San Francisco’s glamorous Opera Ball 2015 won’t take place at venerable City Hall as it has the past few years. Instead, a tented Opera Ball Pavilion will be used to kick off David Gockley’s final season as San Francisco Opera’s General Director. Opera Ball 2015: Moonlight & Music, a gala benefit, takes place on Friday, Sept. 11 and celebrates San Francisco Opera’s 93rd season and opening-night performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

Nothing says spring better than an April evening at Meadowood Napa Valley, where a stylish al fresco Spring Gathering took place on April 16, featuring fashion designer Karen Caldwell’s newest creations, the latest cocktails by Scott Beattie, delicious bites by Estate Chef Alejandro Ayala and Kurt Inge Eklund photography.

Global philanthropist and humanitarian Bita Daryabari, as known for her haute fashions as she is her divorce to Google employee No. 11 Omid Kordestani and over-the-top wedding in Cabo to Dr. Reza Malek, commands the spotlight today for a much more meaningful reason: the official grand opening of the Daryabari Iranian Community Center in San Jose

SF International Film Festival Executive Director Noah Cowan dishes on the upcoming 58th Festival, taking place April 23-May 7, 2015.

Luxury brands know to call Allison Speer when they need to get their name in front of the “right” people in San Francisco. She’s the PR maven whose firm has introduced luxury brands, products and boutiques to high-end consumers in Northern California for well over a decade. Well, we’ve called upon Speer for a different reason and that’s to share with us her fave haunts — the places she goes when she’s not brilliantly organizing a haute event for a client such as Dior, Valentino or Christian Louboutin.

Nearly two weeks have passed since the last official word on the condition of music legend Joni Mitchell, who was hospitalized March 31 and is scheduled to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from SFJAZZ on May 8. An April 3 post on the icon’s website states that she “remains under observation in the hospital.” In a classic example of the show must go on, SFJAZZ on April 13 announced a star-studded lineup for its tribute to her next month.

San Francisco Bay Area fashionistas will be thrilled to know that this spring, Saks Fifth Avenue San Francisco launches four new ready-to-wear brands specifically tailored to the discerning San Francisco fashion market. Joining the current collections at the Saks San Francisco store, the four new brands include Givenchy Women’s, Alexander Wang, GIAMBA and Agnona.

Comedian T.J. Miller, star of HBO’s Silicon Valley, was a conspicuous no-show at the San Francisco screening of Silicon Valley Season 2 on April 8, but that didn’t put a damper on the evening, which drew tech heavyweights such as Jeremy Stoppelman—accompanied by Kelcey Morton—Mark and Ali Pincus, Craig Newmark and Barry Schuler to The Village on Market Street

Haute Living has rounded up 10 of the best ways for you to spend your money on dining and drinking in the SF Bay Area and beyond in the coming weeks.