The Fresh Air Fund's annual spring gala at Tavern on the Green had a summery, sweet-days-of-youth vibe—and not just because of the baskets of red and pink carnations or the centerpieces assembled from Marshmallow Peeps and lollipops. By coincidence, there was a bona fide high school prom going on next door. "I saw those girls with corsages! I was wondering what the hell they were doing," Proenza Schouler's Lazaro Hernandez said. Catching a glimpse of Mariah Carey, a handful of giddy high schoolers struggled to contain themselves.

With the help of emcee Brian Williams, the nonprofit honored Michelle Williams, Susan and Donald Newhouse, and former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. The evening's theme was "American Heroes," which made Williams think of the poet Galway Kinnell. "I don't want to get too melodramatic. He only saved my life, that's all," she said.

Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, had gone off to mingle. "Maybe when he comes back we'll go take a prom picture," she mused. In the meantime, the pop star (whose Camp Mariah hosts inner-city children) recalled the summer she got a scholarship to go to performing arts camp with "little rich kids who didn't quite understand why I only had, like, two outfits." Safe to assume that's not the case anymore.

— Darrell Hartman