This year's (and my first...) Ungala Gala can be summed up in two words: exotic...and wet. The drizzle started early, and by the time of my party's fashionable arrival at the Moroccan themed event, a steady mist enveloped the central courtyard of the Ringling Museum. Tents had been hastily erected earlier in the day to cover the buffet tables, dance floor and drink stations, but you had to go into the drizzle to get to the tents.

Once the rain started in earnest around 9:30PM, workers were dispatched to regularly squeegee the treacherous dance floor. One of the last scenes I witnessed before making my exit was a bejeweled and ...ahem...very augmented woman taking a dive on her formally attired backside onto the slick floor, while her clueless and not-too-gallant companion continued the white man's overbite to a popular Donna Summer number from the late 1970's. Ah, good times. You can catch a photo recap of the event here.

This weekend's Ringling Museum black-tie, invitation-only fundraiser for the young and hip, The Ungala Gala, marks the official start of Sarasota's annual philanthropic party season (the annual flock of the snowbirds won't be far behind...). To quote the Ringling:

Each year, more than 1,200 attendees are offered an unparalleled opportunity to unwind in an intriguing atmosphere that is unfettered by the conventions of the traditional black-tie affair.

I was actually graced with an actual, real invitation this year, so the tux is dry-cleaned and the fingers are crossed that the weather will hold (the forecast calls for rain tomorrow night).

If you've driven down Tamiami Trail in Osprey lately, I'm sure you've noticed the new dirt mounds which have sprung up in front of Toll Brothers high-end development, The Oaks Club, the grande dame of Sarasota country clubs. With new competition from the Founders Club, The Concession and the Ritz-Carlton Members Club, The Oaks, in April, began a $5.5 million Arthur Hills-architected renovation of its Eagle Course. The renovated course will feature new drainage work, new irrigation, reshaping and new grass. It will be one of the first courses featuring wall-to-wall Paspalum Supreme grass which is more salt-tolerable and cold tolerable. Completion of the renovation is scheduled for sometime in late 2006.

On the real estate front, there are currently 40 residences on the market in The Oaks with a high listing of $12 million and a low of $549,500.

The Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club--Opening December 2005. Located on 315 acres of lush, tropical landscape, this imminently playable course is being magnificently sculpted to reflect the natural beauty of its environment - with abundant elevation changes and picturesque lakes throughout. Beautiful wetlands, colorful flowering shrubs, informal native grass areas, marshes with aquatic plants, and mature Oak trees enhance the natural setting, which can be easily enjoyed on foot.

Enhanced by The Ritz-Carlton Caddie Concierge Program, "This will be a terrific walking course," says Fazio, "with very reasonable connections between the greens and tees." With six sets of tees, from championship lengths of 7,549 yards to forward tees of 5,237 yards, golfers of all skill levels can play the course at a length that will challenge them. Says Fazio, "The strong low handicap player will want to attack the direct lines of play. But for the higher handicapper, we're creating options and varieties around strong hazards."