"Keeping the Thrill Alive" was the theme of the Architects' Party on Friday night at Askew Nixon Ferguson Architects. In their best ghoulish attire, dancers performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

They came up with the idea to do the dance last May, before Michael's death, said Eva Lynn Bishop, director of special events for the International Children's Heart Foundation, the party's fundraising charity. They enlisted the help of Lori Hopper and Colli Bounds, who gave free dance lessons to anyone who wanted to participate in the mass dance.

Originally, the "Thriller" video was going to run on the side of the building during the dance routine, but, because of the rain, dancers had to perform beneath a tent.

"I thought it would be easy, but it was the hardest dance I've ever done," Lori said. "Because no one dances like Michael."

Johnathan Gibbs, one of the dancers, got interested in Michael's dancing after the performer died last June. "I just became attached to 'Thriller' and I was like, 'That's an awesome dance and I just want to learn how to do it,'" he said. "I don't dance at all and all of a sudden I was obsessed with this and I had to learn it."

Also performing at the party were Dr. Zarr's Amazing Funk Monster and Memphis Snake Doctors. Steve Conley was emcee.

Grizzlies Tip-Off

Memphis Grizzlies players wore long pants on the FedExForum arena floor as they wielded knives, forks and basketballs at the recent Grizzlies Tip-Off Luncheon.

Tickets were $50 each, but players and/or Grizzlies management sat at the $2,000 tables. Table hopping took the place of dribbling, shooting and rebounding as fans approached players, including Allen Iverson, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, for autographs. In between bites of chicken parmigiana, players obligingly signed basketballs for guests.

Knock Your Socks Of

New York designer Vivek Nagrani unveiled the socks he custom designed for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Memphis Saturday at Oak Hall's "Knock Your Socks Off Fun Raiser" benefit.

Chris Shelton with Oak Hall introduced the sock line to Big Brothers Big Sisters executive director Adrienne Bailey, who started buying them for her husband, retired Circuit Court judge D'Army Bailey, said Vivek, owner of Ovadafut Hosiery Co. in New York. She asked Vivek if he'd design a sock for Big Brothers Big Sisters. "I said, 'Why not? Of course I would,'" Vivek said. "One thing led to another and here we are."

Vivek combined his logo of a circle, a square and a triangle and the Big Brothers Big Sisters logo of children holding hands for the sides of the socks in the limited-edition collection. "It says 'Big Brothers Big Sisters' on the bottom."

He donated 25 percent of the proceeds for making the socks to Big Brothers Big Sisters. Oak Hall donated 10 percent of the sales as well as 10 percent of the sales from the vendors who participated in the Knock Your Socks Off event, said Will Levy with Oak Hall.

Fans of the socks who dropped by for some of the hosiery included Tyler Ward, Dr. Henry Wah and D.J. McCabe, who said his socks used to be "black or beige and that was it" before he discovered Vivek's colorful creations.

Mayor A C Wharton left with a few pairs. "I have skinny legs and I understand (they) will not fall down," he said. "So, I need 10 pair of them until I muscle up."

Michael Donahue: 529-2797. donahue@commercialappeal.com