CinSation: Shaken, Not Stirred
(written by 00Dave Sanders)

CinSation emcees Amy and Pete Scalia

I am going to go out on a limb and say that there is no better theme for an event than James Bond. After 50 years, six Bonds and 22 films (with a 23rd coming out this fall) there’s quite a broad base of material to work with. So, when I heard that my contacts at the Junior League HQ had chosen everyone’s favorite secret agent as the theme for their annual CinSation fundraiser, I was ready to throw on my tux and Live and Let Dance. Now this is a mission that I’m quite familiar with, but, dare I say, it’s not as easy as one might suspect.

 
Adam Kleshinski dealing blackjack                 Co-chairs Lizzie Polstan and Katie Hayden

Anyone can put on a bowtie and utter a few witty one-liners with a British accent, I do it all the time. Though, to truly earn the name and number, I needed to channel my inner 007 and actually become the man himself. After all, the Queen and her City was counting on me. In taking after my two favorite Bonds, Sean Connery and Roger Moore, I decided to dust off the white dinner jacket and Only Live Twice.

JLC President Melanie Chavez and President-elect Shannon Glass

After I hopped in my Aston Martin DB5 (a.k.a. Jeep Cherokee) and snuck past KGB security (a.k.a. the check-in table at the Music Hall ballroom), I walked in and gazed with a golden-eye across the premises realizing that there were more than a few Double 0′s playing Bond, James Bond that night. I then realized how Connery and Moore must have felt when Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig took over. Meanwhile, the leading ladies of the Junior League did not disapoint. As is the case with most of their events, the attire was the icing on the cupcake… A View to a Thrill in fact. With casino tables on one side and the sounds of the Soul Pocket Band on the other, the guests looked the part and were clearly having a Thunder-of-a-ball.

Fusian’s David Hilo, Stephan Harman, Josh and Zach Weprin

The food was to Die Another Day for, as well. The award winning “Bite of the Night” went to downtown’s Fusian. Add to that a few of my personal favorites, Jimmy G’s and The Quarter Bistro who also stole the show. Of course, nothing washes down a few vodka martinis like a champagne cupcake for dessert, thanks to Her Majesty’s Secret Server, Miss Cupcake Goodbody. Luckily, my trusty Nokia phone (the latest standard issue from Q-branch) becomes a taser if you own it for more than six years and was more than enough to fend off any double agents trying to get their goldfingers on the secret recipe.

Compliments of CinSational Sweet Treats

After the last dance and a few tii-many-martooni’s, I realized I was a little stirred and shaken, definitely earning my License to Spill. And the Junior League had proved once again that Diamonds are Forever and they will never take Dr. No for an answer.

Mission, most definitely, ACCOMPLISHED.

*Photo credits: Amy Elisabeth Photography

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