Event details: Directions, ticket info

The Red Shoe,  a local charity founded by Chiara Robinson and Jessica Rojas is hosting their first annual ‘Bridal Soiree’ this Saturday in Palm Beach Gardens.

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Maybe the PETA folks think any publicity is good publicity but taking on the quick-witted Blake Shelton in a war of words on Twitter isn’t the kind of publicity they want.

Things started off nicely enough: “Hello @peta2…. Allow me to introduce myself… My name is Blake Shelton. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!!!

They certainly established a relationship, but not a beautiful one. In the dozens of tweets, PETA extremist position has made them look foolish, and Shelton looks foolish too — but doesn’t care. In fact, he tweeted: Y’all know of any other tree huggin, bunny lovin groups I can p— off?

Then when PETA allegedly banned Shelton he tweeted: As it turns out I’m really all they have.. Ha! What a bunch of dips—s!

Here are a few of the exchanges:

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And, here we are. We now have our top four dancers. Jeanine, Kayla, Brandon or Evan will battle it out next week for the title of America’s favorite dancer. Here’s what we’ve learned about next week’s two-part finale from a Fox press release:

Final four dancers going to the finale.

“Two-hour live finale will feature performances by this season’s Top 20 dancers, Hip Hop dance team The Rage Boyz Crew and Talia Fowler, winner of Season Two of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. The celebration will also showcase encore performances of the Judges’ favorite routines.”

(More on last night’s show after the jump)
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Three couples who all met at The Hut in West Palm Beach in the 50s are still married.

Maybe the fountain drinks at The Hut were spiked with Love Potion #9, or maybe it was just coincidence, but something about that gathering spot must have worked its magic to keep the knot securely tied for couples who met there.

So it was a fun reunion the other day when three couples who first laid eyes on each other back in the ’50s at The Hut gathered to reminisce about the iconic West Palm Beach drive-in and the role it played in their romances.

Joining them: the Hut’s biggest fan, Jimmy Williams, a graduate of the former Palm Beach High School, whose hand-painted mural of the old-time Hut covers one entire wall of an upstairs bedroom.

Lou and Pearl Eassa, who were celebrating their 47th anniversary that very day, told about the evening Lou pulled his car in beside hers, then ended up talking to Pearl’s girlfriend so much that his future sweetie became a bit jealous.

“I had my nose out of joint,” Pearl said, but when Lou called the next day, she eventually agreed to accompany him on a picnic. Pearl was 19, Lou was 21, and since she worked at the hospital and found out he’d been treated there, she pulled his file to check up on him.

The Hut, an iconic West Palm Beach diner, as it appeared in a Saturday Evening Post photo from June 1946

Gale Anderson met her husband, Charlie, at The Hut in the summer of 1958, when she was working at the five-and-dime after her freshman year of college. When she and a friend walked up, Charlie remembers warning his friends, “Guys, I’ve got dibs on the one in red shorts.”

He lied and told her he was a football player, but while walking her home, he realized he wanted to tell only the truth to this special girl. He asked for a date the next night, and “spent the whole time unraveling everything I’d said before.”
On the third date, he proposed.

“We dated for two years by Greyhound and letter,” Charlie said. “We wrote every day — but I bet I haven’t written 15 letters since.”
The couple retired to Tennessee a few years back, so their visit served as an excuse to reunite the friends.
Jimmy arranged it all, since he’s stayed connected to everyone.

“Jimmy is the hub of a wheel,” Gale said. “He stays in touch and is like our conduit.”

Judie Affron and Chuck Stoddard, longtime Haverhill residents and the third couple, met in October of 1960.

“I had pulled up in my white DeSoto and he had a baby blue Lincoln,” remembered Judie, a ’59 graduate of Palm Beach High.

“She thought I was crazy because I ordered a beer and a glass of milk,” said Chuck, who had an ulcer at 23.

Judie said he asked if she’d like to go to the country or the city.

“I said I liked the country and we ended up at the drive-in!”

Don’t ask her what movie was playing; she doesn’t remember — and neither does Chuck.

“Who watched the movie?” she giggled.

The frisky couple has now been together 48 years.

And if that’s not proof that Love Potion #9 was being distributed at The Hut, what is?

Exciting news, Chick-fil-A fans: the opening of the poultry restaurant’s newest location is here!

The company opened its stand-alone location at 6060 Okeechobee Blvd. at 6 a.m. today (June 18).

