One of our favorite sports/South Beach personalities, DJ Irie, superstar DJ to the Miami Heat and actor Jamie Foxx and all-around nice guy, hosted his Fifth Annual Irie Weekend Celebrity Golf Tournament last Friday-Sunday, to raise funds for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Miami.  One of Miami’s favorite charitable events, Irie Weekend kicked off at Mansion on Friday, where Gabriel Union, Dwyane Wade, Sanaa Lathan and Joey Fatone partied and enjoyed performances by Irie (of course) and Kevin Rudolf. The golf tournament was a great success, despite many hung over and/or buzzed players who zipped through the golf course on their carts as if they were driving on the Indie 500. Making celebrity appearances throughout the tourney: Gabriel Union and Stephanie Pratt, who cheered on the celeb golfers: Alfonso Ribiero, Joey Fatone, Ernest Wilford, Wesley Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, (who made a short speech alongside Irie during the opening remarks), Dorrell Wright, Tim Hardaway and two-time Super Bowl Champion, legendary defensive end, Lawrence Taylor. All of the celebrities seemed to be having a blast, mingling with guests and signing autographs.  Ribiero’s team won the tournament once again this year (he won last year too).  At one point, Irie and Stephanie Pratt played Dance Revolution with the “littles” of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization at the Konami-sponsored hole.  Sunday’s pool party at the Shore Club went on despite the torrential monsoon that swept through.  LMFAO and a line up of guest DJs took part in the wet fun.

For those of you who prefer your pyrotechnics with a bit of flair, a few notable establishments are offering some swanky alternatives to celebrating our nation’s birthday.  Instead of the typical backyard BBQ and sitting on wet grass to watch a fireworks display, consider heading to the Marcel Wanders-designed Mondrian, where you can celebrate in true South Beach style (minus the hassle) by “checking in for the day” to receive all day access to the Sunset Lounge pool deck-quite a fabulous place to watch the fireworks display over the American Airlines Arena. This package starts at $125 for two and includes deluxe hotel room accommodations until 6:00 p.m., enabling guests to shower and dress up before the evening’s festivities.  As part of the package, guests can enjoy 20% off of Agua Spa treatments. Overnight packages, including daily complimentary breakfast for two, start at $195.00. For reservations, call (800) 606-6090. 

Nearby, at Red, the Steakhouse, you can partake in a gourmet BBQ and fireworks viewing party on the private rooftop of the restaurant. Guests are invited to watch the South Beach fireworks display while feasting on the restaurant’s signature dishes in addition to all of the traditional BBQ offerings.  There will also be 2-for-1 specialty cocktails throughout the evening, as well as specially-priced sangria, beers, and Mojitos. Dinner starts at 6:00 p.m., the bar opens at 5:00 p.m. For more information, please call (305) 534-3688 or go to www.redthesteakhouse.com.

Another fanciful fourth can be had at the Viceroy at Icon Brickell, which is hosting an Independence Day celebration that includes a pool party from noon to 5:00 p.m. on the expansive two-acre deck, a BBQ, drink specials and kid-friendly wading pools. The whole family is invited to the afternoon BBQ, but the party is sure to become adult-centered once the sun sets.  Expect DJs spinning party beats and a chic evening of fun and fireworks, with displays visible from Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, Miami Beach and Downtown Miami. This party is a bargain since there is no entrance fee, and food and drink tickets start at just $5.00 (one ticket is good for a hot dog or hamburger).  Over at Club 50 – the rooftop pool lounge at Viceroy, guests can enjoy a more sophisticated eventing and panoramic cityscape views. For guests who’d like to spend the night, overnight accommodations start at just $175, and include VIP access.  For more information contact: (305) 503-4400 or visit www.viceroymiami.com.

