Once again... Happy Summer TO YOU from TheHamptons.com! In your honor we have been diligently compiling small video bytes of some of THE BEST A-list social gatherings of summer for a taste of what this place is all about in high season. We have highlighted some of the annuals and will be featuring some more as they happen. Every summer there are new restaurants & night clubs...so be sure to bookmark those pages for easy access to this year's list of fine dining establishments and the best places to go for a nightcap and dancing! The Living Room is new this summer and replaces Alison's at The Maidstone. Swedish hotelier Jenny Ljungberg has renovated the entire property including the inn! Scandanavian bohemian is the stylish fresh twist on this venerable East Hampton institution. Tres chic with a sophisticated European flair! Definitely put this one on your go-to list : ) We HAVE POSTED the 2010 events calendar which is growing for this summer as people get their village permits so bookmark this page too for this season's upcoming parties & events in the Hamptons. We now have 4 pages of videos featuring a smashing list of parties raging throughout summer in the Hamptons. Do preview our previous party pages...and if you need to get the most current Adobe flash player to play these videos on your mac or pc, it's free and fast to install!! We encourage you to use firefox as a browser - it's a snap to download...it makes everything look just right : ) Follow us on twitter if you like updates...twitter/hamptonsmedia. For larger size viewing check out our video index pages in the bigger flash player.

Ok, I think we can all pretty much agree that coming out of this past winter was like seeing the sun after it rains! Hopefully most of you are still in tact after a l o n g winter of bleak announcements!! Well now here's a cheery thought...most all of those fabulous parties and events last season are ON AGAIN and then some! Starting with the family kite fly at Cooper's Beach in Southampton (on the top 10 list for the nation's BEST BEACHES) to promote lung cancer awareness and money to beat it...the whole Memorial Day Weekend was in full throttle with Southampton Hospital's annual party at the Westhampton Country Club sporting a 70s theme called Here Comes The Sun - to support the Westhampton Primary Care Center...and over in Bridgehampton was Planned Parenthood graciously hosted by the publishers of Hamptons Cottages & Gardens magazine at their lavish digs. Hamptons Magazine threw their annual at Pink Elephant to mark the season with cover girl Anna Paquin who graced the first summer issue. Brazilian super model Ana Beatriz Barros celebrated her birthday at Pink Elephant too which we captured for you to have sneak peek. Meanwhile...Justin Mitchell, publisher of Social Life magazine, debuted their MD issue with a VIP party at their summer estate - mobbed in a good way - champagne flowing from Taittinger and one silver tray after another of tasty morsels to down while dancing to the throbbing techno.

Need we say June sucked weatherwise? I dare think not but it WAS full of splendid out-of-this-world events nonetheless! Decorators-Designers-Dealers had their usual tremendous tag sale of gorgeous items and even more valuable auction objects to raise funds for the Southampton Fresh Air Home. It almost seemed as if there were MORE parties this year then ever in spite of the economic doom & gloom. SYS honored the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation with dinner & dancing in Wainscott - and Jenny McCarthy's Generation Rescue was a NEW celebrity golf inivitational benefit in Westhampton Beach...BLUES TRAVELER was also playing in town at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center - btw...have you had a look at their calendar yet? Amazing talent for every performance. That made up for all the rain : ) Seriously though if you check out our calendar of events over the past few years the musicians that have come out to our little east end haven is rather incredible...between By the Sea series, SOCIAL at Ross, the Hamptons Music Festival and Back at the Ranch in Montauk the lineup is astonishing! It appears that they love our shores as much as we do...in fact Jon Bon Jovi surprised all the guests just the other night at the Blue Parrot in East Hampton by grabbing a guitar off the wall and giving an impromptu concert. You'll see Paul McCartney and his gal tooling around town on bikes and you know why Mick Jagger made up a song about the Memory Motel in Montauk. Even Dave Matthews has performed here! Check out our video archive for some of these cool events...we have saved them all for you to run through like summer blades of grass.

The Parrish Art Museum initiated their season round of annual events with Landscape Pleasures presented by Isaac Mizrahi and Judith Tankard. Anne Pyne of the design firm McMillen Inc. gave the other garden tour at her newly restored home in Southampton to raise funds for our lovely old Southampton Historical Museum. Later in the evening over on Whimsy Farms in Sagaponack the 9th Annual Midsummer Night Drinks had a huge turnout for God's Love We Deliver which provides meals and nutritional counseling to men, women and children living with life-altering illnesses. The Laundry in East Hampton was another crowd pleaser because of the summer kick-off gala benefitting the East Hampton Day Care - the restaurant was turned into a hot Cuban nightclub the theme being Havana Nights! Richard Hendrickson, Bridgehampton's infamous author of Winds of the Fishes Tail, historian and weatherman was honored at the Bridgehampton Historical Society along with the Bridgehampton Inn and Loaves & Fishes. He has run the local weather station for more then 78 years and chronicled the nation's climate history twice a day at his family farm since 1930! He also has a unique collection of "museum quality" local, archaeological finds including arrowheads, gunpowder holders from civil war times and even meteoroids - he encouraged me to touch a shooting star he had for "good luck" so now I can honestly say I touched the stars : )

