Annual Fresh Air Fund Gala at the Tavern on the Green
Aida Turturro
Barbaralee Diamondstein-Spielvogel and Carl Spielvogel

Anna Wintour and Susan Newhouse
Build-A-Bear Workshop is a very popular and fairly new retail phenomenon that first opened in 1997 and seems to be known to kids everywhere. They opened their first store in St. Louis and now there are 180 of them, bringing in more than $300 million in annual revenue and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The invite
And what is the secret of this phenomenon? Build-A-Bear Workshop is the only national company that offers its customers (they call them “Guests”) an interactive make-your-own-stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience.

This coming July 8th, New Yorkers will get on line for this experience when B-A-B opens their largest bear making store ever in Manhattan. Plans call for room for up to a 1000 people along with a restaurant which will open in September, and three private party rooms.

Build-A-Bear’s president Maxine Clark is getting the company right into the thick of things by having chaired this year’s Annual Fresh Air Fund Gala at the Tavern on the Green last Thursday.

This year's Fresh Air Fund honorees included Jennifer Connelly, Vin Diesel and James Gandolfini and the event was emceed by Carson Daly.

Vin Diesel with FAF kids
For the event, Build-A-Bear Workshop created one-of-a-kind bears in the likeness of Mr. Gandolfini (already something of a bear in his own presence), Ms. Connelly, and Mr. Diesel. These “special bears” were presented to the honorees at the Tavern on the Green last Thursday.

Actually each honoree was presented with two bears created to look like them. Or with Mr. Gandolfini, that sorta makes three, no? (Haha.) One version of the bear was for the honorees to keep, and the second was signed by each honoree who then gave the bear back to be put on display at the new flagship Fifth Avenue store when it opens. Then these bears (the returned signed ones) aren’t finished with their work: they will be auctioned off in September for a New York charity. Too bad they can’t auction off Mr. Gandolfini; then they really could clean up.

We’re not finished yet with the Build-A-Bears Workshop and their charity-giving. With the Fresh Air Fund, Build-A-Bear has created a special bear – the Camp Fresh Air Fund Bear (it could use a better name than that, don’t you think?), which was featured on the tables of the event at the Tavern On the Green. Many VIPs attending got to gaze in the eyes of these ursine cutie pies (with no names as yet), including the fictionally much-maligned fashion cutie pie Anna Wintour along with the bear of a football hero, Tiki Barber as well as that not so growly Carson Daly and that mega-Bear of TV-land Jeff Zucker. The Fresh Air Fund bear (can’t call him Smokey, can we? — Pokey?) was available only that night at the Tavern on the Green when all the guests got to take this cute little creature home. Although, if you live in the ‘burbs upstate, or in New Jersey, you’ve probably had enough of bears.
Allan Houston and Maxine Clark
Brooke Travis and Charlotte Richardson

Jennifer Connelly with her son Kai Dugan, and Todd and Allison Waterman
Ginny Barber, Susan Newhouse, and Tiki Barber
Maxine Clark, Jenny Morgenthau, Jennifer Connelly, Kai Dugan, and Todd and Allison Waterman

Kai Dugan
Susan and Donald Newhouse
Maxine Clark and Prince Max of Schaumberg Lippe

Carson Daly
Build-A-Bear Workshop bears in the likeness of (sort of) Carson Daly, Vin Diesel, James Gandolfini, and Jennifer Connelly
The table settings
Carson Daly, Jennifer Connelly, Kai Dugan, Vin Diesel, and James Gandolfini
Jennifer Connelly, Walter Salles, and Anna Wintour
Maxine Clark, Ginny Barber, Todd Waterman, and Susan Newhouse
Tiki and Ginny Barber, Maxine Clark, and Allison and Todd Waterman



Central Park Playground Partner's Annual East Side Playground Party
Alex Kramer and son
Kimberly and Priscilla Putzer

The Miniter family
On Wednesday, May 18th, a beautiful spring evening, hundreds of New York City's children set gathered in Central Park's James Levin Playground to delight in the entertainment at the Central Park Playground Partner's Annual East Side Playground Party.

