X Factor Melanie Amaro and Burn Notice Gabrielle Anwar Headline 18th Annual Intercontinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball
On Saturday, November 3, 2012

Tables for the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball range from $5,000 to $20,000. Wish Sponsorships start at $5,000. Tables, wishes and other sponsorship opportunities can be purchased by calling 954.967.9474, extension 318, or by visiting www.makeawishball.com .

Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida and InterContinental Miami will celebrate the 18th Annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball with a theme inspired by India’s vibrant colors, animated street markets, opulent soirees and jubilant Bollywood music. Melanie Amaro, first season winner of The X Factor and South Florida native, will perform, and Burn Notice star Gabrielle Anwar, will return as the celebrity auctioneer for the Ball, which will be chaired by Shareef Malnik, owner of The Forge Restaurant l Wine Bar. In its 17-year history, the Ball has raised more than $10.7 million, enough to grant wishes for more than 2,300 children with life-threatening medical conditions.
 
The Ball’s leaders – affectionately known as the “Three Amigos” – Malnik, also Foundation Board Member; Robert Hill, InterContinental Miami General Manager and Gala Host; and Norman Wedderburn, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida; have together made each Ball an impactful, memorable occasion.
 
“This year’s Ball will be bigger and better than ever,” said Wedderburn. “The positive energy and response we’ve received from our loyal supporters has been overwhelming, and we’re excited to have the incredibly talented Melanie Amaro on board for an unforgettable performance, as well as the incomparable Gabrielle Anwar to lead what we predict to be an evening of unprecedented bidding wars.”
 
Hill said, “This Ball is much more than a one-night event, it is the fruition of 365 days of staff and volunteers working together to see the bright eyes and smiles of our Wish Kids.  To be able to grant one wish is beautiful and life-changing, to be able to grant more than 2,300 is nothing short of an amazing feat of hope, strength and joy. That is what our 18-year partnership with Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida is all about: people with great hearts and a common mission coming together and making amazing things happen.”
 
Malnik, Chairman of the Ball for the eighth year, introduced the Chairman’s Challenge in 2011 as an operating cost endowment to cover all expenses associated with organizing and planning the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball. His goal of enlisting 20 business, civic and philanthropic leaders – each pledging $25,000 per year for five consecutive years – will yield a total commitment of $500,000 annually, resulting in the granting of 100 additional wishes to Southern Florida children each year.
 
Charter members of the Chairman’s Challenge include: Gabrielle Anwar and Shareef Malnik; Stuart Miller; The Lennar Foundation; Richard Polidori; Andrew Sasson and Chris Paciello, LGD Management; Kim and Todd Glaser; Denise and Jordan Zimmerman; Joyce and Geert-Jan Bakker; Eddie Freedman; Marc Bell; Daniel Staton; Sue and Jim Oppenheimer; the Randy and Barbara Ann Frankel Foundation; Jeffrey Soffer and David Grutman; Robin and Mark Levinson; Steven Tanger; Mark Gold; The Genting Group/Resorts World Miami; and Alejandro Gonzalez, Brett Rose and Javier Torrens, UCU Trading Company.
 
Notable contributors to the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball include Lifetime Benefactors Al and Nancy Malnik; Grand Benefactors Stanley and Gala Cohen; Founding Benefactors Howard and Barbara Glicken; and Wish Star Benefactor James L. Ferraro, as well as Wish Benefactors Harvey and Roberta Chaplin, Stuart A. Miller of Lennar Corporation and Robert Press of TCA Fund Management. 
 
Shiraz Events, of Miami, New York, Los Angeles and London, will take the Ball’s historically over-the-top décor to new heights by rolling out the fuchsia carpet, staging an authentic, New Delhi-style street market for the cocktail reception, orchestrating an elaborate Indian street parade, and transforming the Grand Ballroom into massive tent with the feel of a traditional Indian wedding, where InterContinental Miami Executive Chef Alexander Feher will prepare a decadent four-course dinner.
 
