The Edit by Brett Graff
SocialMiami's editor covers what's happening, what's opening, and what's being distilled in Miami.
Catwalk for Charity
On Sunday, Angles for Humanity threw the Catwalk for Charity fashion show and luncheon to bring much needed aid to the victims of Haiti’s recent 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Held at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, the organization honored actress Garcelle Beauvais, who sat with her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills castmate Sutton Stracke and featured a runway spilling with designs from Trang Phung and Nardos Imam plus a performance by the Gypsy Kings. There to see it all, sip champagne and sport their Sunday brunch best was a well-heeled crowd that included Rene Ruiz, Tracy Wilson Mourning, Eliah Campbell-Beavers, Ariel Penzur Milgroom, Orianne Collins and husband Tom Bates, plus plenty of ladies from the upcoming Real Housewives of Miami including Guerdy Abraira, Louis Aguirre, Marysol Patton and Alexia Echevarria.
Ball and Chain to Reopen
Ball & Chain in Little Havana, the bar and music venue, will reopen after a year, says it’s owners Mad Room Hospitality. “We are so excited to welcome back our patrons from near and far,” the company said in a statement, “and encourage them to check our social media handles in the coming days for an official opening date. We cannot wait to salsa once again at The World Famous Ball & Chain!”
Duke & Dame
Duke & Dame Salted Caramel whiskey held it’s three-year anniversary party at Red Rooster in Overtown. Owners of the Miami-based company Amani Macaulay and Chima Burley were there and celebrating with specialty cocktails and passed bites from restaurant owner Marcus Samuelsson’s celebrated menu. While the company is local, the whiskey is bottled and distilled in Jacksonville, the corn – while bourbon is required to be at least 51 percent corn, Duke & Dame is 100 percent corn — comes from Central Florida and the bottles are hand-painted in Miami Lakes. “We touch every part of the state before we hit the shelves,” says Burey.
Brett Graff is SocialMiami.com’s managing editor and has been a journalist covering money, people and power for over 20 years. Graff contributes to national media outlets including Reuters, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and the PBS show, Nightly Business Report. A former U.S. government economist, her nationally syndicated column The Home Economist is first published in The Miami Herald and then on the Tribune Content Agency, where it’s available to over 400 publications nationwide. She is broadcast weekly on two iHeartRadio news shows and is the author of “Not Buying It: Stop Overspending & Start Raising Happier, Healthier, More Successful Kids,” a parenting guide for people who might be tempted to buy their children the very obstacles they’re trying to avoid.