Is it really coming up on SUMMER 2012 in The Hamptons already?! Yup and it was barely a winter to boot! Hopefully though we kept you somewhat entertained with our social page from the past year right up till now : ) SO NOW...since it IS almost summertime we are going to keep y o u in tune with all the right parties and all the big events with some mighty fine video bytes we grab here & there. We're kinda hoping you might spring for some tickets to these mega galas to help support some of these fine & dandy organizations : ) For new folks we have a handy list of restaurants & night clubs...so be sure to bookmark those pages for easy reference to all the best spots to eat, drink and relax...and for a nightcap & dancing we have a nightlife page! Follow us on twitter if you like regular updates...@hamptonsmedia Firefox, RootOrange, Razorfish, AmericanExpress, TheNextWeb, textPlus, TheUnionCares, TheOprahShow, TMZ, PRNewswire, WarnerBrosEnt, SonyPictures, CNNiReport, Piper_Heidsieck, Harpers, BSmithStyle, PasteMagazine, CrainsNewYork, LeOficial, NWF, Collective_Soul, DyansCandyBar, BaumeMercier, Veuve_Clicquot, TOMSshoes, ChrisLawford, PatrickMcMullen, SamanthaYanks, R. Couri Hay, Alex McCord, PaulWilmotComm, the NewYorkPost, Newsday, OK_Magazine, ZagatBuzz, WeAreFamilyFdtn, drinkArizona, ChuckSchumer, TheMotleyFool, NASATweetup, Kelsey_Grammer, Sothebys, MasterCard, Dr. Mark Drapeau @cheeky_geeky, PageSix & even a few blogs like Guest of a Guest & PlumHamptons ARE - just to name a few : ) For LARGER size viewing check out our video index pages in the bigger flash player w/a nice xml playlist...and if you're new to us here's a preview of some of the upcoming annual events from last season on TheHamptons.com's SUMMERTIME party page...good news for you loyal Apples we are building an index for ipad & iphone for ya : ) bookmark this page too so you can keep up with all the best events in The Hamptons! Come on back for a look at what we get for where to go or do a little party gazing!! Our video index has Xploded into five p a g e s of videos featuring a library of summer parties in The Hamptons so do preview our previous party pages...and if you need to get the most current Adobe flash player to play these videos, it's free and fast to install!! We encouraged you to use firefox as a browser but IE has rendered it just as fine these days as does Safari - either are a snap to download...it makes everything look just right!

Just ahead of Summer's kickoff Silas Marder Gallery opened their sixth annual Big Show which runs through June 22 and has become a big favorite as well for all The Hamptons' community attracting between three and five hundred collectors and attendees. Over fifty locals make up the eclectic mixture of artists - each given three small blank canvases and are asked to reflect on where they are in their careers. The works are produced by artists from different backgrounds, each affected by world events. Sag Harbor's Michelle Suna whose series entitled, Japan 3.11.11 honors the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster. Michelle Suna captures her vision of the sea's massive displacement into the land, obliterating life, as the people, animals and environment were forever lost or traumatically changed. Her three 8x10" works are an expression of prayer. Found beach objects were placed with Zen-like reverence, in the bas-relief of the ethereal, stark white gesso and sand, frozen in time by resin. Two other paintings by Michelle were featured in major motion pictures - Incoming Storm Over Sagg Pond was featured in "Hitch" starring Will Smith, and Poppie Blossoms in the Wind was featured in "Music & Lyrics" starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Other artists in the show include Billy Sullivan and Giancarlo Impiglia, Mica Marder, Laura Duggan, Scott Johnson, Nichole Van Beek and lots of other well known or up and coming gifted artists. We captured a portion of the show at the opening to give you a feeling of what a cool exhibition it is! Also kicking off the season ahead of MD weekend was Group for the East End's fundraiser at The Boathouse on beautiful Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton. Bob DeLuca and Judy Christrup and several others gave the group a jump start with cocktails, a sea inspired raw bar, hors d'oeuvres and a lovely selection of art for the silent auction sponsored by Artists for the East End. A really nice celebration of the past year's environmental victories! Featured artists Cynthia Loewen, Mary Milne, Anna Franklin, Lynn Martell, Mary Dawnt, Ted Asnis, Bruce Milne, Gene Samuelson, Pamela Topham, Joan Tripp, Phyllis Chillingworth and Bob Schwarz. These artists, who call themselves "Artists for the East End," find inspiration from the East End environment and donated 30% of the proceeds of the auction to the Group for the East End.

Next was Plum Hamptons magazine launch party with Christine Cuomo at the helm as chief editor for the new glossy featuring Christy Turlington's gorgeous face on the debut cover - one of several this one was at Michael Gluckman's new hotspot Beachhouse and the sister restaurant of Boathouse where we were the night before and spied one of the hottest bartenders so far this summer...we think Sasha already knows this ; ) Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns' directorial debut "No Woman, No Cry," coincided with the magazine launch as a premiere & private screening at the Southampton movie theater. Really all the preseason hoopla began with the Golf Classic at The Atlantic Benefit for The Retreat over at the breathtakingly beautiful Atlantic Golf Club on Scuttlehole! So "officially" Memorial Day Weekend began at Coopers Beach in Southampton with the annual Kites for a Cure on the beach for Lung Cancer Awareness & Research. Tons of kids big & small made for a dazzling spectacle in the sky lighting up the foggy afternoon with their wonderful, colorful kites! The Southampton Inn - home to top notch restaurant OSO - put on their annual open bbq pulling in families & friends for a nice summer spread of good old-fashioned gourmet grub in honor of Memorial Day. A local landmark, the casual-chic Tudor-style Inn is home to ninety recently-renovated guestrooms, each individually decorated to reflect the effortlessly stylish allure of The Hamptons and even a few designated pet-friendly guestrooms so be sure to mention to your own overflow guests that luvv to appear high season - you know who they are lol. montauk, Montauk, MONTAUK...where it's at these days for hippest new eateries & hangouts from sunset to the midnight hours. Some newly renovated boutique hotels have reopened under new ownership in Southampton and Bridgehampton too. The Bathing Club has taken over where Day Night was at The Capri Hotel and with famed Nobu providing sushi delights & signature drinks. Day Night has moved over to 230 Elm so you won't have to miss it and The Social Club is the other NEW place to be on the socially hip scene. Lots of new restaurants throughout our little hamlets changing hands with every change of season it seems...but hey we're always game for something new & delish right?! Combine it with a visit to classic oldies like Cyril's for some lobster & reggae or some of the great old original pubs and a stay at the Montauk Yacht Club or the Memory Motel and you're all set for a sweet experience for any budget! You can pull up your speedboat, your sailboat or yacht at lots of our harbors big & small - from Hampton Bays to Noyac and Sag Harbor to East Hampton and all the way to Montauk. You can harbor hop or opt for a water taxi and visit our sweet little villages and taxi from place to place ending up with an overnight stay...for some brunch & shopping or surfing the next day!??!

MD weekend we mosied over to The Drawing Room in East Hampton for the opening reception of In Roy Lichtenstein's Studio - a rare & fresh angle of the artist illustrated by a new selection of Laurie Lambrecht's wonderful photographs. It's worth a trip for a new twist on Roy and it runs through June 27th. Word on the street was that Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, spent Memorial Day weekend here in the Hamptons at the home of Internet pioneer and gay rights activist David Bohnett. The Bidens are SUCH frequent visitors we wouldn't be surprised if they ended up buying a place here - that's how often we see them and our local cops staked out sprinkled amongst his secret service!! We're waiting for Barack & Michelle to show up en famille...how's about it? The Bidens aren't shy either - they were seen enjoying lunch at 75 Main and even shopping Alice & Olivia and Calypso. The Hamptons a.r.e. a major fundraising stop on the campaign trail so we'll be seeing lots more action up the pike...from all platforms. Southampton Hospital's Annual Memorial Day Weekend Party Party in the Pink was a huge success as always and again was held at the tres chic Westhampton Country Club in Westhampton Beach. Chaired by Tara Liddle, Cynthia Rutherford Patry and Pat Tolan the elegant event was the annual benefit for the Hospital's Westhampton Primary Care Center. This year they offered an after hours ticket for those who wished to come for drinks and dessert and dancing til midnight. Hamptons Magazine held their season opener over at new Southampton hot spot The Social Club jam packed with their usual entourage honoring the very pretty Chelsea Handler who graced their Memorial Day issue. Saturday seeminlgy was reserved for family this MD because SO many events fell on Sunday! So from Westhampton to Montauk both big galas and private parties galore were raging...we did hop on over the Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic benefit - an extraordinary art show and sale plus pop-up boutiques, a silent auction, live music, film, fashion and fun topping off cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the ultra modern oceanfront home on the Atlantic!! Are we going to fast for you because we did leave out a bunch ; )

JUNEwas initiated by The Hamptons International Film Festival who is getting more & more involved in our community year round now instead of waiting all the way til October! Thankfully they have set up a strategic alliance with Guild Hall as well as Sole East on Sundays out in Montauk this summer so check out our calendar! We went to the SummerDoc screening of Buck at the John Drew Theater and the Q & A following hosted by none other then THE James Lipton! Director Cindy Meele, Karen Arikian, Stuart Suna and David Nugent were all on hand beforehand as well as afterwards to promote the film - a truly American story about an unsung hero named Buck who has an extraordinarily special way with horses and was actually instrumental to Robert Redford's film The Horse Whisperer. Lots of riders in the audience...and to everyone's delight Lipton surprised us when he actually told a short story of his own riding experiences...news to us he was part of the horsey set! Alec Baldwin will be hosting the SummerDocs later in the summer when he's done filming his current project. He's become part of the backbone of Guild Hall and generously donated $250,000 to our community pillar! Loads of others went to the 19th annual Decorators-Designers-Dealers Sale, Auctions and Gala for The Fresh Air Home on Barker's Island Road in Southampton - this elite gala started out as an ordinary rummage sale at the local school but has turned into an annual shopping extravaganza for unique and barely used or new high end items from many of the old guard homes around these parts ; ) Needless to say every single ticket was sold!! Mayor Mark Epley, his wife, Marianne, Robert Chaloner, President of Southampton Hospital & Robert Ross, the hospital's V.P. and Dan Rattiner all pulled together for Paws Across The Hamptons DOG WALK in front of the high school to benefit Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation. Even those animal lovers who didn't have dogs went along for the walk just to show support and raise funds for our local shelter! The kids especially seemed to be enjoying the contests but everyone was loving the live music played by acoustical guitarist Jim Turner.

Parrish Art Museum held their annual two-day horticulture event Landscape Pleasures fund-raiser starting with a Saturday morning symposium followed by the Garden Tour and Benefit Committee Cocktail Party at Redcraft - a lovely private estate on Ox Pasture with some amazingly gorgeous, old trees on the property. Those great, big old trees alone would wow you! Now in its twenty-eighth year the season's most spectacular weekend delivered on its promise for a tremendous combination of stimulating talks by legends in the field of interior design, followed by a self-guided tour of some of the country's most beautiful private gardens, all owned by interior designers! Four accomplished interior designers, Mario Buatta, Alexa Hampton, Charlotte Moss, and William Sofield discussed how their work has been influenced by the landscape. Lillian Cohen, Perry Guillot and Marty McLanahan were this year's co-chairs and did a stand up job of pulling it all together without a hitch - not an easy fete considering the range of properties nor the exceptional program they organized!! Now we k n o w this is a big year for political campaigns and there are some local candidates up for re-election as well as the newer prospective ones - but Jay Schneiderman has stood out as an Independent who really IS a part of the community in more ways then one. He's a politician first but he's also been instrumental in helping Haiti by initiating the first Hamptons for Haiti benefit just weeks after the earthquake and is a talented drummer who has played with local Dan Bailey (monday nights in sagaponack drumming) and Alfredo Merat of Sag Harbor and jammed with a slew of other local hot shots. His main agenda is land preservation (heck yeah!!) so is working closely with John Halsey at Peconic Landtrust, Group for the East End and lots of other local environmental pioneers.