The annual Garden Tour in East Hampton was the 23rd summer celebration to benefit the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. A lovely cocktail party followed at the Georgica Pond garden belonging to Priscilla Rattazzi Whittle. Even though it rained cats & dogs this particular Saturday evening the EcoFabulous Gala for Group for the East End was bigger and more beautiful then ever! Held at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard the tent was decorated farmer's style with bales of hay and hues of orange and blue - w/plenty of green mixed in of course. Thankfully there was valet parking so the guests did not arrive drenched! Alex Baldwin did the honors this year and now that it covers BOTH forks, our local environmental group is ever more important and having much more impact. Tickets for the event were well worth the $50,000 price tag paid by those generous enough to fund an Atlantic Ocean Sponsor Table for 10. Donor tickets started at $450 but quickly spiraled to 750-1250-5000-12500-25000 all the way up to the grand 50! There were four biggies this weekend...not to dismiss all the private affairs and other smaller gatherings for great causes...or just good company. We dropped by the 13th Heart of the Hamptons Gala for the VIP reception on Mitchell's Lane in Bridgehampton and in spite of the pouring rain, we found the place PACKED!! This upscale soiree was honoring JP Mohr whose honorable mentions are just too darn long to list here! Ross was throwing their giant summer gala - the Starlight Club Benefit - to honor Martha Stewart. Well, "our" Starleaf Gumbs I think stole the show when Courtney Ross yanked her up on stage to honor her and her sister, Sunshine, for being the first Native American graduates! We have some great photos but not as much video this round because our staff was up ON STAGE : ) Alexa Joel, Martha Stewart, Christy Brinkley, Courtney Sales Ross and Starleaf & Sunshine Gumbs were the celebrities that very special evening.

The 10th annual Love Heals gala with Donny Deutsch was quickly switched from its usual location at LUNA Farm to the Hampton Hall in Southampton Village. Most everyone got the word in time so they were able to rub elbows with all the celebrities who had already accepted...the likes of...Alexandra Richards, Jackie Astier, Russell Simmons, Amy Sacco, Kelly Bensimon, Shoshanna Gruss, Charlotte Ronson, Minnie Mortimer, Stacey Bendet, Ivanka Trump and Peter Davis! All the proceeds went straight to Love Heals which empowers young people in the fight against HIV. yeah. An Evening at Wolffer Estate was hosted by the Parrish Art Museum in Sagaponack. Fine Wolffer wines and hors d'oeuvres presented by Thyme & Again, Four Season Caterer and Tate's Bake Shop were a big hit along with the steel drums played by Next Level. The Real Housewives of NYC Betheny Frankel was there signing copies of her NYT best seller "Naturally Thin." Just when we were giving up on sunshine and summery weather, the skies opened with an unbelievable double rainbow over the beaches & farms and it's been sunny ever since! It was right in time for the Beaches & Bays Gala to benefit the Nature Conservancy held on a beautiful parcel of land on Mecox Bay. The swans were in the glorious sunset background while guests climbed out of the long line of cars pulling up to the valets. Dina Merrill accompanied by Peter Turino arrived along with some other notables. Dick Cavett was the honoree at this popular event - it seemed to have grown in leaps and bounds and maybe the sponsorship by HC & G helped fuel the effort.

Ross being Ross has ADDED to their usual roster of events by holding the First Annual Ross School PRO AM Tennis Tournament as a "close the gap" appeal. Todd Martin and Murphy Jensen were on hand for "Play with a Pro." Later the same day Ross hosted the 14th Annual Artists Against Abuse Gala for The Retreat. Celebrity hosts were Kelsey and Camille Grammer - Kelsey got up to give his speech on the subject and start off the art auction. We have plenty of photos and video of those to show you. Afterwards was The Love Bar set up for the after party where guests began to arrive at just before 11 to dance till one to DJ Ray Jarrell's cool mix. East Meets West was East End Hospice's Gala with Star Boggs at Sandacres estate in Quogue. This year's Master of Ceremonies was John Roland and music by the Bluestone Ensembles. It started with cocktails and a silent auction and went on with dinner and the live auction and again, it appears that each of these events have met their quota for guests and there is no shortage of generosity. The Maidstone Club in East Hampton hosted Fighting Chance Summer Benefit which was a bbq with open bar, tons of food and music by the Loan Sharks...and exclusive shopping opps for boating and golf. Golf being a favorite sport in The Hamptons, NY Knick Chris Duhon was the celebrity host to honor Richie Notar at the 5th Annual Hamptons Golf Classic sponsored by Get There PR and Hamptons Magazine. It was to benefit Chris Duhan's Stand Tall Foundation and included 18 holes of golf, breakfast & lunch plus a top shelf open bar for cocktails at the Hamptons Hill Golf & Country Club...and even included a luxury gift bag!

