"If it's July, this must be the Hamptons." Working year-round on an event that travels to eight destinations -- with more coming -- gets confusing, especially when some versions (Miami in October) sport sham snow, while others (Manhattan in February) get the true white stuff. "It is a logistical challenge," admits Mark Beckham, project director of Dining by Design, a charity dinner held by New York City-based Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) to raise money for local organizations battling the disease. "Challenge"? A euphemism. Try being in charge of up to 73 different parties, each with its own dinnerware and over-the-top decor. Here's how it works: Designers buy an 11-foot-by-11-foot space to fit a table for 10 and a bottle of bubbly (Champagne Taittinger is a sponsor), then let their imaginations run riot. "It's like the Cannes of tabletop," says director John Waters, whose 2002 mise-en-scene was crowned with a 20-foot-tall wig promoting his musical Hairspray. Funds raised stay local and "each city takes on a different flavor," says Beckham. "In Houston, for instance, you won't find a samba band like you would in Miami, or drag queens dressed as nuns, which we had in San Francisco." Dealing with dozens of designers takes patience, notes Beckham: "You're working with people with creative visions; they want it just so." Luckily, his longtime caterer knows not to mix the Ralph Lauren china with the Calvin Klein, and his tech person is handy at everything from hanging 300-pound chandeliers to building Adirondack-style cabins. Downsides? "One table in New York took twelve hours to hang everything -- and the snowstorm during load-in didn't help." On the other hand, this might be the only charity event with chairs and tables that are better dressed than the guests.