We popped by 4 North Main while Carole Reed and three friends she's curating were doing their installation to grab an interview about these 3 stunning artists! The Super Nature exhibition extends beyond the gallery, bringing together a kindred group of women who share a long history of friendship and success in the worlds of fine art, food and fashion. Downtown New York City residents Kathrine Lynch, Melinda Hackett and Meghan Boody have been friends for almost 30 years and each have homes on the East End; in Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, respectively. The juxtaposition of a fast-paced city life and an unhurried beach town existence comes through in not only their work, but also their professional and personal relationships. We went back for the opening reception to capture a little of it in action and it was bustling with both familiar faces and those who couldn't help but notice the crowd spilling onto the street outside of the gallery so came inside to catch a glimpse of the art too! Next it was onto the 11th ANNUAL God's Love We Deliver Midsummer Night Drinks at Jeffrey Pfeifle's lovely home where we mingled with this crowd> Calvin Klein and Nick Gruber, Margaret Russell, Kyle MacLachlan and Desiree Gruber, Kim Cattrall, Blaine Trump, Jon and Rebecca Bond, Boomer Esaison, Ford Huniford, Geoffrey Bradfield, Tony Ingrao, Jack deLashmet, Nick and Lynn Buoniconti, Adam Lippes, Rod Winterrowd, Vincente Wolf and Richard Mishaan all there along with 350 friends and supporters - did we miss someone?! God's Love We Deliver marked a major milestone in delivering over 12 MILLION MEALS and they would like to spread the word that NO ONE HAS TO WAIT - once you list yourself you get a meal the very same day. That is HUGE and God's Love We Deliver remains committed to cooking and delivering nutritious meals, free-of-charge, and never maintaining a waiting list. It was a perfect evening of cocktails and abundant hors d'oeuvres and live music topped off with amazing Scoop bags brimming with Bumble & Bumble, $100 Elie Tahari gift cards and plenty of other goodies...Cool Drinks for a Hot Cause was a curious understatement : )

As usual there are some weekends where it seems ALL the parties land on the same night as was the case for the last weekend of June : ) We started out at the Phoenix House Benefit in Southampton at a gorgeous oceanfront house belonging to the Loebs' who were the lucky hosts of the ONE party where the SUN CAME OUT!! how perfect for being in the dunes looking out to that deep blue sea!!? Gossip Girl Kelly Rutherfurd and Royal Pains star Mark Feuerstein hosted the bash honoring Elie Tahari and Julie & Bruce Menin. Other "familiar" guests were Kelly Killoren Bensimmon and Ramona Singer plus we snapped an adorable picture of model Rachel Hunter as she rode away in one of the many golf carts up the long, winding driveway. Purple seems to be a fave and glorious color for silk everything...shirts, slacks, dresses and even men's blazers have popped up at all sorts of occasions around The Hamptons this season...full on violet and drop dead beautiful on anyone. While the sun was out in Southampton the further east we went the foggier it got! So no luck at Group for the East End's gala Barefoot Under the Stars - however it was as splendid as ever drawing a super nice crowd - a really top notch mix of locals and summer people and stars so they were inside rather then outside ; ) Alec Baldwin was the Special Guest of the evening and famed Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten who whipped up the benefit gala dinner prepared by Brent Newsom and paired with just the right wines from Wolffer whose wonderful AND sustainable vineyard was where it all went down! It's so nice to see those Vermont blue tents with the big white stars down here now...all they needed were a few cows and sheep grazing outside in the pasture and you could have just been up north. The sensational auction items were a big hit because they were a little out of the ordinary like a Montauk luxury sportfishing overnight to the Canyon, farm to table wine tasting dinner with James Carpenter (The Living Room at c/o Maidstone) and Roman Roth (Wolffer Estate), a Vineyard Vines custom surfboard shaped by the experts at Walden Surfboards, unforgettable outdoor and destination travel packages and way more! W Magazine provided the luxury gift bags so need we say more?!? recyclable perhaps?

We dashed over or shall we say through Heart of the Hamptons Ball racing to make it over to all the others! It was American Heart Association's 15th Annual Heart of the Hamptons Ball held at the Hayground School under a great white tent with a red carpet entrance. Always a festive, social gathering with cocktail hour, dinner and dancing!! Honoring Todd K. Rosengart, MD., Professor and Chairman, Dept. of Surgery, Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Ambassador Charles A. Gargano Former Chair and CEO, Empire State Development, V. Chair Port Authority NY & NJ and Star Jones received the "Humanitarian with Heart" award. Thankfully we were there in time for the speech by Rosanna Scotto, co-host of Good Day New York on WNYW-FOX 5 who served as Emcee for the event and Clinton Kelly, co-host of TLC's What Not To Wear was this years Auctioneer. We LOVE that show! As we darted out we couldn't help but notice all the RED gift bags piled mountain high for guests as they departed the lavish gala! Scooting practically across the street we made it to The Retreat's Artists Against Abuse Gala Benefit hosted by none other then Alexandra Wentworth and George Stephanopoulos! Honorees were Mariska Hargitay, Actress, Activist, Founder and President Joyful Heart Foundation and Senator Kenneth P. LaValle. Mariska gave a really gallant and touching, heartfelt speech and surprised us with a great big thanks to the MEDIA - always nice to get applause : ) Actually brought tears to plenty of cheeks there because she implored people to "ASK" and reach out to their very own families, their friends, neighbors and community...those in the room understood the message and many firsthand. The lovely Gina Glickman Giordan - TV Host and Entertainment Correspondent - was Mistress of Ceremonies and we all had a nice chance to catch up on red carpet GMG Entertainment tidbits! Jeffrey Friedman and Mariska Hartigay were given the Hope Award deservedly so - we have some nice photos woven into our live party capture and you'll notice even Debra Messing was there along with Matt McGrath and Barbara Olton. Quite the evening considering the heavy hitters who came up to bat for The Retreat. For more than 20 years the Retreat has been the only non-profit agency providing domestic violence services and education to families on the East End of Long Island. Programs include a residential shelter for women and children, a 24-hour domestic violence hotline, individual and group counseling, legal advocacy for all victims of domestic violence and an in-school violence prevention education program taught in local schools. All Services are free of charge so please...donate whatever you can to help our local families out of a tough and sometimes life threatening situation.

July fourth weekend this year was PERFECT holiday weather for the long weekend! It was just right for all the mesmorizing showers of fireworks like the 24th Annual American Picnic on Meadow Lane with Grucci doing the honors at this fave benefit for Southampton Fresh Air Home. Lots of people hung at the beach, on the road and in their boats to take advantage of the colorful sky high celebration since it was a sold out event! Sprinkled in between intimate bbqs & cocktails parties w/families & friends were a few big annual benefits like the Halsey House Gala at the 1680 Thomas Halsey Homestead - a wonderful reproduction of old time revelry benefiting the Southampton Historical Musuem's education programs. My family (Hoge-Obolensky) was actually the last to rent "The Holly Hock House" before it was restored and turned into a museum and we were told ghost stories were the favorite topic of conversation for their guests : ) It's always fun to see them all in costume shooting their antique rifles off in commemoration of Independence Day just like days of old. So...yup... Justin Bieber really was in Sag Harbor but Steve Martin was the real star of the night in East Hampton...playing his BANJO w/ The Steep Canyon Rangers at John Drew Theater with Benefactor tickets STARTING at $1000 for premium Orchestra seating! There was a very nice pre-performance cocktail party at the Elie Tahari boutique where Alec Baldwin did the honors for Guild Hall to pave the way for Steve. Later on in the evening after the concert there was a lovely private dinner party where Alec & Steve did a brilliant comedy skit adhoc : ) East Hampton was rockin' that night because Citizen Cope was playing the Talkhouse just down the road at the same time! Bono was just seen too on the streets doing some local shopping in the village a couple of weeks after...hmmm, just WAIT till the MTK Music Festival presented by BING comes to Runway 4 at the East Hampton Airport August 13th & 14th!! not too late to get your tickets but VIP is close to sold out so hurry up! Ellie Goulding who was the belle of the ball at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's royal wedding is playing as is Vampire Weekend, Bright Eyes, Ra Ra Riot, Matt & Kim, Fitz & the Tantrums and a slew of great musicians so check out musictoknow.com...and hey, we don't give out links easily on this page so you know it's gotta be a cut above!!! : ) ROC Ultra Premium Vodka and Brandsway Creative launched the opening vweekend of the CIROC Cabana Club with the Fiercely Independent OK! Magazine event. The CIROC Cabana Club is a sprawling nine-bedroom house situated on lush grounds, with a pool and tennis court, which will be hosting the most exclusive events throughout the rest of the summer season. Kellan Lutz, Russell Simmons, Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship, Asher Roth, Housewives Taylor Armstrong Housewives of Beverly Hills and Sonja Tremont-Morgan, Dina Lohan but it was The Bulldog who stole the show on the red carpet! Rev Run, DJ Ruckus, DJ Jesse Marco & DJ Mel Debarge spinning tunes remixing old & new for some classic flavor ; ) Culminating the big weekend North Sea peppered the skies for everybody with their annual display of fireworks at the carnival twice over the weekend as did Montauk at Umbrella Beach and the 4th of July parade in Southampton Village parade topped it all off!

Major GALA Opening for ArtHamptons to Benefit LongHouse Reserve in Bridgehampton made a big splash as "A mini Art-Basel" in The Hamptons! The International Fine Art Fair art buying event of the year in The Hamptons w/ 70+ national and international galleries showing 5,000 contemporary works of art from 400 artists. Generating a remarkable attendance with close to 1500 it was an ideal platform to benefit serveral important community orgs. Starting with the Opening Preview Party it continued onto Friday for Guild Hall and then Saturday for Bridehampton Historical Society and Sunday was for the Parrish Art Museum. Lots of famous faces this year as well and it will be featured on an episode of Royal Pains! The Hamptons International Film Festival presented limited edition posters designed specifically for the film festival in years past. Local artists included Julian Schnabel, Ross Bleckner, Cindy Sherman, Eric Fischl and Malcom Morley all had posters on display some of which were for sale. Two highly coveted Founders Passes for the upcoming festival were also raffled off to some lucky party goers! Henry Buhl, Ultra Violet, Russell Simmons were just some of the familiar faces we caught up with there. Before that we snagged some adorable shots of Independent candidate Jay Schneiderman at the fashion show & cocktail party for Lucia's Room going on at Strongs Marine in Southampton. Pink cosmopolitans, wine, beer and hors d'oeuvres by Sant Ambroeus along with live reggae from the Next Level Band got everybody in the mood for a fun afternoon! A percentage of the clothing modeled and sold went to benefit Lucia's Room at Southampton Hospital. Lucia's Room is a comfort and caring room that will be primarily used by breast cancer patients who are going through difficult surgeries, palliative care and/or end-of-life services. Anyone who knew Lucia knew just how BEAUTIFUL she was and way too young to leave us. The next evening it was Project MOST's A Taste of Land & Sea towards The Spring Seedlings and genuinely a foody's delight with a special evening of fabulous tastings from wonderful local restaurants like FOODY's ; ) and Nick & Toni's, Estia's Little Kitchen, Hampton Coffee and lots of other yummy stations...what a delightful way to begin the weekend and help others at the same time!