James Levin Playground was transformed into an enchanting wonderland, as kiddies (and grown-ups too!) rock n'rolled to oldies tunes with Squeaky Clean, laughed with Magic Al, and snacked on yummy food. This magical spring fling supports Playground Partners, a division of the Women's Committee of the Central Park Conservancy, dedicated to keeping all of Central Park's 21 playgrounds clean, safe, and well-maintained.

Playground Partners Chairman Gillian Miniter chaired the event. Vice Chairmen were Jackie and Andrew Africk, Devon and Pete Briger, Andrea and Tom Donohue, and Tivia and Richard Kramer.

Mingling with the jugglers and stilt walkers were: Alex Kramer, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Nina Bauer, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Liz Cohen, Jill Kargman, Susan Fales-Hill, Eliza Reed Bolen, Nina Davidson, Simone Levinson, Sam Topping, Toni Goodale, Eva Dillion, Blair Husain, Karen LeFrak, Suzanne Cochran, Eleanora Kennedy, and Nancy Paduano, among other familiar faces.
Susan Fales-Hill
Jill Kargman

Samantha Topping

Wee Gillian Miniter and stiltwalkers
The spread
Lisa Errico and son
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff with her sons
Mireya D'Angelo and daughter
Eva Dillon and daughter
Karen LeFrak, Gillian Miniter, and Nancy Paduano
Children playing
Anna and Letitia Casperan



Asia Society's 25th annual dinner
David Chu and Terry Lundgren
Lisa Ling, Nicholas Platt, and Gina Lin Chu
Last Tuesday, a week, The Asia Society presented five outstanding Asian-American entrepreneurs with leadership awards at the 25th Asia Society Annual Dinner at the Waldorf in the presence of leaders and luminaries from the worlds of policy, business, the arts and Asian American communities.

The dinner, which raised more than $1 million was the high point in the celebration of Asian American achievements and contributions to the U.S. during a month nationally recognized as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. All proceeds from this major benefit dinner will go to support Asia Society’s programs and activities.

Following a cocktail reception, Lisa Ling, host of “Explorer” on the National Geographic Channel emceed a special dinner program. Award presenters were Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman, President and CEO of Federated Department Stores, Inc., Stephan H. Long, President of Citigroup International; John S. Wadsworth, Jr., Advisory Director at Morgan Stanley; Henrietta Holsman Fore, Director of the United States Mint and David Ho, M.D., Director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and 1996 TIME’s Man of the Year.
David Chu with Barbaralee Diamonstein Spielvogel and Carl Spielvogel
Gina Ling Chu and Jerry Yang
Honorees were David Chu, founder of Nautica and founder and CEO of DC Studio International; Chong-Moon Lee, founder of Diamond Multimedia Systems and founder, Chairman and CEO of AmBex Venture Group; Vinod Khosla, founder of Sun Microsystems, Charter Member of TiE and Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Lulu Wang, CEO of Tupelo Capital Management; and Jerry Yang, co-founder, Chief Yahoo & Director of Yahoo!

The program also included a performance by world-renowned opera singer Hao Jiang Tian who is in his 14th season with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Vishkha N. Desai, President of the Asia Society and Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, Chairman of the Asia Society provided brief remarks.

American International Group, Inc. underwrote the dinner. Dinner Chairman was John S. Wadsworth, Jr. The Co-Chairman was Stephen H. Long. Vice Chairs included: AmBex Venture Group LLC, Gina Lin Chu, Mary White and J. Christopher Flowers, Tupelo Capital Management LLC, Warburg Pincus and Yahoo! Inc.

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, the Asia Society is an international, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and deepening understanding among the peoples of Asia and the United States.

The Asia Society presents a wide range of public programs, including major arts exhibitions, performances, lectures, international conferences, and K-12 educational initiatives about Asia.

Headquartered in New York City, the organization has regional centers in the U.S. in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Regional Centers in Asia include Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne, and Shanghai. www.AsiaSociety.org.
David Chu, Tina Stephan, Gina Lin Chu, and Terry Lundgren
Gina Lin Chu and Susy Wadsworth
Gina Lin Chu, Karen Karp, and Lisa Ling
Richard Holbrooke and David Chu


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