Last Saturday night, Rory Dougherty, owner of Vice Lounge hosted a private dinner at Soiree, the restaurant within the nightclub, for his son, Grant Dougherty, HBO talk show host Katie Morgan joined the Doughertys in the celebration.

Oakley and famed NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya teamed up on Saturday to inaugurate the opening of the new Oakley store in Pembroke Pines. The 2007 Rookie of the Year was in attendance to celebrate the new store and meet fans and sign posters.

Rapper Fat Joe was spotted at STK Miami this past Sunday with a pretty female companion, sharing new chef Aaron Taylor’s Surf & Turf for two with Truffles and sipping pinot noir. The duo was overheard discussing the critical state of Haiti.  No word on his plans for a relief concert. Separately in town over the weekend and seen at STK was fellow rapper Lil Jon.  

Lenny Kravitz was on-hand on Monday night at Paramount Bay to share the first series of details about the soon-to-open condominium, which Kravitz plans to make his home in 2012.

Tony Goldman, Janet Goldman, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Jessica Goldman and Bret Ratner

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones made the rounds all over Art Basel.  We first ran into them at the MOCA LA dinner hosted by Jeffrey Deitch at the Raleigh on Wednesday night, where they shared an intimate table with Pat Riley.  We actually got to speak to Douglas at the Pulse art fair VIP brunch on Thursday, where he graciously agreed to have a photo taken with us and called us “cute” (we’ll take it!) as Catherine, dressed head-to-toe in tan, hair pulled back, perused the art.  Douglas and Zeta-Jones joined Brett Ratner later that afternoon for a personal tour of Wynwood Walls, the outdoor street art park featuring over 40 of the world’s best urban artists. 

On Thursday evening the couple attended Aby Rosen’s dinner at The Dutch and we ran into them again at WALL for the party hosted by Alex Dellal, Stavros Niarchos and Vito Schnabel.

My “wonder-twin” Maryanne Salvat and I had the pleasure of conversing with the one and only Cynthia Rowley (who insists we should have our own show!) that was until her hubby Bill Powers (Bravo’s Work of Art Judge) insisted they take their seats for an exclusive dinner at Cecconi’s on Thursday night.  The event was action packed and filled with the art world’s most sociable crowd including Daphne Guinness donning a fabulous top hat, Michaela de Pury and Simon de Pury, Ivana Trump, Damien Hirst, Dori Cooperman, Marsha Markova, Inga Rubenstein, Angela Missoni, Michael Shvo, Rory Tahari, Angela Ismailos, Kim Heirston,Nadja Swarovski, Hilary Weston to name a few, who enjoyed a performance by the  Miami Dolphins cheerleaders.

A party on board My Yacht^™ Miami with Marquis Vodka on Friday December 2, had guests that included the President of Rolls-Royce North America David Archibald, baseball legend Sammy Sosa, and actor Christian Slater.  The guests on the yacht enjoyed custom cocktails late into the night.
Also on Friday, Rico Love co-hosted a birthday party with Usher, at Vic & Angelos which was attended by Mary J. Blige, Deborah Cox, Chris Bosh and Clinton Sparks.  Usher presented Love with one of his Grammy awards as a gift.

On Saturday, Chris Bosh hosted Graffiti Gone Global’s “The Art of Basketball” event with DJ Irie on the turntables.  Dwayne Wade, Juwan Howard and Zydrunas Ilgauskas joined teammate Bosh, a supporter of the arts, in accepting a portrait by Billi Kid and a $15,000 donation for his charity, Team Tomorrow, from Premier Beverage CEO Bob Drinon.  An elegant Gabrielle Union accompanied D-Wade to the artful happening, which included cocktails by Bar Lab and fare by Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill.

Art Basel attracted a slew of artists and collectors, but the celebs in town caught the attention at the fabulous parties thrown through the satellite art fairs. Notables included:, Pharrell Williams, Will Smith, P. Diddy, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Adrien Brody, China Chow, Naomi Campbell, Brett Ratner, Stefano Tonchi, Stephanie Seymour, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Andre Balazs, Paul Wilmot, Solange Knowles, Sean Penn, Gina Gershon, Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, Macy Gray, La La Vazquez, Robin Thicke, Luke Wilson, Jane Seymour, Lance Bass, Cee-Lo Green, Nas, Tilda Swinton, Derek Blasberg, and Moby.

