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RENDEZVOUS AT THE RITZ LIAISONS AU LOUVRE IV KICKOFF AT MAISON THRASH CATHERINE D. ANSPON REPORTS. JAMES BROCK PENS NOTES FROM THE BAR. JUNE | PAGE 14 | 2016 MOOLAH FOR MUSÉE MAGNIFIQUE A mong a sea of beguiling invitations this spring, one stood out — and it was to a kickoff party. The engraved heavy cardstock read: "Merci beaucoup! To the Houston patrons of Liaisons au Louvre, Un, Deux & Trois, Becca Cason Thrash, Kip Forbes & the Ritz Paris request the pleasure of your company at a cocktail dînatoire with special guest Colin Field, bartender extraordinaire, Bar Hemingway. French buffet created by chef Philippe Verpiand, Étoile. Chateau Thrash." Seventy-some patrons turned out for an intime fête with guests Christian Boyens, director general of the Ritz Paris, who flew in to co-host with Thrash and Forbes, joined by the Billecart-Salmon president Alexandre Bader, also in from Paris (the French Champagne house supplied the night's flights of free-flowing bubbly). Air France exec Pierre de Saint-Albin and Boyens' Ritz colleague, Anne Benichou rounded out the VIPs. Excitement is building for Liaisons au Louvre, the gilded night on the international social datebook, which benefits and takes place at the storied Musée du Louvre and unfurls June 2017. As event chairman and vice chair of the international board of the Louvre and board member of Venetian Heritage, Thrash revealed that the fourth iteration will be like no other — "a dual-city benefit: two days in Paris, two days in Venice, 50 percent benefitting the Louvre and 50 percent benefitting Venetian Heritage." Save these dates: Liaisons au Louvre (June 19 through 20 in Paris) and La Dolce Laguna (June 22 through 24 in Venice). The Ritz Paris in the fabled Place Vendôme has been closed for nearly four years for renovation. The much-anticipated reopening is slated for June 1, and the transformation is magnifique. The Ritz will also be the unofficial headquarters for the Paris leg of the event next June. Clinking Colin Field's finest cocktails in celebration: the man of the maison John Thrash, Suzanne Saperstein, Courtney and Bo Hopson, longtime regulars at the Ritz Becky and Ralph O'Connor, Lucinda and Javier Loya, Sabiha Rehmatulla, Luba and Alan Bigman, Fay and Salim Zakhem, Greggory and Pat Burk, Haydeh and Ali Davoudi, J.D. Adamson and Tony Gibson, Monsour Taghdisi, Tami Dias, Ann and Mathew Wolf, Joyce Echols, Laura and Evan Greenberg, Elizabeth Petersen, Greg Fourticq Jr., Phoebe Tudor, Joanna Barrett and Todd Brooks, Caroline Starry LeBlanc and Jared LeBlanc, and Elionne and Richard Belden. FIELDING MR. FIELD'S OLD-FASHIONED Colin Field, arguably the best bartender in the world and head bartender of Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris since 1993, was holding court at the Thrash home, attired in a white coat, and black tie, his manner deliberate and genial. Assembled on the bar in front of him was a multitude of glasses, each containing a libation that tasted exotic and comforting at the same time. When I asked him to make me an old-fashioned, he responded in a calm and unhurried voice, "One moment." All around us, the elegant crowd, four-deep at the bar, looked longingly as Field mixed my drink. His attention to my order was so loving that I could have been his friend Kate Moss, whose annual birthday celebrations he famously bartends, taking time off from his duties at the Ritz. I admired his skill and anticipated the first sip. It did not disappoint. James Brock Alexandre Bader Tami Dias Monsour Taghdisi Phoebe Tudor Diane Lokey Farb Kip Forbes Luba Bigman Alan Bigman J.D. Adamson Tony Gibson Host John Thrash Anne Benichou Holly Waltrip Long Lucinda Loya Laura Greenberg Mark Sullivan Ceron Mathew Wolf Ann Wolf Elionne Belden Richard Belden Fady Armanious Hallie Vanderhider Colin Field Pierre de Saint-Albin Greggory Burk Pat Burk Christian Boyens Chair and host Becca Cason Thrash THRASH REVEALED THAT THE FOURTH ITERATION OF LIAISONS AU LOUVRE WILL BE LIKE NO OTHER, CALLING IT "A DUAL-CITY BENEFIT: TWO DAYS IN PARIS, TWO DAYS IN VENICE, 50 PERCENT BENEFITTING THE LOUVRE AND 50 PERCENT BENEFITTING VENETIAN HERITAGE." Joyce Echols Courtney Hopson Clément Calleja Suzanne Saperstein Ursaline Hamilton Salim Zakhem Fay Zakhem Javier Loya Ricky Bentzen