IN THE CROWD:An endless summer of fundraising events

The Newport Dunes Resort will be the setting for a Sept. 9 gathering of the Orange County Friends of St. Jude.

Organizers are calling the event “Endless Summer,” an annual beach-themed dinner and auction that will benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

The Saturday evening beach bash will feature the music of the Buzzcatz and an auction that will include an exclusive day at Neiman Marcus for 10, a getaway to Las Vegas on a private jet and much more.

Tickets are priced at $175 per person. Please call Tricia Alicante at (714) 663-7200 for more information.

Newport’s gal about town Sue Cannon shares that a special evening is planned Aug. 27 at The Balboa Bay Club and Resort. “A Caviar Affair” will be sponsored by Caviar Magazine, Ritz Carlton Club & Resort and Ulysse-Nardin on behalf of Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

A contingent of upscale merchants has gathered to assist sponsorship of the black-tie caviar evening, which will unfold on the tented outdoor terrace facing the bay front. To support CHOC and sample the Petrossian caviar, call Cannon at (949) 857-0022 for more information.

Dr. Michael Drake, Chancellor of UCI, will be honored tonight at the 15th annual Black Chamber of Orange County awards banquet. “Science, Medicine and Inventions” is the theme of the evening, which will unfold at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.

Each year, the Black Chamber honors community leaders and corporations who have made significant differences in the lives of Orange County citizens. In addition to Drake, honors also are going to Ronald Williams of AETNA Corp., Valna Wilson with the O.C. sheriff’s office, Abdi Ahmed of Netserve Systems, Ingrid Johnson, Darryl Mathews and Lillian Stokes.

Broadway and television celeb Joseph Williams is serving as master of ceremonies. Funds raised at the $150-per-person evening will support education programs sponsored by the Black Chamber. For more information on their work, call Bobby McDonald at (714) 547-2646.

Some very big stars of both the entertainment and sports worlds will converge Sept. 14 at UCI, as The Bren Center hosts Advanta World Team Tennis Smash Hits.

Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras and Anna Kournikova will be joined by Billie Jean King and Elton John to raise money for AIDS research.

Tickets are on sale now at the Bren Center box office, ranging from $45 to $110 for this 14th annual Advanta Tennis event.

Organizers hope to raise $500,000 to fight HIV and AIDS. For more information, call Doug Vogel at the OC AIDS Service Foundation, (949) 809-8763.

The Newport-Mesa art crowd joined forces with Laguna neighbors for a summer dinner, “Palette to Palate,” raising funds for the Laguna Art Museum.

The beautiful and bright Elyse Caraco Miller, museum trustee, joined forces with her handsome Newport real estate mogul husband Bruce Miller, chairing the party that raised in excess of $80,000 for the Laguna Art Museum.

Elyse was joined by a committee that included art devotees Patricia Houston, Carol Jones, Peter Blake, Chuck Fry, Jon Madison and Laura Rohl, creating a much-talked-about society dinner overseen by Chef James Boyce of the Studio at Montage Resort & Spa.

The evening was sponsored in part by Montage, as well as Turley Wine Cellars, Failla Wines, Tiffany & Co. and South Coast Plaza.

Guests dined on a fab-four course meal paired with premium wines donated by winemakers Ehren Jordan and Larry Turley.

Artists joined dinner patrons at each of 10 tables, creating a special work offered for purchase and benefiting the museum. Artists in attendance were Victor Hugo Zayas, M. Rhys Williams, Grace Songolo, Jeff Peters, Chris Gwaltney, Cheryl Ekstrom, Patrick S. Crabb, William Catling, Mary Anne Turley-Emett and Lita Albuquerque.

Local patrons spotted in the crowd included Marla Bird, Steve Jones, Carol Jones, Geoff Le Plastrier, Susan Laird, Liz Kluger, Doug Holte, and Richard and Lauralee Browne.

Also supporting the museum were Keith and Judy Swayne, Amy and Jeff Vieth, Greg Salmeri, Greg and Melissa Trimarche, Jerry and Sherri Worth Nourse, Don Carty and Museum President Dr. Igal Silber.