The 2017 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Just 2 Days Away!
Patrons both local and abroad are eager to welcome the 17th Annual Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (AJFF) which will kick off this Tuesday, January 24th at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Just two weeks ago, the 2017 lineup for the festival was announced to feature over 200 screenings of 75 different films from 24 different countries. This year's opening ceremony will take place at the Cobb Energy Centre in Atlanta beginning with an awarding-winning WWII drama Alone in Berlin, starring Emma Thompson and Brendan Gleeson. In addition to this prime screening, there will be an array of amazing films throughout the festival including an enthralling story of survival called Across the Waters, a comedic drama called The Pickle Recipe by Director Michael Manasseri and many, many more.
As a second year media participant in the Jewish Film Festival, I can say that last year was an unforgettable experience and one in which left me very anticipatory for this year's festival! One thing for sure, AJFF is for anyone who is a film lover and has a genuine appreciation for cultureally-infused films and narratives. Its mission, to "seek to use the power of film to both entertain and educate, AJFF challenges conventional perspectives on complex and challenging issues facing the Jewish and global communities." Screenings will be held throughought the city in various theaters and the closing ceremony will be held on February 15th again at the Atlanta Symphony Hall featuring a comical women's narrative called The Women's Balcony.
The 2017 AJFF will take place from January 24 - February 15th thoughout Atlanta. To purchase your tickets or for more information, please visit www.ajff.org.
Don't you miss it!
Recap from the 4th Annual Back on the Farm
Friday evening, September 30, 2016, guests and supporters of Atlanta History Center’s Back on the Farm joined up on the campus of the historic Smith Family Farm for an unforgettable farm to table dinner. From the entrance of the pathway leading into the farm to the Grand Overlook, absolutely everything about this event was exquisite! Back on the Farm is an annual charity dinner that raises funds in support of the farm animals and the overall property upkeep where these beloved animals live. Each year, a team of celebrity chefs (this year, under the direction of Executive Chef Todd Richards), all gather to prepare a grand meal inspired by historic farm foods. And let me tell ya’, as soon as I bent the corner coming up on the farm, I was greeted by the farm dinner servers decked in all black serving us delectable items such as braised short ribs with mashed Kabocha with brown rice, seared scallops over yellow corn grits and lemon chervil salad or my absolute fav, the smoked chicken deviled eggs!
In fact, there were 7 different hors d’oeuvres stations laid out around the farm that everyone was able to stop by and enjoy. The attire for the evening was blue jean chic and everyone looked their absolute best. In conjunction with all of the guests present, I thought it was really cool how several of the women who work for the Atlanta History Center were dressed in traditional garbs from the time period and helped serve, interpret stories from that era and help facilitate the LIVE auction in the Grand Overlook. And let us not forget all of the animals who were right there with us on the farm that night! There was Tallulah (the turkey), the hens, the pairs of goats and sheep, and of course, the celebrity farm cat, Dodger who was laid out across one of the beds in the historic homes with no worries at all. The time slated for cocktail/ hors d’oeuvres was for 6PM and was followed by the highly anticipated dinner in the Grand Overlook at 8PM.
All of a sudden, in the midst of the great networking taking place during the cocktail mixer, we hear the sound of the farm bell resounding to get everyone to move toward the dinner hall. As the crowd makes their way up away from the farm, and up the stairway into the Atlanta History Center main entrance, we enter the dining hall beautifully set up with long family style tables styled by The Spin Style Agency. The menu that night included heirloom tomatoes and roasted beets with feta cheese and Georgia organic olive oil, buttermilk biscuits and cornbread, ginger glazed carrots, marinated Edamame, mac-n-cheese, Springer Mountain Farms Southern Fried Chicken, roasted pork loin and finally, some very yummy banana pudding! Not only were we stuffed from all of this goodness, but all the food was impeccable from start to finish. The evening included a silent auction followed by a LIVE auction indoors where the crowd very generously bided on several items including a Large Big Green Egg, a Hearth-cooked Dinner for 12 at Smith Family Farm, Cocktails for 50 on the farm and more.
There was just so much to say about how elegant and comfortable the atmosphere about this whole event was. Kudos to Katherine Hoogerwerf (Director of Development Events) and all the key staff members for pulling off such an outstanding event. And big thanks to all the supporters, donors and especially to all the chefs that made this menu great!