Prior to the official start of Basel, the Soho Beach House hosted a members-only interview by Jeffrey Deitch of Pharrell Williams, during which Williams demonstrated his passion for visual art in addition to music.  We hear that Will Smith was also in attendance but didn’t see him.  We also spotted Williams having lunch at the Club Bar on Friday afternoon and he was seen at The Rooftop at Gansevoort Miami Beach this past weekend, in preparation for a Whitewall magazine interview that will feature him in an upcoming issue.

World renowned sculpture artist Moses Nyanhongo, from Zimbabwe hosted live sculpture Art Basel events at both STK and at the Breakwater Hotel last week.

Dita Von Teese

Sexy burlesque performer, Dita Von Teese, made a pit stop in Miami on Thursday as part of the U.S. launch for her vintage-inspired mini bar, “My Cointreau® Travel Essentials.” She sipped Cointreau® MargaDitas at a private party at Mondrian South Beach’s Sunset Lounge and caused quite the frenzy as she made her grand entrance down the hotel lobby’s black spiral staircase wearing a silver Herve L. Leroux gown, studded Louboutin heels, vintage earrings and a Cartier ring, and then posed on the Cointreau® “orange carpet” alongside a luggage cart stacked high with vintage trunks and her limited-edition travel accessory and shared fashion, style and travel tips with guests. Von Teese spent most of the evening lounging in a corner booth with friends but often stopped her conversation to meet and pose for photos with fans.

Our favorite Modern Family star, Sofia Vergara, headlined the BeLive Gala at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach on Thursday night.

Sofia Vergara

Real Housewives of Miami’s Lea Black joined Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Caroline Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, and Albie Manzo at the Hotel Breakwater for the launch of blk.Water, which Manzo is representing. Manzo kept cool sipping cocktails (made with blk), and hanging with his brother, sister and New York Jets cheerleader girlfriend, much to the dismay of female onlookers.  

 Across town at WALL Miami lounge, Private Practice’s Taye Diggs (who made us swoon years ago in How Stella Got Her Groove Back) and team McLaren Formula One race car driver Jenson Button partied at the VIP hotspot, drinking and dancing with friends until 4 a.m.

Diggs and famous wife Idina Menzel from Glee stayed at the Hilton Bentley on South Beach while on tour all over South Florida promoting Diggs’ new children’s book Chocolate Me, about helping kids feel good about being unique.  The couple was seen by the Bentley pool and dining at De Rodriguez Cuba with their son Walker on Saturday, after his book signing at The Soul of South Florida Book Expo. 

Mario Lopez was seen checking into the Mondrian late on Friday night and took a few minutes to relax poolside on Saturday afternoon. Our source tells us fans were overheard whispering that they hoped “he’d take his shirt off” but had no such luck as Lopez was off to film teasers for his show Extra.

On Saturday afternoon, Alex Rodriguez went virtually unnoticed behind dark shades as he enjoyed a healthy poolside lunch at the Delano; Manny Ramirez had a late afternoon snack at Stephen Starr’s Makoto in Bal Harbour and Romero Britto dined at Asia de Cuba at Mondrian, posing for photos with fans and signing autographs.

University of Miami alums and Major League Baseball players Chris Perez (Cleveland Indians) and Jon Jay (St. Louis Cardinals) dined on Saturday at The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar.

On Sunday afternoon Giuliana and Bill Rancic enjoyed Sunday afternoon brunch at the Mondrian. 

Last week, American Idol Season 10’s Brett Loewenstern, Mrs. United States 2011 Shannon Ford, and Miss Florida USA 2012 Karina Brez were a part of the Palm Beach Veterans Committee Veterans Day Parade in West Palm Beach.

Dwayne Wade’s private chef, Richard Ingraham cooked up specialty dishes for the Cooking up Dreams event at the Hilton Doubletree Biscayne Bay a couple of weeks ago, in support of Miami-Dade Public Schools Food and Nutrition programs.

American Idol Season 8 contestant Matt Giraud and Lindsey Sky performed at the “I Have A Dream” Foundation of Miami Annual Gala at the Fontainebleau last Tuesday night, hosted by Stephanie, Jules, and Eddie Trump, owners of Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach. Pan Am’s Goran Visnjic and Magic City’s Dominik Garcia-Lorido joined over 500 guests for the celebration.

