The List of the Best Party Hosts in America Is Out — Are You on It?
When Carla McDonald, a seasoned public relations exec, traded New York for Austin, TX in order to marry her husband Jack and start a family, she thought that keeping her hand in the marketing game would be a good thing, and initially it was. She aligned with a tech startup, and when it was sold, she leveraged that experience and her significant contacts into her own boutique PR firm, Dynabrand, growing it into one of the top firms in the state. But as the PR industry changed dramatically to feed the beast of the 24/7 news cycle, her passion for the art of buzz waned. “I just wasn’t enjoying it as much,” she said. “I wanted to start something new.”
An accomplished host and enthusiastic guest herself, she envisioned an online magazine that would celebrate the art of gracious hospitality. She named it The Salonniere after the women of 17th and 18th century France whose influential parties, or salons, shaped the world in a way that is still felt today. The website, launched in 2012, remains a fizzy romp through various events and personalities, accented with bits of party lore and retro images. And then there’s “The List.”
Published annually since 2016, The Salonniere 100 is a party in print-indeed, it would make for the ultimate guest list. Organized by city, it names the area’s top hosts as chosen by a judging panel comprised of McDonald at the helm, her staff and significant polling of movers and shakers from coast to coast. The list does not include event planners or other party professionals, only individuals known for their party prowess.
Like other lists in our “who’s in/who’s out” obsessed society, the list’s publication is a newsworthy event in of itself, as evidenced by the significant amount of media coverage it receives. And while lists of names are always an appetizing read for some, a bit of deeper diving revealed some interesting aspects of today’s social landscape.
The South rules: 46 percent of the honorees are from the South; 26 percent are from the West; 25 percent are from the Northeast; and three percent are from the Midwest.
Two and a half times as many women are on the list as men.
Intimate dinner parties are replacing over-the-top galas as preferred events.
There are 15 hosts who have made the list every year since its inception. They are:
Aspen: Amy and John Phelan
Atlanta: Annette Joseph, Danielle Rollins
Dallas: Cindy Rachofsky
Houston: Becca Carson Thrash, Lynn Wyatt, Phoebe Tudor
New York: Ashley McDermott, Lela Rose
New Orleans: Julia Reed
Newport: Bettie Bearden Pardee
Palm Beach: Annie Falk
San Francisco: Ken Fulk
Washington, DC: Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Katherine and David Bradley.
Full disclosure: I do appear on this year’s list, and for the second time (last year was for Milwaukee, this year is for Palm Beach). In my book, Confessions of a Serial Entertainer, I write freely about the irony of being thought of as a host of any note. My husband Rich (a solid Midwestern corporate software wonk and total jock) and I live in an unassuming 1970s condo with a small, nothing special kitchen. We both travel relentlessly for work, so much of our time at home is taken up by laundry and jet lag recovery.
Yet, without fail, a dinner party or a cocktail gathering will manage to work its way into our downtime, far more frequently than our friends with bigger, fancier digs. But ours are always modest affairs-a big bowl of chips and that old onion dip-or pigs in blankets and cucumber sandwiches if I can get my act together. One thing that I can say is that we always have enough booze and ice. If that qualifies me as an accomplished host, I’ll take it. So here’s to The Salonniere 100-it’s always nice to be included.
THE SALONNIERE NAMES AMERICA’S 2019 100 BEST PARTY HOSTS:
Aspen
Amy and John Phelan
Atlanta
Annette Joseph
Cathleen Smith Bresciani
Danielle Rollins
James Farmer
Sara Blakely
Austin
Kirstin and Joe Ross
Mary Herr Tally
Bergen County, New Jersey
Herb Karlitz
Boston
Christy Cashman
Charleston
Carolyne Roehm
Patricia Altschul
Charlotte
Chandra Johnson
Laura Vinroot Poole
Chicago
Alessandra Branca
Cynthia Chereskin
Irene Michaels
Corpus Christi
Ronda Carman
Dallas
Brooke Davenport
Cindy Rachofsky
Nancy Rogers
Denver
Christine Vazquez
Laura Moretz
Detroit
Grace Montero and Jay Rayford
Fort Worth
Cami Goff
Mercedes Bass
The Hamptons
Audrey Gruss
Kelli Delaney Kot
Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper
Houston
Becca Cason Thrash
Lynn Wyatt
Phoebe TudorSheridan Williams
Lexington, Kentucky
Jon Carloftis and Dale Fisher
Little Rock
Shayla Copas
Louisville, Kentucky
Priscilla Barnstable and Patricia Barnstable-Brown
Tammy York Day and Tonya York Dees
Los Angeles
Cheryl Saban
Crystal Lourd
Frances Schultz
Hutton Wilkinson
Irena Medavoy
Jamie Tisch
Jennifer Aniston
Liane Weintraub
Mike Meldman
Nadine and Fred Rosen
Renvy Pittman
Stephanie Booth Shafran
Suzanne Rheinstein
Timothy Corrigan
Miami
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Stephanie Aagaard
Swanee DiMare
Yolanda and Jeff Berkowitz
Nashville
Ellen Martin
Keith Meacham
New Orleans
Alexa Pulitzer
Jane Scott Hodges
Julia Reed
Martine Chaisson Linares
New York
Alex Hitz
Alex Papachristidis
Allison Sarofim
Ashley McDermott
Bunny Williams
Charlotte Moss
Derek Blasberg
Isabelle Bscher
Jean Shafiroff
Jill Kargman
Lela Rose
Muffie Potter Aston and Dr. Sherrell Aston
Richard Keith Langham
Stephanie Nass
Susan Gutfreund
Newport
Bettie Bearden Pardee
Pamela and David Ford
Palm Beach
Annie Falk
Pauline Pitt
Steven Stolman
Terry Allen Kramer
Philadelphia
Eddie Ross
Phoenix
Carolyn Jackson
Provincetown
John Dowd and Dan Minahan
San Diego
Bridget McKenna
Rebecca and David Vigil
San Francisco
Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney
Aubrey Brewster
Ken Fulk
Monelle Totah and Gary McNatton
Sloan Barnett
Santa Barbara
Oprah Winfrey
Savannah, GA
Alexandra Trujillo de Taylor
Washington, D.C.
Ambassador Gerard Araud
Buffy Cafritz
Hilary and Wilbur Ross
Juleanna Glover
Katherine and David Bradley
Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah
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