SOCIAL CIRCUIT

Green scene

Comcast founder Ralph J. Roberts and Comcast chairman and chief executive officer Brian L. Roberts received the Fairmount Park Conservancy's Centennial Award at a fund-raising dinner held March 31 at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue. The event, attended by 400 guests, was chaired by Citizens Bank chief executive officer Daniel Fitzpatrick and Acme Markets president Judy Spires. The evening raised more than $250,000 for the conservancy.

Twenty-seven dancers from the

Pennsylvania Ballet

donated their time and talent to choreograph and perform the 17th annual benefit performance of Shut Up & Dance held March 28. The one-night-only performance at the Forrest Theatre included the Shout With Sole after-party at SoleFood restaurant at Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The benefit raised more than $145,000 for MANNA, which provides nutritional counseling and delivers 68,250 meals a month to people with life-threatening illnesses.

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania

hosted their 23d annual Take the Lead awards ceremony March 24 at the Four Seasons Hotel. In a program led by Girl Scouts of all ages, awards were presented to Leslie Anne Miller, Asian American Women's Coalition president Margaret Chin, Temple law school dean JoAnne A. Epps, and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing dean Afaf I. Meleis. The event for more than 400 raised $275,000 for the Girl Scouts.

Astral Artists

, which helps gifted young classical musicians launch their careers, held its Absolutely Astral! benefit gala March 28 at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia. The past and present came together when Astral graduates and current Astral artists performed during the evening. The benefit, which honored dedicated donor and volunteer Beatrice S. Rossman, netted $50,000 for Astral.

With much fanfare, more than 500 guests and dignitaries from Italy celebrated the opening of the Franklin Institute's latest exhibition, "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy," at a preview gala held Thursday at the museum. The exhibit features artifacts collected by the Medici family, including such scientific instruments as sundials, thermometers, and a compass believed to have been used by Michelangelo, as well as paintings, prints and manuscripts. But the star of the show was one of only two existing telescopes owned and built by Galileo, on display outside Italy for the first time. The gala was chaired by Martha J. McGeary Snider. The exhibition, timed to coincide with the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo's discoveries, continues through Sept. 7.