Celebrity auctioneer Gabrielle Anwar will return to the podium to spark a bidding war for an extravagant array of live auction items, including a magnificent prize generously donated by Mark and Robin Levinson of Levinson Jewelers: an ultra-rare Hermès “Cape Cod” diamond-and-ruby watch valued at $33,450. The watch features a mother of pearl dial, red alligator strap and white gold buckle, and will be coupled with a once-in-a-lifetime personalized tour of the La Montre Hermès factory in Switzerland, with airfare and first-class lodging included. The president of Hermès will be on-hand to present this magnificent prize to the winning bidder. The starlet will tempt the audience with a walk-on roll on her hit USA Network show, Burn Notice, filmed on-site in Miami, and other sought-after auction items donated by THE COLLECTION, The World – Residences at Sea and Ocean Drive Magazine. Strategic Hotels and Resorts will donate two spectacular vacation packages: A five-bedroom, oceanfront suite for 10 guests at the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, including a six-hour charter on the resort’s private yacht; and a “James Bond Experience,” including luxury accommodations at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, luxury car rental, a private-guided tour with the director of Churchill War Rooms, and business class round-trip airfare courtesy of British Airways.
 
During the cocktail reception, guests will enjoy lavish hors d’oeuvres and cocktail stations while bidding on more than 100 premier items donated by top hospitality, entertainment, fashion and luxury brands. Highlights include an in-home gourmet dinner with a private chef, a Chloé calfskin bag, men’s and women’s Invicta watches, an Aveda spa day for two, and luxury hotel stays at exotic InterContinental locations around the globe, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco,  Washington, D.C., Cannes, Paris, Berlin, Athens, Rome, Madrid, London, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Dubai, San Juan, Austin, Bangkok, Moorea, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Melbourne and Sydney. Other hotel auction items will include a stay at Fairmont Scottsdale Princes in Scottsdale, AR.

The crowd will be kept on its glamorous feet with beats by DJ Irie, official DJ for the Miami HEAT, and a grand finale performance by Melanie Amaro, who won over Simon Cowell during the first season of The X Factor in 2011 and secured a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. Melanie was born in Fort Lauderdale and graduated from Plantation High School in 2010. Amaro will perform her hit single "Don’t Fail Me Now,” which premiered Aug. 1, 2012, as well as selections from her soon-to-be-released debut album on which she is collaborating with R&B artist Ciara. Amaro made a splash during Super Bowl XLVI, singing a dance cover of "Respect" alongside Elton John, Flavor Flav and Annie Ilonzeh in a Pepsi commercial. The song quickly climbed to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Dance/Club Chart.
 
For the fifth consecutive year, Nightclub Vice Chairman Michael Capponi of The Capponi Group will spearhead the official Ball after-party at the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Nightclub, introducing Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida to the next generation of contributors. The after party will come to life with a fashion show by Traver Rains, who will debut his Bollywood-inspired Spring/Summer 2013 Collection. Rains was the designing partner to Richie Rich of fashion line Heatherette, the red carpet gowns of which have been a hit among Hollywood stars. The InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Nightclub will serve as the perfect backdrop for Rains, who will incorporate Indian fabrics and accessories in what is sure to be a spectacular ode to all things Bollywood.
 
Presented by Capponi and the Three Amigos, along with Nightclub Co-Chairmen Maxwell Blandford, Danny Estevez, Clif Loftin and Antonio Misuraca, the mezzanine-turned-chic-nightclub will come to life with beats by DJ Joe Dert. Reservations for the Nightclub can be made at 305.695.4410 or RSVP@CapponiGroup.com. Individual nightclub tickets cost $100.
 
Host Committee members for the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Nightclub include Aaron Glickman; Anthony J. Marzilli; Christopher Dischino; Courtney Moore; David L. Roth; Eddie Solis; Edwin G. Sellers Jr.; Ezra Simon; Guigo Simoes; Hope Gainer; Jake Roberts; Jerry Babij; Jonathan Wolfson; Laura de Gunzburg; Leah Marie Parisian; Louis Fonseca; Luigi Lone; Marko Gojanovi; Michael Malone; Natalie Navarro; Rich Santelises; Sabrina Barnett; Sarah Bromley; Shelley Figueroa; and Stephanie Roy.

The mission of Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. In its 17-year history, the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball has raised in excess of $10.7 million. With these much needed funds, the Foundation has been able to grant more than 2,300 wishes for deserving children in our community. Past VIP guests of the Ball have included Paula Abdul, Sharon Stone, Kim Kardashian, Esteban Cortazar, Pamela Anderson, former Florida governor Charlie Crist, Scottie and Larsa Pippen, Russell Simmons, Venus and Serena Williams, Don King, Sex in the City’s Candace Bushnell, Marcus Schenkenberg, Pauly Shore, and performers Joan Jett, Macy Gray, Natalie Cole, Wyclef Jean, Bernadette Peters, the late Nell Carter, Deborah Gibson, and The Honey Brothers, featuring Adrian Grenier.