The Crowd:

Follow the “Yellow Brick Road” and pick up a “Ruby Slipper” at the nearest bar.

Taken from the classic “Wizard of Oz,” the evening’s signature cocktails were a big hit at the recent summer gathering of the Friends of Dorothy Guild.

Some simply call them “the Dorothys,” and others call them “the Doe Does.”

This is not a derogatory reference, but for those not in the know of the vernacular, “Doe Doe” has always been an affectionate name for Dorothy.

Enough of the linguistic lessons — the Dorothys are all about raising money to support the AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County.

The gang gathered on the dock of American Yacht Charters, Newport Beach, and held its summer fundraiser on the Yacht Endeavor, but never set sail.

Newport’s Barbara Venezia led the crowd, which included support from AIDS Services Foundation board President Maria Marquez, Phil Yaeger, Ken Jillson, Al Roberts, Mark Eskander, Scott Stoney, and Lynn Hackman-Selich, wife of Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich.

The evening was all about fun and friendship and plenty of comedy. Jason Dudey, a comedic star from Comedy Central, brought howls from the crowd along with female comic Dorothy Spirius.

The evening also featured the talented Nick St. Royal on the keyboard. Event Chairwoman Dee W. Ieye, Tupperware drag queen, kept the party in high gear.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, or perhaps vice versa, another recent harbor adventure welcomed special celebrity guest Carrie Prejean, who, you may remember, was the former Miss California USA whose comment on gay marriage created a controversy.

Prejean said on the broadcast, “I do believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that is how I was raised.”

Offense was taken, especially by contest judge Perez Hilton, creating a national debate, especially on the Internet and talk radio airwaves.

Prejean was later quoted stating that she lost her chance at the Miss USA crown as a result of her statement on gay marriage.

Then, she was removed as Miss California USA, not because of the surfacing of topless photographs but rather because “she did not fulfill her obligations as required by contract.”

Boy, is there a lot of back story on this one, but certainly appropriate given the lead item about the Dorothys.

We live in a world of stark contrasts, and sometimes the juxtaposition of circumstance is truly bizarre.

Anyway, the story gets even more complicated because Prejean was in fact a guest on a welcome-home harbor cruise for the former Orange County Congressman and Newport Beach resident Christopher Cox.

The economic turmoil has transformed his career from much-admired public congressional servant to the much-criticized and embattled chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cox was greeted by a large contingent of friends including Chad McWhinney, who hosted the gathering on his yacht.

Also joining the celebration were Randell Phillips, Thomas Phillips, Ken Calvert, Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and longtime Republican organizer Tom Fuentes.

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.