The hooch didn't taste like it was made in a bathtub, but the attire and atmosphere at "The Speakeasy" resembled 1920s Prohibition era.

Men dressed as gangsters and women as flappers at the annual Breath of Life Gala to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Saturday night at the Hilton Memphis. The dress code stressed "hat," so guests wore some type of chapeaux.

Mike Rose and his wife, Debbi Fields Rose, were the honorees. Debbi got her flapper outfit at Mr. Lincoln's Costume Shoppe. Mike got his fedora at Mr. Lincoln's, but the dark suit he wore was his own.

Barbara Perkins, a hat designer and collector, felt the black-and-tan hat she chose fit the occasion.

Instead of 1920s head gear, Anne Conrad wore a red cap with a little elephant logo on it. She was seen on national TV sporting a hat shaped like a stuffed toy elephant at last week's Republican National Convention. She and her husband, Kemp, bought the elephant hats at F.A.O. Schwarz in New York. They wore them four years ago at the Republican convention. Anne said she's retiring her elephant hat for the next four years.

The Memphis Hep Cats and guitarist Mike Rayburn performed. David Naster was emcee. Former Shelby County Mayor Jim Rout introduced Debbi and Mike Rose. Jane Pierotti was event chairman.

Homemade PBR

"Art on Tap" guests can wet their whistles or, if it rains, they can get completely wet. The annual Dixon Gallery and Gardens outdoor party is a "rain or shine event," said Dixon director Kevin Sharp.

"We look for the intrepid beer taster," he said.

There were more than 1,000 of them at Friday's rain-free gathering. People sampled beer, dined on fare from area restaurants and danced to the music of Dr. Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster.

Patrick Colson, who makes his own home-brew, explained what to look for when finding the perfect beer: "You go for a certain IBU, a certain SRM and a certain ABV."

"Speak English," said his buddy, Anthony Boone.

"IBU" (international bittering unit) stands for bitterness, "SRM" (American Standard Reference Method) color; and "ABV" is "alcohol by volume," said Patrick, who calls his home-made beer "Pat's Blue Ribbon."

Strawberry Plains forever

Hubert McAlexander, author of "Strawberry Plains Audubon Center: Four Centuries of a Mississippi Landscape," was the special guest at a reception Saturday at Wakefield, the 1858 home of Marie and Rook Moore in Holly Springs. Ruff and Susan Fant from Washington co-hosted the event.

Hubert's book begins with Hernando DeSoto discovering the Strawberry Plains area near Holly Springs in 1541. It ends with the Finley sisters -- Ruth Finley and Margaret Finley Shackelford -- donating 2,500 acres, two antebellum houses and $16 million to the National Audubon Society in 1982.

"The reason they could do it was the family always drove Chevrolets," said Hubert, who teaches English at the University of Georgia in Athens.

And, he said, "Margaret Finley Shackelford never had a color TV. They were too expensive."

Among the guests were University of Mississippi chancellor Robert Khayat; former Ole Miss law school dean Parham Williams and his wife, Polly; and former Boston Globe Washington bureau chief Curtis Wilkie.

Hubert also was a special guest at Thursday night's "Audubon Under the Stars" kickoff party for the annual Hummingbird Festival at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center.

To see party videos and more party pictures, go to gomemphis.com. Contact Michael Donahue at 529-2797 or e-mail donahue@commercialappeal.com