinger and his wife, Agi, from Makes & Models magazine, Dr. Dan Whitaker, Joe Redner, Sandy Mahr of the Mahr Company, Michael Gardner of Able Mortgage, Eric Sobel of E Construction, Dr. Larry Mandell and Herbie Feldman with his girlfriend, Lillian.
Now get out there and B scene!
- Do you want to B Scene? Tell me about it! E - mail events to me at bscenetbt@gmail.com.
Brooke Palmer is head of m arketing and p ublic r elations for the Arts Center in St Petersburg. She also owns R.S.B.P. E vents, an event planning company.
