Socially Speaking

101 days ago - Baltimore native and City College grad Lonnie Shorr came back home for a great cause recently. Shorr, a nationally acclaimed funnyman who has appeared on hundreds of TV shows from Merv Griffin to “The Tonight Show,” gave a rare local performance during “The Toast to the League”  fundraiser for The League of People with Disabilities, a Baltimore-based nonprofit.

108 days ago - You know it’s going to be a first-rate event when Judge Katie O’Malley is your chairwoman. But what else would you expect from Maryland’s first lady?

115 days ago - For the past 25 years, attendees have held their breaths in hopes of good weather for the all-outdoor Zoomerang Gala held annually at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Well, last Friday night, chairmen Stuart and Suzanne Amos must have put their rosaries on their windowsill, because the weather was fabulous.

122 days ago - The American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore was the place, and great food was the flavor of the evening at the recent Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation fundraiser. This was the 13th annual gourmet extravaganza, and hundreds of guests sampled fine food and specialty cocktails and took part in a fab silent auction.

129 days ago - As both president of the nation’s largest distributor of comic books and owner of an entertainment museum that houses one of the most impressive collections of pop culture in the world, Steve Geppi and his wife, Mindy, were the perfect choices to act as co-chairmen for this year’s St. Joseph Medical Center’s “The Super Ball,” which was held recently at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.

136 days ago - Let them eat cake! And that’s just what everyone did when guests gathered recently to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Hannah More School in Reisterstown.

143 days ago - It was another British Invasion at the recent Maryland Food Bank’s 2008 Blue Jean Ball, as more than 550 guests showed up to support a great cause — feeding Maryland’s hungry. Partygoers were greeted by “adoring fans,” as they walked down the red carpet and entered the Food Bank’s warehouse, which was transformed into a psychedelic ’60s theme, complete with go-go girls and the Beatles.

151 days ago - Is there a doctor in the house? If you had attended the Harbor Hospital Gala, you would have seen plenty. Supporters and members of the hospital gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore recently for a fine dinner, great views of the harbor and to celebrate the hospital’s accomplishments over the past year.

157 days ago - With a great family and a satisfying career, life was sweet for Phoenix resident Anne Talbot Brennan until the 46-year-old mother of three was diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer three years ago.

164 days ago - The always-sold-out “Great Chefs’ Dinner” was held recently at the Grand Masonic Lodge in Hunt Valley. The event annually benefits The Family Tree, which is steadfast in its commitment to fighting child neglect and abuse.

171 days ago - Without a doubt, “An Evening of Acoustic Jazz”  — which featured mandolin great David Grisman and his  quintet — was music to the ears of Bill McLennan.

178 days ago - It was glamorous, and it was glitzy. And a Hollywood-style makeover — complete with a 90-foot red carpet — made The Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley the perfect location for the recent Casey Cares Foundation’s Stardust Gala. The paparazzi were there and so were autograph-seekers, leaving the more than 350 guests a bit star-struck.

185 days ago - Crystal Palace USA – the first pro soccer team in this country with ties to an English pro team – the Crystal Palace Football Club) – took its game indoors to Tully’s Restaurant near Fullerton recently to help raise money for Nick’s House, a Maryland charity dedicated to children mainly through its Christmas gift program.