Known for being the youngest and most popular winner of Bravo’s Project Runway, Christian Siriano was on-hand for an intimate gathering at Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour last Thursday afternoon, where he presented his Fall 2011 Collection, and gave the fashionable guests a sneak peek into his Spring 2012 Collection.

Last Thursday night at Club 50 at the Viceroy Hotel, Dwyane Wade hosted an event to celebrate his collaboration with Hublot, for which he designed a limited edition watch. “The elements reflect my personal style and love for basketball” he said of the watch which features his jersey’s #3 and a basketball net design on the strap.  Sporting his own creation, Wade attended the Hublot Bal Harbour Boutique opening event with girlfriend Gabrielle Union.  Proceeds from the Hublot King Power Dwyane Wade watch will go to support the Wade World Foundation in its efforts to promote education, health and social skills for children in at-risk situations. 

Spanish-Mexican tenor and conductor, Placido Domingo is in town.  He headlined the gala kick-off for the Florida Grand Opera’s 2011-2012 Season on Tuesday night and dined at DB Bistro two nights in a row. 

Mayor of Pinecrest, Cindy Lerner and official artist of the Latin Grammy Awards, Miguel Paredes attended the unveiling ceremony for the custom dog sculpture that Paredes created for the “smARTy Dogs for Smart Schools” program at Pinecrest Elementary. 

More of a “celebrity news” item than a sighting:  local designer, Robert Brown, CEO of Brown Davis Interiors will be one of the judges at the Miss New Hampshire pageant which is a part of Donald Trump’s Miss Universe Organization.  The Trump Organization stated in a press release that it expects to take the New Hampshire pageant to a higher level, introducing a chic and contemporary production – in music, program and fashion.

Doug Scott and Olga Granda-Scott

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Wolfsonian Visionaries 11:11:11

Every now and then all of the ingredients that make for a perfect evening come together in one delicious bite- resulting in magic.  Such was the case last Friday night during the Wolfsonian Visionaries’ 11:11:11 party, where hundreds of the “fabulartsy” gathered in the garage bearing the address to match the party’s unique date, the landmark 1111 Lincoln Road garage, transformed into the ideal venue, by an array of white linens, furnishings and bunches and bunches of flowers from top-to-bottom- even the bars were made to resemble bushes. The gusty, chilly winds that enhanced the panoramic views had the already stylish group, with a flair for the fabulous, donning fancy furs (sorry PETA), colorful scarves and warm, winter garb reserved for such incredible nights in New York City this time of year, just adding to the already dramatic landscape of the evening.  

The magnificent affair was held in honor of the Wolfsonian’s 16th anniversary, and featured signature dishes from Miami’s top restaurants and caterers, who served up cold weather comfort food such as Michelle Areces & Nima Vandy’s Petit Pois’ truffle polenta served in miniature pots and chocolate truffle pearls (that left green glitter dust all over the guests’ faces); Jim Mozina of Le Basque’s seared tuna on a bed of mashed potatoes;  Lyon + Lyon’s (which is now open at the Wolfsonian) grilled cheese sandwiches and watercress soup and ooohhhhhh! those piping hot Shake Shack burgers!  Guests also enjoyed top shelf Bacardi cocktails, music by DJ Mauricio Parra and the images of artist Emilio Chapela which were on display in a site-specific installation.  Read the rest of this entry »

David Furnish and Sir Elton John

On Friday night, comedian Kevin Hart hosted a party at Club Play, alongside up-and- coming rapper Kendrick Lamar. NBA Superstar Dwyane Wade, close friend of Hart, joined actor Morris Chestnut and former Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams along with fellow athletes, comedians, and rappers for the night.

Chalk Ping Pong and Billiards Lounge managing partners Joseph Blount and Sayra Moto, along with local tastemakers, Nick D’Annunzio, Tara Solomon, Jose Ortiz, Sean Drake and Michelle Leshem attended Sir Elton John’s “An Enduring Vision” gala last Wednesday, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Blount, a major philanthropist, along with his latest venture Chalk, were official co-sponsors of the event, which supports the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Last Tuesday night, singer Josh Groban was seen dining at Mondrian South Beach’s Asia de Cuba. After nibbling on Lobster Pot Stickers and Calamari Salad, Groban checked out Mondrian’s inventive vending machine, Semi Automatic, which sells everything from toothbrushes to cars.