Ladue Lips

A royal affair: Ladue News readers will get an added opportunity to celebrate the arrival of Diana, The People’s Princess exhibition, which comes to St. Louis Feb. 23 to 26 at America’s Center. A book signing and cocktail reception hosted by MARY STRAUSS will be held at Strauss’ Westmoreland Place home on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The event will feature exhibit curator and owner MAUREEN DUNKEL as the guest of honor, with each guest receiving an autographed copy of Dunkel’s book, My Decade with Princess Diana. LN’s exclusive interview with Dunkel will appear in the Feb. 17 issue. For tickets to the Feb. 22 reception, as well as VIP tickets to the exhibit, call 573-450-6340 or visit stlcares.com.

Next weekend’s Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) gala will honor the legacy of former director PAUL HA, whose leadership oversaw the construction and opening of CAM’s new facility in Grand Center. Ha also is credited for positioning the museum as a national and international leader in the field of contemporary art. Ha resigned late last year to become the new director of Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) List Center for the Visual Arts. Proceeds from the Feb. 4 gala benefit CAM’s exhibition and education programs.

St. Louis-based Psycho Films has released its fourth feature film, Welcome to Shirley, which made its world premiere in St. Louis at The Tivoli this week. The film is under the direction of 2010 Ladue H.S. grad JOE WEIL, currently a film student at the University of Southern California. Weil shares the credits with other Ladue alums, including executive producer BLAKE LAWRENCE (class of ’06), producer SAM KOENIG (class of ’11), editor JAKE TORCHIN (class of ’10), makeup artist CARLY JACOBS (class of ’10), costumer ALLISON BECKER (class of ’09), propman ROBERT TUNG (class of ’09) and audio technician RYAN HAYNES (class of ’09). Welcome to Shirley, described as a “comedic drama and dramatic comedy,” follows two estranged brothers reunited following the death of their father.

His vision and leadership in the establishment of a clinic for the underserved have garnered BOB FOX the 2011 St. Louis Award. Each year, the award recognizes a St. Louisan who has contributed “the most outstanding service to the community.” Fox, owner of NewSpace Office Interiors, is the founder of Casa de Salud, a midtown health clinic for the city’s underinsured and uninsured Hispanic population.