Well it is finally here, Winter Music Conference, the dance music equivalent to Shark Week. WMC, which can also be expanded to mean, “Where’s My Car?” and “What, More Clubs?” at any point along the144-hour extravaganza, is regarded as the singular networking event in the dance music industry, drawing over 62,000 event participants from over 70 countries, who will take over just about every club, hotel, and pool area on South Beach, and quite a few in Downtown Miami as well. Unfortunately, by the time you no longer need a fake ID to attend many of the WMC events, you are simply too old to go. But if you insist on channeling your inner spring breaker, get some Red Bull, take your One-a-Days and check out the line-up of some of the best WMC events below.

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Kim Kardashian served as the gorgeous and gracious hostess for Russell and Danny Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation‘s star-studded Art For Life Miami Beach gala to benefit art programs for disadvantaged youths at the Fontainebleau on Saturday. Despite Kardashian’s inability to pronounce the word, “philanthropic,” the reality star has demonstrated her commitment to the organization by answering, “Yes,” time and time again when asked for support, explained Danny Simmons. This year, Kardashian auctioned off the dress she wore when she met Prince Albert of Monaco. No word on what happened while she was in the dress or if there’s any incriminating evidence on it, (ala Monica Lewinski’s infamous blue Gap dress). Kardashian’s dress is still on the auction block, in case you’d like to run some tests on it before you get it dry cleaned. Other items up for bid at http://www.charitybuzz.com through March 24, include VIP passes to Beyonce’s upcoming tour; a meet and greet with Kanye West; portraits of Will Smith and Morgan Freeman by celebrated photographer Robert G. Zuckerman; a trip to Four Seasons Great Exuma; and a roundtrip seaplane excursion for eight courtesy of V1 Jets.

Honorees at this year’s gala, which was chaired by Forge owner, Shareef Malnik, included Anheuser-Busch, Inc., the Rubell Family Collection and Jeffrey Soffer, Chairman of Fontainebleau Resorts. A visibly surprised Alonzo Mourning, was given a congratulatory tribute on the retirement of his Miami Heat jersey and an award for his numerous philanthropic endeavors through Alonzo Mourning Charities. Celebrity attendees included, charming actress Vivica Fox, who assured us that the upcoming Curb Your Enthusiasm season will be the funniest yet; extra crispy actor-turned-author, George Hamilton; New Orleans Saint/Kim Kardashian-beau, Reggie Bush; Miami Dolphin, Brandon London; former Mexican President Vicente Fox and his wife Marta (no relation to Vivica); Miss Africa USA 2008-2009, Nyasha Zimucha and legendary soul singer Betty Wright.

Upstairs at the Fontainebleau, in the Glimmer Ballroom, the Wellness Community held its 8^th annual Heart & Star gala, co- chaired by real estate developer/hospitality entrepreneur/ nightlife impresario, Michael Capponi. What the event lacked in celebrity muscle, it made up for in elegance and glamour. Over 400 VIPs gathered to support the Wellness Community, which provides services and support to families living with cancer. Among the A-listers in attendance: CBS-TV’s chief weathercaster Lonnie Quinn; Alan and Diane Lieberman; South Beach publishing magnate, Jerry Powers; CEO and founder of Niche Media, Jason Binn; attorney Danny Weiss and his wife, arts activist Merle; Brazilian neo-pop artist, painter and sculptor, Romero Britto; and Rock Band, founder, Lee Dahlberg. Among the top-selling items in the live auction were: a custom painting by Romero Britto, a chance for a young basketball fan to be a “ball manager” on the court during a home Miami Heat game and a full day aboard Capponi’s yacht, complete with gas, food and drinks. Because two of the most well-respected nightlife impresarios, Shareef Malnik and Michael Capponi, chaired galas on the same night at the same time, a number of socialites were forced to shuttle between the two, much like Katherine Heigl’s character in 27 Dresses. Leaving them to wonder, “Doesn’t anybody own a calendar around here?”

The official Art for Life Miami Beach after-party took place the next night at the Forge’s Soul Kitchen, where guests Queen Latifah, Indianapolis Colt, Dwight Freeney, Kansas City Chief, Larry Johnson, San Francisco 49er, Vernon Davis, Arizona Cardinal, Darnell Dockett, Dallas Cowboy, Marion Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Antonio Bryant, and congressman, Kendrick Meek feasted on traditional Southern cuisine. Hosted by, you guessed it, Russell Simmons and Shareef Malnik, the event raised additional awareness and funding for the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation.

Spring time on South Beach gives a whole new meaning to March Madness, with the throngs of sunburned spring breakers drinking themselves, and their textbook money, into oblivion, vying for the already scarce parking spaces and pining to get into clubs that wouldn’t even want them if they were of age. “Dorothy, you’re not in Gainesville anymore.” But fret not, despite the surge of college kids on our sands, there were still plenty of high-end, star-studded events and celebrity sightings over this past week, not to mention the upcoming Miami Fashion Week and Funkshion, among the largest and most unique fashion events in the country, to keep us locals feeling somewhat at home.

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On Saturday night, Destination Fashion hit the Shops of Bal Harbour, with an over-the-top party two years in the making. Barton G. transformed the luxury mall into a celebration through the ages: 70s, 80s, 90s and today, with enormous displays representing each decade. Over 2, 000 fashion-forward VIPs including celebrities, sports stars and philanthropic icons were able to get their groove on at Studio 54, munch on sushi with the Star Wars characters, sip cosmos with the girls from Sex and the City, and ponder the fabulosity of it all with the cast from Dynasty. The evening began with a call to action from award- winning actor and event co-chair, Tommy Lee Jones and superstar, Gloria Estefan, followed by testimonials by Nick Buoniconti and son, Marc. Next, Sultan of Style, Project Runway star, Michael Kors, wowed the crowd by presenting his spectacular fall collection straight from the runways of New York Fashion Week. The jaw dropping, bank-breaking, college fund-depleting show was set to a high-energy soundtrack which included Coldplay and New Order. Overheard among the crowd, approximately every fifteen seconds, “Gasp, I’m buying that!” After a lavish dinner at Neiman Marcus, the Pointer Sisters took over, performing a concert of their greatest hits, including He’s So Shy, Fire, Slow Hand, Automatic, Jump and, of course, I’m So Excited. There was barely any time to relish in the carbolicious rapture that was set up across the mall at Saks, where Willy Wonka challenged you to try one of the hundreds of dessert creations which covered every inch of every cosmetic counter before the Seal concert. Seal’s supermodel spouse, Heidi Klum was a no-show, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, as Seal performed over 10 songs including Kiss from a Rose, Crazy and Prayer for the Dying. Famous faces at the bash included: Tommy Lee Jones, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Michael Kors, Anna Kournikova, Jerry Rice, Jack Nicklaus, Scottie Pippen, Pat Riley, Don Shula, Romero Britto, Edgerrin James, Clay Adler, Seamus Dever, Asante Samuel, Nat Moore, Carl Lewis, Tim Hardaway, Helio Castroneves, Robin Quivers, Nanette Lepore and Ed Reed among others. By all accounts, Destination Fashion was a huge success, raising over 3.8 million dollars for the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. To see the feature on Extra, go to: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/03/miami_sizzles_on_the_runway.php.

This article was originally published in the Miami SunPost on March 12, 2009.