Happy B-Day, Preston Bailey!

Celebrity events designer Preston Bailey threw himself a lavish Panamanian-themed 60^th birthday party at Studio 450 tonight. A native of Panama, Bailey has planned events for Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Donald and Melania Trump. Not surprisingly, Bailey went all out for his fête, which he called “The Curious Case of Preston Bailey.” Palm trees adorned with papier-mâché parrots stood amongst an ocean backdrop of tropical fish, making the scene reminiscent of a Latin American summer night. Waiters in white tunics served tiny Cuban sandwiches (grilled ham and cheese with pickles), fried shrimp and piña coladas, while guests sampled fresh avocado arepas and black bass ceviche from various stations set up throughout the venue. A group of Montuno dancers grooved to traditional Panamanian tunes played by a salsa band. A breathtaking feast of corn tamales, chicken con salsa and rice and beans—all made by Bailey’s sister—awaited guests on the roof deck, as did Planter’s punch and fresh mojitos—the perfect complement to the views of the Manhattan skyline.—Maura Kutner

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We Really Dug This Party

Have you ever thrown a party for someone and had the guest of honor cancel on you after the invitations had already been sent? Now just imagine if that guest had been a marquee-name celebrity who was the big draw for your charity's ticket sales. That's exactly the position the Archaeological Institute of America found itself in last night when Harrison Ford missed his chance to accept an honor from the association on the occasion of its 130th anniversary and first-ever gala dinner.

As you might have surmised, Ford was chosen for his role in bringing Hollywood-style interest and excitement to the at-times dry field (pun intended) of archeology through his star turns as Indiana Jones. To be fair, it was a shooting conflict that prevented the actor from being able to attend and he did provide a videotaped acceptance speech. But in spite of the lack of movie-star glitz (or perhaps even because of it), the night was filled with fun, as guests tucked into a Maya-inspired feast prepared under the watch of Maya food archeologist Patricio Balona, Maya archeologist Ben Thomas and Capitale executive chef Jason Munger. Boldface names from the world of food and exploration (including several Top Chef contestants from Season 5) and Travel Channel host Samantha Brown, archeologist James Delgado and Discovery Channel host Josh Bernstein feasted on dishes such as roasted feral pork with a poblano tomatillo sauce and jicama, yucca and calabasa. A live auction featured tours of the ancient world that sounded tempting enough to get even Tutankhamun to raise a paddle. As for Indy, maybe he'll come next year and present the honors to the 2010 honoree. 

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The Can-Do Spirit

Mariska Hargitay, Jimmy Fallon, Rachael Ray, Mario Batali, Rocco DiSpirito and Helena Christensen were among the notables who turned out for the Can-Do awards dinner to raise money for the Food Bank of New York City last night. The evening's special honoree, Jon Bon Jovi, also got to bask in the adulation of President Bill Clinton and U2's Bono. The presence of master of ceremonies Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M, further enhanced the rock royalty quotient. On the red carpet, I asked arriving celebrities about their favorite Bon Jovi song. The most enthusiastic answer by far came from Batali, who without skipping a beat went into  air-guitar mode, belting out "WANTED....dead or alive!!" For all of the fun and games, the night was really about raising crucial funds for this organization, which helps see to it that the 1.3 million New Yorkers in peril of going hungry do not lack places to turn to find sustenance for their families. At present, the charity's reserves are at critically low levels and the organization is doing everything it can to get the word out about the work it can do with even $1—a donation that will supply five meals for a person who might otherwise go hungry. It kind of gives new meaning to the Bon Jovi song "I'll Be There for You."

Venice, Vidi, Vici

There are many times when you might feel like wearing a mask in Manhattan (whether you're recovering from a long night out or perhaps you simply don't care to be recognized while you're doing your Saturday errands.) But every now and again, you get to wear a mask in this city and not feel the least bit guilty about it. Last night's Primavera a Venezia soiree (a spring ball) was sponsored by the Standing Committee of Young Friends of Save Venice (which includes Olivia Chantecaille, Luigi Tadini and Susan Shin) as well as the Patrons & Restorers Committee, which includes such supporters as Roberto Cavalli, Thong Nguyen, Alison Minton, Caroline Meeresseman and Elizabeth da Trindade-Asher and her husband, Daniel. Asher (who's pictured here in a hat by milliner Leah C. Couture), provides this first-person account of the event, which was held at the Bowery Hotel: “The evening consisted of drinks, dancing and dessert. Proseco flowed all night as party revelers danced to the tunes of DJs Andrew & Andrew. Mountains of chocolate decorated the room in the form of brownies, cookie sandwiches and profiteroles.

