![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/IMG_5172.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the big one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
The JHRTS is the Junior division of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society. You would think that in all my years of doing television and radio I would have heard of this organization before, but it was all new to me. (Maybe I was just too young before, and had to wait for them to begin this division for young<\/em> entertainment professionals! Yeah, I\u2019m sure that\u2019s it.)<\/p>\n But let me tell you\u2014the people in charge of this group should be party planners<\/em> (as opposed to agents and managers and the like) because this fete had it all!<\/p>\n Most importantly, it was some of the happiest mingling I\u2019ve ever been a part of! Everyone seemed to get along great, with not much of the posturing I see at other \u201cYoung Hollywood\u201d events. (More on the guests in a bit.)<\/p>\n My table set-up in the VIP area. (The ice bucket arrived later.) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Next, the food and drinks were among the most generous I\u2019ve ever seen at any<\/em> soiree anywhere<\/em>. (And that\u2019s really saying something, coming from this party-is-my-middle-name bon vivette!) Not only was it an open bar all night, but in the VIP area, where I<\/em> was (of course,) each table had a set-up with juices and mixers to make your own<\/em> drinks.<\/p>\n But, of course, I cared about only the food<\/em>. The passed hors d’oeuvres were creative and out of this world. My favorite server was adorable Des Epps, and I thank him so much for keeping me happy with my favorite tidbit, avocado rolls! Oh my goodness, were those delish! Some of the best of the rest were fabu crunchy shrimp and spicy potato samosas, the latter of which made my veg pal happy.<\/p>\n One of the pizza ovens with two chefs. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n In addition to those appetizers, there was thin-crust pizza going all night. Two pizza ovens, with four chefs, were set-up on the patio, which is the first thing we saw as we entered the venue. You could either pick-up your thin slices right there, in a wonderful assortment of flavors, or get them from a dedicated buffet inside.<\/p>\n On top of that, there was a burger and French fry bar! I don\u2019t know exactly what they were serving there because the line was so long that I couldn\u2019t get close to it, but the rest of the guests looked happy.<\/p>\n Chris Tucker’s dessert bar. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n There were no worries for me missing out on the burgers because the best part was inside\u2014the dessert bar! All of those sweet treats were made by pastry chef Chris Tucker, who\u2019s competing on this season’s televised The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition<\/em>, which started airing the night after I met him. I guess we all know for whom I\u2019ll be rooting, especially if he serves more of his whipped peanut butter cups that he did at this<\/em> soiree! (I found-out on the show that Chris is also a hairdresser, so when I met him that night, we really should have discussed what to do with my ten thousand pounds of tresses, in addition to how fabulous all his cake creations are!!!)<\/p>\n Jaron Takach playing in the spotlight, on the left. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n They also did something very creative with the music for the evening, which I\u2019ve seen elsewhere before, but not often enough. While an excellent DJ spun great tunes, wonderful drummer Jaron Takach played along. Not only was he great to listen<\/em> to, but he had a whole bag of visual tricks to go along with the beats.<\/p>\n I was happy to hang-out with up-and-coming singer, Roger Neal Jr., because he was the only one in the whole club who was bopping along to the music with me! I\u2019ve known him very slightly for a few years now, and he\u2019s adorable. So I\u2019m very happy for his recent success. [Note: This always gets to me\u2014no matter what kind of concert I\u2019m at, hip-hop, classical, whatever, I rarely see anyone<\/em> beside myself bopping to the music, which is shocking to me. How can people not feel it?!]<\/p>\n Karen Salkin flanked by pastry chef Chris Tucker and his spouse, Jonathan.<\/p><\/div>\n One of my favorite things about Sleigh All Day was the surprise of all surprises\u2014this is a great group of twenty-and-thirty-somethings!!! There were a few hundred of them, and not one King Obo in the group. (\u201cKing Obo\u201d is how my funniest friend Alan referred to our most obnoxious pal in high school.)<\/p>\n I usually don\u2019t think of people as young or old, and I get a tad insulted when others make comments about the youth of many of my friends.\u00a0 One of my grown-up pals once referred to my main body of friends as \u201cchildren!\u201d That\u2019s so insulting. But, since \u201cJunior\u201d is right in the title of this group, I looked around and noticed that that\u2019s what most of the guests were. And it was really the nicest assemblage of people in that category I\u2019ve ever been around. Big props to all of them!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>