HughE Dillon: Cashman Christmas Party

Belle of the Ball Nicole Cashman (second from left) held her annual holiday party last night at the Chestnut Club. The party is always a highlight on my calendar as the guest list is a who’s who of Center City and some of your favorite media personalities. With Nicole here, are a few Cashman alums, Kate Kosarek, Carrie Nork Minelli, Susan Norcross and Christa Guidi.
 

 
Below: Several elected officials attended, including Councilman Bill Green, here with Margaret Green. Also there: Tony J. Payton Jr., Mark Squilla, Seth Williams and Margaret Hughes.
 

 
Below: Jesse Rendell was there with his wife, Beka Rendell, who is listed among Philly Mag’s most fashionably dressed in the December issue. I don’t know if you can tell, but they are glowing. They are going to be parents in June, making former Governor Ed Rendell and Judge Marjorie Rendell grandparents.
 

 
Below: I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Chestnut Room, but in its former life it was the balcony of the Arcadia Theatre. The room was grand, but Brian Toner, of Eventions, created an intimate setting with lighting and decor. He’s with Sharla Feldscher and singer Eddie Bruce, who you can catch tonight at Sugarhouse during his weekly concert, “Swingin’ on the River.”
 

 
Below: Mike Joson, CBS3’s sports anchor Lesley van Arsdale, Marshall Harris, Comcast Sports and NBC10’s Aditi Roy. Aditi is excited to be back in Philadelphia, and finishing her MBA at Penn, after a stint in L.A. over the summer filling in for NBC10 alumni Kristen Welker, who has been reporting from the White House since Savannah Guthrie left the beat to co-anchor the third hour of Today. I recently heard that Kristen will soon be permanently named White House correspondent for NBC.
 

 
Below: Fox 29’s John Bolaris with another beautiful blonde on his arm, Erika Schiff. But don’t read too far into it as Erika, who has appeared in I Married a Mobster and was a finalist in season 10 of American Idol, will now by a special correspondent at Fox 29 during the upcoming 11th season of American Idol, which debuts January 11, 2012 on Fox.
 

 
Below: Another Philly celebrity chef is making a move from the Ritz-Carlton’s 10 Arts. Pastry chef Monica Glass is heading to Mike Stollenwerk’s Fish. December 10th is her last day at the Eric Ripert eatery. In October, Jennifer Carroll headed out on her own, and is currently looking for place to hang her kitchen tools.
 

 
Below: It’s good to see another NBC10 reporter return as Justin Pizzi was out for a few weeks after neck surgery. He’s feeling much better and looks great, especially surrounded by beauties Ali Gorman, 6ABC’s health and medical reporter, and anchor for Action News at 4 on 6ABC, Alicia Vitarelli.
 

 
Below: If ever there was a power group this would be it: real estate genius Alan Domb, chef/owner Michael Schulson, who is opening a third restaurant (hopefully in April) in the Philadelphia area (Suburban Square) with his friend and Rouge owner Rob Wasserman, called the St. James Place, Nina Tinari, who has recently left the lobbyist field and ventured into a consulting business with her sister Mia, and Betsy and Holden Hummell (Holden’s COO at Metropolitan Reporting Bureau, Betsy is the president of Rittenhouse Square). Betsy tells me that the park is in the middle of a fundraising campaign to secure brand-new brighter lights and security cameras. It’s not that the square is unsafe, it’s more about controlling the graffiti that has seemed to plague it lately.
 

 
Below: Ashley Baptiste dances the night away with Gus Calabrese to the tunes of DJ Adrian Hardy. Food for the evening was provided by Larry Cohen’s Brûlée Catering.
 

 
Below: Thom Cardwell, NBC10’s Dave Warren, with Ali Warren, of Keller Williams, and James Duggan.
 

 
Below: Two Carries: Cary Simons, and professional makeup artist, Carie Brescia. Up next for Carie is participating in the Women’s Committee “One Stop Shopping” at the Union League on Wednesday.
 

 
Below: Mac Davis, Inside the Phillies, with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki, Alexa Darrow, John DiCarlo, adjunct journalism instructor at Temple University, Kristen Johanson, CBS3, and Matthew Nadu, CW. Matt tells me a movie he was in Down the Road, which was filmed in South Jersey with Clint Howard, just won Best Feature at the L.A. Film Festival … congrats!! Then it was on to Rumor nightclub for all of us for the after party, and as fun as Rumor can be, there was no comparing it to the really great festivities of the 2011 Cashman Holiday Party.