Guy About Town: Palm Beach's Season, Lady in Red Gala, Personal Submarines

I usually start my day reading the local papers. First, I scan the front pages for something of interest, then I scour the society pages looking for my photo (shameless I know), then it is onto the real estate section to see what house flips are happening.

After that I am likely to read my horoscope. But honestly, does anyone know what “Jupiter merging with an Aries moon” really means? I pretend that I understand, but honestly, I have no clue, and I suspect most people are clueless in this regard as well!

Speaking of clueless, does anyone really understand what “The Season” means now? I remember the days when The Season meant the days between Thanksgiving and Easter/Passover. But now the Palm Beach Season just seems to go on and on!

Black tie parties never used to be in April, but now with so many events, we are seeing big parties scheduled up until the very last minute before we all depart for other homes and destinations.

I remember the decades when I wintered in Vero Beach, and we had only two or three black-tie events the whole season. In fact, we moved to Palm Beach because Vero Beach was too sleepy. Now with all of these amazing parties to attend, I just don’t get enough sleep!

I guess that we all must be careful what we wish for …

But some good wishes do come true! And this year I was the honored guest of the vivacious and kind Tova Leidesdorf for one of the very best events of the year! The annual Lady In Red Gala took place at The Breakers to a sold out crowd of 500.

The Lois Pope sponsored LIFE event had top drawer entertainment starting with cocktails and an orchestra, followed in the Grand Ballroom by a dance band. Then there was Rita Rudner, who’s comedy had us all in stitches! Following the laughs came lobster, filet mignon and sea bass.

But who could remember the delicious food when Paul Anka came out and sang for a full hour! The man is a true entertainer, singing and working the room as if he were headlining in Las Vegas. The crowd was on their feet clapping and singing along and loving every minute of his endless stream of platinum hits from the 1950s to the present day.

LIFE supports Lois’ Food4Kids program in Palm Beach County, as well as disabled veterans, summer camp programs, Save The Children and many other causes.

In attendance were Arlette Gordon, Harrison Morgan, Ari Rifkin, Cameron Neth, Diana and Neil Maune, Sally Kimball, Suzi Goldstein, Kay List, Karine Bar, Judith Zerfoss, Sharon Bush, Sunny Sessa and Prinz Max von Auhult , Nelson Lady, Anka Palitz and Rick Rose.

And Bernadette Peters proved beyond any doubt, that she can still sing too! I was at the Kravis Center recently for her sold out performance. With her 11-piece band, this songbird regaled us with her Broadway hits, as well as funny stories and jokes.

And since I was sitting in the ninth row center, I had a wonderful view of her — and she still looks like her adorable, sweet self… how amazing!

Of course, she was beautifully attired in a skin tone, Bob Mackie beaded gown that showed off all of her very best attributes. In attendance were: Lorre and Nancy Erllick, Rick Moeser , Mitch Brown, and Valerie Cooper, Ruth Fung , Harrison Morgan and Cameron Silver.

Recently there was a fashion show and luncheon at The Colony Hotel hosted by the fashion house Max Mara and The Daily Front Row. Our hosts for the event were Kathy Hilton and her daughter Nicky Hilton Rothschild. The lovely Lizzi Bickford arranged all the wonderful details…

There was a cocktail hour out in the East Garden followed by a sit-down lunch with 50 fashionable ladies and eight men. The watermelon salad, Murray’s organic chicken, and sorbet with seasonal fruit was more than most of us could handle in the heat of the day, but it was all delicious!

During desert, models paraded around the tables showing us the new collections, which were truly wearable and chic. After lunch we all descended on the Max Mara store on Worth Ave to see the collections up close, and some intense shopping ensued!

In attendance were Courtney Davis Schlessinger, Catherine O’Neil, Veronica Webb, Evelyn Liu Treacy, Lora Drasner, Anne Chaisson, Jared Seligman, Harrison Morgan, and J Logan Horne.

As an ASID Interior Designer for more than two decades, I have had the pleasure on many occasions of shopping the design building on 3^rd Avenue in NYC at Sam Edelman for their sumptuous leathers. But to my surprise I was recently invited to a pop-up shop for Sam Edelman that had shoes, sneakers, and ladies clothing!

The styles were chic and sophisticated, and very reasonably priced. In attendance were: Lizzi Bickford Meadow, Harrison Morgan, Jaimee Marano. Alexander Hyde, Grace and Tally Walker, and Cori Lee Seaberg.

Has anyone ever been in a submarine before? I think the closest I have ever come to one is the ride “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” at Disney World.

Well, now you can buy personal submersibles! Yes, in fact the other day at The Carriage House I chatted with Patrick Lahey, the co-founder of Triton Submarines. He builds personal sized subs in Sebastian Florida in different sizes that can fit up to 22 people.

How cool would it be to go to the very deepest parts of the oceans and search for giant squids?

The intimate event Conversations and Cocktails: Leaders in Innovation also included Nico Nagal with his Pave Motors electric motor bikes, and Sampriti Blattacharyya of Navier Boats that does underwater transportation.

What an amazing group of innovators!

In attendance were Jaimee Marano, Isaac Boots, Lizzi Bickford, and some very handsome young members of the Club who were eager to know the prices of the motorbikes and the submersibles! Personally, I have enough trouble navigating the traffic above ground these days, but touché to those who have the urge to submerge…

Yes indeed, I love this town!

Guy Clark is a top Palm Beach realtor and owner of his own interior design firm, where he specializes in designing luxurious, individualized residential interiors.