The Scene: LA Food & Wine, Tony Bennett’s Arts Benefit, Seachange Benefit and HFPA Luncheon

THE HFPA’s ANNUAL INSTALLATION LUNCHEON
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarded more than $1.6 million in financial grants at its annual star-studded luncheon on August 13. Eva Longoria served as celebrity emcee of the Beverly Hilton-held event, which was attended by Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Diane Kruger, David O. Russell, Vince Vaughn, Liam Hemsworth, Vin Diesel, Amber Heard, Julie Delpy, Blaire Underwood, Olivia Wilde, Jason Bateman and HFPA Presient Theo Kingma. In lieu of gift bags, the HFPA made a contribution on behalf of their guests to Jeff Bridges’ No Kid Hungry charity.

OCEANA HOSTS 6TH ANNUAL SEACHANGE BENEFIT
Celebrity environmental activists came together to cele-brate the sea on August 18 at the 6th Annual SeaChange summer soiree. Ted Danson and wife Mary Steenburgen, Anne Heche, James Tupper, Dennis Haysbert, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Mary Murphy, Angela Kinsey and Anna Torv were among the celebrity guests at a private Laguna Beach venue Villa Di Sogni. Attendees were treated to a cocktail hour courtesy of Patron, a sit-down dinner, a live auction and a performance by Grammy winner Sheryl Crow. Proceeds from the evening benefit Oceana, the world’s largest international organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans.

3RD ANNUAL LOS ANGELES FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL
Lovers of haute cuisine were out in abundance to celebrate the third annual Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival August 22-25. The weekend celebration kicked off on the 22nd with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis’ “Festa Italiana” evening. “Ace of Cakes” star Duff Goldman surprised the Italian beauty with a custom-made cake in celebration of her birthday, before she was serenaded by Josh Guerrero of the Los Angeles Opera. DJ ?uestlove then entertained the haute crowd at the Lexus and Delta Airlines-sponsored event. Attendees included Los Angeles Food & Wine CEO & Co-Founder David Bernahl, Chefs Michael Chiarello, Scott Conant, Georgia Hardstark, Thomas Keller and Chris Crary as well as Erin Andrews, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Ali Larter, Rachelle Lefevre, Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Jarret Stoll.

TONY BENNETT’S EXPLORING THE ARTS BENEFIT and BIRTHDAY PARTY
Tony Bennett simultaneously turned 87 on August 3rd and held
a fundraising party for his Exploring the Arts charity, an organization dedicated to funding arts in public schools. Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and wife Nicole hosted a private, elegant affair at their Beverly Hills home, which was attended by Bennett’s celebrity friends. Said pals included John Travolta, Sidney Poitier, Vince Vaughn, Will Arnett, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Michael Eisner, Brian Grazer, Rick Fox and Eliza Dushku. The iconic singer and Queen Latifah surprised the 100-person VIP crowd by dueting on “Who Can I Turn To?” before John Travolta warbled an impromptu tribute version of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” in the birthday boy’s honor. The event raised over $150K for Bennett’s charity.