Angie Mosier, Chair
Todd Richards, Executive Chef of White Oak Kitchen & Chef/Owner of Richards' Southern Fried, Event Executive Chef
Erika Council
of Southern Soufflé
Julio Delgado
of JP Atlanta
Seth Freedman
of PeachDish
Jared Hall
of One Flew South
Mihoko Obuani
of Nexto
Matthew Raiford
of The Farmer and The Larder,
Brunswick, GA
Guy Wong
of Ton Ton, Le Fat and Miso Izakaya
FEATURED BARTENDERS
Tiffanie Barriere
of Southern National, Mobile, AL
Miles MacQuarrie
of Kimball House
Jerry Slater
of Flying Pig Hospitality
Krista Lark Slater
of Flying Pig Hospitality
FEATURED STYLIST
The Spin Style Agency
For more information about happenings such as these at the Atlanta History Center, please visit www.atlantahistorycenter.com.
The Frye Company's Modern Icon Collection
The Frye Company introduces The Modern Icon Collection featuring six different staple styles for both men and women all inspired by Frye's heritage boot designs. Anyone that is familiar with the Frye Company and their all-American staple boots and leather goods knows that anything that Frye's releases is a winner! This collection is pretty exciting in itself because it strategically crafted merging modernity and classic Frye quality artisanship all in one! The Modern Icon Collection is a salute to iconic personalities incorporating modern details using a conglomerate of leathers, suede and other distressed colors. Of the 12 different men and women's shoes that make up this exciting collection, you will find the following:
Men’s
The Chris Inside Zip Campus
The Weston Cross Strap Harness
The Brayden Engineer
The Jet Inside-Zip
The Weston Roper
The Brayden Lace Up
Women’s
The Cara Campus
The Natalie Engineer
The Dara Harness Chelsea
The Julie Shield
The Jenny Jet Chelsea
The Shane Western
Just recently, the flagship Atlanta Store at Ponce City Market was pleased to have Actress Lauren Cohan from "The Walking Dead" and Caren West PR host a private preview event of this collection to formally launch it in the store. Check out the video from the collection and images below.
The Frye Company is located locally at The Ponce City Market at 75 Ponce de Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30308, Ste. #E178. For more information, call 404.685.FRYE (3793) or visit www.thefryecompany.com. to view this collection and more.
The Smith Family Farm: Up Close and Personal
With just two weeks away until the 4th Annual Back on the Farm event at the Atlanta History Center, I thought it would be a great idea to meet up with my contact beforehand to see the animals and the farm in living color! Katherine Hoogerwerf, Director of Development Events, has been very accommodating from the beginning in regards to the upcoming event. My photographer Lindsay and I got a chance to meet up with Katherine to take a tour and to gain a bit of history behind the Smith Family Farm. Along with Katherine, we also met up with Brett Bannor (Manager of Animal Collections) and Kelly Bradley who is Director of 19th Century Historic Houses.
I must say, to be an Atlanta native and walk in on the beautiful forest grounds of the Atlanta History Center for the very first time, I was really amazed at what all was out there! This farm is a special treasure strategically tucked in the back of the historic center and a definite must see! Katherine tells us that they have about 30,000 school children who visit the farm every year and that Back on the Farm helps to support the funds needed to take care of these farm animals. In fact, after meeting Brett, our first stop was to check out the 4 Sheep and 2 Goats, all mother to son pairs, who just happened to be grubbing at the time of our visit. Brett tells us that he has been a farmer there for nearly 4 years now. And it was pretty obvious from his interaction with the animals that he has a genuine love and admiration for them individually in their respective element.
"Tallulah"
Along with the sheep and goats and a very cool, low-key farm cat by the name of "Dodger" we met, we also got an opportunity to see Brett interacting hands on with the chicken hens and a turkey they call "Tallulah"! Funny thing, as soon as Brett enters into their habitat, Tallulah is the first to run up and greet him. Kelly Bradley shared with us that they don't eat the animals on the farm for Back on the Farm, but that the hens and turkey are very generous with providing eggs on a daily basis. Kelly also tells us that many of the farm houses had been there since the 1970s and several of which were transported from different places and reconstructed on the property to preserve their authenticity and historic value!
