A cavalcade of town cars lined Van Ness. Men in black tie and women in couture and high-wattage jewelry strolled down a red carpet in front of Davies Symphony Hall. A paparazzo and a newspaper reporter staked themselves out in front of the entrance to a 48-foot-high tent. It was, by all appearances, opening night at the symphony.

Only it was January, not September, and the energy inside the tent had a refreshingly subdued, intimate feel. San Francisco was celebrating with a heartfelt tribute to a man who hits all the right notes, both as conductor and friend. A phalanx of the city's leaders in the social, artistic, and political worlds showed up to fete San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas at a gala blowout.

The guest of honor remarked that he wished to go into his 60s having as much as he did in the sixties. And with that in mind, event designer Stanlee Gatti had swathed the tent in a turquoise fabric with large, eye-popping orange polka dots and hung it with giant floral globes that lent a wonderfully loopy ambience. Adding to the camp, theatrical edge of the dinner was MTT's introduction: stage curtains pulled back to reveal a line of showgirls with colorful plumes of feathers, who one by one peeled away to the side until MTT remained, striking a pose. The crowd was in a stir.

At the dinner, the conductor personally visited each table, saying hello to many of the 440 guests in attendance. They ranged from director Philip Kaufman and Nancy Pelosi to friends Ann Getty, Jo Schuman Silver, and Tosca owner Jeannette Etheredge to Carl and Yurie Pascarella, gala chair Laura King Pfaff, patrons Barbara Brookins Schneider and Pierre and Christine Lamond, and, of course, MTT's longtime partner, Joshua Robison. Major GOPnik Georgette Mosbacher, in town after a trip to China, dropped in as a guest of Tatiana Sorokko. (The pair then shared birthday cake at Guy and Maria Muzio's home.) Also visiting each table was the chair of this year's Black and White Ball, Patricia Sprincin, hoping to generate buzz for the biannual event. Dinner then segued into a performance featuring Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Broadway sensation Audra McDonald, and Frederica von Stade.

That MTT's birthday celebration fell on the same date as the opening night of the Art Expo, which benefits the San Francisco Art Institute, siphoned off attendance from the latter event. The expo had long been the unofficial first party of the year—a welcome back to those who checked out of the scene, if not the town, over the holidays. Still, the event has its loyalists: regulars Danielle Steel and Norman and Norah Stone were there, alongside a younger set that included Laura Arrillaga and Lee Gregory (the party's cochairs) and art historian and dealer Steven Platzman, of Addison Associates. Despite constant chatter about the SFAI's finances, SFAI board member Chuck Collins says that things are looking up for this year, especially now that newish SFAI president Chris Bratton is at the helm.

Meanwhile, a troupe of young social San

Franciscans and filmmakers (this year, nine made it into the Sundance Film Festival, compared with zero last year) made the trek to Park City. PR gal about town Kimberly Bakker, Shannon Bavaro, and a recently separated Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom dropped in and out of a party scene that included Paris Hilton, Jared Leto, "it" actress Taryn Manning, and Alan Cumming. During the day, Benjamin Bratt was spotted strolling down Main Street, where he was accosted by one fan who wanted a photo op with him and another who begged the actor to say hello to a relative on her cell phone. Well, hello, big Ben!