Inside The Malnik’s Annual Make-A-Wish Garden Party

Al and Nancy Malnik, Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida Lifetime Benefactors, hosted their annual Garden Party on Sunday, April 17. The private occasion, held at their famous beaux arts Ocean Ridge estate welcomed more than 200 supporters out to celebrate the kickoff of the highly anticipated 22nd anniversary of the InterContinental® Miami Make-A-Wish® Ball. This year’s ball will take place Saturday, November 12, 2016.

Last year, in 2015, the ball raised $2.25 million, bringing the total amount raised over the event’s history to $19.1 million dollars, enough to grant nearly 4,000 wishes.

Shareef Malnik, Gala Chairman and proprietor of The Forge Restaurant | Wine Bar, announced this year’s theme will be La Nuit de l’Animal (Night of the Animal); whilst rallying excitement for another spectacular sell-out event and what is anticipated to be their largest gala to-date. Shareef also announced the reprise of ball celebrity emcee and documentary filmmaker Gabrielle Anwar as well as the attendance of Grammy award-winning entertainer Mariah Carey.

An elegant cellist set the tone for the party, which included summery cocktails and light, gourmet canapés. It was a prefect spring day to be on the estate which occupies two sprawling waterfront lots, just south of Palm Beach.

To top off the afternoon, Make-A-Wish Southern Florida wish recipient’s father Craig Kuperman made a speech to discuss the effect the organization has had on he and his daughters life. His daughter, 15-year old Lauren Kuperman, had her wish to go to Paris, France granted in 2015, not only making his daughter’s dream of going to Europe come true, but provided a monumental experience that will stay with her, forever. The final ending also concluded with a heartfelt moment where Lauren was introduced to her sponsors Andrew Sasson and Chris Paciello.