Fairmount Park Conservancy 8th Annual Centennial Celebration

More than 500 park supporters attended the Fairmount Park Conservancy's 8th Annual Centennial Celebration held at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center.

From left: Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball (honored as the John K. Binswanger Park Champion); Kenneth M. Jarin, Ballard Spahr; Nick DeBenedictis, chairman, president and CEO of Aqua America; and Robin Wiessmann, Pennsylvania's Secretary of the Department of Banking and Securities.

From left: Pete Hoskins, Maryse Beliveau-Nance and Peter Harnik.

From left: Cody Erb, Jen Leone, Shawn Blubaugh and Caroline Davis.

From left: Alysia Robinson, Barbara Smith, Sheila Hess (director), Lorina Marshall-Blake (president) and Heather Falck, all of Independence Blue Cross Foundation, with Mike Hess.

JB Kelly and Alexandra Golaszewska celebrating Cinco de Mayo and the Fairmount Conservancy with mojitos.

From left: Leslie Anne Miller, co-chair of the 8th Annual Centennial Celebration, with Leslie Stiles, board president of the Pennsylvania Conference for Women, and Irene Hannan, senior vice president of Citizens Bank.

From left: David Wagaman, owner of Logan Square Cafe at Sister Cities Park, and Jarod Williams.

From left: Mark Focht, first deputy commissioner of parks and facilities; Nancy Goldenberg, vice president of development and planning and executive director of the Center City District Foundation, Carrie Rickey, film critic, and Paul R. Levy, president and CEO of Center City District.

Nicole Cashman, Cashman and Associates, and Nigel Richards, 611.

From left: Sam Katz, Katz Creative Group; Connie Katz; Kenneth M. Jarin, Ballard Spahr; Laura Kind McKenna, managing trustee of the Patricia Kind Family Foundation; David Montgomery, chairman of the Philadelphia Phillies; and Robin Wiessmann, Pennsylvania's Secretary of the Department of Banking and Securities.

From left: Julie Welker, Coldwell Banker, and Kristen Welker, White House Correspondent for NBC News and mistress of ceremonies for the evening. They were excited to have a mother-daughter reunion for an early Mother's Day present, Kristen said.

From left: Miller Parker, Natalie and Larry Wiltshire and Marjorie Ogilvie.

From left: Graham "Gray" Laub, Dilworth Paxson; Marc Brownstein, president and CEO, Brownstein Group, and Rob Keddie, Garces Group.

From left: Kate Wilhelm Chimicles, Principal at KWC Strategies, and Emily Bittenbender, managing partner at Bittenbender Construction.

Honarary co-chairs Mayor Michael Nutter and First Lady Lisa Nutter.

John Gattuso, president of the Fairmount Park Conservancy board of directors, spoke about the great happenings the conservancy is undertaking and the positive response they're receiving. He says that Inga Saffron, Inquirer architecture critic, calls the new plans for LOVE Park "A bold new vision."

From left: Kristen Welker, White House correspondent for NBC News; Leslie Anne Miller, co-chair of the 8th Annual Centennial Celebration; Katy McGinty, Governor Wolf's chief of staff; John Gattuso, president of Fairmount Park Conservancy; and Kathryn Ott Lovell, executive director at Fairmount Park Conservancy. Kathryn told the crowd that The Oval, an eight-acre pop-up park at 24th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, will be opening on July 15 and will run through August 23 with an art installation collaboration with Mural Arts, the popular beer garden, food trucks and themed days of programming every week from Wednesday through Sunday. Don't forget that "Love Your Park" starts this Saturday, May 9th, and runs through Saturday, May 16th!