Sweet July had rain dates set just in case but alas we didn't need any of them...it was divine all weekend for the 4th. The Grucci festive fireworks went off without a hitch at the MacEntee's annual American Picnic by the ocean to benefit the Southampton Fresh Air Home orchestrated to patriotic music. If you opted out of that one you may have been sitting at Thyme & Again instead enjoying a delectable meal accompanied by North Sea Fire Department's fireworks spectacular at the carnival across the street...the perfect combination! If you missed both don't worry you can still catch it again in East Hampton over Labor Day at Main Beach. Colonial celebrations were taking place at the 1680 Thomas Halsey Homestead on South Main Street in Southampton with rifle salutes to spark up the party goers there to raise funds for the Southampton Historical Museum...lest I remind you that Southampton was the oldest English settlement in the state of NY? A small group of English Puritans who set sail from Lynn, Massachusetts landed on the beach at Conscience Point and once established named it after the British Earl of Southampton. Bridgehampton's Historical Society was hosting ArtHamptons which is an international fine art fair that opened with a gala to benefit Guild Hall and the John Drew Theater - do check out Guild Hall for their wonderful calendar of choice events. Sag Harbor boasted the Opening Concert Gala for the 14th Music Festival of the Hamptons. A festival tent was set up outside the Old Whaler's Church on Union Street. Eleanor Sage Leonard once again outdid herself and presented a splendid concert by the Brussels Chamber Orchestra with Michael Guttman as conductor featuring Richard Stoltzman on clarinet. The festival runs through the 24th so be sure to get there for this elegant series of classical music. The Closing Gala was an evening of jazz honoring the late Christian Wolffer.

Afternoon sidewalk soirees to promote storefront businesses in tandem with great causes has sprouted up as the fresh new approach to Main Street shopping. Slane & Slane had a trunk show to benefit Dreamyard with a personal appearance by designer Landon Slane on Main Street in Sag Harbor. Dreamyard is recognized for helping transform Bronx public schools and communities through the power of collaborative project-based arts education. Another new rage are Facebook invitations this season and we received one from Marc De Gontaut Biron for a cocktail party at Catherine Malandrino's Boutique co-hosted by Simply Chic PR for Cancer 101 in East Hampton. Champagne and music with great prices on clothes...what could be better?! Co-hosts Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Allison Weiss Brady & Chip Brady put out an invitation to come to the Tory Burch store also in East Hampton for a private shopping event offering 10% off ALL merchandise and 10% of the sales benefitted Russell Simmons' RushPhilanthropic.org. It was a free event to boot! So...celebs mixed with worthy foundations plus local shopping sprinkled w/ a little social networking = community survival both globally and locally. Main Street, The Hamptons, totally digs whatever brings the people in : ) hey Madison Avenue>take notice!

The old Water Mill Museum held its 40th Anniversary party while the old East Hampton Historical Society hosted its annual Antiques Show on the historical Mulford Farm. Early shopping at the assorted antique booths allowed for the best selections. Shecky's Girls' Day Out was set up at the Rogers' Mansion on Meeting House Lane in Southampton to benefit the old Southampton Historical Museum! This very well may have been the weekend we counted FOURTEEN parties & events to attend in one Saturday ; ) We did our best to get to all of them. East End Hospice had their 9th Annual Box Art fundraiser at Ross and 75 well known artists were given either a cigar box or a wine box to be auctioned off later in the evening over wine & yummy hors d'oeuvres. The box art was on display afterwards at Childrens' Museum of the East End in Bridgehampton - spread the love! Jeffrey Altman entertained at his own home in Bridgehampton for the 3rd Annual Breath of the Hamptons for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - a buffet dinner by Fresh Flavors and live music w/games for the kiddies and cocktails for the grownups. The Parrish Art Museum was the monumental gala of the evening with Kelsey Grammer who said "hi to thehamptons.com" and his lovely wife Camille! Debby Bancroft and Somers Farkas had the photographers snapping photos right & left and almost as much as the Grammers. Peter Duchin's orchestra played in the air conditioned white tent designed with the color theme of lilac to match all the hydrangeas and tables in the garden tent in its historic arboretum. Those who knew ahead dressed to match : ) We then scrambled over to the 4th annual Dream.Discover.Cure benefit on Mecox Road in order to make it back to the Parrish for the after party that was starting at 10. Congressman Timothy Bishop was the honorary chair and Beverly Deak and Mark Abrams were co-chairs for the event hosted by Janet Whalen and Robert Postma. The organization benefits groundbreaking research including innovative stem and cellular therapies to combat cancer, blood diseases and other life threatening disorders. The Dream.Discover.Cure event proceeds help to support the division of Pediatric Blood & Marrow Transplantation at Columbia Medical Center. Wouldn't it be nice if there were cures for all those? A very special event indeed and loads of fun. Westhampton's Chamber of Commerce held it's Down and Dirty Summer Lobster Bake on the Beach midweek at John Scott's Surf Shack while The Surf Lodge in Montauk had the likes of Alexa Joel perform in between their long list of fun stuff to do i.e. classic surf movies & dinner nights!