And then, on to the immense river of fresh garden vegetables lacing the Smith Family Farm... We seriously came across some stuff in the garden that even my "green thumb" north Georgian family members have never introduced me to! There was Seminole squash, African fish peppers, cayenne peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, corn, carrots, cotton plants and an array of herbs that I'm not sure that I could spell! Kelly tells us that the meals prepared for September 30th are actually inspired by many of these fresh garden vegetables. In addition to that, guests and patrons of the event can anticipate a LIVE auction that evening. In fact, this year, they will auction off tickets to Hamilton on Broadway!
The 4th Annual Back on the Farm Social will take place on Friday, September 30th beginning at 6PM with pre-dinner cocktails followed by a seated dinner at 8PM in the Grand Overlook.
For more information or to purchase tickets to Back on the Farm, please visit www.atlantahistorycenter.com or contact Katherine Hoogerwerf at 404.814.4102 or KHoogerwerf@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com for details.
See also my previous post including more details regarding the event by clicking on this link.
Images Courtesy of Lindsay Abarca Photography
DRESS LIKE A GENT
Respectfully Clothing NYC
Courtesy of be_atlanta
Trending pretty heavily on most social media platforms is this wave of street style and urban fashion. Anyone who follows fashion in the world of social media i.e. Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, etc., would agree that street style is a predominant aesthetic making its way back to the runway with a vengeance. Street Style has actually been on the scene from as far back as the 50s during the hippy and punk rocker eras. Progressively, we began to notice street fashions re-emerge during the early hip hop music crave and to-date, can be seen worn by several celebrities such as Kanye, Nick Wooster or David Gandy. With that being said, it is my pleasure to introduce our readers to a very cool ready-to-wear street brand known as Respectfully Clothing NYC.
Courtesy of be_atlanta
COURTESY OF BE_ATLANTA
Respectfully Clothing stands out among the rest as high quality, versatile and comfortable urban wear for men available online via www.respectfullyclothing.com. For someone like myself who has more of a classic modern aesthetic, I find that sometimes, venturing into street fashion seems to add a certain pizzazz to classic styles. For example, sometimes just adding one or two subtle classic pieces to an urban look, can make a world of difference. Hence, what we call "urban classic style." Check out this simple look of me in this Grey Joe Louis Classic T paired with some tethered blue jeans, Puma high-tops, a simple fitted vest and an all-black pork pie hat. Just goes to show that not all urban style is what people may typically imagine; as oversized and intended solely for people in pop culture. But, these looks can also be pulled off as versatile addendums to the more conservative forms of style adding personality to the overall look.
Additional Features of the Joe Louis Classic T:
Features a half-tone styled graphic of boxing champ Joe Louis
Streamlined tailoring and a hint of stretch ensures an easy, perfect fit
Tagless for added comfort
Regular fit
Machine Washable
COURTESY OF BE_ATLANTA
Be sure to check out these other cool new arrivals to Respectfully Clothing on their site. Follow their style journey via Instagram @respectfullyclothing or Tumblr via http://respectfullyclothing.tumblr.com/.
DRESS LIKE A GENT
Recap from Jeffrey Fashion Cares 2016
Monday evening, August 29th, the very classy Jeffrey Fashion Cares 2016 was hosted inside the decorated corridors of Atlanta's Phipps Plaza. Celebrating its 24th Annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares, the crowd gradually began to fill up the venue dressed in their best; fitting for the occasion. Last year, Jeffrey Fashion Cares (JFC) raised 700K for the benefit of the Atlanta AIDS Fund and Susan G. Komen. The timeless tagline for JFC, "Where fashion and fundraising unite," is more than just a saying, but has historically proven to work with this event! The financial support that comes in for this cause, makes it possible to render necessary services to fellow Atlantans affected by either of these illnesses and toward for the purpose of research.