Hah! The first person we cast our eyes upon was Bill Cunningham arranging his camera as we strolled into this year's Midsummer Party honoring the Parrish's Founding Partners!! how apropo...one great amongst others : ) Having become a centerpiece of the event roundup of summer the Parrish always manages to draw in quite the crowd. More newcomers then ever this year and so much so that they have continued the junior ticket After Ten Party for dancing, drinks and dessert for a mere $150 as opposed to the Underwriter's table for $50,000 a pop! Co-chairs of this dazzling evening were Parrish trustees Deborah Bancroft, Etta Froio, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Adam Sender, and David Wassong. After Ten Co-chairs are Josh Gaynor, Anne Huntington, Carolina Portago, and Serena Tufo. We saw some old guard Southamptonites like the Hiltons, Eric Javits, Bill Leonard, Philip Isles and some other welcome guests. An Evening on Broadway! Benefit for Family Counseling Services graced The Great Lawn in Westhampton Beach where Family of Man Humanitarian Honoree was Clare Bisceglia Executive Director of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center...which is one of the best lineups for concerts and programs out here...some seriously great entertainment. Coney Island Comes to the Hamptons was the theme for Love Heals 12th Annual Gala at Luna Farm over on Parsonage Lane in Sagaponack. Hosted by Mary Alice Stephenson and Peter Davis the Southern style BBQ spilled outside the tent with carnival-like fair grounds boasting a Patron Tequila ring toss! Summertime cocktails, a silent auction, dancing, HUGE four-sided bar and all truly stunning looking people were there - it was like "the beautiful" party and walking Vogue. No small wonder because Vogue's Valerie Boster, "Project Runway" and Marie Claire's Nina Garcia, Elle's Joe Zee and designer Erin Fetherston were all amongst those invited as was Donny Deutsch, Hannah Bronfman, Chris Cuomo, Annabelle Dexter Jones and Charlotte Ronson, Bettina Prentice and Hard Rock heir Harry Morton!! Is that a list or is that a list?!? Love Heals empowers young people in the fight against HIV and this benefited the Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. A magnificent sunset illuminated the horse farm making for some great photo opps. On our way out we rere given brightly colored orange gift bags with Dior addict lipcolor, Vincent Longo lipitude, a gorgeous pink & white silk Scoop shirt, a little something from the Pratesi Resort Collection, discounted shopping cards like 20% off of SCOOP and even a free bikini laser treatment from Completely Bare...guess they wanted us ALL to look just as beautiful ; )

Best Brunch of The Season GOES TO WeAdvance.org, GlobalDirt.org & Plum Hamptons Magazine for orchestrating The Hamptons for Haiti Brunch & Cocktails at The Ross School! Just take a look at the hosts and you'll know why: Maria Bello, Mariska Hartigay, Kiefer Sutherland, Donna Karan, Christine Cuomo, Nicole Ross, Elizabeth Jordan, Clare Munn, Sonja Nuttall, Leslee Felman, Brian Sirgutz, Doug Liman, Jean Shafiroff, Nick Leighton, Fisher Stevens, Terry Quinn, Courtney Ross, Peter Tunney, Beth O'Donnell, Alison Thompson, Kristine Szabo, Andrew Saffir, Amanda de Cadenet, Paricia Velasquez, Marc Baptiste and Ross Bleckner!! The Diva of Haiti Barbara Guillaume entertained everyone with a very special musical performance for the fundraiser and the live auction featured a super exclusive array of items such as a three-night trip to Haiti with actress Maria Bello, a visit to her new NBC's Fall series Prime Suspect set with actor Aiden Quinn, a set visit to NBC's Law & Order Special Victims Unit with actress Mariska Hargitay, and a voyage on Nicole Ross' private yacht, just to name a few. All proceeds from the event went toward establishing the first-ever ambulance service in Cite Soleil, as well as the organizations' other ongoing efforts within the Haitian community. Sponsors for this year's Hamptons for Haiti benefit included The Ross School, Plum Hamptons, Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs, Distinctive Resort and Residences at the Panoramic View, TCG, Urban Zen Foundation, Magnolia Bakery, Kristine Szabo, East Hampton Florist, Smartwater, Soft Serve Fruit Co, Brugal Rum, Bond No. 9, and Lenume. Guests went home with extravagant VIP gift bags which included items from Christopher Fischer Cashmere, Madame Paulette restaurants, Philippe Chow, Nello Summertimes and The Boathouse, Bond No. 9 New York, Plum Magazine, and Third Wave: A Volunteer Story' by author Alison Thompson...so that goes straight to the top of our Best Goody Bags for this summer's party season. Long Wharf in Sag Harbor was outfitted with more then just the usual enormous, breathtaking yachts! Rock the Dock for Bay Street took over the wharf with a big, billowing white tent hosting the big bash to benefit Bay Street Theatre. Dazzling blue glass and bright sunflowers accented the dinner tables and cocktail bars with guests mingling in the front tent studying the silent auction items at the VIP reception. Music at the 20th annual gala was provided by celebrity DJ Tom Finn and celebrity auctioneer Richard Kind from HBO's upcoming show Luck highlighted the special Fantasy Auction. Two other new board members Chris Bauer, star of HBO's True Blood and Blythe Danner from "Meet The Parents"! Eli Wallach and plenty of other local big wigs came out in support of one of our favorite local theatres too. We backtracked all the way to Southampton in time for the 2nd Annual Unconditional Love hosted by Ellen & Chuck Scarborough at their lovely home on Lake Agawam that had been a designer showhouse for Rogers Memorial Library. Sandra McConnell & Chris Obetz along with Liz Brown & Leslie Alexander were benefit Chairs for the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation benefit. The event honored Karen LeFrak for all of her humanitarian efforts on behalf of animals, as well as people. Karen was the first person, along with her dog, Jewel, to be granted access to Mount Sinai Hospital in stroke and rehabilitation pet assisted therapy. Soon after, the services were extended to oncology and psychology followed by a pilot program in pediatrics. Following the 9/11 tragedy, Karen Co-chaired DOGNY which raised over $2 million for search and rescue dogs across the United States. We fell in love w/ a few adorable dogs there that were up for adoption and didn't take much encouragement to bring home!!

POLO season opened with Nacho Figueras' Black Watch competing against Peter Brant's White Birch for the first match of the Bridgehampton Polo Challenge Running for six consecutive Saturdays through the end of August at CIRCA Championship Field, the Blue Star Jet VIP tent hosts an invitation-only cocktail reception for exclusive guests each Saturday afternoon during the tournament. Norah Lawlor of the Lawlor Media Group did a beautiful job for many years and has opted to hand the reins over to Laurie Zuckerman of Shamin Abas PR who does Wellington in Palm Beach. So...from one great to another! Season partners are Sector "No Limits" Watches, Urban Zen Foundation, Alex and Ani, Nest Seekers, Whitmore's, Niche Media, 4 Orange Vodka, Sobieski, Aperol Martin Codax, Don Miguel Gascon, Vita Coco and Smartwater : ) The sporting event that epitomizes a quintessential summer afternoon in the Hamptons returned as the 15th Anniversary Season of Bridgehampton Polo, featuring delectable innovative American cuisine from celebrity hotspot Southampton Social Club. Brought to you by restaurateur Ian Duke and partner David Hilty! The restaurant offers East End foodies an innovative American menu by Executive Chef Matt Creason and is frequented by celebrities including journalist and talk show host Barbara Walters, model and TV personal Beth Ostrosky Stern, author and talk show host Chelsea Handler, basketball player Dennis Rodman, Brit singer Estelle, models Jessica White and Lisalla Montenegro,E!'s The Spin Crowd Jonathan Cheban, celebrity chef and author Katie Lee, Real Housewives of New York City stars Kelly Bensimon and Ramona Singer, actor Kyle MacLachlan, Gossip Girl's Tika Sumpter and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, just to name a few! At Two Trees Farm with guests Russell Simmons, designer Betsey Johnson and daughter Lulu, Real Housewives of New York star Cindy Barshop and chair of the 53rd Annual Southampton Hospital's Summer Party Jean Shafiroff, staying cool under the new, exclusive VIP Tent while nibbling on bites and taking in polo matches. Proceeds from Bridgehampton Polo Club will go to benefit the Bridgehampton Childcare and Recreational Center. After sipping light cocktails and eating appetizers at polo it was on to Chefs & Champagne...did you just say "pace yourselves" ? lol. It's James Beard Foundation's SUMPTOUS tasting party overflowing with champagne, Wolffer Estate Vineyard wines, Stella Artois beers and culinary masterpieces from over 30 fine chefs specially selected from New York City and beyond. Emeril Lagasse was this year's guest of honor who we snapped signing autographs surrounded by a crowd of adoring admirers. This was a foody's delight and a grand opportunity to indulge in mouthwatering morsels of only the-best-of-the-best food that would satisfy ANY gourmet palate. The sensational VIP champagne reception & gala was at a local vineyard in Sagaponack...namely Wolffer's amazing piece of countryside.

Another super popular benefit for Southampton Hospital is the Annual Hampton Designer Showhouse so we popped by the Gala Preview Party to get a glimpse of Bayview Custom Construction's showpiece in Bridgehampton sponsored by Traditional Home magazine. Over 25 top interior designers and decorative artists are strutting their stuff which will run right through Labor Day. Honorary Showhouse Chairman is Mario Buatta, Honorary Design Co-Chairman is Jamie Drake and Honorary Design Co-Chairman is Alexa Hampton. Naturally it's divine! Right down the road from the showhouse was Cocktails at Sunset for ACRIA hosted by Steven Klein at his horse farm. With Benefit Committee Members like Andre Balazs, Ross Bleckner, Sandy Brant & Ingrid Sischy, Nan Bush & Bruce Weber, Bob Colacello, Francisco Costa & John De Stefano, Gabby & Gianpaolo De Felice, Tonne Goodman, April Gornik & Eric Fischl, Deborah Hughes, Calvin Klein, Kelly Klein, Leslie Klotz & Mary Mcbride, Jack Pierson, Isabel Rattazzi, Cynthia Rowley & Bill Powers, Andrew Saffir & Daniel Benedict, Stewart Shining, Darren Star, Stefano Tonchi & David Maupin, And Rachel Zoe & Rodger Berman - it couldn't be anything BUT elegant right down to the perfectly setting sun lighting up the sky in beautiful summer hues of pink & orange. Inside the tent...music by The Misshapes was tempting people onto the dance floor...champagne by Veuve Cliquot & signature cocktails by Belvedere Vodka lined the enormous bar bordering the dance floor and auction tent. The amazing silent auction was comprised of works by Barbara Kruger, Christopher Makos, Dan Colen,Elizabeth Peyton, Jeff Koons, Herb Ritts, James Rosenquist, John Baldessari, Paul Solberg, Ryan McGinley, Ross Bleckner among much more +plus+ TRIPS TO BERMUDA, JAMAICA, and MIAMI, sunglasses by CARRERA, watches by BAUME & MERCIER and plenty by DIOR, CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION amongst others. The entire property was lit by probably a thousand candlelit tiki torches...w/ a giant tepee in the backdrop and a huge bonfire in another corner...and the lengthy, narrow pool set off to the side making for a really mellow atmosphere. They even had a photobooth set up for fun, impromptu shots! Golf carts carried everyone back & forth through the vineyard rounding out every angle of the farm.

Rock The Farm! at Ocean View Farm in Amagansett was a sold out event which is AWESOME because it benefits the Wounded Warrior Project for our soldiers. The morning had started out with Soldier Ride Hamptons dedicated to Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter. Jordan was killed in action April 22, 2008 in Ramadi, Iraq at the age of 19. Jordan's actions that day, along with fallen comrade 21-year-old Corporal Jonathan T. Yale, saved the lives of over 33 Marines and Iraqi Policemen. Jordan and Jonathan were posthumously presented the Navy Cross for Extraordinary Heroism, our nation's second highest military award. Jordan was born on July 30, 1988 in Southampton, New York to JoAnn Lyles and Christian Haerter. Jordan earned the coveted title, United States Marine, on December 1, 2006 and became a member of the fiercely proud 1st Battalion, 9th Marines known as the "Walking Dead". ROCK The Hamptons was a Great American BBQ with an open bar and live music by Toots and The Maytals, Born Again Baldwins, Rebecca Haviland Band and Jeremy McComb! In between the Summer Doc series at Guild Hall hosted by Alec Baldwin...and The Hamptons Film Festival Film Series' Summer Sunday Classics at Sole East Resort in Montauk...and a wonderful & free Bridgehampton Chamber Music Concert across from the Candy Kitchen...and the 14th Annual Super Saturday Nova's Ark Project...and L'Africana SummerFest Hamptons Polo After Party...there were a few more must attend gigs we tried our best to get to (#partyhopping is our new fave hashtag for #thehamptons @hamptonsmedia ; ) ...and even some private parties lo & behold! Mapping parties is a new must for summertime coverage...but we are definitely enjoying the task at hand so as to bring you a smigeon of the fun we're having too. It was back to Steven Klein's out of this world property for HEAT - another fantabulous event by Linda Shapiro Productions! Honoring Kim Cattrall, Hoda Kotb & Kathie Lee Gifford - Laura Linney & Donna Karan presented them with bowls that were each a work of art. Everyone went home with a book by Hoda Kotb and more importantly the money rasied at the auction was to benefit the Southampton Hospital Breast Health Center. Highlights of the auction produced by charitybuzz were a 2 night stay at The Saxon in South Africa, Meet Sharon Osbourne with 4 VIP tickest to America's Got Talent, weekday Family membership at Hampton Hills Golf Club, a personlized and autographed book by President Clinton, Experience Heaven on Earth at Home w/NY's Super Chef Antony Ballardi and loads more terrific temptations.

