San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
@MissBigelow
December’s high-society swirl of parties.
It’s that most wonderful time of the year when a party-beat reporter revels in a merry roundelay of purpose-free soirees: No assigned seating, lengthy dinner programs or scribbling of quotes in her notepad. And sans a luxury auction benefiting some very fine cause de jour, Miss Bigelow can easily slip in, out and on to the next holiday hootenanny.
This year’s December do-si-do featured a few holiday gatherings underpinned by intention, and we’ll get to those next Sunday in Holiday Parties, Part 2. But as Dr. Freud (kinda, sorta) once said, “Sometimes a party is just a party.”
At the holiday lunch hosted by OJ and Gary Shansby at Harris Restaurant, OJ nixed a mike request by co-host Dr. Seth Matarasso.
“Seth would never stop talking,” she said, with a laugh. “This is an afternoon to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season with dear friends.”
Festive it was: Santa and his helpers welcomed 200 guests at the beautiful, old-school steakhouse (adorned with bounteous bouquets by floral designer Claire Marie Johnston) on Pacific Avenue — a favorite spot of the hosts, who just slide down the hill from their homes to dine in the classic wood-paneled bar accented with murals and banquettes.
This was their third holiday lunch, an Old Guard tradition inspired by the late John Traina and Ken Rainin. However, this new edition is biennial, which as one socially-savvy guest noted is rather smart.
“That allows hosts to prune their guest list,” she naughtily noted. “When someone realizes they didn’t make the cut, they seek cover with the age-old excuse: ‘Unfortunately we had to be in New York that week.’ ”
Wilsey whirl: For 36 years running, blue bloods beat a path to the couture cocktail festivities hosted by Dede Wilsey. And even if Wilsey, Fine Arts Museums board president, runs late from one of her many meetings, the party begins in earnest without her.
Atop black-and-white parquet in Wilsey’s foyer, gloriously adorned with green boughs trimmed in pink bows and eye-popping masterworks, her staff expertly threads through the 300-strong crowd proffering bountiful silver platters. Holiday tunes by Marianne Kent and her musicians set toes tapping. And caterer Diane Glotzer wows palates with her classic hors d’oeuvres: baconwrapped chestnuts! Caviar beggar purses! Pipinghot onion puffs!
But this year, on Dec. 6, four key guests were missing: Her son, Ambassador Trevor Traina, his wife, Alexis, and their children Johnny and Delphina, now residents in Vienna, where Trevor diplomatically waves the United States flag.
“Trevor called, saying they’d miss my party. But they just entertained 400 military members and their families at the American Embassy, which is a lovely holiday gesture,” said Wilsey. “I told Trevor, with that big a crowd he could easily pretend he was at my party.”
Cool yules: Bohemians — both members of that old-school club and actual artists, though some lay claim to both heritages — flock to two anticipated fetes of the artistic persuasion each year.
Following a brief hiatus, architect Sandy Walker and his wife, former gallerist Kay Walker, dove back into the fray with a gathering in their artful home, where a pianist tickled the ivories as guests nibbled McCalls delicacies.
Among the crowd: gallerists Gretchen and John Berggruen; designer Stanlee Gatti; photographer Fred Lyon and his wife, interior designer Penny Rozis; Jennifer Morla (whose design monograph just landed) and artist Tom McKinley dressed in a hot-pink Christmas tree costume.
Keeping with a 26-year-tradition, Chronicle Books CEO Nion McEvoy and his partner, editor Leslie Berriman, hosted a hip hothouse featuring sublime sushi and joyful carousing.
“I have a lot of friends from different areas of my life and we like to mix them all together,” said McEvoy, newly appointed SFFilm Board chairman and founder of McEvoy Foundation for the Arts.
McEvoy also has a lot of cousins (Kit Tobin, Connie Goodyear Baron, Helen Spalding), who descend from Gold Rush-era founders of the San Francisco Chronicle (now owned by Hearst Corp.).
Describing current events at his foundation (housed at Minnesota Street Project), McEvoy detailed what inspires this nonprofit’s programming.
“I look for works that move me rather than better-known works. The collection is a mix of well-known art and completely unknown,” he said. “Pretty much like our friends at this party.”
Traina treat: Film producer Todd Traina and his wife, Katie Traina, once again shared his mother’s holiday stage to host their annual fete on Dec. 13. Founded with his brother, Trevor, 29 years ago as a blue-blazer kegger reunion for their high school pals, it’s grown into an elegantly relaxed affair for 240 of their friends.
“This year we really miss Alexis and Trevor, who was the great corraler of guests to conduct our carol sing-along,” said Todd. “But the tradition and consistency remain the same: my mother’s beautiful decorations, great staff and pigs in a blanket.”
Yet with help from his Los Angeles pal Kathy Hilton, Todd ably led the late-night carol chorus.
“Our group is a bit more diverse from high school with actors, filmmakers, tech entrepreneurs, hedge fund managers,” Todd said. “After so many years, our party almost throws itself. Even if Trevor and I were both away, people enjoy it so much I think they’d still show up.”