POLO season has begun! The Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge forthe Hamptons Cup opened with its first match at Blue Star Jets Field. Masses of people showed up as it must one of THE most perfect weather days of the season -July has totally been making up for June. This summer's matches promise to be some of the most exciting in the sport of polo. This season's opening match-up was between Certified and Cinque Terre/Heathcote and will continue for six consecutive Saturdays, ending August 22nd. Tailgaters lined once side of the field sporting gourmet picnic baskets while on the other side VIPs were treated to specialty drinks, hors d'oeuvres and champagne and celebrity studded VVIP tents! Those high profile celebrities included Anne V -Victoria's Secret Model, Ben Silverman - Co-Chairman of NBC Entertainment & Universal Media Studios, Beth Ostrosky, Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, Jill Zarin from Real Housewives of NYC, Kourtney Kardashian - Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kyle MacLachlan of Desperate Housewives, Sebastian Stam and Star Jones...just name a few ; )

Another big night of mega events!! Bay Street Theatre had their SUMMER GALA benefit bash Sailing Back to the 60s! Long Wharf was almost entirely covered with the colorfully decorated white tent in the midst of all the elegant yachts anchored in the harbor and the bridge was one big traffic jam of locals, tourists and guest just trying to maneuver a parking spot if they couldn't reach the valet parking! It was such a perfect evening for a party in the harbor and those that didn't attend seemed to go about their business as usual but usual means more boat parties and bayside dining at B. Smiths! Sag Harbor has always been a hub of activity and live music and has its very own storybook flavor quite different from all the other hamlets. Take route 114 to East Hampton and Russell Simmons was hosting a garden party benefit - his 10th annual Art for Life at his private estate...this year honoring Sheila C. Johnson. We caught with Opray Winfrey's fave Dr. Oz at the party and The Dr. Oz even said "hi to thehamptons.com!!" Tables of ten started at $15,000 a pop and individual tickets were $1500 so this was not an inexpensive event by a long shot. Russell always does it up with the utmost sophistication and style. East Hampton was also hosting the Longhouse Reserve summer benefit ASIAN LAUGHTER in honor of Carol Cassidy, an American silk weaver, founder of Lao Textiles and "Good American". 300 guests came together and were treated to unique culinary delights from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam while enjoying music played on traditional Asian instruments. They also had the special opportunity to bid on art from famous local artists such as Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstien and Dale Chihuly. The Summer Gala proceeds support the LongHouse Reserve's mission to exemplify living with art in all forms - a mission Jack Lenor Larsen, one of the world's foremost advocates of traditional and contemporary crafts, began in 1991.

Summer elitists went from one extravagant dinner dance to another - who could choose between all of them?! Some of the annuals like the Children's Museum of the East End opted for daytime entertainment this year hosting CMEE Under the Sea! with a lovely summer family fair for all ages prompting support from the many guests. The Annual Designer Showhouse Gala Preview party kicked off this season's showhouse which is open from July 26th right through September 6th so get over there by Labor Day weekend! Chefs & Champagne held their gala at Wolffer's Vineyard with a plethora of culinary delicacies from over 30 fine chefs selected by the James Beard Foundation. Robert Wilson hosted the very well attended 16th summer gala at the Water Mill Center where guests were thrilled with brilliant installations and theatrical performances bordering on whimsical and edgy...followed by a sumptuous dinner and live auction by Simon de Pury and dancing. Rock the Farm benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project treated everyone to Dan Akroyd as the special musical guest along with Booga Sugar, Nancy Atlas and members of the Giving Tree.

