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.

Bibbity, Bobbity, Bubble Q

Sophisticated diners bubbled over at the most gout-worthy event during the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Bubble Q. Top Chef Tom Colicchio served as ring master over the circus on the sand that brought South Beach glam to the friendly neighborhood barbecue.Bubble Q’s sexy location, chefs as smokin’ hot as the food and gorgeous people doused in champagne, made for a bash to rival Brazil’s Carnaval.This was the epitome of the true South Beach Diet: limitless, perfectly seared meats and seafood paired with free-flowing PerrierJouët.Now there’s a diet we can commit to!Serving up the food and fun this year were some of our favorite chef-lebs, Marcus Samuelsson, Ilan Hall, Al Roker, Jonathan Eismann, Elizabeth Karmel, and Todd Miller, several of whom guzzled champagne along with the rest of us, just adding to the chaos.During the last hour of Bubble Q, the tent turned into a gigantic ball pool, (like the ones you see at Chuck E. Cheese) wherein the revelers (who had been magically transformed into a bunch of second graders under the spell of Perrier Jouët) joined the chefs and FIU sous chefs, in recklessly hurling the plastic balls that were intended to resemble champagne bubbles, to the chagrin of the DJ, who feared for his equipment.Bubble Q was definitely a chef-lebration we wish we could remember.

The mosh-pit-eating-marathon, otherwise known as the Grand Tasting Village on Saturday and Sunday, offered up hearty helpings of food from all over the nation and chef-lebrity cooking demonstrations and book signings by Martha Stewart, Emeril Legasse, Katie Lee Joel, Rachael Ray, Tom Colicchio, Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Robin Miller, Masaharu Morimoto, Ingrid Hoffman, Guy Fieri, The Neelys and Michael Symone.On Saturday afternoon, guests uttered a collective groan when it was announced that everyone needed to exit the tents at the premature hour of 5 p.m.(What, only four hours of gorging and imbibing?)As we disappointedly sauntered into the hospitality area, our spirits were uplifted when we heard Heavy Metal blaring from the speakers.Rushing over to the packed cooking demonstration we discovered that the self-proclaimed Culinary Gangster Guy Fieri was in the house.This “Guy” makes Emeril seem shy and introverted.Not only did Fieri throw out steak knives (wrapped in aprons) to the crowd, he took a break from making his 8 foot sausage and beef hoagie to blend an enormous margarita right on stage and pass out shots of Patron to the crowd, who cheered and sang along to “Tequila.”

To say that the tribute dinner honoring Emeril Legasse later that night was a much more subdued affair is an understatement.Emceed by Martha Stewart, the dinner was created by Charlie Trotter, Norman Van Aken, Eric Ripert, Mario Batali and Bobby Flay.One of the highlights was the marching band, dressed in full regalia, who paraded Legasse through the ballroom before his official introduction. Sunday’s, Oscar Night America Sobe Style at the Paris Theater, capped off the weekend extravaganza with a glitzy affair hosted by Bobby Flay and wife, “Law and Order: SVU” star, Stephanie March. Special guests included Laurie Jennings, who emceed and Guy Fieri.

There were a couple of moments of the festival that we would just as soon forget.For Paula Deen, the biggest roar from the crowd during her cooking demonstration had nothing to do with her southern comfort food, (the thought of which makes our arteries quiver), but with a mishap during which Deen lost her pants as she walked off the stage- talk about a southern moon over Miami, the sight of which left us longing for another shot of Fieri’s margarita.Earlier in the week, Mario Batali dropped the F-bomb in the presence of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain, as he tried to get the crowd’s attention during the $1,000 a plate dinner, ¡Viva España! The Wines and Food of Spain, which was held on Thursday at the Biltmore.Yeah, yeah, blame it on the Spanish wine.Mama Mia, Mario!Guests in attendance included Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Governor Charlie Crist, and Grammy award-winning Spanish singer, Julio Iglesias.

Three D-words come to mind when looking back upon the eating extravaganza otherwise known as South Beach Wine and Food Festival- Divine, Decadent, Diet and Detox.

Coming Up

MOCA Pop Bollywood

The buzz surrounding a certain little Indian flick entitled, Slumdog Millionaire only adds to anticipation for POP BOLLYWOOD, the Museum of Contemporary Art’s sixth annual POP fundraiser which will take place this Saturday night.Fittingly, this year’s theme embodies the movie magic of India.Bollywood actress Pallavi Sharda, will perform during the party, which will feature The Ruby Room, a private Cartier lounge area, complete with club entrance, concierge, champagne, signature hors d’oeuvres and a chance to bid on exclusive silent auction items.  

Heavenly Bodies

Cosmopolitan magazine will host its second annual Bikini Bash on March 14th, hosted by sexy starlet Kristin Cavallari, on the sand at Nikki Beach Club.This unique event will feature hundreds of hot, bikini-clad beauties in skimpy, sexy swimwear spelling out the word C-O-S-M-O for an aerial photograph to be included in Cosmo’s August issue. To add to the heat, David Barton Gym’s hunky trainers will provide stretching exercises before the shoot.The after party will be held the same night at Mansion.

Spotted:

Most Hollywood stars stayed, well, in Hollywood, being that it was Oscar weekend, but we still had our requisite celebrity sightings. On separate occasions, both Martha Stewart and Brooke Shields popped into trendy fashion boutique, The Webster, and shopped up a storm!Stewart splurged on Miu Miu, Balmain and Lanvin, while Shields, who was with her two daughters, bought Lanvin and Prada dresses and shoes by YSL.The night after being shocked by Batali’s blunder at the Biltmore, Gloria and Emilio Estefan dined at Asia de Cuba and sipped a few cocktails at the Sunset Lounge at the Mondrian.Gnarles Barkley’s Cee Lo, performed Crazy at SET on Saturday, during the launch of Belvedere IX.During Mansion’s five-year anniversary bash, Swedish DJ, Steve Angello spun for the crowd of over 2, 500.Sunday at Mansion, Ryan Leslie performed Diamond Girl and Addiction at his album release party.Actor Scott Conant was spotted at LIV on Saturday. Broadway superstar, Bernadette Peters was recently seen dining at YOLO Restaurant/Lounge in Fort Lauderdale.

Nick D’Annunzio and Tara Solomon, the self proclaimed “King and Queen of Hearts” celebrated Go Red for Women at a heart-healthy brunch at the Intercontinental Hotel to benefit the American Heart Association.   Elaine Lancaster spun some great tunes, as many South Beach locals and Miami socialites and philanthropists enjoyed a one-of-a-kind afternoon- dressed in red, of course.

Alexis Mincolla and Pauly Shore at Bella Rose. Photo by

Well, it’s here, so bring out the fat pants and schedule that gastric bypass and liver transplant for next week. For the eighth year in a row, The Food Network (the Playboy channel for foodies) takes over South Beach with a lineup of events and stars to rival Super Bowl weekend 2008. And while this town is no stranger to celebrity sightings, the festival brings a whole different breed of stars to South Beach, chef-lebrities.

The events drawing the largest number of celebs for your buck are bound to be the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village on Saturday and Sunday, Ocean Drive magazine’s February issue release party and Amstel Light Burger Bash tonight (Thursday), the Pierre Jouet Bubble Q on Friday, the Tribute Dinner honoring Emeril Lagasse on Saturday and Sunday’s Oscar Night America SoBe Style.

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