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What a night! After being in Africa, Cuba and the Orient in previous years, the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation’s Eighth Annual Diamond & Pearl Ball chose a Parisian “An Evening at Moulin Rouge” theme Saturday night for its 363 guests at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach. Add a bevy of Hollywood celebrities, including the ball’s honoree, Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress Fran Drescher, and CSI: Miami star Eva La Rue, who serves as Beckstrand’s national spokesperson, as well as some amazing one-of-a-kind live auction offerings, and it was night to remember!

Following a red carpet arrival and alfresco cocktail party and silent auction, the ballroom doors opened to a stunning Parisian scene, complete with a huge Moulin Rouge windmill center stage lit with red and white lights. The walls, draped in colorful floor-to-ceiling scenes from Montmartre with the Eiffel Tower in the distance, surrounded a truly beautiful collection of dinner tables draped in either red velvet, textured red metallic or red taffeta with black beading table coverings. The centerpieces, surrounded in red roses, were either a beautiful lamp with a red shade, a black feathered palm tree or a daring can-can leg covered in black fishnet stockings. Black-cushioned Chivari chairs draped in black beaded chiffon with ruffled skirts completed the setting.

Songs by French chanteuse Edith Piaf were heard and scenes from the French film classicGigi flashed on huge screens on either side of the windmill as guests found their seats, after which six can-can girls gave their all with the help of two muscled male dancers dancing to the signature French dance hall music.

La Rue and Beckstrand’s Executive Director Lil Spitzer welcoming everyone wearing gorgeous Oday Shakar gowns and dripping in jewelry from Presenting Sponsor Lugano Diamonds. La Rue touted Beckstrand’s work with improving and enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients and their families through providing financial assistance, patient advocacy, supportive counseling, and practical help with day-to-day living and basic needs. “To help you understand,” La Rue said, “Lil literally writes checks for $30,000 each month to cancer patients.”

Special thanks were given by returning ball chair Renetta Caya to her committee, to Idit and Moti Ferder, owners of Lugano Diamonds, for their support as Presenting Sponsor, Aston Martin Newport Beach as Vehicle Sponsor, Donati Family Vineyards as Wine Sponsor, and Fashion Island as Opportunity Prize Sponsor with its $2,500 shopping spree. Also thanked were Blue Ice American Vodka, Classic Party Rentals, G-Force Productions and Kimberly Dubois, Wildflowers Linens, Instant Jungle International, and UBS Printing Group for underwriting and printing the gala book.

Drescher, who is a cancer survivor and advocate, spoke about her two-year journey through eight doctors to get a diagnosis of uterine cancer and undergoing an immediate radical hysterectomy to treat the disease. “After my national tour book tour of Cancer Schmancer,” Drescher said, “I shifted my focus from searching for a cancer cure to improving women’s healthcare by focusing on prevention and early detection of cancer.”

Twenty-year-old Nicole Schulz’s cancer story left not a dry eye in the house. The varsity cheerleader and beauty queen (she won Miss Teen California) has been battling AML leukemia since 2005 and has been in the hospital for large stretches of time. She continues to receive weekly chemotherapy treatments and takes what she calls “bags of medications.” “I thank God for amazing people like those at Beckstrand Cancer Foundation who have helped me and my family when we needed it most,” she said.

Auctioneer Mark Schenfeld fired up the live auction, which featured some amazing items. Some highlights included a stay in New York at The Peninsula to view Oday Shakar’s 2012 Fall Collection, with a private consultation with the designer to design a gown of your choice along with the perfect shoes and handbag from Neiman Marcus. Michael Kahn bought it for his wife Tami for $11,000. Renetta’s husband Blaine Cayaspent $12,000 on a New York package with a visit to Jimmy Choo to meet the President and select a pair of shoes and handbag. Patricia McNamara won the Italian trip to Florence and Rome, with a private tour of the Holy City, for $30,000, while Dave and Holly Wilson opted for the CSI: Miami walk-on package with Eva La Rue for $26,000. The Behind-the-Scenes with Fran Drescher opportunity, which included a walk-on part on her Happily Divorced show and a dinner for four in her Malibu home, sold to Mary Ellen Moschetti for $40,000, and La Rue and husband Joe Cappuccio paid $70,000 for the Lugano Diamonds week’s stay in Tel Aviv at a 5-star hotel, with visits to historic sites and a special visit to the renowned Diamond Bourse to select a diamond that will be sculpted and polished and sent to GIA for certification and named in their honor. After that, it will be custom set just for them.