Super Saturday had celebrity co-host Blake Lively from Gossip Girl start off another big Saturday with great designer clothes at terrific prices for this upscale tag sale benefitting ovarian cancer research. Donna Karan, Kelly Ripa and Ariel Foxman of InStyle magazine were all hosts of this powerful women's benefit. Another terrific polo match over at Two Trees rounded out the day after some beach & ocean. Yes that was indeed Sir Paul McCartney's ex, Heather Mills, chatting it up with racecar driver Tim George Jr. at polo and again later in the evening at Social Magazine's party. We were more enchanted with Tim though since locals are loyal to locals and Paul is an East Hamptonite for many years going back with the Eastmans ; ) Tim George Jr. was named the 2008 MESCO "Building for the Future" Rolex Rookie of the Year and will be racing in the NASCAR Truck and Nationwide Series. Then it was on to the 51st Annual Summer Party for Southampton Hospital over on Wickapogue where Christy Brinkley was doing the honors. Chuck Scarborough was Master of Ceremonies and Sheila O'Malley Fuchs was the benefit Chairwoman. Everyone in Southampton was there and maybe from NYC : ) Alex Donner's orchestra played to the crowd and got them all up & dancing after dinner with his lively and elegant old time music. Through Farms and Fields Country Supper was the Peconic Land Trust's version of a really lovely local benefit featuring local foods and local wines with views of the conserved vineyards - and Vivien and Merrymakers playing their famous St. Lucian steel drums. Nice, low key and just a terrific evening and all to keep our rural character safe from developers! As if the weekend of parties wasn't enough...along comes one on Monday that may have turned out to be the HUGEST success of the summer: Ladles of Love thoughtfully put together by John Kowalenko, eventeur extraordinaire at Art of Eating. Ladles of Love was a concert fundraiser and Food & Wine Tasting he orchestrated for the East End Food Pantry Network...featuring performances by Band of Brother including Simon Kirk from Bad Company, GE Smith from Saturday Night Live, John Conte from Billy Joel, Jeff Kazee from Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes, as well as Bastards of Boom, The Surf Dogs, Mama Lee and Friends, Danni D., Rob Cannillo, and special guests. VIP and VVIP guests were invited into a tent to taste local foods and wines prepared by local top notch restauranteurs and vineyards. The public was encouraged to bring non-perishables aiming at a goal of 10,000 pounds.

Lucia's Angels held a benefit at Saint John's Church in Southampton to support the foundation created to help women & families on Eastern Long Island coping with late stage breast cancer. It is dedicated to providing dignity, love and last wishes as well as funding necessities such as babysitting, heating bills, health insurance premiums, groceries, auto repair, therapeutic massage and a thousand other things like Broadway shows and wigs. We then were off to see the polo horses in Bridgehampton and the people watchers before heading over to the 5th Annual Authors' Night Benefit with Barbara Walters, Alec Baldwin, Candace Bushnell, Jay McInerney and Barbara Goldsmith! This reception was to benefit the East Hampton Library and guests mingled with the hundred plus distinguished authors over wine & hors d'oeuvres getting books signed before going off to various private dinners as part of the affair. We happened to go to Candace Bushnell's! Over in Southampton producer Marty Richards was honoree of GET WILD chaired by Avis Richards, Beth Ostrovsky Stern and Marcy Warren on Little Plains to benefit the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons. The 20th Annual Hamptons Family Day over at Ross School was a Wild, Wild, West Carnival to benefit Children's Clinical Research Initiative at Albert Einstein College of Medicine which happily was a daytime event so we could go to Top Chef's 2009 Great Chefs Dinner for the Hayground School in Bridgehampton. Some of those top chefs were Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, Joseph Realmuto of Nick & Toni's, and Kevin Penner of the 1770 House...and all proceeds benefited the Hayground School's Jeff's Kitchen and the Jeff Salaway Scholarship Fund.

The Art of Fashion in the Hamptons was not only a smashing success for Guild Hall but a DESIGNER gala event - all those famous labels LIVE HERE in The Hamptons...and they ALL came out for this summer annual in a magnanimous show of support to the local community. Ralph Lauren and his wife Ricky, David Lauren & Lauren Bush, Calvin Klein, Vera Wang and Betsey Johnson to name a few : ) The colorful exhibition was done to the nines beautifully and the designers on show were all a delightfully cozy group and so approachable. Locals and summer people all mixed together under the festive tent for an alfresco dinner at the home of Tony Ingrao & Randy Kemper. Artist & Writers kicked off with a pre-game cocktail party to benefit East End Hospice, East Hampton Day Care AND The Retreat at the McEneaneys in Sag Harbor where we spotted Dan Rattiner in his de rigueur straw hat. It set the pace for the 65th annual Artist & Writers Charity Softball Game in Herrick Park in East Hampton. MORE POLO with more VIPS on another gorgeous but this time HOT Saturday afternoon. Also in Bridgehampton was The Beach Ball for ARF at the Tennis & Surf Club with a live soul band, raw bar, dinner & bonfire to celebrate the season and raise money for our local animal shelter.

