Blake Lewis and pals chill out at MOA; Sheryl Crow pays a call to Hunt & Gather

"American Idol" alum Blake Lewis eschews being hatless.

The Season 6 contestant and a number of other young TV and music stars were enjoying the Mall of America to the fullest Tuesday during a layover on their way to Norway to play for the Hollywood Knights International celeb basketball team. The Knights were headed overseas to play in a benie for the Norwegian Cancer Society Children's Ward.

Hollywood Knights marketing director Vicky Mirisch told me that when she realized they would have more than a seven-hour layover in the Twin Cities, she wondered how they would spend the time. Then she did a Google search, and the MOA popped right up on the screen. She arranged for the celebrities -- Adam Sevani, Adrian R'Mante, Andrea Bowen, Denyce Lawton, Josh Henderson, Joy Lauren, Marcus Schenkenberg, Wesley Jonathan and Aaron Carter -- to feed and swim with the sharks at Underwater Adventures and hit some rides at Nickelodeon Universe.

Although Lewis arrived in a chapeau, and successfully fed a guitarfish/shark, Tuesday's hat issue wasn't apparent until he got on the Rock Bottom Plunge. The ride operator called out "Hat" and, Lewis politely complied, taking his off. By the time the ride returned to its starting point, Lewis' hat was again on his head. When the ride operator told the group that they could stay on for another ride, I told the ride guy to tell Lewis to take that hat off. "It's off," Lewis said, before playfully pointing at me for ratting on him. At the conclusion of this ride, Lewis again arrived in hat.

Do you sleep in that hat, I asked Lewis. "Maybe I do, maybe I do," he said.

That exchange and another truly delightful moment can been seen at startribune.com/video. After Josh Henderson, of "Desperate Housewives," and Wesley Jonathan, of "What I Like About You," "City Guys" and "Roll Bounce," got into their wetsuits, they danced for me, wearing flippers. Henderson was doing the cutest modified Charleston, while Jonathan's moves devolved into something more urban.

Chocolate pig? Chocolatier Mary Leonard and chef Charlie Torgerson, co-owner of the Famous Dave's booth, may have the best new strange food combo at the State Fair: Chocolate Covered Pig Lickers.

It'll make you eager to visit Leonard's St. Paul shop, Chocolat Celeste, to see if there's a chocolate that goes with ribs.

Down to earth Sheryl Crow stopped by Hunt & Gather antiques at 50th Street and Xerxes Avenue S. on Saturday.

"Nicer than I expected," said e-mailer Nancy Polacek.

Why wouldn't Sheryl Crow be nice? Doesn't she sing "All I want to do is have some fun"?

Hunt & Gather owner Kristi Berkvam Stratton (Bartley Stratton's aunt) said Crow was "extremely Midwestern, put it that way." Does that mean nice? "Yeah, I think so. Very petite, shorter than we all thought. Very pleasant. Took pictures with several people, had her little boy, Wyatt, with her.

Maybe something for Wyatt to bang on?

Give me an 'H' A local art collector has spent $350,000 on a piece of L.A.'s famous Hollywood sign, which was acquired and then artistically augmented by Twin Cities sculptor-painter Bill Mack.

"I don't know if I told you who" that Minnesota collector is, said Jan Donahue, co-owner of Bloomington's Griffin Gallery with Mack's wife, Deb Mack. "I don't know if I can. I'll look at my records and see if I can say that." Since she never called with the name, she must not be able to say. However, the list of possible collectors is short.

The $350,000 piece is of the H, which includes paintings Mack did of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.

"The plan will be to do the other letters and have buyers buy the other letters," Donahue said.