The Twelfth Annual Art for Life Garden Party at Russell Simmons' Estate in East Hampton featured a star performance by Jennifer Hudson who arrived a little bit on the late side disappointing some of the media waiting upon her arrival! Nonetheless she shined and other highly anticipated stars were Gwyneth Paltrow, Kimora Lee Simmons & Djimon Hounsou. Soledad O'Brian hosted the mega event. For over a decade hundreds of friends and supporters have joined Russell Simmons, Danny Simmons, Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation to celebrate the creative energy of New York City youth and honor exemplary individuals for success in their respective fields and good works to better the community. 2011 honorees include Mary J. Blige and President of JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Kimberly B. Davis, actor and filmmaker Edward Norton. Attire was Sun-Kissed Saffron & Red Jade : ) Capping off another amazing weekend of parties was the 7th Annul Top Chef's GREAT CHEFS Dinner for the Hayground School and fittingly was on Sunday evening. Toni Ross, The Hayground School and Leon Levy Foundation hosted and Isaac Mizrahi was guest chef for the VIP dinner portion. However the VIP cocktail portion was a Meet the Chefs for a cocktails taste-fest - produced by some of our very best local restaurants - if we may say so...our personal favorites were Stone Creek Inn's shrimp eclaires & La Fondita's local striped bass tacos w/salsa ranchero! ALL of it was outstanding as were the local Channing Daughters & Gran Cru wines and the signature Chrystal Head vodka cocktail made w/juice from Light Headed Passion topped w/ blueberries & lemon slices...mmm! Culinary tidbits, delish cocktails, local wines & local beers like Greenport Harbor Brewing...along with some jazzy music from Claes Brondal and Groove Gumbno made for the end of a perfect sunny BEACH day!! We luvv the Verterra Dinneware from fallen leaves that we saw here and at Chefs & Champagne! The other cool item we came across was a really cool little tech gadget for bidding at auctions from BidPal Network out of Indianapolis! Restaurants offering their culinary delicacies were: Lure Fish Bar, The Living Room, Olivier Cheng Catering, Kin Shop, Foody's, Cookshop, Rolling in Dough Pizza, Stone Creek Inn, The Grill on Pantigo, La Fondita, Belly's Sno Balls, Art of Eating, Barbuto and Almond!! Inside Jeff's Kitchen for the real deal was North Fork Table & Inn, Marea, Marc Forgione, Isaac Mizrahi as Celebrity Guest Chef, Cavaniola's Gourmet Cheese Shop with wines sourced by Joe Watson VINe Wine, Michael Skurnick Wines and Wolffer Estate Vineyards. The Silent Art Auction was no less impressive ; )

Navy Beach was host to a benefit popup shop put together by Moet Ice Imperial and co-founder Lauren Bush for her FEED project on behalf of the UN World Food Programme to fight world hunger. Items for sale included sarongs, tunics and bags all hand-made by women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman and Alfredo Merat played some hot sets and Winston Irie followed up with some great reggae. Some familiar faces were designer Cynthia Rowley and hubby Bill Powers, Frank & Kristina Dav who own Navy Beach and of course Lauren's fiance David Lauren. Guests got to go home with Project FEED Navy Beach picnic bags filled with bottles of Moet & set of picnic champagne glasses! Ross School has got to be one of the best in PR outside of being a progressive educational institution! The Chamberlain/Fairweather Benefit for the Arts was hosted by non other then music mogul Tommy Mottola with a special reception at his Gallery Valentine which owns with pal Ryan Ross on Main Street, East Hampton. Art by such world famous artists as Picasso, De Kooning, Hofmann, Warhol, Prince, Botero, Condo, Katz, Wesselmann, Francis, Quinn, Dine, Rosenquist and Bochner were on part of the exhibition. Guests sipped cocktails & enjoyed hors d'oeuvres while soaking up the visual bounty on the walls. Chamberlain Gallery Director and Ross School alumna Alexandra Fairweather created the Chamberlain/Fairweather Scholarship Fund with the internationally renowned artist John Chamberlain and his wife Prudence Fairweather in 2006 to benefit students at Ross interested in the arts and in need of financial aid. Southampton Hospital's gala is another hugely popular summertime party because it serves the entire community at large since it is a benefit for the Jenny and John Paulson emergency department. Some of those who came to A Tropical Paradise to show their unwavering support were Chair, Jean Shafiroff and husband Martin Shafiroff, Bill Finneran and Carol Rohrig, Bob Chaloner Jean Remmel FitzSimmons, Sandra McConnell and Christopher Obetz, Sharon Kerr and Gary Rice, Nancy and Peter Larsen, Patty and George Kraus, Nancy and Martin Stone, MD, Marion and Phil Piro, MD, NancyJane and Jeff Loewy, Ann and Jack Grimm, Ali and John Hubbell, MD, Marilyn and Larry Friedland, Cindy and Ladd Willis, Christine and Jim Gray, Barbara and Henry Gooss, Melanie and John Wambold, Laura Lofaro Freeman. Guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from GloriousFood, and music from a live mariachi band under the grand white tent.

August got off to an epic start w/ a brand new Musicfest "happening"! Escape to New York was a super special novel event hosted by the Shinnecock Nation on the Shinnecock reservation. Traditional Shinnecock arts and crafts, food curated by Silkstone NYC and some of the best music from new & old artists plus some iconic acts was an all day all night gig. Friday Patti Smith was the feature performance but other cool bands played on various stages besides the main stage...Best Coast, Chairlift Lissy Trulie, The Ettes, The Postelles and The Static Jacks. Saturday The Vaccines, The Psychedelic Furs White Rabbits, Au Revoir Simone, The Submarines, Graffiti 6 were scheduled to perform before the BIG draw> Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros! So Vermonty lol and really good so it was really crowded - I was so happy to be front & center till I got sqashed so then it was a mad dash to get out to the backend of the crowd - it was a hot night to boot. Sadly Sunday was cancelled when the rain that came middle of the night Saturday flooded the camp grounds a bit too much to deem it safe for electrical wires. Another really great band Of Montreal was supposed to perform that night as well as The Jolly Boys, Mates of State Reptar, Hank & Cupcakes Tiger Love and Savoir Adore : ( However the entire show was so well orchestrated and SO organized so there was never a wait or mixup about passes & tickets or parking. Everything was very convenient...parking was a little bit of a walk for some but overall it was spread out really well. Veuve Cliquot was the champagne sponsor and food was amazing for campish fare - we were sorry they had to cancel the big brunch they had in mind to break the Guiness Book of World Records! Escape to New York was unlike anything the east coast had experienced before with installations and performance art, experimental theatre and high-end glamourous camping "Glamping" plus amazing culinary delights. Escape to New York partners included Secret Productions, Sidewalk 7 and Cake Group - it was such an enormous success that they promise to do it again next summer : )

So much going on...besides the Escape to NY festival the same evening were all these other big events too...starting the with 20th Annual East Hampton SandCastle Contest for The Clamshell Foundation, then the Bridgehampton Polo Challenge for the Hamptons Cup in the afternoon and the evening roster was Ross School Chamerlain/Fairweather Benefit for the Arts, A Tropical Paradise! 53rd Annual Summer Party for Southampton Hospital, the 13th Annual Hoops 4 Hope Summer Benefit at Sportime in Amagansett and out in Montauk the Diamond in the Rough GALAM for The Montauk Playhouse! We received a special invitation to the inaugural Grey Goose Blue Door Series in East Hampton. It began with dinner on Thursday night by Top Chef talent Cynthia Sestito - An Epicurean Adventure Beyond the Blue Door - created with local farm produce and seafood. The customized picnic baskets were accompanied by special custom cocktails courtesy of Grey Goose "master mixologists"!! Friday night was SPIN with the Pros at the hottest table tennis tournament going in the hamptons. It was part of the legendary network of ping-pong social clubs from SPIN creators Franck Raharinosy, Andrew Gordon, Jonathan Brickin and Academy Award winning actress Susan Sarandon. While the DJ spun guests enjoyed "honey deuce" cocktails and Grey Goose popsicles. Saturday was An Insider Look with special entertainment by rising icon Jake Troth. Last Chance Animal Rescue's 4th Annual Martinis for Mutts in Bridgehampton also happened to be Frank Cilione's Birthday! Hosted by Ruth Katz, Prince Lorenzo Borghese, Brad Boles, Anna Rothschild and Devorah Rose along w/ Social Life Magazine the party featured guest artist, Lauren Amaris, singing "Dreaming American". Martinis for Mutts supports Last Chance Animal Rescue's efforts to save the lives of homeless pets from kill shelters and find them loving homes. Guests were sorely tempted while enjoying delicious food & signature cocktails by Elegant Affairs Caterers and Astor wines. The event was filmed for the Reality TV show "Party Mamas" and 100% of the $125 ticket price was donated to Last Chance Animal Rescue's organization.

All we can say is WOW about Ray & Lynn Wesnofske's gorgeous Ocean View Farm where the 9th Annual Through Farms and Fields Country Supper was held for Peconic Land Trust's Summer Benefit! It truly has become a signature event of the summer and how perfect is their historic 19th century dairy barn for dancing to The Lone Sharks?! The barn was decorated with beautiful paintings by the artists of Plein Air Peconic of conserved landscapes hung on its walls. The Wesnofskes were honored with one very special painting presented by John Halsey - founder of the Peconic Land Trust. Starting with cocktails and local wines & on the rolling hills of the farm spilled into the barn where a huge open was set up where guest could walk around for the silent auction. Guests mulling around were Noel and Debby Hare, Hilary Herrick Woodward, Bill & Louise Koral, Matt Lauer, the Halsey clan - John, Janice, Josh & Jenna! Dinner was fresh produce farm to table starting with a scrumptious salad followed by lobster popovers, chicken, green beans, new potatoes and cornbread for a real country supper. Dessert was a tremendous buffet laid out by Tate's inside the barn where The Lone Sharks played and guests kicked up their heels. Special jars of beets or corn were offered as tokens of the farm to guests as they left which certainly came in handy later for the massive tropical storm aka Huricane Irene! The annual Guild Hall Summer Gala started with the special exhibition Celebrating Richard Prince and then spilled onto the historic Gardiner estate with Alec Baldwin as Master of Ceremonies OF COURSE...what generous gent...he gave a full quarter of a million dollars to Guild Hall in the Spring. Guild Hall was smart to offer Young Patron tickets at a reduced price to get them involved and build on their member base. Martha Stuart was honoree but there were other notable summer locals like Dina Merrill and Ted Hartley, Alexandra Richards as DJ, Matthew and Stacy Bronfman, Robert Stern, Renee and Richard Steinberg, Larry Gagosian, Robert and Caryn Nederlander. Gorgeous gals dripping with fabulous jewels strolled the tent inviting people to sign up for the auction. All in all it was a classic and extraordinary event for summer benefits in The Hamptons. On another score, we were ALL bummed to hear that the Music To Know Festival was cancelled!! So many greats were coming to play on runway 4 at East Hampton Airport but alas not enough advance ticket sales.