HEAT kicked off the 14th Ellen's Run and must have taken the honors for most celebs in one place for the 2009 season! Stella McCartney was honorary chairperson and the hosts were Kim Catrall, Donna Karan, Daphne Guinness and Andre Balazs plus Steven Klein who generously hosted it at his own home. Surprise guest was Lindsay Lohan who snuck in quietly at first but was quickly noticed amidst a flurry of kisses and hugs!! Phillipe Chow prepared the wonderful spread for this super star studded event put together by Linda Shapiro in celebration of the new breast health center at Southampton Hospital. The Thompsons hosted A Southampton Garden Party at their lovely home on Halsey Neck for the McCarton Foundation which is dedicated to increasing educational opportunities for children with autism and developmental disabilities. Ellie Libby and all of the committee did a splendid job of gathering over a hundred or two people on a very hot day! Roberta Freymann had draped her beautiful designer pillows & fabrics all around the garden and under the tent to make a colorful and refreshing area around the pool. A delightful buffet was set up under the tent as well as two bars serving cold drinks to cool everyone off while Lisa Crawford was showing off her gorgeous designer jewelry in a display case inside the pool house. You can find Robert Freymann's booth at the Hampton Classic Horse Show if you look for a brightly decorated cubby hole with delicious colors!

Hollywood in the Hamptons brings in this season's wave of actors and actresses seeking high end promotion for their private screenings of premieres around local venues - this time at the East Hampton movie theater with SPREAD starring Ashton Kutcher and Ann Hesch. Hamptons and Gotham magazines presented the special advanced screening of Anchor Bay Films and Spread. The private party afterwards was at Lily Pond where Demi Moore, Sebastian Stan, Margarita Levieva, Donna Karan and a slew of others joined them. Best Buddies sported a western theme this season at Anne Hearst's and Jay McInerney's - co-chairs were Haley and Jason Binn, publisher of Hamptons Magazine. Christie's served as auctioneer for the live auction after dinner which was followed by dancing to Eturnity. Best Buddies wants to expand its scope in the New York area - dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement, it creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Founded in 1989 by Anthony Kennedy Shriver, Best Buddies is a vibrant organization that has grown from one original chapter to more than 1,400 middle school, high school, and college campuses worldwide.

Breakfast for Bitches is a memorable name for an event, isn't it?! Well Last Chance Animal Rescue Fund came up with that one to help gain exposure and raise awareness as well as funds to save pregnant female dogs from being killed in gas chambers across America. Last Chance Animal Rescue Fund is a non-profit organization that rescues adoptable animals who are scheduled to be euthanized - they are dedicated to saving as many innocent animals as they can. Delaney Oser of Thyme & Again hosted the brunch as a dedicated committee member at her restaurant with hubby Myles Romanow in North Sea. Whitney Knowlton heads up the organization and did a terrific job pulling it off in time to save a number of precious animals from impending execution just 24 hours away. In Southampton the Rogers mansion had Shecky's Girls Day Out - the gals were out shopping for fashion accessories and sampling fabulous products to benefit the Southampton Historical Museum. All the guests got to go home with goodie bags after splurging on merchandise & summery cocktails! JetOne Jets Field was filled to capacity for the final match of POLO for the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge and the Hamptons Cup - if you watch our video you'll find out which team went home with the prize : ) The Honorable Bernard & Joyce Mullins-Jackson offered up their private estate in Water Mill for On Our Toes in the Hamptons Gala. Evidence, a dance company returned for 6th annual performance while guests were served cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and paella with a quality live auction - including performances by the company AND a chance to dance with the dancers. Christy Turlington helped kick off the 4th annual Strides for Life at Lake Agawam in Southampton. She was Honorary Chairwoman and Rosanna Scotto was Master of Ceremonies - how's that for a great duo to spur the walkers & runners on to the finish line?!

Max Cure's Roar for a Cure carnival in East Hampton was an enormous success this year with many thanks going to the Hamptons' own super star Christy Brinkley, Aida Turturro of The Sopranos fame, Vyto Kab former player for the New York Giants, Keli Price and our very own NY Congressman Tim Bishop! Push Play performed and signed autographs and even said "hi to thehamptons.com!" Hurricane Bill was not able to spoil any of the big events this weekend!! This year's theme for the annual American Red Cross summer gala was "A Splash of Red on the Bay" held at B. Smith's on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor...same place and just as nice as Bay Street's 60s party a few weeks ago. The newest event on the Hamptons scene was the First Annual Ferrari Ralley which took drivers (can't say racing ; ) all through the back roads and even some main streets of Southampton, Sag Harbor and East Hampton with a cordial gathering for the finish at the very popular Georgica restaurant & lounge. Nora Jones & Rufus Wainwright sang together for Last Song of Summer over at Robert Wilson's extraordinarily eclectic Water Mill Center where people set up picnic style on the great lawn for a casual private concert. Water Mill was quite the hopping hamlet this weekend and rather risque for the hamptons old guard...Ivan Wilzig threw a wild benefit called Castlerock (woodstock theme) for the Peaceman Foundation with fairies, nude performers, tattoos and just all out not-at-all-hamptons style but Playboy Mansion style. Our back road digs are churning w/LA guests and this one was surely a sign of the changing tide.

