Glendi Fashion Show at Opa Restaurant - Philadelphia PA

On Thursday, June 9, A.D. (my husband) and I headed out to Opa, a new-ish Greek restaurant in the Midtown Village section of Philadelphia. We were there to attend an outdoor fashion show that served as the premiere of Glendi Thursdays, a series of events at Opa that will showcase fashion, art, music and photography. Glendi means "party" or "celebration" in Greek.

Before the show we enjoyed a fantastic dinner. A.D. had the grilled octopus with chick peas (shown at right) and wine braised rabbit with olives, capers and pasta; I had Saganaki (seared cheese) and chicken with couscous and sun dried tomatoes. For dessert we shared baklava with homemade fig ice cream. A.D. had a delicious cocktail called Antho made of cucumber vodka, lemon and fresh dill, and I had a sparkling rosé.

Our waiter was friendly and knew the menu inside and out. He told us about the decor too - Opa was made to resemble what you would see in downtown Athens. It reminded me of 60's cool (the pendant lamps and geometric wallpaper) and 70's rustic (the wonderful tree branch canopy over the bar). We had the best table in the house - right next to the window - where we could see the whole restaurant (before it got packed).

We also had full view of the downpour and lightning storm that started just as the runway was being set up on Sansom Street. But, as Cinefest's Thom Cardwell - who co-hosted with NBC10 correspondent G-N Kang - told the crowd, the Greek gods weren't going to allow a cancellation on Opa's big night. The storm passed and the oppressive heat and famous Philly humidity went with it.

We took our seats at the end of the catwalk and took in the scene which included familiar faces from Philly's fashion and entertainment scene such as Good Day Philadelphia (Fox 29) host Mike Jerrick, Philadelphia Inquirer style maven Elizabeth Wellington and Where Magazine editor Kristina Jenkins.

The show was produced by Noel Zayas Events along with Antoine Johnson, whose House of Talent PA agency provided the gorgeous models, some with cool braided mohawks by Francesca at Follicle Salon. My favorite clothing designs were the bold, feminine pieces by Carmelita Couture including two fabulous frocks I am absolutely *in love* with: a flowing leopard gown and a colorful chevron stripe gown.

For their last walk of the night the models rocked the runway in Opa t-shirts, and then the final model strutted her stuff in a shiny orange sequin bikini by Aci Nae.

Opa
1311 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215.545.0170

Photos by Reese Amorosi for Glamorosi

To read more posts about food, tea, fashion, gardening and events: http://Glamorosi.blogspot.com

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