The 7th Annual Authors Night at The East Hampton Library was more then just a benefit - it was the premier literary event in the Hamptons! The evening's Co-Founding Chairs Alec Baldwin and Barbara Goldsmith, and Honorary Co-Chairs Robert A. Caro, Dick Cavett, Nelson DeMille and Michael Connelly were joined by more than 160 distinguished authors. Featured authors include Georgina Bloomberg, Jennet Conant, Kathy Freston, Victoria Hagan, Hilary Thayer Hamann, Shere Hite, Duane Hampton, Susan Isaacs, Katie Lee, Robert Lipsyte, Susan Lucci, Jeffrey Lyons, Adam Ross, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Beth Ostrosky Stern and many more! The evening began with the Authors Reception under the tent on the Library grounds where guests scooped up culinary delights and sipped wine while at the same time had an opportunity to meet and mingle with the authors, buy their books, and have them personally inscribed. After the Authors Reception, guests were dispersed to specially themed dinners at private homes in honor of one of the guest authors. Needless to say it's been a resounding success each year! Word on the street...actor George Hamilton was seen celebrating his birthday with restaurateur Mark Packer at T-Bar at Savanna's, while at the next table, Fernando Masci, owner of il Mulino and il Gabiani in Miami, toasted to the night with his Italian family. On that score, we headed over to East Hampton to try out one of Michael Gluckman's two hot new restaurants! This particular evening we opted in for Beachhouse but he also owns Boathouse on the water where Group for the East End held a kickoff summer soiree back in May :: our videos. We had already been to Beachhouse at the open of the season for the Plum Hamptons Magazine debut party so had a fair idea of the treat in store for us at this rustic, modern farmhouse grille! The last two weeks of August are pretty much the climax of summertime in the hamptons so we were happy to drop in on a weeknight when the crowds are minimal...respectively! We were lucky that it was not too crowded at all and got a great table by the wide open doors on such a hot night. LOCAL chef Dennis Farrell formerly of NYC's Uncle Jack's Steakhouse created a signature house specialty for us - fried green tomatoes w/crab as a surprise app...after we had just eaten the divine grilled shrimp with southern style grits & tried the beets w/fresh goat cheese! That kept our hands out of the bread basket served with olive oil...sort of ; ) Who can resist warm bread along with a glass of good pinot noir? We were so satisfied with the assortment of tantalizing appetizers we were hard pressed to finish the meal...but a perfectly cooked filet mignon that was topped with a classic bernaise sauce was irresistable. Dare we mention the freshly made donuts & chocolate for dessert?!? SO if you like a great American steakhouse & fresh farm to table produce we highly recommend the Beachhouse! You might want to try it when the Hamptons International Film Festival comes to town!

The American Cancer Society's inaugural Hamptons summer party Festive in Flip Flops was emceed by "Royal Pains" star Mark Fuerstein. Buddy Valastro of "Cake Boss" and Ronnie Rothstein of "Say Yes to the Dress" were among the sponsors. The VIP guestlist included designer Carmen Marc Valvo and sports broadcaster Ann Liguori. The oceanfront gala at the Bridgehampton Tennis & Surf Club started with cocktails overlooking a gorgeous stretch of Atlantic beach moving into the club's dining room for a wonderful dinner prepared by Christopher Robbins of Robbins Wolfe who had just catered a birthday dinner for Bill Clinton there! The freshly made donuts with a chocolate sauce for dipping seemed to be everyone's favorite twist on dessert!! Lots of dancing to live music by The Touch after dinner made for a cheeful crows plus a really nice bonfire down on the beach capped off the evening for those who just wanted to hang under the stars! Guests received a pair of flip flops donated by FlipOut Sandals for a nice token of the evening gala by the ocean. GET WILD! The summer benefit for The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center of The Hamptons attracted loads of support from familiar faces in & around the hamptons: Ginnie and Augie Frati, Liz Brown and Leslie Alexander, Beth Ostrosky Stern and Howard Stern, Ellen and Chuck Scarborough, Marcy and Michael Warren, Avis and Bruce Richards, Celia and Tim Cunningham, Ellen and Jan Linhart, Tara Allmen, Joni and Christopher Fischer and Jean Shafiroff all gathered at the waterfront estate of Houston Rocket's owner Leslie Alexander and Liz Brown in Southampton. The animal-friendly event featured gourmet hors d'oeuvres and cocktails from Mayan Woods Catering, and also hosted a silent auction featuring exclusive items such as a two night stay at Distinctive Resort and Residences at the Panoramic View with dinner at 75 Main, an overnight stay at Southampton Inn, an European facial at Alma G Salon & Spa, a Manhattan to Montauk dining experience to restaurants Colicchio & Sons, East Hampton Grill, Driver's Seat and Navy Beach with a signed copy of The Cookbook Introduction by Top Chef Tom Colicchio, a night out on the town in New York City at La Petite Maison and Lair NYC, dinner for two at Primola, four tickets to Mamma Mia, four tickets to the Bridgehampton Polo Championship Game, two season tickets to the Hampton Theatre Company's 2011-2012 season, four empire tickets to a Mets game, an at-home private dining experience with Top Chef contestant Danny Gagnon and John, the wine guy from Lieb Vineyard, a studio tour of Sirius/XM Studios and a sit-in on Howard 100's The Wrap Up Show with Gary Dell Abate, a handmade duck sculpture from Dianne Marxe, a custom designed shawl from Kimberly Towers, a cashmere blanket from Christopher Fischer, a designer coat from Laundry by Shelli Segal, a men's wool jacket from Nautica, an original oil leopard print by artist Connie Oshrin, a diamond and ruby white 14-karat gold peacock ring, a blue topaz and sapphire 14-karat yellow gold bird pendant, and a signed Rangers' jersey of Henrik Lundqvist. Coolest of all were the various owls perched on the shoulders & wrists of their caregivers and mighty friendly!! The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center is an East End organization known for rescuing and rehabilitating the region's injured native wildlife and at the core of our local animal kingdom.

The 8th Annual On Our Toes in the Hamptons Benefit at Hayground School in Bridgehampton honored artist, educator and activist Jon Snow, co-founder of the Hayground School and renowned financial advisor Lola C. West, Managing Director, WestFuller Advisors LLC. Ronald K. Brown's internationally acclaimed Evidence, A Dance Company returned once Always a very elegant gala, signature cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were provided by Harlem's acclaimed 5 and Diamond Restaurant under the direction of executive chef David Martinez. There was a special performance of "Ife/My Heart" - a signature piece for the company that was built as the journey of three families to one destination: a place where the heart was open. Ife/My Heart was originally commissioned and performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2005. Event Chair was Dr. Ancy Verdier. Founder & Board President Ronald K. Brown along with Zaid Abdul-Aleem, Board President, Joanne E. Hill, Board Vice President. Gail Monroe-Perry, Board Secretary; Reginald Van Lee, Chairman Emeritus, Board Members Dwayne Ashley, Monica F. Azare; Reginald Canal, Andrea Hoffman...and the Young Professionals Committee Chair was Jenna Bond-Louden. Leslie Mays, Larry Satterfield, Jocelyn Taylor and Dr. Ancy Verdier hosted the fete. One BIG August weekend followed by a wet & windy one! Due to the antics of Miss Irene - the almost hurricane - threw the East End into a tizzy and knocked out power for plenty and caused a lot of ruckus on the event circuit! Although LOTS was cancelled due to Irene roaring through as a projected hurricane, there were actually some very cool things happening BECAUSE of it! Stephen Talkhouse for one...made do without electricity as did most of Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton & Amagansett...Southampton & Montauk were about half mast for power. SOOOO...what did they do? They felt terrible about cancellations and had a very impromptu show with local Jimmy Buffet!! The band that played prior has been opening for JB for years and hail from south Africa. The place was packed...no electricity but hey the talkhouse had a generator : ) It was all very dark out and yet...here was this party going on!! Soon Bill and Hilary Clinton walked in and sat in front on us and there was pandemonium! Everyone was taking their picture and they were getting up and shaking hands...Very cool. Secret service hung back low key...here's a cute short video of jimmy who played for 25 minutes. Typical talkhouse. Anything can happen there! DNH gets the credit for this ; )

The American Red Cross had to cancel Gatsby on the Green's Croquet & Cocktails in order to put all their efforts on the impending hurricane but kudos go to The Hampton Classic Horse Show who pulled off a MIRACLE! It took them close to four weeks to build their little village of horses and it took them two days to take it all DOWN...but it only took them THREE DAYS to rebuild it!! They sure as heck deserved ringing that bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite at New York City's Times Square...especially in hindsight now but back then it was in anticipation of the 36th year of the show when Philip Richter, Board Member of The Hampton Classic rang the Closing Bell on August 11!! The event always brings world-class equestrian competition and entertainment to the eastern end of Long Island...and also pretty much marks the end of another great summer in The Hamptons! The Hampton Classic features 6 show rings, a Boutique Garden with more than 70 shops, and an elaborate Kids' area with daily pony rides, exotic animals, and hands-on activities. The Classic's top-notch equestrian competition attracts many of the nation's top professional and amateur riders, and national champion horses. Winner of the show's premiere event, the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix & World Cup Qualifier was double Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward and his amazing mare, Sapphire AGAIN breaking some new records! The Hampton Classic is both a sporting event and not-to-be-missed social function, which has become a fixture on the calendars of top equestrians, corporate executives and celebrities alike. The VIP tent is a classic fixture where all those who want to be seen as well as those who are there to watch gather at one elaborately decorated table after another. Barbara Bistrian Borg was one of those who went all out this year for local Swan Creek Farm - replicating fences on real grass by brilliantly layering the table with sod and lush sunflowers topped off with Swan Creek signature hats.

The other big name event that was moved from the end of August to the 1st of September was Hamptons Rocks for Charity who were presenting their first annual charity concert featuring 90 minutes of Crosby, Stills & Nash! Since the MTK Music Festival was cancelled and the last day of Escape to New York music festival was cancelled we were seriously figuring that this one might go that way too when they had to cancel last minute because of Irene...BUT happily they came through on another date and were able to pull it off for everybody! It was a top shelf event held at East Hampton Studio where EVERYBODY got to walk the proverbial red carpet : ) It was to benefit Ovarian Cancer Reserach and Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. Celebrity guests expected to attend were Kelly Rutherfurd, Beth Ostrovsky Stern & Howard Stern and Star Jones. We caught up with legendary rock promoter & producer Ron Delsner former chairman of LiveNation who is still on board with them and thrilled to run into his former associate Daphne Hoge. The evening fundraiser was held inside a beautifully appointed & multi-pinnacle tent with giant size tv screens streaming Woodstock the movie in tandem with the music playing throughout the tent. Upon entering guests were offered a dazzling variety of signature drinks made with Ketel One Vodka who was sponsoring Hamptons Rocks for Charity. The most enormous 4-square bar of the season was on their game pouring drinks faster then people could line up making for no wait time and the delectable hors d'oeuvres were served like no tomorrow so no one was EVER empty handed...ever : ) The gourmet fare was prepared by celebrity chef, restauranteur and author Geoffrey Zakarian so no need to deliver a speech here about the amazing sensations happening from such mouthwatering morsels. A live auction of luxury items including two guitars to be signed backstage following the 90 minute show by David Crosby, Steven Stills and Graham Nash, a 7 day all-inclusive vacation to Dorado Beach Residences/Dorado Beach Ritz Carlton with NO date restrictions, plus a raffle for a chance to win a gorgeous, jet black customized 2012 E550 Mercedes Benz convertible. Other sponsors included LiveNation, Free Country Outerwear, Bombay Wines, Dorado Beach Residences, Mercedes-Benz of Southampton, Inside Sports, Coca-Cola and The Palm Restaurant. All in all this was one very high-end event and Crosby, Stills & Nash still got it : ) Graham was actually playing in bare feet as if he had just stepped off the beach...which was kind of nice & cashz considering we're a beach resort. We cannot wait to see what Founder of Hamptons Rocks for Charity, Michael Bebon and his wife have in store for next year's annual charity fundraiser! The Harvest Wine Auction and Celebration of Long Island's East End, presented by FOOD & WINE, raised $31,000 - 100% of which will go to the three HARVEST beneficiaries: East End Hospice, Group for the East End and the Peconic Land Trust. Presiding over the auction was Charles Antin, Associate Vice President and Wine Specialist at Christie's - it is the only auction of only Long Island wine. The highest bid ($5,000) of the evening went for a four-day, three-night stay for two in Bermuda, contributed by the Bermuda Department of Tourism. The package includes airfare and three bottles of Long Island wine in the winner's hotel room upon arrival.a taste of home in Bermuda. The second-highest bid ($4,500) went for the lot contributed by Shinn Estate Vineyards, including a wine-pairing dinner for 12 at the Shinn Farmhouse by and with Top Chef Tom Colicchio and Shinn vintner and chef David Page. Wolffer Estate Vineyards "progressive dinner" package drew the third-highest bid ($3,800). The lot includes a private cellar tour and tasting at the winery, dinner at Montauk's South Edison and a sing-along with winemaker Roman Roth at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor. More than 1,100 food-and-wine lovers came together to celebrate the fall grape harvest and full harvest moon organized by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and Long Island Wine Council...including Top Chef Carla Hall of ABC's The Chew and New York Mets analyst and former first baseman Keith Hernandez whose presence graced both the Festival Tasting and Harvest Moon Gala. FOOD & WINE is the modern & stylish epicurean magazine created by American Express Publishing so you can only imagine how amazing it was if you enjoy that combo ; )