The Hampton Classic Horse Show started a week earlier this year which sort of made it feel like the end of summer early but it was also kind of nice because there was still some summer left afterwards this season!! They lucked out pretty much for the weather except for one VERY rainy day but there were plenty of good sports who just put on the right gear and enjoyed it anyway. One of those was horseman Robert Duvall who was the most prominent movie star in attendance this year or perhaps the newest export from Hollywood : ) He came with author and friend Jill Rappaport for the entire event - Jill is a Hamptons resident and was promoting her new book Jack & Jill. Bruce Springsteen was there to watch his daughter Jessica again this year and stayed clear of the limelight focusing more on the competition then fame. Mayor Bloomberg was an extremely proud father because daughter Georgina galloped away with $7500 in prize money by taking the winner's spot in the Dreaming Creek 1.45m Open Jumper Class. Other winners included Joe Fargis for the Cavalor $7500 1.35m Open Jumper Class, Tracey Weinberg for the $5000 Amateur 1.40m, Victoria Birdsall for the $10,000 Wolffer Estate Equitation Championship AND the $25,000 Carolex Derby, Brianne Goutal for the $15k Arcadia Aviation 1.40m Speed Derby, Chris Kappler for the $30,000 Split Rock Farm Young Jumper Championship, Andrew Bourns for the $20,000 SHF Enterprises Young Jumper Championship for 5-year-olds, Alexandra Thorton for the $15,000 WGHR Farm Junior-Amateur Owner Jumper, Shaefer Raposa for the $10,000 Wolffer Estate Equitation Championship AND RAINY DAY PRIZE (as did some of the others) and the now infamous MCLAIN WARD for the $30,000 Fendi Cup on Goldika, the $50,000 Spy Coasat Grand Prix Qualifier on Sapphire AND MAKES HISTORY by also winning the $250,000 FIT Grand Prix once again on Sapphire, owned by Ward and Blue Chip Bloodstock. What a rider and what a horse!!!

All the Grants showed up for papa Grant's exhibition fundraiser at Stephan Keszler's art gallery in Southampton. James Grant was flanked by both sons, Hugh and elder brother Jamie. The paintings were almost sold out by the end of the evening at very modest prices between $250 and $750. Keszler's Main Street gallery has been a hotbed of activity this summer. Last month it was Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos who hosted Russell Young's Pig Portraits - an exhibition illustrating the back side of fame, crime, sex, drugs & rock n' roll. Having been a celebrity photographer and music video director Young was able to use his talent in an unusual way to get the point across via newspaper clippings for the most part and silkscreened onto mega size canvases. Very cool exhibit. Stephan is playing out the fame game in the art world and brought it to Main Street. Rounding out Labor Day Weekend was The 63rd Annual Shinnecock Indian Powwow which benefits the tribe as a whole and the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church. There were over 100 vendors, lots of traditional music and smoke dances, native foods and raffles. It's definitely the signature event for Labor Day and the closing of the summer season. Alec Baldwin hosted a screening of the documentary William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe at Guild Hall. This will be the 17th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival - thehamptons.com was the first and only official site for the HIFF from 1995 to 1998 festival. Amaryllis Horse Rescue held a "Country Fair" benefit in Sagaponack with family friendly games & pony rides. Amaryllis has already rescued over 90 horses from horrendous fates and concentrate on education. Feel free to go over and visit some of the ones who are now enjoying the fields and ocean breezes in a safe haven. Another do-gooder is Blake Mycoskie of TOM'S Shoes fame and fortune - TOMS donates one pair of shoes to charity for every pair purchased. He was doing a gig out in Montauk at Sole East for a benefit called TOM's Style Your Sole Event & BBQ. Local artists were on hand to create customized shoes for a local Hamptons flavor while local wineries served up more local flavor!! A Late Summer Cocktail Party to benefit the Southampton Historical Museum was another end-of-summer bash but the biggest and best was John Fogerty's private concert to benefit the Group for the East End. Eco Rockin' All Over the World was held at the private home of Katherine and Marco Birch on lovely Shelter Island. Entertainment also featured The Red Directors as the opening performers for JF...and all out great night of music!

