Dinner

It was arguably the most prestigious social event of the Southern California business community. On Feb. 17, some 450 executives from all over Southern California converged upon the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Laguna Niguel, for the 16th Forum for Corporate Directors awards dinner. The high-powered function was hosted by Michael A. Mussallem , chairman and chief executive of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation. Edwards was also one of the overall event sponsors, joined by the Walt Disney Co. assisting in underwriting the evening.

The winners of the 102nd annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade and Ring of Lights will be honored Friday at a public awards dinner and auction at the Balboa Bay Club. The event, hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Commodores Club, will raise funds for next year’s parade, according to a press release. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.christmasboatparade.com or call the chamber at (949) 729.4400.

Camp Pendleton Marines, who will soon be deployed to Afghanistan, are to be honored at a formal mess night at the Balboa Bay Club Thursday night, an event organizer said. The Newport Beach 1/1 Marine Foundation, which raises money for and reaches out to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines and the Marine Corps unit's families will host the formal mess night and fundraiser, said Homer Bludau, a former Newport Beach city manager who is the foundation's president. The city adopted the "1/1" as a military unit in 2003.

More than 250 guests in black tie and glittering evening gowns came together at The Balboa Bay Club & Resort for a midnight champagne toast to ring in 2011. Hotelier Henry Schielein and his wife, Carol , welcomed the crowd to what arguably is one of the last grand and formal New Year's Eve dinner dances on the Orange Coast. Arriving between 8 and 9 p.m., guests sampled hors d'oeuvres, passed on gleaming silver trays by white-gloved dining room staff. Cocktail glasses clicked with toasts of good health and good fortune ahead in 2011.

Freebie of the Week: The O.C. Bargainista will be using her free $30 Benihana birthday gift certificate Friday after submitting this column, and urges you to go to benihana.com and sign up for your own birthday gift. The certificate will arrive in your birthday month, is good for $30 worth of regular menu items, and is a lot better than the usual free milkshake offerings (it's also a lot less painless, if you're lactose intolerant like the Bargainista!). The closest Benihana is at 4250 Birch St., Newport Beach.

COSTA MESA — More than 100 Camp Pendleton Marines who would otherwise eat their Christmas dinners in the mess hall will enjoy home-cooked meals, thanks to scores of Costa Mesa residents who have offered them seats at their dinner tables. The idea behind the holiday offering belongs to local businesswoman Dottie Garrett, owner of Garrett Furniture on Harbor Boulevard. She had reunited briefly with her nephew, a soldier stationed in Hawaii, during a stopover he made recently at Los Angeles International Airport.

TILL DEC. 2 Chanukah Party On Sale Tickets are available for the Dec. 3 Chanukah Party at Temple Bat Yahm, 1011 Camelback St., Newport Beach, featuring Dale Schatz and his All-Star Band. Dinner, latkes, games for children and the World Series of Poker will be part of the festive event. For more information, call (949) 644-1999 or visit http://www.tby.org. TILL DEC. 15 Fleming's Steak And Lobster Three-course dinner for two with filet mignon and lobster tail will be served at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar at Fashion Island.

Once again Christmas came early this year as the super dedicated and giving folks who support the Pacific Chorale gathered for an early fall dinner at Big Canyon Country Club, Newport Beach, to raise funds needed to produce their annual holiday gala, "A Dickens Feast. " To set the stage for the fundraiser, Newport's dynamic Jan Landstrom was on the phone to Roger's Gardens in mid-September, requesting a fully-lighted and decorated holiday tree for the country club's dining room.

Today's birthday: Broaden your personal mission in life this year. To achieve this, deepen your spiritual connections. First develop a contemplative practice that relaxes your mind. Then acknowledge insights that come to you in that peaceful state. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) —Today is a 7 — While sitting in a meeting, your mind's ponders the dinner menu. Ask someone to pick up key ingredients on the way home, and get back to the issue at hand.

"Twenty years of success committed to the caring and feeding of people is a moment of greatness long to be treasured," commented Karen McGlinn , executive director of Share Our Selves. The 20th anniversary Celebrity Chef Dinner unfolded Oct. 9 at the Hilton Hotel, Costa Mesa, attracting a sold-out crowd coming to experience one of the most important dinner events on the Orange Coast. For more than two decades the SOS Celebrity Chef Dinner has become a fall tradition that embodies the best spirit of philanthropy in Orange County.