Prior to the date of the event, the press release provided us with a glimpse of the items that would be featured for the silent and LIVE auctions that night. Although we had insight, there is nothing like seeing the items in living color! The auctions included gifts such as a small Marc Jacobs handbag ($950 Value), a Roger Vivier Clutch ($1,150 Value), Original Art Work from Carre D'Artistes Atlanta ($385 Value), 18K recycled rose gold Monique Péan Earrings, a Vogue Dream Trip for two to NY Fashion Week and much more! And in addition to these auction items, prior to the show kicking off, guests had the opportunity to sow monetarily into these two charities being represented. These guests include not only fans of the event, but also celebrities, individuals whose lives have been both directly or indirectly affected by these diseases, and also, professionals who work with these patients on a daily basis.
One of these professionals that we met who works with breast cancer patients was Crystal Champion. Crystal, a doctor of physical therapy and certified lymphedema therapist, works with women who are recovering from chronic swelling as a result of breast cancer surgery. When asked why tonight was such an important cause for both the community and these patients, she shares, "...a lot of women have access to health care, but there are a lot of out-the- pocket expenses and things than aren't covered by insurance. So it's so important that we raise money not only to find a cure, but to also help for other medical expenses that are not covered." Crystal also goes on to tell us just how prominent this issue with breast cancer is all around the nation and that her job is to help these women with getting back to the quality of life. In fact, both Susan G. Komen and the Atlanta AIDS Fund work tirelessly throughout the year to collaborate with notable organizations such as JFC so that further fundraising can happen to care for the countless people that are in need.
This, being my second year covering JFC, I am repeatedly amazed and touched by the amount of genuine support that turns up at the event. And of course, the fashion runway show closing out the evening just gets better and better! This year, with fall fashion just around the corner, we got the opportunity to view some very stunning ensembles including vibrant velours, fringed styles, furs, capes, knickers and more. Designers showcased on the runway were:
Lanvin
Celine
Christian Dior
Givenchy
Gucci
Valentino
Dries van Noten
Saint Laurent Paris
Balenciaga
Christian Louboutin
and
Manolo Blahnik
Be sure to check out these great images of the event captured by Lindsay Abarca Photography. And save the date for Jeffrey's 25th Anniversary Celebration scheduled for 8/28/17.
For more information, please visit www.jeffreyfashioncares.com.
DRESS LIKE A GENT
Back on the Farm's 4th Annual Fall Social
A team of celebrity chefs will create a dinner to remember in celebration of Back on the Farm's 4th Annual Fall Social! Commemorating 4 years at the Atlanta History Center (AHC), this year's festive farm dinner will be led by executive chef Todd Richards and will highlight delectable farm-fresh foods. The focus of this prized charity dinner is to raise funds for animals at AHC's Smith Family Farm. Dinner guests and sponsors can look forward to an impeccable dinner specially prepared by Chef Richards and his hand-picked team of chefs. The event will happen on Friday, September 30th as pre-dinner cocktails will be served on the farm beginning at 6 PM followed by the seated dinner at 8 PM in the Grand Overlook.
This year's layout of featured chef's will include:
Event Executive Chef
Todd Richards, Executive Chef of White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails and Chef/Owner of Richards' Southern Fried
Back on the Farm Featured Chefs
Mark Brown of Blazin' Jerk
Erika Council of Southern Souffle
Julio Delgado of JP Atlanta
Seth Freeman of Peach Dish
Jared Hall of One Flew South
Cooper Miller of Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall
Duane Nutter of Southern National, Mobile, AL
Mihoko Obani of Nexto
Christian Perez of White Oak Kitchen & Cocktails
Matthew Raiford of The Farmer and The Larder, Brunswick, GA
Guy Wong of Ton Ton, Le Fat and Mizo Izakaya
Featured Bartenders
Tiffanie Barriere of Southern National, Mobile, AL
Greg Best of Ticonderoga Club
Jerry Slater of Flying Pig Hospitality
Krista Lark Slater of Flying Pig Hospitality
Featured Stylists
Some of the crops prepared by these chefs will be foods commonly used during the 1800s on the Smith Family Farm; affirming the historical aspect behind the event. The fun part about all of this is that there will be not only be great food, but also great fellowship in an amazing environment among those who appreciate the history of the farm and the common cause at hand.
For more information or to purchase tickets to Back on the Farm, please visit www.atlantahistorycenter.com or contact Katherine Hoogerwerf at 404.814.4102 or KHoogerwerf@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com for details.
DRESS LIKE A GENT