For one night each fall, Miami trades its heat for a manufactured winter, and this year the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball is going all in on ice. The gala's 31st edition, themed "Crystal Castle," will turn the hotel's ballroom into an alpine fantasy of frozen palaces, Gothic detail and Gilded Age glamour on Saturday, November 7, continuing a black-tie tradition that has become the unofficial start of South Florida's charity season.
The Ball marked its 30th anniversary last November with a Cleopatra-themed evening that raised $3 million on the night and, according to Gala Chair Shareef Malnik, had generated $50 million and roughly 10,000 granted wishes over three decades, a figure he tied to an estimated two million people touched across the community, as he told WSVN 7News. That event closed with Marc Anthony performing "Vivir Mi Vida" and drew items like a Lionel Messi jersey and a guitar signed by Taylor Swift for its live auction, according to the same report. The gala has also leaned on vintage glamour before: last year's theme pulled from 1920s Hollywood, with Anwar returning as co-chair alongside Malnik, her husband, in a partnership organizers describe as central to the event's staying power. WSVN + 2
Gabrielle Anwar and Shareef Malnik Lead the Ball Into Its 31st Year
Actress and filmmaker Gabrielle Anwar returns as co-chair alongside her husband, Shareef M. Malnik, who has chaired the gala for more than two decades and serves as Chairman Emeritus of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida. The two are joined again by Glenn Sampert, general manager of InterContinental Miami and the Ball's longtime host, and Norman Wedderburn, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida. The three men are known within the organization as the "Three Amigos," a nickname that has followed the gala's leadership for most of its run. Creative Director Maxwell Blandford, who has designed the Ball's themes for years, said the Crystal Castle concept has been in the works for some time. "From the moment our guests walk through the doors, we want them to feel as though they've stepped out of the heat of Miami and into another alpine world, a fantastical, frozen, gilded kingdom filled with beauty, surprise and a little bit of madness," Blandford said. He added that the design team focuses on lighting, floral work, music and performance cues meant to build a fully theatrical environment rather than a single decorated room.
The Make-A-Wish Ball Keeps Its Headliner a Secret Again This Year
As with past editions, organizers are withholding the name of this year's performer until closer to the event, a tradition that has held even as the gala has booked acts like Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Steven Tyler, Marc Anthony, Adam Lambert and Sting in prior years. Guests will dine on a menu prepared by InterContinental Miami Executive Chef Francesco Martini, with cocktails supplied by Southern Wine & Spirits, a sponsor the organization says has backed the Ball since it began. After dinner, the evening moves into the hotel's dedicated Make-A-Wish Nightclub, produced by Blandford alongside Clif Loftin, Nicholas Zazzera and Gus Muñoz, with Puerto Rican rum brand Sonrisa sponsoring the after-party portion of the night.
The Ball's organizers say the gala has granted more than 9,000 wishes for children facing critical illnesses since its founding, funded largely through the annual event and its accompanying auction and sponsorships. Whatever this year's final numbers land on, the event's structure has stayed consistent for three decades: a themed ballroom, a surprise performer, and a nightclub after-party built to keep donors in the room past midnight. For a gala that has outlasted most of the trends it has themed itself around, the bigger story every November 7 tends to be less about the decor and more about whether the room can top what it raised the year before.
