Last Wednesday night, after Iggy Pop's free concert kicked off Art Basel Miami Beach (Dec. 6-9), an art fair that's the centerpiece of the world's largest conglomeration of art dealers, I came across a gaggle of women in short dresses scaling a fence to crash a more exclusive party in the back garden of the city's Raleigh Hotel.

Inside, thousands of designer-clad artists, patrons, dealers and hangers-on were gathered around the pool and in semi-private outdoor lounges — I crashed the party through the regular entrance — sipping cocktails and sometimes watching a female rock band in tiny hot pants, body paint and not much else. The next night, pro skater Tony Alva, of Dogtown fame, busted disappointingly few tricks as part of a special event called Concrete Waves: Homage to Skate Culture. Paris Hilton was meanwhile hosting a party in a South Beach nightclub, which had nothing to do with art whatsoever.

Maybe it's still not Mardi Gras, but Art Basel Miami Beach has rapidly ballooned into an enormous fiesta of culture and socialites. Dubbed an "art Costco for billionaires" by the New York Times, it is a whirlwind display of art, parties and huge sums of money. Even with prices high this year, sales were brisk. One of the most notable was an Andy Warhol Mao painting from 1973, listed at US$12.5 million by Acquavella Galleries (final sale price undisclosed).