Amazing lineup of films at The Hamptons 19th International Film Festival this year!! We attended the Opening Film "Jim, Who Lives at Home" starring Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother character), Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, Judy Geer and Rae Dawn Chong. What a great pick to start off the festival with - and we were lucky enough to catch up with the Duplass bros who co-directed and wrote it at the Opening Party held at East Hampton Point Marina later that evening to tell them how much we enjoyed it and what I call wisdom on a popscicle stick : ) It was really a lighthearted comedy woven with a universal thread of simplicity, life & love. We were lucky enough to see the Centerpiece Film Like Crazy with Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones & Drake Doremus who were here and The Rum Diary with Johny Depp who was not: ( but co-star Michael Rispoli was here for Q & As - out of our wishlist (longgg) in between all the programs, red carpets, parties and lunches & brunches and dinners not to mention the after parties all through our little hamlets. East Hampton Studio held their annual free party weekend featuring famous DJ Rich from Reflex De Roque, live music performance by Sweet Cyanide, Dan Bailey and Living Rhythm plus others, raffles, food & liquor, aerialists, a magician and a whole lot more. Our fave was local drummer Dan Bailey who became famous for holding court Monday nights at the beach in Sagaponack. Another favorite local and artist - Paton Miller - along with Alec Baldwin, hosted a reception at The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor as part of The Hamptons International Film Festival. We were thrilled to have captured a magical rainbow while traveling north on the way there! So right away we knew it was going to be a special gathering and it was - between Paton's local pull & Alec's huge popularity in the film industry it made for a really nice blend of people. We should note that the film festival was underwritten by the Alec Baldwin Foundation. He's been really generous to our community having given both HIFF and Guild Hall EACH a quarter of a million dollars. It's nice to see him mixing with some local buds now too. Butter was the Opening Night Film in Southampton starring Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Ty Burrell, Yara Shahdi, Hugh Jackman and Alicia Silverstone - an all star cast in a dark comedy where art, politics and food collide in brilliant form.

Next it was on to Baume & Mercier's exclusive gala at Wolffer Estate Vineyard! Baume & Mercier, the luxury Swiss watchmaker hosted a private party to celebrate the brand's seaside living lifestyle and toast the Hamptons International Film Festival's breakthrough performers: Alexander Skarsgard, Stine Fischer Christensen, Ezra Miller and Shailenne Woodley all were there. Guests enjoyed an exclusive preview of Baume & Mercier's new Hampton collection inspired by a 1940s museum piece from the Swiss Maison d'Horlogerie's archives. Founded in 1830, the Swiss Maison d'Horlogerie, Baume & Mercier, has had a proud track record of producing watches that consistently embody an ideal of excellence and affordable luxury so they are particularly excited to introduce their new line inspired by The Hamptons! Designed to reflect Baume & Mercier's seaside living lifestyle, the Hampton timepieces which will debut at retailers this month feature clean, architectural lines, warm rose gold accents and a sun-deck decorated case back, perfect for personalization and reminiscent of a home in "The Hamptons". Anton Yelcnin (Like Crazy) Bobby Valentine (Pelotero Producer and former Mets Manager), Mark Ankner (William Morris Endeavor), Tim Fehlbaum (Hell Director), K. Lorrel Manning (Happy New Year Director), Rudy Chavez (Baume & Mercier President North America), Stuart Suna (HIFF Chairman) and Karen Arkian (HIFF Executive Director) were just a few of the familiar faces who attended the fab HIFF gala. Of course we just HAD to stop by East Hampton Studio to see for ourselves what was going on over there - plenty...as mentioned above! For all the car buffs there was stretch limo that stood out because it was actually a Chevy Camaro tweaked out limo style and looked right out of Pimp My Car but hey, it was actually really cool and fun something that rivals both ordinary and hummer ; ) It's a big hit apparently for proms, weddings & even wine tours on the North Fork.

Must say there are some incredibly terrific films debuting here in the hamptons - Ralph Fienne was making his directorial debut with Coriolanus that played in Montauk and Sag Harbor. He transforms one of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedies into an intensely modern cinematic experience. Another Happy Day with Ellen Barkin, Ezra Miller (who gave thehamptons.com an ADORABLE big hello!), Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Thomas Haden Church, George Kennedy, Ellen Burstyn and Michael Nardelli played in Southampton also as one of the Spotlight Films. Per Piacee: Italian Cinema is celebrating a new collaborative partnership with The Hamptons Intenational Film Festival in Perugia Italy for a film festival coming up in March from the 22nd to the 25th in 2012. The Germans played another big role here with twelve films that made it! Sadly, the meeting place at the Presbyterian Church in East Hampton burned down mixing things up a little bit but we did manage to get to the red carpet for Alec Baldwin who was about to interview Matthew Broderick for A Conversation With at Guild Hall. Dick Cavett was interviewing Harry Belafonte at Bay Street on the Long Wharf in Sag Harbor and Bob Balaban interviewed Susan Sarandon there too after the Suna soiree. Beaton By Bailey was presented at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center during the conversation program between photographers David Bailey and Bruce Weber - a very special screening by producer David Bailey. Stuart Suna & his Silvercup Studio (famous for 30 Rock w/local star Alec Baldwin) hosted the Chairman's Reception at his beautiful house in East Hampton where industry professionals, filmmakers, stars & producers and those with Founders Passes converged for the big festival bash of 2011. He went all out for his guests who gathered around the chef cooking kebobs on the grill as fast as people could scoop them up while plenty of waiters & waitresses passed out more delectable hors d'ouevres as we passed by tables laid out with the finest chocolate from Perugia, Italy and buckets of Feuillatte champagne! Speeches were given and credits where due like to Executive Diector Karen Aikian & Director of Programming David Nugent for their brilliance and undying passion...plus all the enthusiastic, energetic but probably exhausted volunteers...and a warmhearted welcome to the many internationa guests and new partner PIFF. Blythe Danner, Christie Brinkley, Calvin Klein, Dick Cavett, James Cromwell, Susan Sarandon, Bob Balaban and Steven Gaines were just a few of the infamous in the mix.

We were given a rare opportunity for a few impromptu interviews at that big party and had the privilege of getting one with K. Lorrel Manning and Michael Cuomo. They were presenting their feature length film Happy New Year as one of the stellar selections chosen for Films of Conflict & Resolution. It's based on K. Lorrel Manning's award-winning short which sparked an instantaneous passion in Michael Cuomo whereupon the two began collaborating together as screenwriters & producers to create this sensitive narrative about our American soldiers. In particular it portrays a candid and heartbreaking story of one young Ameican soldier who is admitted to a psychiatric ward at a VA hospital upon his return from a tour of duty in Irag - more specifically a military operation that went terribly wrong. It follows his quest for sanity & peace amongst the many other American soldiers fraught with similar tragedies. Happy New Year is a tender portrait of what it means to be willing to sacrifice one's own safety & sanity in pursuit of protecting the American Dream. It drives home a forgotten angle and reminds us of how we get to hold onto OUR freedom which we take so for granted on a daily basis. Tim Fehlbaum here from Germany very graciously gave us a big interview at the party too about his film Hell - a stark, post-apocalyptic thriller which relies on character and atmosphere instead of gore. Hell as he explains means something entirely different in German. After that it was on to Nick & Toni's for W Magazine & Clarins Celebrate Lauren Bush for her FEED project along with hubby David Lauren who was taking a supportive role - just another wonderful gig on The Hamptons International Film Festival! As much as we would have liked we couldn't dally very long because we wanted to get to dinner at Serafina's in time to catch another Spotlight Film - The Rum Diary with John Depp and Michael Rispoli who was there to talk to after the film. It was their east coast premiere about a freelance journalist in the 1950s who travels to Puerto Rico for a story. Soon, he finds himself enmeshed in a love triangle with an American woman whose fiance is deeply involved with illegal business practices - it's a comedy though ; )

We arrived at c/o Maidstone for the Oranges & Sunshine brunch we'd been invited to start yet another fun filled festival day and ran into Matthew Modine speaking with playwright Arthur Miller's wife. So we briefly sat down in the garden with both Matthew and his co-director Terrence Ziegler for an impromptu interview. As a Christian I am uncomfortable enough with the title that I'm not writing in here but having heard them out about it - it's really a utopian theme and not about religion so their eco-persuasive narration convinced me that it was not irreverent nor unpatriotic but prodding our consciousness about our own individual responsibility as world class citizens towards one shared earth with a globalized populace - bursting with 7 BILLION. Another interview we did in the garden was for the Closing Film - The Artist with James Cromwell (son of actress Kay Johnson and director/actor John Crromwell) and Penelope Anne Miller and produced by Harvey Weinstein whose film premiere at HIFF last year was The King's Speech that took all the awards later! The Artist is a brilliant concept using black & white film and silence to engage the audience and make the movie "happen" together rather then presenting it passively to the audience. We caught up with Marc Levin and Heather Harstein at c/o Maidstone to interview them about their local film HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND -a world cinema documentary that won hearts along with the Audience Award by the end of the festival. Before spreading to the rest of the country, the suburban dream was born in Levittown, Long Island after World War II. What began as an eight thousand dollar housing market evolved into today's four hundred thousand dollar home. But with a dwindling economy and the average term of unemployment longer than ever before, homeowners struggle to make their mortgage payments. HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND follows a group of Long Island residents as they courageously describe the effect that their long time unemployed status has had on their families, finances, and ultimately their American dream. Eventually we made it to brunch and once inside found Barbara Humphreys the actual heroine of the real story behind Spotlight Film Oranges & Sunshine along with director Jim Loach. In this stirring drama based on a true story, Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) is a British social worker who stumbles upon one of the largest scandals in the United Kingdom in recent memory. Humphreys uncovers the heartbreaking "home children" program, which deported 130,000 youths from the country without the knowledge or consent of their families. In the face of bureaucratic opposition, Humphreys embarks on a journey to unite these lost sons and daughters with their loved ones, often risking her own safety. ORANGES AND SUNSHINE is the story of a seemingly ordinary but truly courageous woman. A ghastly scandal only now coming to light but do hear what she has to say about it all in our interview. We posted these in larger format in our video index & tweeted some trailers on twitter @hamptonsmedia and have more in depth on the lineup of these amazing films & programs on our blog.