"A silent auction included creations from Will Cotton, Simon Doonan, Dylan's Candy Bar, Anthony Todd and Matthew White of White Webb. Proceeds from this evening will go to the restoration of San Sebastiano, which holds the largest single collection of paintings by sixteenth-century artist Paolo Veronese. In January 2007, Save Venice launched a campaign to restore Veronese's decorative treasures, including frescoes, wall paintings and altarpieces, which have been housed at San Sebastiano since 1555. "The mission of Young Friends of Save Venice is to introduce supporters to the artistic patrimony of Venice and to instill in them the desire to help preserve the city's timeless [and sometimes imperiled] treasures."

For more photos, courtesy of Leah C. Couture, click here.

You Oughta Be in My Pictures

If the image that comes to mind when you think "St. Patrick's Day party" is one of ample Guinness and drunken renditions of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," you clearly don't know Patrick McMullan. The celebrity photographer (a protégé of Andy Warhol), chronicler of über-glam Manhattan for more than three decades, threw a party in the name of his patron saint last night, and the scene was anything but traditional. With a guest list peopled by the faces McMullan photographs at high-profile outings throughout the year, the party teemed with models, social climbers and other fixtures of the New York nightlife scene. DJ Gant Johnson kept the mood lively, as did a series of dancers in various states of (green) undress. Though the party space (the appropriately named Greenhouse, in SoHo) was beyond packed, anyone fortunate enough to have gotten inside knew better than to leave early. The people-watching (as curated by McMullan's trained eye) was exceptional—even by New York standards.

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True Kelly Green

You were in like Flynn last night at Michael's if your name happened to be Kelly. But even if your surname doesn't match that of the city's current police commissioner (seen at left with his wife, Veronica) the camaraderie and goodwill at the sixth-annual Kelly Gang benefit were still in plentiful supply. What started life as a whimsically named group of media mavens who enjoyed lunching together and who happened to share the last name Kelly has become a full-fledged charity. Members including novelist Tom Kelly, New York Post "Media Ink" columnist Keith Kelly, Time Inc. managing editor Jim Kelly and House Beautiful publisher Kate Kelly Smith were inspired to take their mealtime gatherings to another level when one of their own, Michael Kelly of the New Yorker, became the first journalist to die in the Iraq war, in 2003. The following year, the surviving Kellys held a buffet dinner to raise money to help put the fallen reporter's sons through college. In the time since, the Kelly Gang has contributed to a variety of worthy causes, this year's beneficiary being the Doe Fund, which campaigns to end homelessness by putting New York's neediest to work cleaning the streets of the city. The kitchen at Michael's, normally known for its salmon sashimi and hanger steak salad, stepped up to the plate with an array of Irish dishes, including (of course) corned beef and cabbage. We'd expect nothing less from a restaurant owner whose last name is McCarty.

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Heart of Glass

L.B. Jeffries, the invalid voyeur played by Jimmy Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, would have been in his glory at the Gana Art Gallery last night. At a V.I.P. reception, photographer In Sook Kim unveiled her "Saturday Night," a startling image taken of the flank of a Dusseldorf hotel. At first glimspe, the technicolor vignette appears to be nothing more than a distant glimpse of the occupants of various brightly lit rooms. Upon closer inspection, however, a series of sexy shenanigans unfolds, the likes of which would make a casual passerby blush, but also wish for a pair of binoculars. The astonishingly intimate photo took two years to produce, as Kim first shot the building and then painstakingly lit and staged the scenes in each room, capturing the windows one at a time and then assembling the blocks like puzzle pieces. For a tamer view of Kim's work, see her story in today's New York Times magazine, "New Glass City."

And for more photos of last night's reception (including a second image, featuring a nude model up for auction), click here.