Celebrities and more celebrities, from A-list to D-list—and a veritable media scrum to photograph their every inhalation, their every tremulous step over the brilliant sheen of the tortuous marble floor—a floor punctuated by rose-petal strewn reflecting pools and bubbling Jacuzzis. And woe to the VIPs who didn’t watch their step—for the next step was into ankle-deep water. Better than stepping into a New York puddle, of course, but drenched Manolos and Jimmy Choos, nonetheless. For this was the VIP Cocktail Reception at the Spa at Icon Brickell. Think of the Roman Baths of Caracalla (the model for the original Penn Station in New York). We’re talking chandeliers that would make the Phantom of the Opera pant with envy: massive Murano chandeliers dangling ominously over the hot and cold plunge pools. Designed by Yoo by Philippe Starck, this 5,000 square foot sybaritic paradise boasts floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Key Biscayne. But who was looking at the water when so many other reflective surfaces beckoned? All around us, celebrities blinked back the onslaught of flashes. Which celebrities, you might ask? Stunners, for one thing, such as David Bromstad, and JD Ordonez, and Wilson Cruz, and Daniela Sea, and Yuval David. That kind of looker. You had to keep looking; you couldn’t help yourself. But apart from Cruz, who gave a most eloquent and heartfelt speech about his long association with the Task Force as an activist actor, perhaps the biggest celebrity of the evening was Rea Carey, Executive Director of the Task Force. This is a leader who continues to work tirelessly on behalf of the LGBT community—and to hear her speak with passion and conviction about this particular moment in LGBT history is to reach for the checkbook and loosen the pursestrings. For as Carey reminded us, Winter Party Festival has sent $660,000 back into the LGBT community. There were cocktails and hors d’oeuvres—but the evening was perhaps best synopsized in the Latin expression printed on a card in the swag bag: Memento vivere, loosely translated as Remember to live—which serves as a very fine motto for this year’s Winter Party Festival.