In East Hampton c/o The Maidstone - our local luxury hotel lended such warmth & coziness with their Swedish elegance as headquarters and the Hampton Jitney offered FREE shuttle service to the film festival morning, noon & night! Good thing too because the filmfest venues were Westhampton Beach, Water Mill, Southampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton and Montauk!! Clare Anne Darragh and Lina Plat of Frank PR - the boutique public relations frim who handled HIFF did a sensational job of keeping order with the media and making arrangements for interviews & red carpets as well as screenings & parties. We sure did get to as many as we could fit into The Mad Dash : ) Ja as they say in Swedish, we liked that very much so thank you to those guys for making sure we were all treated with dignity and respect. Everyone was SOOO nice everywhere we went once again this year and perhaps that's cuz we were the first official webiste for The Hamptons International Film Festival?!?! There were so MANY more films we would have loved to have seen - here's just for a smattering of that wishlist> The Apple Pushers - a World Cinema Documentary premiere about five New York City immigrant push-cart vendors with a common goal: to find success in America. As part of the "green cart initiative" started by the City Council, these vendors achieve this dream by selling fruits and vegetables in the "food deserts" of the Big Apple. These vendors are not only carving out an economic niche for themselves but are counteracting the high rates of obesity and diabetes in the city's low-income communities. APPLE PUSHERS is an uplifting story, which shows how passionate small business owners can be part of the solution to one of the nation's biggest problems. The Tsunami and The Cherry Blossom directed and produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker (WASTE LAND), THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM is a breathtaking visual haiku about the ephemeral nature of life, with a beautiful score by Moby. Survivors in the areas hit hardest by Japan's recent disaster struggle to revive and rebuild their communities as cherry blossom season begins. A fable about the healing power of Japan.s most beloved flower and the courage to move forward after loss, the film opens with devastating footage of the March 11, 2011 tsunami, and climaxes with the trees reaching full bloom six weeks later. You've Been Trumped - about what happens when an American billionaire celebrity developer tries to displace Scottish villagers to build, "the world's greatest golf course?" YOU'VE BEEN TRUMPED passionately documents the fight that ensues after the Scottish government gives Donald Trump permission to bulldoze one of Europe's most environmentally sensitive stretches of coast to make way for a luxury resort. Troubling, amusing, and rousing all at once, this film documents the clash between a deeply rooted Scottish community and the jet-set, media-hungry, and controversial tycoon, while a growing eco-disaster looms on the horizon. Hamonium Mountain - a short by Director Clifford Ross set to a score by Philip Glass that is a lyrical odyssey through an unlikely mixture of natural and digital landscapes. Now, don't these ALL sound wonderful? There were a kajillion more - Vodka Factory, Le Havre, The Fairy, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Loving Story...I think we should petition HIFF to stretch it out to TWO WEEKS so we can see everything!!?

No sooner did we get through The Hamptons International Film Festival in October and Halloween and some cozy fall dinner parties by the fire then high season was already kicking up in NYC as much as down South where we are going to share highlights from Art Basel in Miami. We had the pleasure of attending the Kickoff Reception for the 30th Annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards at Remi Restaurant in Manhattan. Patricia Watt, Producer, The Douglas Watt Family Fund for the Performing Arts & Julie Keyes along with Co-Chairs Carolyn Kendall Buchter and Alix Michel hosted the cocktail reception for the committees and sponsors of this year's awards gala. Legendary Judith Jamison was a warm & welcome addition to the Awarding Committee this year. Special guests for the evening included Emanuel Azenberg, Laura Penn & Susan Stroman. A highlight of the evening was an exhibition of the works of renowned photographer Josh Lehrer. Ms. Watt spoke about the importance of the very successful Dance Therapy Program in NYC Public Schools which is the beneficiary of the annual awards. Now in its 30th year, The Fred & Adele Astaire Awards continue to be the only awards to recognize excellence in dance and choreography on stage and in film. The awards were founded in 1982 by the esteemed critic Douglas Watt and Mr. Astaire himself. Always one of the most glamorous and eagerly anticipated events on the theatrical calendar, the Awards have paid homage to the brightest lights in the world of dance. Previous winners of awards for dance performance include: Debbie Allen, Hinton Battle, Charlotte D'Amboise, Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Natalia Makarova, Donna McKechnie, Ann Miller, Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera and 2011 winners Sutton Foster and Norbert Leo Butz. Previous winners of awards for choreography are such legends as George Balanchine, Michael Bennett, Patricia Birch, Wayne Cilento, Graciela Daniele, Bob Fosse, Peter Martins, Ann Reinking, Jerome Robbins, two time winner Tommy Tune and five time winner Susan Stroman. Another super popular New York benefit is best known simply as "The Waxman" and this was the 14th Annual Collaborating for a Cure dinner and auction to benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. It was held at New York City's landmark Park Avenue Armory - and once again raised MILLIONS! The event hosted by Elin and Michael Nierenberg was headlined by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Kid Rock. Last year it was Sheryl Crow and the year before it was Steve Winwood so ALWAYS top tier entertainment! The evening's much-anticipated live and silent auctions offered guests an extraordinary opportunity to bid on an exciting selection of exclusive items, such as two pure bred yellow labrador puppies for $13,000 each, an opportunity to meet Kid Rock and take home his autographed guitar for $19,000, a trip for seven to the world famous Golden Eye Resort in Jamaica for $100,000, a week stay at a private ocean front villa in Anguilla with private jet service for $60,000, a five night stay of the ultimate luxury aboard a Private Yacht for $150,000, a fully stocked Viking wine refrigerator with 54 bottles of collectible wines from around the world for $15,000, a stellar wine tasting for 20; wines from Palm Bay International, catered by Restaurant Associates and decor from by ROBIN for $10,000, a golf outing at Hampton Hills Country Club for $21,000, dinner for four with Petra Nemcova at Lavo for $11,000, two private wine tastings for 25 at ItalianWine Merchants for $55,000 each, "City of Dreams" original by Peter Tunney for $30,000, "Heaven on Earth" limited edition print by Peter Lik for $25,000, private four-course dinner for 16 at L'sArtusi for $25,000 and a private villa in Bermuda for six with jet service from Flight Options LLC for $40,000. The live auction was led by Courtney Booth of Sotheby's Auction House. Yowza!

The Fourth Annual Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival held their Opening Night Gala at East Hampton's Guild Hall to honor pioneering filmmaker Richard Leacock (1921-2011) and beloved as one of the giants in the field of documentaries. HT2FF founder and executive director Jacqui Lofaro of Bridgehampton, who is a documentary filmmaker herself hosted the lovely reception with cuisine catered by Gurney's Inn of Montauk and wines from Channing Daughters Vineyards. Documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker gave us a candid short interview just before heading on stage to introduce two Leacock films. "Happy Mother's Day" (1963, 26 min.), a film about the frenzy surrounding the birth of the Fischer quintuplets in South Dakota, on which he collaborated with Leacock, and "Crisis" (1963, 52 min.), which captured the showdown between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace over school integration. Other well-known Leacock films are "Primary" (1960), filmed with Pennebaker and Albert Maysles ("Grey Gardens"), that followed John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey through the Democratic primary in Wisconsin, and "A Stravinsky Portrait" (1965) about the composer Igor Stravinsky, also filmed with Pennebaker. The documentaries illustrate Leacock's direct cinema style, which followed his guiding principle of "being there," which meant, he said, "no interviews, no narration, no set-up shots, no tripods, no lights, no added sound. Don't impose, don't interfere". In 1968 Leacock co-founded the film school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught for nearly 20 years. His memoir, "Richard Leacock: The Feeling of Being There" will be published later this year. Following the screenings, a panel composed of Pennebaker along with filmmakers Victoria Leacock Hoffman and Robert Leacock - his daughter and son, both with East End ties - and Pam Wise all discussed Leacock's legacy and held an intimate Q + A afterwards. Both Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor and Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center were host venues with all day and evening screenings - Q & A's with filmmakers, emceed by radio personality Bonnie Grice at Bay Street and arts editor/writer Andrew Botsford at Westhampton Beach. At the opening we also caught up with Long Islander Chris Pepino whose "Inside the Perfect Circle: The Odyssey of Joel Thome," about the Grammy award-winning modern composer was premiering and also East Hamptonite Cat Del Buono of "Take My Hair," about her hair donation to a relative undergoing chemotherapy...for some impromptu interviews prior to the opening films. Some of the films included in the documentary features, shorts and student selections were winners from East Hampton, Lindenhurst, and Miller Place High Schools of the Suffolk County Film Commission's competition for high school students> Richard Kotuk's "Travis," an inspiring documentary about an 10-year old boy with AIDS; Eileen Torpey's Rescued Twice: The History & Revival of the Amagansett Life-Saving Station" which was moved back this year to its original 1902 location; Madeline Amgott's "Esteban Vicente: Portrait of an Artist," about the Abstract Expressionist artist who lived in Bridgehampton for nearly 40 years; Legendary filmmaker Anne Belle's "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse," an Academy Award-nominated film about the life of the prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet who inspired many of choreographer George Balanchine's works. Richard P. Rogers "Quarry," documenting the activities of teenagers hanging out around the Quincy Quarry in the early 1970s; Alexander Olch's "The Windmill Movie," about the Wainscott filmmaker Richard P. Rogers, who was working on a film about his life when he died in 2001. So all in all - a rather illustrious list of documentarians and we really hope this festival grows in leaps and bounds - that's our opinion!

Another big fall favorite is Parrish Presents! Preview Cocktail Party at the Parish Art Museum and this year was no less of a crowd pleaser for sweet deals and some early holiday shopping! It's become a huge annual Thanksgiving weekend sale's event with a three-day fundraiser offering exquisite donations to be found in the on-site-market, silent auction opportunities in addition to the novel Museum Gift Shop. Benefactors, Patrons, Sponsors and Friends were previewing AND buying found treasures and favorite local merchandise on hand. The tent seems to get bigger every year so much so it was difficult to find the way in from the rear parking area! Laurie Lambrecht and other authors were on hand to sign new books on sale, plenty of local artists like Paton Miller, old friends and loads of others filled the concert hall along with other retailers displaying a tempting array of extravagant and priceless antiques, jewelry, luxury home and designer accessories to satisfy everyone's taste buds & budget! The holiday season continued with a really engaging mix of local musicians who came out for the Fundraiser for WPPB 88.3 & Guild Hall by Crossroads Music at Guild Hall's John Drew Theater hosted by Cynthia Daniels. I think Indie Eaton put it rather well when she said our community is particularly special the way everyone comes out not only to support a worthy cause but musicians actually PAY to see other musicians around these parts!! The evening was incredibly warm and filled with all the right vibes...as well as sound bytes ; )

So while we were kickin' up our heels up North - down South we had Art Basel in Miami covered by one of our teams in Palm Beach - Dora Frost + pal Dana Mendelson! Dora wrote a nice summary of this enormous and ever growing art expo on our our blog so please be sure to migrate over there and read her art column on Art Basel Miami. Dana took some snappy video vignettes and we put it together with a nice collection of photographs of the art there. It is truly a massive collection of international sensations in the art world including Jackson Pollock and Pablo Picasso. Really a phenomenal feast for the eyes! Out WEST getting ready for the Golden Globe Awards kicking off the high season for the film industry in Hollywood - local from The Hamptons - Jean Shafiroff along The Weinstein Company hosted an elegant luncheon with Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh in honor of The Weinstein Company film My Week with Marilyn at Cecconi's!! The film stars Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh and documents the brief period filmmaker Colin Clark spent with Marilyn Monroe during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in England during the late 1950s. The luncheon was attended and honored by many of the founding members of The Actors Studio and those who shared the screen with Marilyn Monroe in her heyday. Attendees included Jean Shafiroff, New York Philanthropist and Socialite, Michelle Williams, Actress, Kenneth Branagh, Actor, Colleen Camp, Actress, Dyan Cannon, Actress, Frances Fisher, Actress, Frank Cascio, Author of My Friend Michael, Harry Hamlin, Actor , James Keach, Actor, Jane Seymour, Actress, Louise Griffiths, Singer, Martin Landau, Actor, Michael Nouri, Actor, Missy Hargraves, Actress, Natasha Sunshine, Celebrity Hairstylist of Byu-Ti Salon, Paul Farberman, Entertainment Manager, Sean Young, Actress, Shana Wall, Actress, Sura Radcliffe, Celebrity Hairstylist of Byu-Ti Salon, Susan Blakely, Actress. Guests enjoyed a delicious lunch planned and prepared by Cecconi's and received exclusive gift bags with exciting items such a Byu-Ti Salon gift certificate and products from Pureology(r) and Smashbox.

