Wayne Newton

Miami, FL – November 1, 2014 – Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida and InterContinental® Miami celebrated their highly anticipated 20th Annual InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish Ball on Saturday evening, allowing guests to follow the yellow brick road into a magical “Oz”-themed celebration. The star-studded Gala hosted more than 900 VIPs, socialites, fashion mavens, celebrities and notable philanthropists with a common goal of raising funds for Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The evening kicked off with a lavish cocktail reception where guests enjoyed sumptuous culinary offerings and cocktails while bidding on more than 125 premier items at the Ball’s legendary silent auction, donated by top hospitality, entertainment, fashion and luxury brands. Once the ballroom opened for dinner, actress and documentary film director Gabrielle Anwar made her return for the fourth consecutive year as Celebrity MC of the Ball’s very lively live auction. Guests were also treated to an incredible performance by one of the most iconic female artists of all time, Diana Ross. As she took the stage, the Ballroom dance floor filled to capacity, with guests singing along to the superstar’s classic hits including “Baby Love” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” The dynamic Ball had an equally dynamic finale as this year’s edition of the InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish® Nightclub — “Voyage des Papillions” – paid homage to the contemporary Disco movement with an extravagant couture runway show presented by Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour, featuring designers including Emilio Pucci, Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and KAUFMAN FRANCO. DJ Irie kept the crowd moving and grooving with his swift sounds throughout the night in the main ballroom. A hip, after-hours venue, the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Nightclub — presented by InList, and chaired by Shareef Malnik, with Michael Capponi as Vice-Chair, had guests dancing their way into the early morning hours to sounds by DJ Michelle Leshem and producer Sean Drake.

While there are many philanthropists involved, the enduring success of the InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish Ball is largely due to the dedicated efforts of Shareef Malnik, Gala Chairman and proprietor of The Forge Restaurant and Wine Bar; Robert Hill, InterContinental® Miami General Manager; and Norman Wedderburn, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida – the trio affectionately known as the “Three Amigos.” In its 20-year history, the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball has raised $16.8 million to grant the wishes of more than 3,500 children from South Florida.  The $2.5 million net revenue raised at the 2014 Ball this past Saturday is a record amount, surpassing the prior record of $2 million net revenue raised at the 2013 Ball.

Wayne Newton

Wayne Newton & Kathleen McCrone

Nancy & Al Malnick

Clif Loftin,  Donald & Lisa Pliner, Al & Nancy Malnik, Kathleen McCrone, & Wayne Newton

Al Malnik & Wayne Newton

Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar, & Wayne Newton

Al Malnik & Gabrielle Anwar

Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar, & Al Malnik

Shareef Malnik & Gabrielle Anwar

Robert Hill, Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar, Al & Nancy Malnik, & Norm Wedderburn

Norm Wedderburn, Shareef & Al Malnik, & Robert HIll

Shareef & Al Malnik

Casey & Tomolin Cole

Jill Martin

James Ferraro Jr, Lauren Fitzpatrick, James Ferraro, & Alena Gaurikov

Fabian & Martina Basabe

Shareef Malnik, Gabrielle Anwar, Wayne Newton, Kathleen McCrone, & Robert Hill

Dashil Hernandez, Kiki Barth, & Andrea Yurko

Belkys Nerey & Elaine Lancaster

Cynthia & Wayne Boich

 DawnCheré & Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Michael Capponi, Myk Likhov, Brooke Biederman, & Lee Beck

Shareef Malnik & Gabrielle Anwar

Larsa & Scottie Pippen

Charles Moreau & Kamal Hotchandani

Wayne & Arlene Chaplin

Lee Schrager, Al Malnik, & Ken Gorin

Lee Schrager & Shareef Malnik

Ken Gorin & Shareef Malnik

Shareef Malnik

Al Malnik & Wayne Newton

Gabrielle Anwar

Jared Shapiro & Erica Korman, Alicia & Apostolos Peristeris

Gino Campodonico & Joseph Quinones

Kelly Blanco & Gino Campodonico

Glen Singer, Andrea Furer, Stephen & Gwenn Vecchitto

Joe Perez & Ken Gorin

Al Malnik & Ken Gorin

Diana Ross

Diana Ross & Karin Pituchova

Diana Ross

Diana Ross

Bruce Starr, Brian Feit, & David Devos

Scott Phelps, Marysol Patton, Jay Alexander, Belkys Nerey, & Brian Feit

Jill Martin & Diego Bentz

Elaine Lancaster & Al Malnik

Richard Zona, Elaine Lancaster, Al Malnik, & Joe Day

Donald & Lisa Pliner, Richard Zona, & Joe Day

Mark & Amanda Tamis

Asha & Jamie Elias

Mike Scull

GALLERY SLIDER