THE favorite fall ritual in The Hamptons is the annual Hamptons International Film Festival which gets bigger and subsequently more substantial each festival. This year's festival featured 107 films including 15 Premieres, 10 North American Premieres, 18 US Premieres, 14 East Coast Premieres and 10 New York Premieres with dynamic casts and plentiful prize money. Every year the Hamptons are a buzz with Hollywood stars and our little hamlets become LA's backyard! Sharon Stone, Amy Redford, Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin just to name a few of the heavy weights were there for some big premieres as were plenty of others making their debuts aka Emmy Rossum, Zach Gifford, Emma Stone and Rooney Mara. The 17th season opened with The Greatest starring Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan who is the producer AND star. Solitary Man was the centerpiece film starring Michael Douglas and directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Closing night feature was Heath Ledger's last film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus directed by Terry Gilliam and also starring Johny Depp, Jude law and Colin Farrell who stepped in to assume Heath's role after he passed away during production. Woody Harrelson starring in The Messenger was just one of the World Cinema Features!! This year's Cinematography Master Class was a one hour event with the highly acclaimed producer, Barry Sonnenfeld moderated by David Schwartz, Chief Curator at the American Museum of the Moving Image and was presented by Kodak in conjunction with HIFF. A signature event initiated in the festival's first year with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg taking the stage at Guild Hall for some frank discussions with the audience in an informal setting has become an annual...some who followed in those footsteps have been Jacqueline Bisset and Frances McDormand, Vanessa Redgrave and Alec Baldwin, Sidney Lumet and Adam Green, Robert Altman, Ellen Burstyn, Gena Rowlands, Quincy Jones, Anjelica Huston, Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick, Harvey Keitel, and Julian Schnabel!!! OK...so now it's easy to grasp the LA scene in the Hamptons come fall festival time : ) The list this year was no less impressive: Marty Bregman and Alec Baldwin did A Conversation With as did Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress and humanitarian, Sharon Stone...and Steve Buscemi known for work he's done with Quentin Tarantino and a host of other world famous directors. Alan Alda did the honors this year as well and we snatched a little video of him saying "hi to thehamptons.com"! One of the many after parties at c/o Maidstone which was just restyled by a Swedish hotelier was for the Spotlight on Scandanavian Films. Gurney's in Montauk hosted the Opening party and Maidstone hosted the closing gala which was packed to the gills with barely any standing room at all - many people simply couldn't fit in! All in all this festival was enormously successful and Frank PR did a standup job of getting everyone everywhere considering the tremendous media attention. How many times does a group like IM Pei, Josh Lucas and all the above mentioned come together at one time in our sleepy little haven by the Atlantic?!

We encourage you to watch the video we captured of Somaly Mam's A Night of Hopes & Dreams in NYC to raise funds for her foundation - please visit somaly.org to understand her critical fight to stop the $12 billion per year sex-trafficking industry. Her challenge is astonishing considering how vile this industry is and how huge too so PLEASE donate whatever you can to help her plight. Another huge event in good old New York, New York was the 12th Annual Collaborating For a Cure to Benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation otherwise better known as The Waxman by those in the know : ) The Waxman GALA is a humongous effort to raise funds and awareness for cancer research...and more specifically for the Samuel Waxman Research Foundation. It was an extraordinary auction including these high quality premium items...and much more: house seats to Hamlet with Jude Law, tickets to the September 2010 Fashion Show AND a Badgley Mischka dress from the Platinum Collection, tickets to Letterman, a Sunset Cruise for TEN at Shelter Island with cocktails & sumptuous hors d'oeuvres, 4 tickets to Bye Bye Birdie and meet-and-greet John Stamos plus dinner for four at La Masseria, $1000 gift certificate to Cafe Continental, loads of wonderful choices of fine wines & fine dining - some for up to 25! Fine jewelry, vintage and haute couture clothing and even some exceptional internships at such desirable companies as Frye, Nina Shoes and MFB Clearing Corporation. BEST OF ALL, Steve Winwood of Traffic and Blind Faith was the headliner for entertainment and a private concert!! The Waxmans clearly know how to put on the ritz ; )

Till our next addition - enjoy the winter solstice...BE MERRY and hopeful...here's wishing you wonderful holidays and a bright new year full of promise and JOY : ) Stayed tuned, bookmark this page for easy access and preview some of the upcoming annual events on thehamptons.com's previous party page. You'll find all the great parties from last season and get an idea of what to look forward to for this year's events PLUS you just might see yourself in one of them. As per our copyright notice for this entire website, all content, photos & videos are copyrighted to thehamptons.com. If you would like a copy of any photo or video from any of these events, please get in touch with thehamptons.com by emailing us at staff@thehamptons.com and THANK YOU for visiting : ) We will keep adding to this as we capture more great footage here & there...could be nyc or cannes!!! Here's our fall calendar of events...with a hint of winter : )