Social Notes: Target's Red Logo Goes Green

Ghosts and ghouls and goblins and Anne Coulter, oh my!

The numbers are in: Bette Midler's annual Hulaween Ball at the Waldorf Astoria on Wednesday raised more than $2 million for the New York Restoration Project.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened the evening, wearing the evening's least-imaginative costume: What he called one of his many gray suites. When he bestowed a floral necklace on the Divine Ms. M., she smirked: "I got lei'd by the mayor!"

The event raised money and awareness for the recently launched MillionTreesNYC, a partnership among Midler's New York Restoration Project, Bloomberg, and the City of New York to plant and care for one million trees in the next 10 years throughout New York's five boroughs.

"It's an important part of PlaNYC, our long-term strategy to put New York City on solid ground economically and environmentally," says Bloomberg.

He commended Target, a sponsor of Hulaween, for adopting an abandoned lot in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn; the New York Restoration Project turned it into a public garden.

"I hope what they're doing will be infectious and corporations will move to organize more of our gardens," Bloomberg added.

Guests paraded in costumes ranging from one group's tribal garb to a man dressed as a witch wearing an "Ann Coulter" name-tag and tearing out pages of her latest book.

Guests included Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner; Yankee pitcher Ron Villone; artist Hunt Slonem; Lancome model Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann; and cooking stars Sandra Lee and Bethenny Frankel.

Designer Michael Kors, the costume judge, went as Elton John, wearing a white suite and big sparkling glasses. A couple friends walked right by without recognizing him.

Martha Stewart (above) went as a donkey in wearing a gray jogging suit and soft cape-like headpiece. When asked about the significance of her costume, Stewart replied, "I borrowed it from my dog Paw Paw."

Midler worked the room during dinner, helping the auctioneer—comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm regular Susie Essman—to encourage guests to ante up.

At one point, Midler jostled her friend Wenner, who was not in costume, ordering him to sell one of his planes to buy up her trees. He relented by pledging $25,000 to the restoration project.

Sheryl Crow closed the evening with a miniconcert—ending in a duet with Midler of Soak Up the Sun.

The auction continues online through CharityBuzz.com until November 8.

by Andrea Chalupa