Brian Lawrence Live

Tues., May 13
I was one of some 400 guests at the Open Society Institute’s 10th anniversary party being held at the new Silo Point complex in Locust Point. It was a truly A-list event, with far too many bold-face names to mention here. But during the cocktail hour I managed to catch up with Steve Sobelman, Jim Seay, Cindi Conkling, Michael Yerman, Mayor Sheila Dixon, Rita St. Clair, Steve Ziger, Mimi Kapiloff, Mona Hajj, Dan Proctor, Pat Turner, Tracy Durkin and Bill Stuever. It was all lovely until 7 p.m., when they suddenly shut down the bars and then attempted to herd everyone into a hot, overcrowded tent for more than an hour of windy speeches (including the governor) and awards. Ugh. I say this: everyone there has paid to be there. If they prefer to socialize and have a cocktail, why not let them? Why treat them like school children and dictate their behavior? Those who want to go into the cramped tent and hear an hour-plus worth of speeches can, and the rest can socialize as they please. I’m just sayin’.