Knowing that the first 100 people in line when the store opens receive a one-year supply of gift certificates to Chick-fil-A (something that the company has done at every store opening since 2003), fans of the fast-food sandwich eatery began lining up days in advance.

Customer Baric Dillard, age 3, came outside to hug the Chick-fil-A cow because he thought the cow looked sad standing on the sidewalk and waving to passing cars.

Indeed, according to franchise owner/manager Rob Morris, the first line camper arrived from Alabama on Tuesday at 2 p.m. By 6 a.m. Wednesday, there were more than 100 people waiting in line for the Thursday opening, and the company had to hold a raffle for those who would be the first 100.

Even after that raffle, another 34 people continued to stand in line just for fun, Morris said. And fun they had: those waiting in line were able to access the bathrooms in the store whenever they needed to, were treated to free food and ice cream parties, and even got to head into the store so employees could practice their serving skills.

“There were 5 or 6 girls from the cheerleading squad from UCF standing in line,” Morris said. “They kept doing stunts in the parking lot.”

Sad you missed out on the excitement? There are still prizes to be had at Chick-fil-A. Head to the new location as soon as you can to snap up free travel mugs (they are close to running out) or miniature Chick-fil-A cows. Later today, the store will be giving away coupons for a free breakfast. And Mayor Lois Frankel will be stopping by the store at 10 a.m. for the “ceremonial first bite.”

Wellington residents Bob and Ginny Lovern planned their morning errands around a trip to the new Chick-fil-A store. Sitting at a booth and eating their breakfasts, the pair said they eat at the location in the Mall at Wellington Green at least a couple times a week.

“I really like their ice cream,” Bob Lovern told me.

Will you be checking out the new location? Let me know what you think!

New Chick-fil-A store on Okeechobee near the Turnpike.

Celebs, look out! Kathy Griffin is bringing her D-List humor back to South Florida.

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon for Griffin’s Aug. 12 appearance at 8 p.m. at the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Griffin’s reality series, “My Life On The D List,” is returning for another season on Bravo. The stand-up comic is also known for her guest appearances on TV shows and her role on the series “Suddenly Susan.”

Tickets cost $47-$77. All seats are reserved and available at the Hard Rock Live Box Office, open Monday – Saturday from noon to 7p.m. and on Sunday – only open on event days at noon. Tickets also are available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at ticketmaster.com.

The Hard Rock is at State Road 7 (U.S. 441) in Hollywood. More info: (954) 327-ROCK, 1 800-937-0010 or seminolehardrockhollywood.com.

For more information click our event listing.

Shirley Jones does wholesome as well as anybody in the business (with the possible exception of Doris Day).

She played the loving mom Shirley Partridge in the 1970-74 musical sitcom The Partridge Family and the lovable girl next door in such movie musicals as Oklahoma! and Carousel.

But there’s another side to her career: an actress of strong dramatic mettle willing to take risky roles. She got glowing reviews as a boozer in a 1956 Playhouse 90 drama The Big Slide, and she won a supporting actress Academy Award for her role as prostitute Lulu Bains in 1960’s Elmer Gantry with Burt Lancaster.

So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that in an upcoming episode of the A&E drama series The Cleaner scheduled to air this summer, she plays an alcoholic — and even apparently does a seminude scene.

“It looks like (I am topless),” Jones says with a smile. “They shot me from the back. It’s an incredible part.”
Jones points out she did a nude scene 40 years ago in Richard Brooks’ drama The Happy Ending.
“I was nude from the waist up with Lloyd Bridges in that. I played his call girl. She was a paid prostitute.”

“They have my dream in their hands, and that’s very scary.”

So says Kristin, one of the two members of “Team Compromise” that made it through the Group Round competition of “American Idol.” You said it sister. Crazy people will sabotage you. True of three-legged races and of American Idol group day.

Bikini Girl and Rose The Hippie make their final appearance. Yay!

Simon makes my day with his very first words during the judges’ round – “You forget the words, you’re out.” I’ve been advocating for a rule like this for ages, because there’s no reason that while the kiddies are focusing on choreography, their hair and who is in charge, they couldn’t, you know, learn the songs.

And I don’t care if they’re old songs they never heard before. When you audition for a Broadway show, the auditioners don’t say “Oh, baby we know you’re tired and you want this so bad so we’ll ignore the fact that you didn’t do your job.”

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