“How deep is your love for green spaces?” Those are the appropriate words that Dan Gelber, Mayor of Miami Beach, used when he and other city dignitaries’ broke ground on the Maurice Gibb Memorial Park. There is no better way to raise money for a good cause than to put on a drag show. That’s why R House Wynwood is such a popular restaurant, and our friend just raised $100,000 there for his favorite cause. I feel compelled to tell all visitors about an urgent care facility they can visit in a pinch. Everyone I know is so excited that Patty Boyd will be at Books & Books in Coral Gables this Saturday night.

The Maurice Gibb Memorial Park

Miami Beach Mayor, Dan Gelber, the tallest, grew up on Bee Gees music. He was very happy to be involved in the groundbreaking of the Maurice Gibb Memorial Park.

The 60-acre area is slated to become a world-class, musical themed park and tribute to The Bee Gees and their timeless music. Barry, now 75, and his two deceased brothers, twins Maurice and Robin, made Miami their home during the highlight of their careers. Barry still lives here.

The park is located in the Sunset Harbor area of Miami Beach. Situated right on the water’s edge, visitors can enjoy vista views of the Venetian causeway and luxurious boats splashing by.

Everyone loved The Bee Gees. The park will be a great reminder of their popular songs: “Stayin’ Alive,” “More Than a Woman,” and “How Deep Is Your Love.” The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Sadly, Barry Gibb is now the only surviving member of the Bee Gees. Maurice Gibb died in 2003 and Robin in 2012. Barry has continued to make music.

Get more details.

Silver Lining Mentoring Birthday Event Raises $100,000

Tom and Felipe celebrating their success.

Our good friend Tom Shirk held his birthday party and fundraiser for Silver Lining Mentoring with a Drag Queen show at R House Wynwood this past Sunday night that raised $100,000. Oh yes, the food is wholesomely good, the atmosphere is festive and welcoming, and its location is smack in the middle of one of Miami’s biggest entertainment centers. It was packed with supporters for a very worthwhile cause that helps empower youth in foster care to thrive through committed mentoring relationships.

Tom Shirk and yours truly celebrating his birthday.

Our group at the party: Marcia Grand, John DeFaro, Richie Grand, hubby Eliot Hess, Shawn Clarke and Zachary Belil.

We all had a ball because it’s not often these days that you are in a room with such camaraderie. The Drag Queens collected the dollar bills that is customarily given to them for their performances. That night they donated their rewards to the fundraiser.  I don’t know how much they personally collected but I do know $50,000 was donated from the audience within various fundraising activities. A close friend of Tom’s matched the $50,000 so the total for the night was $100,000.

That brought tears to Tom’s eyes because it has a very special meaning to him. He was in foster care for five days before being adopted. He was very lucky. However, millions of children are in the system for years. I met his birth mother, and the woman who adopted him, at his  birthday party last year which was held on the rooftop of his condo building. Tom, along with his husband Felipe Lara, know how to party.

Tom often tells us that the best gift a foster child can get in life is a mentor. One strong person, who consistently is a good friend to a foster child, can make a huge difference in a person’s life. Silver Lining Mentoring is known for the long-term relationships developed in its program.

Thank you, Tom and Silver Lining Mentoring, for your good work. If you want to have a great time in Miami, make sure you book a reservation at R House Wynwood for a Sunday Brunch. It’s a great way to start a week. https://www.rhousewynwood.com/menu

Drag Queen Photos by Eliot Hess

Baptist Health/Urgent Care

There are times when Miami is not all fun and games. I feel compelled to tell all visitors about a facility they can visit in a pinch if they are not feeling well while in town. Baptist Health/Urgent Care at 709 Alton Road is a life saver. Almost everything you may want, and need is in that building. It’s a blessing to have it located a few blocks from my condo because I basically go there for all of my at need medical care and wellness checkups.

The building is not a hospital but rather a satellite Baptist medical center. They have the equipment for every medical test, a sophisticated urgent care facility, physical training department and examining rooms for other medical procedures (colonoscopy and endoscopy) that you arrange with associated doctors.

The whole purpose of the place is to focus on improving health and wellness through preventive, proactive medical care. They are staffed with medical professionals who provide consistent, comprehensive care for all stages of life. The team includes a primary care doctor, advanced nurse practitioner, registered dietitian and social worker to provide services and support for patients and families. They offer same-day appointments. 786-204-4141 to schedule an appointment.

What’s more, they offer easy scheduling and provide most test results within 24 hours. They even take prescriptions from competitors and will handle the preauthorization with your insurance company. Diagnostic services include CT, MRI, X-ray, 3-D mammography, ultrasound, echocardiography, bone density scan, EKG, vascular ultrasound and laboratory services. Yes, you can go there for a hangnail. Baptist Health/Urgent Care will even give you a tour of the entire building. Don’t be sorry, be safe. Get the details.

Books & Books Presents…An Evening with Pattie Boyd

attie Boyd will be debuting her book, “Pattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures.” (Reel Art Press, $49.95) at Books & Books in Coral Gables this Saturday night, April 10th, 7pm. The event is free but you better show up early because many folks in their 60s, 70s, and 80s will be forming a line to meet the legendary model and photographer in person.

The advertisements for the event said, “Pattie will be sitting down Boyd with Books & Books founder Mitchell Kaplan to discuss her fascinating life, from her time as a muse to iconic musicians like George Harrison and Eric Clapton to her career as a talented photographer and author. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to hear from one of the most influential figures in music and culture.”

This event is open to the public and books will be available for purchase the night of the event so make sure to stay after the talk for a book signing.

The book is a deluxe visual treasure trove of photographs, letters, diaries and more from the iconic fashion model, photographer, wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and one of the most famous muses of the 20th century

Pattie Boyd (born 1944) was at the epicenter of the London music and pop-culture scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Pattie Boyd: My Life in Pictures features over 300 photographs and artworks, with Boyd sharing full and intimate access to her personal archive for the first time. Former wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, Boyd is famously the inspiration for Harrison’s “Something” and Clapton’s “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight.” Boyd’s love of photography developed around the time of her marriage to Harrison. She documented their life together, and later also her second marriage to Clapton, capturing a vast archive of images not just as part of two of the most famous marriages of all time, but also documenting their close friends and contemporaries, including Twiggy, David Bailey, Mick Jagger, Billy Preston and the Beatles.

Boyd’s archive also includes letters from her marriages and from friends, including John and Yoko. It includes diary entries, artifacts and artworks, most famously the original Layla album cover painting by Emile Frandsen. It features extensive photographs from her early modeling career for Vogue and Vanity Fair among other publications, giving a fascinating snapshot into the sea change that occurred in the modeling industry from the postwar demure black-and-white approach to the psychedelic, short-skirt, swinging ’60s. It includes portraits and photographs of Boyd taken by some of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, such as David Bailey, Eric Swayne, Terence Donovan, Robert Freeman and Robert Whitaker. The pictorial feast is further animated by Boyd’s accompanying stories and recollections. BUY THE BOOK HERE