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EVENT
Sparkle: The 17th Annual Miami Recognition Dinner
November 9 th, 2013 | Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Words by Martin Haro
Fall in Miami means one thing: party time. One of…nah, make
that the event of the season, for the LGBT community and its
ever-supportive allies, will be Sparkle, the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force's 17th annual Miami Recognition Dinner, at the
Fontainebleau Miami Beach on November 9th.
Given that 2013 has been a banner year in the good fight toward
equality – with the Supreme Court of the United States finding that
DOMA was an unconstitutional deprivation of equality and a violation
of the Fifth Amendment, and that Prop 8 had no standing, paving the
way for same-sex marriages to resume in California (not to mention
the welcome addition of Rhode Island, Delaware, and Minnesota to the list of states recognizing same-sex marriage) –
you can bet the 'bleau will be bopping with gay pride come
Sparkle time, especially when Star Trek actor and social
justice activist George Takei and community activist and civic
leader Joseph Falk receive the National Leadership and Eddy
McIntyre Community Service awards, respectively.
Last year, more than 25 sponsors and some 800 guests
helped Sparkle raise a record-setting more than half a million
dollars (The Task Force donates the majority of the net
proceeds from the dinner and from Winter Party Festival to
local LGBT-serving organizations).
2012 Miami Recognition Dinner
As usual, the dinner will kick off at 6:30 p.m., with a
pre-dinner silent auction. Tickets are $250 and $350 for
general and VIP admission, and available through
miamirecognitiondinner.org. ML
Slava's Snowshow Meet & Greet Event
Photo courtesy of the Adrienne Arsht Center | Photo by Manny Hernandez
Hosted inside the Ziff
Ballet Opera House's
Next Generation Green
Room, guests included
Arsht Center members
and VIPS, as well as
Burn Notice star
Gabrielle Anwar,
boyfriend (Miamibased restaurateur)
Shareef Malnik, and
her children Willow
Anwar, Hugo and
Paisley Verea. Guests
were entertained by
Slava's Snowshow
clowns and
participated in
winter-themed arts
and crafts, and
indulged in sweet
treats courtesy of
Prelude by Barton G.
ML
Willow Anwar, Gabrielle Anwar, Shareef Malnik, Paisley and Hugo Verea. Photo Credit: Manny Hernandez
MIAMI LIVING 89