The Hamptons International Film Festival once again hooked up with Guild Hall for a very special presentation of Oliver Twist hosted by the gracious Alec Baldwin. It was followed up with A Conversation with acclaimed writer Jon Robin Baitz (Creator of ABC's Brothers & Sisters and the play "Other Desert Cities" which is currently on Broadway). The Q + A really was a discussion of literary adaptations with a rather w i d e range of questions from the audience - including one chap who opted in for advice from Alec in particular on how to become a successful actor! SO yes, everything from serious to the max of opportunity ; ) This version of Oliver Twist was legendary filmmaker David Lean's (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago) second adaptation of the famous Charles Dickens' novel and considered by many to be a masterpiece of cinema and a stark glimpse of a dark and furtive century England, but one where hope still exists. "The casting, cinematography by Guy Green and editing by Jack Harris are superb," said host Alec Baldwin who curated the film with David Nugent who heads up programming at HIFF. No dismal winter dreariness for us !! Robert De Niro took a break from filming Killing Field with John Travolta to come to NYC to present his wife Grace Hightower with American Cancer Society's Mother of the Year Award - how sweet is that?! Held in the grand ballroom at The Plaza Hotel this week the American Cancer Society of New York City (ACS) honored Grace Hightower De Niro, Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, and Emily Sonnenblick, MD at the 2012 Annual Mothers of the Year luncheon. The event began with cocktails where guests could sign up for the Silent Auction before a delightful luncheon, toasts and some of the best speeches we've ever heard! You can hear some wonderful highlights of those in our video here along with some terrific photos. Co-Chairmen were Muffie Potter Aston, Somers Farkas, Diana Feldman, Prudence Solomon Inzerillo, Cynthia Lufkin, Gianna Palminteri, Maureen Reidy, Rachel Roy - and Vice Chairs were Cricket Burns, Sandy Diamond, Lynn Y. Jacobson, Linda G. Levy, Lily Safra and Linda Sonnenblick. Quite the list! Proceeds went to help support ACS programs - something that touches all of our families around the world. After the Plaza we fit in shopping the racks at Bergdorf Goodman - a fave store for getting a bird's eye view of 2012 Spring fashion! A full day in Manhattan ended with a delightful and delicious dinner at Three Hens - you can read our review of this fab little spot on 28th and Lexington!

The second Annual Last Chance Animal Rescue's Rock for Rescue! was held at 230 Elm in Southampton. Whitney Knowlton who heads up the organization put together another swell party with open bar, strolling dinner, Music by New Life Crisis, auctions and raffles - with some biggies like 7 nights at Morgan Bay Beach Resort in St. Lucia which was donated by Yvonne of LTA Travel! Sponsors included Bed & Biscuit, Classy Canine, Gayle's Salon, Hampton Bays Pet Supply, Hampton Coffee Company, Hampton Pet Club, The Luss Group, Paws & Play, Shinnecock Animal Hospital, SkyDive Long Island and of course ALL of their Adopters! In Manhattan we went to The Fund for Park Avenue hosted by Michael Scully at his store Scully & Scully. It is an annual reception to celebrate The Park Avenue Tulips which this year featured table settings inpsired by Living Traditions by Matthew Patrick Smyth, The May-December Blog by Meliissa Morris, New York, New York by Hilary Geary Ross and Harry Benson, New York Parties: Private Views by Jamee Gregory and Rooftop Gardens, The Terraces, Conservatories and Balconies of New York by Denise LeFrak Calicchio and Roberta Amon. We grabbed a few interviews with some of the authors in between cocktails & yummy tidbits as Alex Donner's musicians played. All the favors were provided by Eleni's New York and happily 10% of the proceeds from the store sales were donated to the Park Avenue Fund which is responsible for the planting and maintenance of the trees and flowers from 54th to 86th Streets. The fund also manages the annual Park Avenue Tree Lighting from 54th all the way to 96th Street! Back on Long Island The East Hampton Historical Society presented "FAKES & FORGERIES" - an in-depth journey into the intriguing field of Antique Authentication at the Clinton Academy Museum in East Hampton. The program was conducted by esteemed expert Charles Hummel, one of East Hampton's most important historians and the respected author of With Hammer in Hand, the Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York. Taking participants on an illustrated adventure dealing with famous fakes and infamous forgers he taught collectors how they too could learn to be their own detectives when purchasing treasures for their personal collections. He is a retired Senior Director of the country's most important collection of American decorative arts, The Winterthur Museum in Delaware. The morning and afternoon included a nice catered box lunch along with the programs with all proceeds benefiting the East Hampton Historical Society.

Another favorite April benefit is the Annual Spring Fling at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton which kicks off "The Hamptons" season in style! This year's cocktail party and community celebration was co-chaired by Susan Davis and Nancy Hardy. Todd Barrie Music and band provided live music for plenty of dancing and Sant Ambroeus offered up super savoury hors d'oeuvres to compliment all the open bars featuring Glacier Potato Vodka martinis, fine wines from Niche Import Company and local Southampton Publick House ales. Guests bid on a fine selection of goods and services all donated by the local East End business community for the silent auction portion - including designer handbags and accessories, a cocktail party for 100 guests from Michael Mosolino Catering (The Deli Counter Fine Foods & Catering, golf at The Bridgehampton Club and National Golf Links of America, VIP tent passes to the 2012 Hampton Classic Horse Show, home accessories from Mackenzie Childs, Hildreth's and Baccarat! The museum itself raffled off two dinner tickets to its festive July Midsummer Party, a $2,000 value!! Harper's Books welcomed Spring in their own way with an exhibition of paintings, photographs and mixed-media pieces by a selection of artists living and working in Eastern Long Island at an opening party in East Hampton. Including: Linda K. Alpern, Mary Ellen Bartley, Philippe Cheng, Peter Dayton, David Diskin, Jameson Ellis, Sunny Khalsa, Laurie Lambrecht, Liliya Lifanova, Steve Miller, Peter Sabbeth, Bastienne Schmidt, Matt Satz, Michael Solomon, Kevin Teare, Ross Watts and Nick Weber. You can still catch it before Memorial Day comes as it runs through May 21st! In Manhattan we attended Give Kids a Shot! the National Meningitis Association Gala 2012 which was hosted by Emmy Award Winner Richard Thomas at The New York Athletic Club. It's a benefit to save lives in the fight against meningitis - and more specifically to raise awareness that IT IS indeed a "vaccine-preventable" disease. Honorary Chairs were Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. and Sharon Loeb & Nick Springer; Gala Chairs Lenore Cooney, Cooney/Waters Group & Gary Springer, Springer Associates PR; Master of Ceremonies was EMMY Award winning actor Richard Thomas. Honorees were Jeri Acosta & Jerri Greenwell who received the Moms on Meningitis Award and Sara Herbert-Galloway & Barry J. Klarberg. Monarch Wealth & Business Management received NMA's Nancy Ford Springer Inspiration Award for their long standing support of NMA. Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis Group, the largest company in the world devoted entirely to human vaccines received NMA's Health Achievement Award. All in all the evening was a huge success having raised funds from tables priced between $10,000 and $100,000 and $500 apiece for individual tickets!!

May in Manhattan! The New York Women's Foundation celebrated their big 25th anniversary w/ a remarkable breakfast honoring Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton with The 2012 Century Award. Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as the 67th Secretary of State of the United States. Secretary Clinton has an unparalleled commitment of nearly four decades of service and history of leadership as Secretary of State, ground-breaking Presidential Candidate, United States Senator from New York, First Lady of the Nation, child advocate and activist. Other notable honorees were Ai-jen Poo, Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Merble Reagon, Executive Director, Women's Center for Education and Career Advancement - both with The 2012 Celebrating Women Award. It is awarded to women whose significant achievements have influenced the lives of - and provided a role model for - women and girls. The New York Women's Foundation is a cross-cultural alliance of women, serving as a voice for women and a force for change. In twenty-five years, the NYWF will reach $33 million in funding to over 280 women-lead, nonprofit organizations, improving the lives of 5.4 million women and girls in New York City; 81% of those nonprofits succeed in thriving today. On the warm and humid evening of May 22nd, American Cancer Society threw it's Inaugural Birthday Bash Celebration. Guests started off the evening with a cocktail hour at the St. Regis Roof, mingling with honorees Nate Berkus and Geoffrey Bradfield. The evening led to a sit down dinner which served a refreshing green asparagus salad followed by a delicious mint glazed rack of lamb. Dessert was previewed by the cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery which also served as the center pieces and complemented the sorbet and gelato offered. The theme of the evening was "A world with less cancer is a world with more birthdays" and the celebration kicked off with a live auction featuring tempting packages such as a private villa in southern Italy or a New York Giants VIP on-field experience, which was led by a spunky Chrisite's auctioneer and followed with a festive balloon auction. But the most touching moments of the evening, were perhaps the awards presentation in which Nate Berkus was honored the Humanitarian Award and Geoffrey Bradfield was receipient of the Man of Achievement Award. Both introduced by personal accounts, it was evident not only of both men's talent and dedication but their appreciation for their success. Said best by his presentee Barbara Taylor Bradford when mentionend that Bradfield was a man about the town - her response was "No...a man about the world." Bradfield showcases his talent on a global level, which can collectively be seen in his new book "Ex Arte. " Recognition was given to Berkus for his contribution of redesigning the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge in New York City. The gratitude for his involvement was felt across the room as his presentee Lisa Kogan gave a touching introduction revealing her own experiences at Hope Lodge. It was her ability to make the room laugh but also provide a truthful look at her battles of a cancer survivor. The evening continued on as guests gathered on the dance floor to celebrate the many future birthday to come!!

This will tide you over as we develop the Summer 2012 People & Parties in the background as we capture this season's crop of galas & charitable events! Enjoy these wonderful days of Spring...thehamptons.com will keep bringing you more great year round events like A Taste of New Orleans cocktail party at Sole East Resort to benefit Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation - featuring Dr. Zsa's Powdered Zydeco Band, a Crawfish Boil, Flying Buffet + Hurricane Cocktails - uhhuh, they were DELISH ; ) Other happenings in + about The Hamptons leading up to summer included a special screening of Immortal Beloved presented by The Hamptons International Film Festival & Guild Hall together. Both Alec Baldwin and Bob Balaban were on hand for a discussion afterward about this masterful portrait of Beethoven as a deaf composer. Another was The Children's Museum of the East End who held their 3rd Annual Peconic Family Fun Day in Bridgehampton to start Spring off for the kiddies in a big GREEN way! It was co-sponsored by the CMEE, the Peconic Land Trust, Peconic Estuary Program, Group for the East End, South Fork Natural History Museum, and the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt! So loads more coming your way...stayed tuned for new Summer 2012 People & Parties! You'll find all the great parties from previous season AND the season before and so on & so forth...and get an idea of what to look forward to for this season'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 Events Calendar for SUMMER 2012!! Please have a look at our seasonal social page to keep up with The Hamptons all year round! Autumn, Winter and Spring are very special here and that's why so many have lingered on and opted to become LOCALS!! Please come for a visit during each of those and find out why there is still so much to keep you here most all of the time. TheHamptons.com and @hamptonsmedia are invited to cover events here & there so keep us bookmarked and share w/your friends : )