By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Nearly 2,000 guests gathered in their tropical finest to raise $400,000 for underprivileged children at the summer’s hottest kick-off party- the 2014 Voya Miami Celebrity Domino Night presented by Bacardí USA, on Saturday, June 14, at Jungle Island.  This bash, which  benefitted Amigos For Kids, featured  hours upon hours of dancing, a full concert by legendary Grammy-award winning musician, Willy Chirino and limitless sips and bites.

Devoted to strengthening families and educating communities, Amigos For Kids once again partnered with title sponsor Voya Financial (formerly ING U.S.) and major corporate sponsors Bacardí U.S.A., Walmart and The Lincoln Motor Company for the highly anticipated event.  Read the rest of this entry »

By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

During the weekend of June 19-21, Miami’s own DJ Irie hosted his 10th Annual Irie Weekend (#IWX) to benefit the Irie Foundation (www.iriefoundation.org).  The festivities spanned over three days and welcomed guests to the first ever Irie Weekend Hotel at the National in Miami Beach. On Thursday afternoon, #IWX began with a youth workshop at the Miami Beach Golf Club where 40 children participated in the FORE Life Golf Clinic.  Weekend co-host, Jamie Foxx attended the clinic to meet with kids and also learn a few pointers of his own in preparation for the next day’s anchor golf event. Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Journey of Hope 

On June 6, a crowd of more than 300 philanthropists gathered for the 2014 Miami Man and Woman of the Year Journey of Hope Gala ​hosted by the Southern Florida and Puerto Rico Chapters of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) at the InterContinental Miami Hotel. The celebration was the culmination of The Man and Woman of the Year campaign:  a 10-week program to raise funds to help find cures for blood cancers. The campaign recruited candidates in the community who agreed to conduct their own fundraising efforts to compete to earn the coveted title: Man or Woman of the Year. Each candidate was judged solely on his/her success in raising money, each dollar counting as one vote, running in honor of the Boy and Girl of the Year, who are local blood cancer patient survivors, known for inspiring others.  Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Miami’s Who’s Who with an affinity for fried chicken and all of its accompanying comfort foods gathered on the beautiful bayside terrace of the Pérez Art Museum Miami on Tuesday, May 27 for the celebration of South Beach Wine and Food Festival founder, Lee Brian Schrager’s second cookbook, Fried & True: More Than 50 Recipes for America’s Best Fried Chicken and Sides.  The scene was set for a gorgeous evening of family style indulgence with oversized wooden tables and benches, covered with all the fixins, including gourmet corn on the cob, collard greens, carrots, coleslaw, biscuits and decadent mac and cheese; catered by Stephen Starr Events, which incorporated the recipes from Schrager’s book.  Food stations offering every variety of fried chicken imaginable were set up throughout the terrace, including offerings from Michelle Bernstein, Paula Dean, and our favorites:  Asha Gomez’s Keralan fried chicken and cardamom waffles and Yotam Ottolenghi’s seeded chicken schnitzel with parsley-caper mayonnaise.  All of the recipes from the evening appear in the book, copies of which were signed by Schrager – personalized for each guest.   Read the rest of this entry »

By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

FedEx/St. Jude Angels & Stars Gala 

More than 600 guests, including celebrities, attended the 12th annual FedEx/St. Jude Angels & Stars Gala, co-founded by Daisy Fuentes, at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami on May 17.  Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception, feasted on a four-course dinner and bid on auction items such as the Miami Heat Experience – autographed Shane Battier shoes along with 4, suite tickets in the FedEx Suite (center court) during a 2014-2015 regular season game. Celebrities in attendance included well-known television and radio personalities and musicians:  Ana Maria Canseco, Raul Gonzalez, Alberto Sardiñas, Pamela Silva Conde, Jon Secada, Charytin Goyco, among others.  Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention,” was one of our favorite quotes from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  The quote was whispered by Sean Penn’s character in the movie, with reference to an elusive snow leopard which he had been waiting to photograph for days. As it turns out, the snow leopard was one of 45 wild creatures who gathered at the Feast of Species on Saturday night at Primary Projects, for a dinner designed to bring attention to the needs of animals. The wild event was hosted by Nicole Davis, founder and senior editor of Red Flag magazine, who was disguised as her favorite bird, the hummingbird and artist, Christina Pettersson in celebration of the eighth edition of Red Flag, which is centered on the theme of animals. The five-year old, nonprofit publication, seeks to “raise awareness about important environmental and social issues as well as gathering a community together around activism both locally and globally.”  Read the rest of this entry »