THE CROWD:

Toby’s House held its annual fundraiser earlier this season, taking on a tropical theme and raising $180,000 to support the program that provides shelter, food and clothing to adult pregnant women in crisis.

Some 250 local guests descended on Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa to share dinner and dancing to the music of the band Sounds of Paradise.

Major auction items helped raise the tally. In the crowd were Wayne and Cathy Heck, Gary and Laurie King, Marc and Tina Ley, Grey and Hanna Skjonsby, Otis and Patricia Cranford and major event sponsors Arthur and Gaye Birtcher.

Also supporting Toby’s House were Patricia and James Edwards, Joe and Ali Woodard and Bryan and Jeanne Stirrat. Kathleen Eaton, president of Toby’s House, was on hand to praise the donors for their generous support.

The guilds in support of Children’s Hospital of Orange County are joining forces to present “The First Look for Charity” at the upcoming Orange County Auto Show.

The local automobile dealers association is joining the CHOC Guilds to invite car enthusiasts all over O.C. to attend a sneak peek at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The evening is expected to attract more than 1,000 guests to preview more than 500 car models on display and to enjoy fine food and spirits from local restaurants supporting Children’s Hospital.

Locals involved in this massive effort include Pat Kollenda, John Sackrison, Suki Carter, Lisa Gazzaniga, Sally Williams, Kathy Butler, Melissa Martin and Bonnie Cummings. This is the second annual car show preview event in support of CHOC. Tickets are $100 each, for more information call Erin Peacock at (949) 464-1096.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is behind an upcoming event Sept. 6 at the Newport Dunes. Organizers are calling the party “Endless Summer Carnival in Rio.”

The evening on the dunes is being underwritten by the fashion house, Dior, and it has donated a number of exclusive items to be sold at auction. Saks Fifth Avenue has joined the cause, as well, with a special live auction item it is calling “Shoe of the Month.”

The winner of this item will receive a new pair of shoes each month for a year. Gretchen Pace, Saks executive, has been a staunch supporter of St. Jude, hosting a variety of events in-store and donating the proceeds to Children’s Hospital. For last minute reservations and more information about the party, call Marie Ocana–Schechter, co-chairwoman of the Orange County Friends of St. Jude at maryo_308@hotmail.com.

Newport’s much loved Linda White Peters, representing the Discovery Science Center, announces the upcoming gala “Celebrating Science — A Decade of Discovery.”

“It will be a blast,” Peters said. “We are inviting back all of the original board members to be recognized, and we are paying special honor to Donald and Parker Kennedy and First American Corporation.”

The Kennedys will receive the Arnold O. Beckman Award. The gala is set for Sept. 27 and will be co-chaired by Kristin Crellin and Julie McDorman. For more information on the event please contact White Peters at the Discovery Science Center at (714) 913-5021.

New Directions for Women held its annual open house this week in Costa Mesa, welcoming a large crowd of dedicated citizens committed to addiction recovery treatment for women and women with children at the local residential center on Willo Lane.

The event was attended by Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who joined Becky Flood, Maurice Wilson and other caring staff members at the facility, giving visitors a tour as well as an education on the work being done.

The Diamond and Pearl Ball hosted by the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation returns Oct. 11 at The Balboa Bay Club & Resort, Newport Beach.

This year’s theme is “An Evening In Africa.” Proceeds from the gala dinner, dance and auction will benefit pediatric cancer programs sponsored by the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation. Local corporate sponsors of the party include Neiman Marcus and Van Cleef and Arpels.

For more information on either the event or the Beckstrand Foundation, call Jennifer Jessee at (714) 573-0899 ext. 36.

Hold on to your fabric bolts — the Newport Beach Interior Designers Institute graduated its 2008 class recently. A summer reception at the Newport Beach Marriott Resort welcomed 500 guests, including Marianne Kreter, past president of the Orange County Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.

Kreter was the guest speaker at the event, a former chairwoman of the Philharmonic House of Design and an active member of the design community. Congratulations, graduates!

Kitty Canada, co-proprietor of the fabulous local design shop in Newport Beach known as Cannery Exchange, said, “We cater to many fine interior decorators ... and a few inferior decorators … but we love them all.”

Canada refers to herself with great humor, not as a decorator, but rather as a “drekorator.” Check out the Cannery Exchange in Newport Beach run by Canada and partner Arlene Spielman. It is a treasure trove of eclectic design, sure to be a favorite haunt of the new graduates of the Interior Designers Institute.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.