A bidding boom; a swinging charity event

A NIGHT OF FIRSTS
For the inaugural gala of the Esplanade Association, a few local records were broken. It was the first such event, a formal dinner-dance held on the Esplanade itself. And it appears the group set a record for a live auction, raising more than $170,000 from 10 items. Two separate bids of $45,000 were paid for the honor of hosting former CIA director George Tenet in the winning bidder's home. One of the bidders had dropped out when the bidding rose to that sum, but Tenet, who was at the event, offered to return to town for two separate dinners, raising $90,000 in one auction item. The Red Sox came through with another first-time package that brought in $19,000 and will include an autographed broken bat or actual base used during a game and signed by a player who made a great play, the shirt off a player's back, and an inning with Sox honcho Larry Lucchino in his suite. In addition to the auction, the organization announced that it had received more than $500,000 in recent donations and matches. And the organization gave out the first Arthur Fiedler Award, which is expected to become an annual honor. The award was accepted by Peter Fiedler in honor of his father's life work.

FORE A GOOD CAUSE
Lending a hand as he does every year for the Sean McDonough Foundation, Matt Damon was slated to arrive late last night to the group's auction at the Boston Harbor Hotel. Damon will join host Sean McDonough and others today at the foundation's annual charity golf tournament.

AND IN CEREMONIES HELD EARLIER
With the big-time award shows, there are always too many statues to dole out on the actual awards night, so they hold earlier ceremonies for some of the -- how can we put this? -- less sexy categories. (Read: technical awards and the stuff on PBS. No big name stars or regular series.) So while the rest of the world was staying up late to find out if "The Sopranos" finally bested "The West Wing," a few folks with local ties learned of their fate last week. The two-hour PBS special "The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's" won the Emmy for "nonfiction special." Executive producer Naomi S. Boak and producer Elizabeth Arledge received the award for the show, which focused on three families -- two of which are from Massachusetts, the McKennas and the Noonans -- and also featured Massachusetts General Hospital. . . . And Emerson alum James M. Smith, a film editor for "Survivor," was nominated for two episodes in the category of "picture editing for nonfiction programming" but was bested by the crew from the PBS "American Masters" program "Judy Garland, By Myself." Three other Emerson alums were up for awards last night as well.

BURST HIS BUBBLE
In People magazine's special daily glossy editions covering the Emmys, the publication landed an interview with Don Mischer, the executive producer of last night's Emmy broadcast. Mischer was the man at the controls of the TV cues at the Democratic National Convention and, yes, the subject of the delayed balloon drop came up, again. To the mag's question of what happened, Mischer said: "I looked up at the top of the FleetCenter, and there were 110,000 balloons up there. I had visions of how they were going to burst open and come floating down. I looked up and I didn't see much happening. Eventually, I lost it." And viewers of the closing night of the convention may remember Mischer's comments were being broadcast. "After about 45 seconds, the stage manager called and said, `Get off your [private line]. We've heard that it's on the air.' So many people have had moments when they thought their mike was off but it was on. But you don't feel good when it happens to you. I felt very embarrassed. I'm over it now, fortunately."MIX IT UPAt radio station Mix 98.5's annual MixFest at the FleetCenter on Saturday night, things were pretty quiet backstage. But there's always something that catches the eye, and the big sewing machine and ironing board in a back hall was a first. Who does their laundry at a radio station concert? That would be headliner Lenny Kravitz, who, we're told, was literally sewn into his pants by his traveling seamstress. And yes, our spies were close enough to look, and Kravitz was wearing Gap brand jeans, which he hawks on TV and in ad campaigns. . . . That was Sara Moulton of the Food Network at the 25th-anniversary celebration for the New England Culinary Guild yesterday afternoon at UpStairs on the Square in Harvard Square. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.