(Click on the Michael Price photo for more)

Gala Chairwoman Petra Levin (above, left) went back to the relaxed society-function concept that she tried out last year for the 2011 Caron Renaissance gala and, once again, it worked.

A record 400-plus supporters of the drug and alcohol rehab clinics, including one in Boca, gathered at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to mingle and munch on fancy buffet food poolside. Then, everyone headed into the grand ballroom to hear Gloria Gaynor (above, with Levin and socialite Nicole Munder) intone some of her 1970s anthems, including  I Will Survive.

– Click here for the Michael Price photos of the event

In tribute to Gaynor, Levin had the ballroom decorated to look like the old Studio 54, the legendary New York City disco.

“I figured it’d be different from the same old,” said Levin, a former Miss Germany.

It was different, and in the end, the non-profit was $800,000 richer.

(Click here for all the Michael Price photos of the event)

More on this story:

– Click here for coverage of the 2009 Caron Renaissance gala

– Click here for coverage of the 2010 Caron Renaissance gala

– Click here for coverage of this year’s Palm Beach Zoo Gala

– Click here for coverage of this year’s Everglades Foundation Gala

The star of The Apprentice would probably fire hip-hop sensation Rihanna if he could, and hire songbird Jennifer Hudson!

Donald Trump tells Page2Live he felt insulted when Rihanna canceled her performance hours before she was to appear at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Palm Beach. Rihanna reportedly was to be paid $500,000 to sing at a fund-raiser for the Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute but was replaced by Hudson at the last minute.

“I thought that (Rihanna bailing) was insulting to everyone,” the maybe presidential candidate said. “But for Rihanna to go to the (NBA) All-Star game and perform after she told us she was sick, that is just a lack of respect.

“But, nothing was missed. Jennifer’s a beautiful girl. She came on her day off even though she performs almost every night. She is an unbelievable talent, and her voice is better.”

Hudson, the Oscar winning actress of Dreamgirls, and Trump must have hit it off. She dined with the billionaire, and about 400 members, Sunday night at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach and even sang a set with the house band.

More on this story:

– Cerabino: Trump may need to learn to sing for ‘R-e-s-p-e-c-t’ during presidential bid

O'Reilly addresses fans Friday night at Mar-a-Lago (Click on the Mike Price photo for more on the event)

Fox News superstar Bill O’Reilly, the non-nonsense host of the top-rated The O’Reilly Factor, preached to the converted Friday night at Palm Beach’s Mar-a-Lago.

Click here for all the photos

In his “State of the Union” talk, the conservative host blasted liberal rival MSNBC, calling it “little” because “eight people watch it.”

Comparing the White House to the Chicago mob, O’Reilly said he hopes for low approval ratings for Pres. Barack Obama because, when that happens, The Factor’s ratings go up.

And he predicted that Republican Mitt Romney would take on Obama in the 2012 presidential elections, with Sarah Palin’s third party candidate siphoning votes from Obama.

But O’Reilly, 60, didn’t really come to talk politics. He came to help shine the limelight on a newbie on Palm Beach’s charity landscape: the It Happened to Alexa Foundation. And it worked. About 400 people paid up to $600 for a photo with O’Reilly, his speech and a steak dinner.

For more, look below or click (Read more…)

Man, things must be slow these days in kiwi land!

The national lottery of New Zealand is putting out a new game called Trump Up Your Life.

Trump, as in The Apprentice’s Donald Trump!

The New Zealand winner, announced later this month, will get $100,000 plus a trip to NYC with an entourage of three.

According to several of New Zealand’s newspapers, the lottery will also throw in top-flight luggage, a six-night stay at the soon-to-be-openTrump SoHo, $10,000 per person for petty cash, a round of golf at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, a chauffeur-driven limo on-call and a meet-and-greet with the owner of Palm Beach’s Mar-a-Lago.

Trump is reported to have gotten a few bucks for his participation but it’s unclear how much!

Melania Trump and Petra Levin, co-chairs of the Heart Ball (Michael Price/Special to Page2Live) Click on the photo for more

The Heart Ball, which benefits the American Heart Association, is one of the biggest charity galas of the Palm Beach season. More than 500 guests attended the shindig at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday night. Donald Trump arrived with wife Melania, who was co-chair with socialite Petra Levin. It was one of the first times this season that the Trumps were together. This, a week after stories started to spring up that there’s trouble in their marital paradise. Still, the ball was tremendously successful, raising a whopping $1.5 million in one night. Check out the Michael Price’s gallery by clicking on the photo, or here.