The Women’s Club of Strathmore-Vanderbilt Country Club held its 2016 Rose Luncheon on Friday, June 10. The Rose Luncheon—celebrating flowers and fellowship—is an annual Women’s Club tradition now in its 77th year. It is always an eagerly anticipated and well-attended event among the club’s members and friends. This year was no exception, and the bright, crisp spring day provided a perfect backdrop to the luncheon.
Daria Connolly, first vice president of the Women’s Club, warmly welcomed the luncheon guests before introducing the afternoon’s entertainment, which was provided by Kent Axell, a self-described “mentalist, mind reader, liar.” Axell, one of the most in-demand corporate and private entertainers in the northeast, is an affable performer who kept his audience mesmerized with his wit, dexterity and sleight of hand as he went through his extensive repertoire of classic and unique tricks, including one where he made a $20 bill disappear and then reappear several minutes later inside of a freshly cut lemon.
The afternoon included a number of women business owners who provided the luncheon attendees with a variety of interesting and unusual shopping opportunities. This year’s vendors included Jennifer Fitzgerald-DeLuca, founder and design director of Glam-Mom New York, a provider of “glam accessories” for women and children’s “custom threads,” and Danielle Hammerich, creator of yoga-inspired jewelry and owner of Blissing Beads.
The Rose Luncheon concluded the afternoon festivities with the announcement of the winner of the Grand Raffle, longtime SVCC member Carolyn Cunningham, and the first-place winner of the rose competition, Mali Straus.
