Scene & Heard: The buzz about L.A.’s high society

Hollywood’s royalty plays a big part in L.A.’s charity events scene, with names like George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio fueling ticket sales.

The holidays are a time to socialize, and for some of us that means an uptick in cocktail consumption.

A new wave of Los Angeles-area cafes is brewing up more sophisticated flavors with a mix of methods. The result? A jolt to a coffee culture steeped in ho-hum tastes.

Balconi Coffee Description: Small, bright Sawtelle Boulevard cafe that uses multiple roasters (including San Francisco’s Ritual and Four Barrel) and specializes in the siphon brewing method. 11301 W.

Tom Arnold hosts the event held June 11, which raised more than $1 million.

Ashlee Simpson, Laila Ali and Mira Sorvino are among the celebrities who attend the AIDS benefit in Brentwood.

Get up and live a happy life, she says at award ceremony at UCLA Longevity Center.

Also, the ‘Playing for Good’ celebrity poker tournament.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation get some assistance.

The annual event benefits the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis.

The volunteer group supports the Children’s Institute. Also, Waterkeeper Alliance benefit at Kiehl’s with Michael C. Hall and Chloë Sevigny.

Also, ‘Women in Focus’ at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

Also: Edythe and Eli Broad, Apichatpong Weerasethakul honored at REDCAT gala.

Also, Luminario Ballet celebration at its new studio in Los Angeles.

‘The event honors Robert Iger and raises money for the Alzheimer’s Assn. Also, the John Varvatos 8th Annual Stuart House Benefit.

Also the Segerstrom Center fetes the Bolshoi Theatre.

The ’33 Variations’ star makes a date with upper-level Center Theatre Group donors, and a starry crowd turns out for the Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon.

Also, Le Salon de Musiques and Los Angeles Children’s Chorus concerts.

Also, Saban Free Clinic gala and Fraternity of Friends and Blue Ribbon’s ‘Brunch Among the Bugattis.’

Also: ‘India’s Fabled City’ at LACMA.

Also, Children’s Action Network auction and Children’s Defense Fund’s ‘Beat the Odds’ gala.

Also, Los Angeles Opera’s ‘Rigoletto’ cast party and L.A. Conservancy fundraiser ‘Seaside Chic in the Colony.’

The lyricists fete the Broadway titan to benefit ASCAP’s ‘Children Will Listen’ program.

David Aitken, Beck and Devendra Banhart draw power players including Eli Broad. The Museum of Tolerance honors Clint Eastwood.

Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda, Sidney Poitier, Paris Hilton and more show up at the benefit for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes.

Peter Morton and Edythe and Eli Broad host Malibu conversations with artists Urs Fischer and Richard Prince.

Also, the United Friends of the Children fundraiser.

Plus, ‘Rising Stars Gala’ to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire, and amfAR’s ‘Inspiration Gala.’

Doug Aitken was featured at an informal talk that benefitted the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

Plus, the LA Opera gala opens the 25th season.

Also, Australians in Film’s screening of ‘Bran Nue Dae’ with a cocktail reception and a Q&A with director Rachel Perkins and producer Robyn Kershaw.

Organizers of the annual musical show to benefit breast cancer research teamed up with ‘beer chicks’ Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune for a night of beer pairing and fund-raising.

Also, a South Coast Plaza luncheon for the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Bolshoi Ballet’s ‘Reflections’ dance collaboration.

Also, LA Art House’s ‘Contemporary Impressionism’ opening

A NOW Festival after-party at REDCAT, plus a seaside affair at the Jonathan Beach Club in Santa Monica.

Also, ‘Songwriters: The Next Generation’

Also: Foreign dignitaries gather for World Cup final at the Regency Club.

Plus, the Assistance League of Southern California’s Golden Mallet Polo Tournament.

The comedian and the artist have a meeting of minds during a salon at LA Art House, which donates proceeds to the Hammer Museum’s program for emerging artists.

Also: Cocktails with mastodons at the Natural History Museum