Beyonce Knowles performed at the Bank Atlantic Center over the weekend, delighting fans by dancing throughout the entire concert, (without lip-syncing a single note!), performing songs from her current album I am…Sasha Fierce and from her previous works, such as B’Day and Dangerously in Love. One highlight was when she flew from the main stage over the audience onto a platform in the middle of Bank Atlantic Center. Lucky fans in the back got to see her a lot closer performing a medley of songs from her Destiny’s Child days. She also paid respect to Michael Jackson and acknowledged him as an inspiration. Other highlights were when she performed Ave Maria, even singing part of it in Italian. At the end of her concert, Knowles thanked her fans and left the stage saying “I am, I am, I am…YOURS!” playing off her album title, recognizing that her success comes from her huge fan base.

Famed director, Michael Bay, and actors Ramon Rodriguez and Isabel Lucas hosted a special opening weekend screening of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen at Regal South Beach Cinemas, for a few hundred of their closest friends. The mild-mannered Bay introduced the actors and told guests that he made this film for them to enjoy and ordered them to “Have fun.”  He then asked the theater staff to “Play it loud” and sat and watched the first 30 minutes of the film for the umpteenth time, before slipping out at the same time as the actors and a few VIPs, including Michael Capponi and his goddaughter, Amber, and several Paramount Pictures employees to dine at Scarpetta.    As he watched his latest blockbuster, Bay seemed genuinely in awe of the Autobots, which spend the better part of the movie beating the daylights out of the Deceptacons, and even laughed at the film’s funny scenes.  Among those attending the screening, whom we could actually make-out in the dark,  Tara Solomon and Nick D’Annunzio, Jon and Nancy Batchelor, Antonio Misuraca, and Jorge and Darlene Perez. One of the few actual living things in the movie is Bones (short for Bone Crusher), one of Bay’s  gorgeous, enormous, Bull Mastiffs, whom we had the pleasure of meeting at Bay’s United Way Fundraiser at his home last December, along with Bones’ partner, Grace.  Bay totally lit up when asked about his pooches, with which he travels everywhere- by private plane, of course. After the screening, the director, actors and several VIPs headed to LIV for the official after part

Francophiles rejoice! Au Pied de Cochon, the legendary Parisian brasserie, (and our version of Big Pink in the Latin Quarter) is finally open and ready to feed you the traditional French fare to which you are accustomed- 24 hours a day.  At the grand opening party on Thursday, the folks who have kept your belly full after long nights at Buddha Bar, Villa Barclay or Le Bain Douche (years ago) in Paris, G.M., Joaquim Braz, and chefs Joel Veyssiere and Bernard LePrince were on-hand to fete owner Carlo Bicaci and chef Didier Lailheugue at our very own Parisian “diner.”  The heavy rain did not stop Miami’s General Consulate of France, Philippe Vinogradoff, from joining in the celebration and assisting Bicaci in the red ribbon cutting ceremony, nor hundreds of A- listers from packing the south of fifth eatery. A beret-clad accordionist played traditional Parisian compositions including the restaurant’s theme song “Au Pied de Cochon,” while guests munched on specialty menu items and sipped French wine and champagne hand-picked by expert sommelier Kareem Zarwi.  Among the many notable guests partaking in the Parisian Bacchanal: philanthropist Sanford Ziff; news anchor, María Celeste Arrarás; real estate broker, Edie Lacquer; photographer, Iran Issa-Khan; Forge owner, Shareef Malnik; MTV Networks Latin America Vice President of Public Affairs, Mario Cáder-Frech; MTV DJ, Mauricio Parra, MTV News VJ, Ilana Sod and MTV former VJ Eglantina Zingg; Countess Claudine Smurfit; architect, Charles Benson; designer, Rene Ruiz; uber-realtor, Veronica Cervera; cookbook author, Linda Gassenheimer; Hip-e boutique owner, Daisy Casuso; designer, Glen Miller; Big Time Productions owner, Eugene Rodriguez; ACT productions owner, Bruce Oroz; Lady Monica Heftler; philanthropist, Marlene Berg, photographer, Iran Issa Khan; interior designers-to-the-stars, Todd Davis and Rob Brown; and Tara Solomon and Nick D’ Annunzio of Tara, Ink..  “We are proud to begin a new tradition in one of the most modern, trend-setting cities in the world,” said Bicaci.  “It was truly a nostalgic evening and we were honored to bestow a piece of Parisian history to South Florida.”