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Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida and InterContinental® Miami celebrated the 24th Annual InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish® Ball on Saturday, November 3, hosting more than 800 guests at the "Summer of Love"-themed Ball -- inspired by freedom, love, dreams and music. 

The groovy gala was headlined by two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band Chicago Live, and presented by the Finker-Frenkel Legacy Foundation, with opening act by Alisan Porter, winner of NBC's The Voice 2016, who returned for the third year. 

Actress, filmmaker and Ambassador for Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, Gabrielle Anwar, returned as celebrity emcee for the eighth consecutive year, helping the event to raise $2.25 million for Make-A-Wish Southern Florida. Hosted by the InterContinental® Miami, Ball founder and in-kind donor for the past 24 years, the event was chaired by philanthropist Shareef Malnik, Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, who has served as Ball Chairman for the past 14 years. Regarded as one of the Miami charity season’s leading events, the Ball is the highest grossing fundraising event for the Southern Florida Chapter of Make-A-Wish.  

Upon arriving at the red carpet, guests were greeted by entertainers dressed in ethereal white gowns with floral headpieces. Hundreds of oversized paper flowers in varying shades of white draped the step-and-repeat and wound the grand staircase, creating a whimsical garden. Welcoming guests were the Ball’s “Three Amigos” – Shareef Malnik, Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, Gala Chair of the InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish® Ball, and proprietor of The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar; Robert Hill, Gala Host and General Manager of InterContinental® Miami; and Norman Wedderburn, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.