Arts at St. Ann’s celebrated its 25th anniversary Wednesday night with a performance of Roy Nathanson’s “Fire at Keaton’s Bar & Grill.” Deborah Harry played a bartender, serving barflies played by Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, and Dan Zanes.

The fictional Keaton’s Bar & Grill may have gone down in flames, but Arts at St. Ann’s is flourishing. After bringing performers to the Church of St. Ann in Brooklyn Heights for 21 years, the organization relocated in 2001 to a former spice-milling factory in DUMBO.

Artistic director Susan Feldman and co-producer Kim Whitener have a great lineup for spring, starting with an “Under the Radar” theater festival in January. “Here’s to 25 years and to 25 more years,” said Mr. Reed from the stage, as 400 guests raised their Champagne glasses. Present were DUMBO developers David, Jane, and Jed Walentas; Bruce Rayvid; David Byrne; the editor-at-large of Daily Candy, Dannielle Romano, and her boyfriend Lockhart Steele, the blogger and writer who is the managing editor of Cottages and Gardens magazines. Brooklyn faces in the crowd included Joseph Melillo of the Brooklyn Academy of Music; Kenneth Adams of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; and Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery.

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The hall was decked with boughs of holly at the 59th Annual Cardinal’s Christmas Luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria yesterday.

About 800 guests attended the event, which raised $500,000 for the 100 agencies that comprise the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. Edward Cardinal Egan presented awards to Audrey Gruss and Billie and Peter Mullen.

In her remarks, Mrs. Gruss recalled how the church helped her when she came to America from Lithuania at age 5. She learned her first English words from the Dominican Sisters in New Jersey and spent summers at a Catholic camp in Connecticut. Mrs. Gruss’s friends filled the room, including a group from Palm Beach that flew in for the event.

In her remarks, Mrs. Mullen told the history of St. Nicholas. Mr. Mullen added, “I thought Billie was going to say I reminded her of St. Nicholas.”

On Christmas, Mrs. Gruss will attend mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Aspen. The Mullens will attend mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Bronxville. Edward Cardinal Egan will be at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“At the midnight mass, I’ll be thinking especially of the children of St. John Chrysostom School,” he said, looking to the children from the school who formed the living nativity tableau on stage.

“Here we have a fine Joseph, a beautiful Mary, great shepherds, and some very wise men,” he said.

As the program closed, the crowd sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth” before gathering up some early gifts: dainty evergreens in clay pots and gold-wrapped copies of Mary Higgins Clark’s new book, “The Christmas Thief,” which is set in New York and which she wrote with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark.

Cardinal Egan suggested everyone cozy up with the book that evening.

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Book parties can be tweedy affairs, but not when Renee Fleming is the author. The soprano, wearing a coat trimmed in black ostrich feathers, gathered with an illustrious group Wednesday night to celebrate her new book, “The Inner Voice.” Town cars idled outside the Georgian Suite at 77th and Fifth, while inside violinists played and black-tie waiters passed smoked salmon on toast and bacon-wrapped scallops.

Beverly Sills recited a poem she wrote about Ms. Fleming.

“She is a living work of art,” said writer Ann Patchett, a friend of Ms. Fleming’s, who helped her on the book.

Perhaps her college roommate captured Ms. Fleming best. Asked if the star had changed, she replied, “Not here,” placing a fist on her heart.