Make-A-Wish Southern Florida and InterContinental Miami announced the 28th Annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball raised over $5 million net of expenses – setting a new record for the esteemed event. The glamourous evening was headlined by legendary talent Sting, who performed a private concert for 900 Ball guests.

Actress and filmmaker Gabrielle Anwar made her return for the 12th year as Celebrity Emcee of the Ball, chaired for the 18th year by Anwar’s philanthropist husband Shareef M. Malnik. Notables at the black-tie extravaganza included supermodel Karolina Kurkova and actor husband Archie Drury, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez with wife Gloria Suarez, co-host of ABC’s The View Ana Navarro; Miami HEAT Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning, fashion designer Naeem Khan, artist Romero Britto, Al & Nancy Malnik, Gala Cohen, Dan Baker & Gladys Taggart, Peter & Tatiana Cancro, Dennis Crowley & Maria Haupert, Eugene & Brooke Frenkel, Ken Gorin, Michael Liebowitz, Joseph Perez, Missy & Barry Skolnick, Richard & Robin Weissman, Judd & Laura Zebersky, Maxwell Blandford, Alex de Armas, Dennis DeGori, Ken DeGori, Kamal Hotchandani, Andre Zotoff, Drs. Ginger & Roger Medel, Hon. Marissa Mendez, Jeff Miller, Belkys Nerey, Lee Brian Schrager, and Jerry Joseph.

Welcoming guests to the highly anticipated 28th Annual InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball were Glenn Sampert, Gala Host of the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball and General Manager of InterContinental Miami; Shareef M. Malnik, Gala Chair of the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball, Chairman of the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Nightclub for the past 16 years, Chairman Emeritus of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida, and Chairman of the Make-A-Wish Capital & Endowment Campaign; and Norman Wedderburn, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Southern Florida – the trio affectionately known as the “Three Amigos.”

The Ball’s unique theme was “OCULUS – Le Sceptre Rose,” transporting guests into a thrilling evening of adventure and intrigue. Conceptualized by Creative Director Maxwell Blandford, the InterContinental Miami was transformed into the fictional “World Museum of Art | Musée Mondial D’art” – home to the world’s largest collection of art and jewels in Paris, including the prized “Le Sceptre Rose,” which has gone missing.

Enter “OCULUS,” an elite team of spies – a.k.a. Ball attendees – who were tasked with identifying the burglars and returning the masterpiece to its rightful place.

The hotel’s entrance and lobby paid homage to iconic spy dramas of the late 50’s and early 60’s, such as Goldfinger and The New Avengers with triumphal 3D columns and archways reminiscent of a vintage pop-up book, with a luminated 10-foot-high marquee that welcomed guests to Ce Soir, Le Bal Make-A-Wish A L’InterContinental Miami Presente OCULUS “Le Sceptre Rose.”

Performers masquerading as secret agents guided attendees into the Grand Ballroom for dinner service. A “museum-heist procession” led guests via a passageway located beneath a “Louvre Pyramid” homage. Lavishly appointed in jewel-tone hues, the ballroom’s tablescapes featured centerpieces of lush red roses, deep purples hydrangea, and champagne roses bursting out of gold candelabras.

The gourmet dinner menu created by Chef Jhonnatan Contreras included “The Wellington,” a culinary take on the classic dish, using Wagyu beef, forest mushroom paté, truffle cheddar, and cabernet truffle demi-glace. Dessert was the showstopper “The Stolen Rose,” an exquisite rose-shaped work of art composed of caramel chocolate mousse atop a hazelnut brownie, coated in a bold pink rhubarb coulis.

Mr. and Mrs. Malnik – aka Shareef and Gabrielle – kicked off the ballroom festivities with their “dramatic moment,” a long-standing Ball tradition. This year, the dynamic duo starred in a “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”-inspo video artfully directed and produced by Edward Perez of GE Vision Studios. With the bejeweled crowd thoroughly engaged, world-renowned mentalist Lior Suchard took the stage, astonishing guests with his extraordinary mind-reading skills.