The generosity didn’t stop there. After an appeal by Beckstrand Board President George O’Connell, major donations were made by Mike & Jan Salta, Dave and Holly Wilson, George and Eden O’Connell, Keith and Marla Murray, Jeff and Holly Miller, and William and Elisabetta Graff. The bottom line? Net proceeds of $1,111,865 were realized – an amazing feat in this economy!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the celebs. Regina King of the acclaimed crime dramaSouthLAnd (a visit to the set with lunch with King sold in the live auction for $7,000), CSI: Miami cast members Adam Rodriguez, Jonathan Togo and Omar Benson Miller, Gilles Marini of Dancing with the Stars and Sex and the City fame (remember the shower scene?!), Sean Kanan and Don Diamont from The Young and the Restless, Jane Graves (Ladybug Jane and The Muppet Movie) and Lisa Vidal (The Event).

Thanks to Lugano Diamonds, ball favors were a sterling silver butterfly (the Beckstrand logo) pin for the ladies and a USB memory card imprinted with the nonprofit’s logo for the men.

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How could you feel anything but grateful there is a Ronald McDonald House to provide a “home away from home” for seriously ill children and their families? I was reminded of the nonprofit’s importance at its 22nd annual High Tea & Fashion Show on Friday at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, where San Juan Capistrano residents Fran and Fred Hill were honored for establishing the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia in 1974, and we heard testimonials from three families who have benefited from the House’s services.

Following an impressive silent auction in the club’s courtyard, the 420 guests gathered in the main ballroom, where event chair and OCRMH board member Debbie Snavely and Ronald McDonald welcomed everyone. Snavely said that the Orange County Ronald McDonald House has been a refuge for more than 20,000 families with critically ill children since it opened in 1989 and that there are now two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms inside of CHOC Children’s and CHOC Children’s at Mission Hospital to ensure that families can get something to eat and a place to rest.

Snavely recognized Gene Widdicombe, the High Tea & Fashion Show creator and the first female McDonald’s restaurant owner in the world, the other McDonald’s owners supporting the event, the event committee, the sponsors, and underwriters. Snavely, who is General Manager of the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa, was more than a little responsible for Orange County Marriott Hotels & Resorts’ title as Presenting Sponsor.

The Fashion Island runway show, which featured the latest fall trends from Bloomingdale’s, Ella Moss, Earnest Sewn, Vineyard Vines, Quiksilver Waterman Collection, and Neiman Marcus, drew raves, especially the male models, who elicited yells and whistles from the appreciative audience. Ronald McDonald even sashayed down the catwalk at the show’s finale.

Following a scrumptious tea with all the trimmings, including those can’t-do-without freshly baked scones with Devonshire cream and preserves, OCRMH’s Executive Director Deborah Levy stepped forward to talk about Fran and Fred Hill’s journey in founding Ronald McDonald House. Levy said when the Hills were constantly by the bedside of their three-year-old daughter Kim, who was battling leukemia and not expected to live, they were inspired with her amazing recovery to help other families in the same situation. “Knowing that a place to sleep close by and a home-cooked meal could help families struggling with very ill children, in 1974, the Hills worked to bring a doctor, the Philadelphia Eagles football team, McDonald’s, and an entire community to open the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia,” Levy said. “RMH became a place of strength so families could give 100% of themselves to their child, and, today, thanks to Fred and Fran Hill’s dream, there are 309 Ronald McDonald Houses in 31 countries.” The humble couple was presented the beautiful crystal Bill Moore Award from OCRMH, in memory of their daughter, who passed away this year.

Three other families spoke about their positive experience with the OCRMH. Nelson Montero, Sr. and his wife Diana and their three daughters – Desiree, Destiny and Danielle - have spent seven years in and out of OCRMH to be by Nelson, Jr.’s side. Born with only 25% of his brain, a rare form of spina bifida, and, two years later, a rare form of leukemia, “RMH became our ‘home’ during Nelson’s frequent chemotherapy treatments,” Nelson, Sr. said. “Without you, I don’t know how we would have made it.”

Taurus Newborn talked about his six-year-old daughter Tahleya, who was born 12 weeks early with her twin sister Dakayla, who did not make it. “Thanks to the Orange County Ronald McDonald House,” Taurus said, “we were able to be at Tahleya’s side day and night as she grew bigger and stronger in the hospital.”

The Stephen and Dawn Brown family spent 78 days at OCRMH after Natalie was born with a brain tumor. “Thank you, Fran and Fred,” Stephen said, “Our family is forever grateful to you.” When he announced that 12-year-old Natalie is cancer free, there was instant applause.

The popular opportunity prize drawing featured a $1,000 Fashion Island shopping spree, a Hawaiian getaway to the JW Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina Resort & Spa and an electronics package featuring an iPod and iPad with keyboard, dock and case.

OCRMH CEO Rob Parker prompted a slew of financial commitments when he spoke about a new program where people can fund a family for different periods of time at OCRMH. The net proceeds were later estimated at $154,000. Guests departed with a lovely Voluspa candle, courtesy of The Colony Companies in Laguna Beach and Newport Beach.