Beachcomber, August 22

This past week was spent having dinner with dear friends. It was great to finally have a chance to catch up and chat. Monday evening, a group of us went to dinner at Boa, the Thai Asian fusion restaurant in North Sea. I hadn’t been there in a while, and it was a real treat, as I just love chicken pad Thai. The staff couldn’t have been more accommodating, and we all enjoyed the evening thoroughly.

Tuesday evening, it was over to a friend’s house for a lovely dinner. We were a small group, which made for a very intimate and pleasant night. Of course, all we did was talk about the goings-on this season, discussing some of the charity events, as well as some of the private parties.

Wednesday night, I was craving pizza, and when a friend called up and asked if I wanted to go to dinner, we decided to go to La Parmigiana. We ordered our own individual pizzas, which was more than we needed, but it was great to take home and have the leftovers for lunch the next day. Congrats to the family on their 50th year in business!

Thursday night, I headed over to Bridgehampton to the lovely home of Amy and Gary Green for the “Footprint of a Life” summer party. The event was to benefit the Green Vision Foundation, whose mission is to combat illegal wildlife trade and to protect endangered species. Hampton Aristocrats Catering, along with Arthur and Sons, provided delicious nibbles for the guests.

There was a live dance performance, as well as an auction, which was followed up with a one-hour performance by Ludacris. Afterward, the DJ kept the party going and the dance floor filled as guests rocked the night away. Missy Hargraves and Executive Director Kathleen Mulcahy of the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center were there with several birds that the organization has rescued.

Seen enjoying the night: Jane Gill, Courtney Jenkins, Charlie Walk, Erin and Abe Lichy, Josh Fox, Dr. Christina Rahm, Clayton Thomas, Bradford Rand, Martha Fain, Julia Haart, Ramona Singer, Rebecca Seawright, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Charles Mayhew, Cristina Cuomo, Maria Fishell, and Alison Mitchell.

Friday evening, I went down to Meadow Lane for a cocktail party at the seaside home of Kathy Ferguson and Mark Zurack. The event was the annual Peconic Baykeeper cocktail party. What a treat, as the guests gathered on the porch with the Atlantic Ocean as our backdrop, with the sounds of Forrest Barnett and Bentley Lewis on guitars.

Seasons catered the delicious passed hors d’oeuvres. This night, the organization was honoring the hard work and dedication of Phil Smyth, who was there with his lovely wife, Kristen, and their two sons, Henry and Arthur.

Executive Director and Baykeeper Pete Topping spoke to the crowd about the importance of protecting our waterways. Board Chair Kim White also spoke, thanking everyone for their generous support of this amazing organization.

Seen seaside: Marybeth and Bill Fields, Jay Diesing, Barbara Reuter, Melanie and John Wambold, Susan Dunn, Michele and Toni Sacconaghi, Amy and Sid Goodfriend, Maureen and Steve Klinsky, Allison Morrow, Jessica Mezzacappa and John Zieman, Larry Horton and Joe Markovich, Diana Taylor, Katie Shah, Gina and Lou Arresta, Mary Mattingly and Steve Reiss, Michaela and Stephan Keszler, and Janet and Joseph Smyth. Joe was celebrating a milestone birthday that night.

The first stop of the evening on Saturday night was over to the Southampton Fire Department on Windmill Lane for its third annual chicken and rib barbecue. Proceeds from the evening go to help restore all the antique firetrucks, as well as the benevolent association for current and past volunteer fireman.

Music, wine provided by Wölffer, beer from Westhampton Brewery and good food was the order of the night. The meat for the evening was provided by Peconic Prime Meats, while the corn came from Hank’s Farm and Adam Halsey.

The best part for me was John Duck’s famous coleslaw, made by family members of the original restaurant. Master grillers Sam Fisher and Matthew Shimkus worked tirelessly alongside a battalion of helpers to prepare over 750 dinners that night.

Seen enjoying the BBQ: Mary-Alice Halsey, Mary Godfrey and James Stover, Kathy and David Cruikshank, Steve Colabella, Robert Gill, Janet and Bob Postma, Ann and Bill Yawney, Kikey Franklin, Polis Walker, Eric Halsey, Fire Chief Manny Escobar, Richard Fowler, Megan and Alfie Callahan, Sandra and Tom Dombkowski, Ginger and Ted Lachcik, Chris Capalbo, Joanna and Dylan McDuffee, Kathy and Roy Wines, Laurie and Paul DeRobertis of Paul’s Italian Restaurant, and Ann Frankenbach and her son Jimmy. (How many of you remember Herbert’s Market on Main Street? Ann’s father was the one who started that business many years ago.)

As you all know, I never write about events that I do not attend, but this one is too important to overlook, not to mention it was for the animals, which, as you all know, are near and dear to my heart. The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, ARF for short, hosted its annual “Bow Wow Meow Ball” on the campus of the adoption center. A big thank you to my dear friend Lisa Tamburini for sending me two wonderful photos from the evening for my column.

This is always a fabulous party, and I heard that that night was no exception. I was told the tents looked stunning, thanks to the efforts of design chairs Alex Papachristidis and Lisa McCarthy. The decorations and flowers were donated by Broadview Gardens and Sag Harbor Florist — thank you both for your generous donation.

This night, ARF honored three generations of the Chantecaille family for their philanthropic work in animal rescue.

Dorothy Wahl, the last of the original founders of ARF, was there, with Dennis Sullivan. Other notables included Candy Udell, world-renowned architect Peter Marino, and acclaimed fashion photographer and filmmaker Bruce Weber and his wife, Nan Bush. Also in attendance were fashion designer Calvin Klein and socialite Cornelia Guest. Congrats on such a successful event.

Meanwhile, back in Southampton, I attended Summerfest at the Southampton Arts Center. The event marked the 11th year of this party. The center honored Jamee and Peter Gregory with the Champion of Arts Award for their dedication and support.

Guests started with cocktails on the east side of the building, which included numerous food stations from various restaurants in town. Saaz, Clamman, Shippy’s, Golden Pear, Bamboo, Uno Mas, Hampton Catered Affairs and Party Perfection all presented a signature appetizer for us to enjoy.

Seen during cocktails: Karen and Richard LeFrak, Maria and Bruce Bockman, Pat Sanders, Cheri Kaufman and Bill Sclight, Kathy Reilly and Kevin Sherer, Mia Hallingby, Ramona Singer, Mary Slattery, Susan Stevenson, Robert Lohman, Nicole Salmasi, Lauren Geller, Andrea and Alexandre Douzet, Bill Tyree, and Danielle Gingrich and Gavin Freeman,

Afterward, we all walked through the center to the west lawn for a delightful dinner and dancing with music by DJ Diego from Untouchable Events. Mayor Bill Manger announced that the village is giving the center money to put on a new roof, which is definitely needed.

Seen enjoying the night: Whitney Stevens, Angie and Siamak Samii, Rob and Helena Vahradian, Simone Levinson, Alicia and Alberto Lamadrid, Lydia and Rudy Touzet, Fern Mallis, Stuart Sklar, Paul Travis and Mark Fichandler, Kara Ross, Anke and Jurgen Friedrich, Elyn and Jeff Kronemeyer, Linda and Peter Talty, Brian Brady and Jim Karas, Lis Waterman, and Teresa Melhado and Dane Neller.

This weekend, the place to be is “Blue Dream,” the gala at the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons in Shinnecock Hills. This is an amazing event that you don’t want to miss.

Hope to see you there!