Summer’s been anything but slow this year, thanks to bashes such as the ING Amigos For Kids Celebrity Domino tournament, the W Fort Lauderdale one year anniversary party and DJ Irie’s star-studded weekend to benefit Big Brothers and Big Sisters, which had local and national VIPs and celebs enduring the sweltering weather and schlepping all over town and across county lines.  More hot fun in the summertime is coming our way courtesy of Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, who are hosting their annual Summer Groove in the coming weeks and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim, in mid July, which gets bigger every year.  Giving folks an added reason to wake up early, skip the gym and stay indoors is the FIFA World Cup, providing much needed business to local restaurants and bars. For a whole line-up of FIFA party places, check out this month’s Dont’Miss listings on Miamisocialholic.com.

DJ Irie!

 Miami’s own DJ Irie hosted an action- packed weekend, starting Friday with an exclusive cocktail reception in The Crown Royal Black Lounge at Plunge at the Gansevoort South, hosted by Victoria’s Secret model, Selita Ebanks, and kick-off event at LIV nightclub followed by a celebrity golf tournament that took place on Saturday afternoon at the Miami Beach Golf Course. Proceeds raised throughout the weekend benefited Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater Miami.  Famous attendees over the weekend included: Luke Wilson, Joey Fatone, Wesley Jonathan, Luther Campbell, Jason Taylor, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Mike Sims-Walker, James Posey, Jonathan Vilma, Sam Madison, John Denney, Lawrence Timmons, Steven Tulloch, Keith Askins, Bill Lindsay, Mike James, Akin Ayodele, and Larry English. 

 Dominos, Celebs, Dancing

Jorge Plasencia, Luis Abarca, and Rosa Maria Plasencia

Nearly 2, 000 guests stormed Jungle Island last Saturday for the ING Miami Celebrity Domino Night- the only domino tournament we know of where dancing takes precedence over the actual dominos, with attendees taking breaks from the tourney to dance to favorite songs performed by Miami’s most popular high-energy Latin fusion band, Kukaramakara. The evening featured celebrity domino players, local flavors and dinner-by-the-bite provided by a slew of prominent restaurants- giving guests all the more reason to hit the dance floor to work off the billion extra calories.

This year’s fundraiser was another astounding success for Amigos For Kids, marking ING’s sixth year as the event’s title sponsor, and featuring Barcadi USA as a first-time presenting sponsor.  Performances by R&B funk group, The Valerie Tyson Band, added to the musical stylings of the event’s headliner, Kukaramakara, making this party the most Latin fun this side of the Ricky Ricardo’s Tropicana. Celebrities in attendance included: Barbara Bermudo, Ana Maria Canseco, Candela Ferro, Julian Gil, Pamela Silva-Conde, Marisa Del Portillo and many others.