- February 18, 2025
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Jocelyn Alvis takes in the applause.
Photo by Harry SayerRoberto Villanueva, Clara Reynardus De Villanueva, Debbie Dannheisser
Photo by Harry SayerDaria Fairchild and Donna Koffman
Photo by Harry SayerLola White and Jessica Papineau
Photo by Harry SayerNelli Dovich with Lana and Irina Zub
Photo by Harry SayerMake A Wish family Silas and Tonia Bichler
Photo by Harry SayerCo-chairwoman Terri Klauber with Michael Klauber
Photo by Harry SayerThe Sciturr Family Foundation table
Photo by Harry SayerJon Thaxton and Dru Greene
Photo by Harry SayerSusan Lynch and Ashley Gonzalez
Photo by Harry SayerJavier Hernandez, Jason Klamson and Jeffrey Karasawa
Photo by Harry SayerJorge Roodbeen, Daniella Jack and David Roodbeen
Photo by Harry SayerGeoffrey Michel, Lauren Fineman, Chippy Ajithan and Steven Fineman
Photo by Harry SayerSepi Ackerman and Hilary Yunis
Photo by Harry SayerPresident and CEO Norm Wedderburn
Photo by Harry SayerMake A Wish child Jocelyn Alvis takes in the applause.
Photo by Harry SayerAiden Straughn, Katie Powers, Make A Wish Child Jocelyn Alvis, Torian Alvis, Ava Straughn and Nicole Pepe
Photo by Harry SayerAmanda Bond, Shelley Meyer and Katie Biter
Photo by Harry SayerUmbreen Khalidi-Majeed
Photo by Harry SayerKatie Biter and Linda Poteat-Brown
Photo by Harry SayerJennifer Mitchell, Olga Coronas
Photo by Harry SayerRoxanne Permesly and Maria Beck
Photo by Harry SayerTaylor Marini, COO Richard Kelly and Katie Alexander
Photo by Harry SayerToni-Anne DeNicola
Photo by Harry SayerAshley Thompson, Laura Leeming and Ryan Thompson
Photo by Harry SayerSuzy Kali and Lauren Glassman
Photo by Harry SayerCo-chairwoman Terri Klauber accepts a bouquet.
Photo by Harry SayerEthan and Ellie Biter, Stacy and Ava Mahler, Molly and Maya Biter
Photo by Harry SayerTessa Paulson, Lyn Sky and Mary Katherine Wellborn
Photo by Harry SayerRichard and Michael Scire with Andrea Dunlop and Angelo Sisakes
Photo by Harry SayerMichael Klauber
Photo by Harry SayerJulia Braren with Emma Clarke, Umbreen Khalidi-Majeed and Jennifer Mitchell
Photo by Harry SayerSean Natarajan with Starr and Bill Humphries
Photo by Harry SayerCo-chairwomen Terri Klauber with Renee Phinney
Photo by Harry SayerMax Mann with Lindsay Mouhout
Photo by Harry SayerThe event adopted an Alice In Wonderland theme.
Photo by Harry SayerThe show adopted an Alice in Wonderland theme.
Photo by Harry SayerElizabeth Topp and Shelby Marsh
Photo by Harry SayerMelissa Howard, Emily Stroud, Brenda Michel, Mary Gratehouse and Amy Hoskins
Photo by Harry SayerPavitra Ciavardone and Beth Knopik
Photo by Harry SayerTammy and Sarah Karp with Linday Mouhot and Sofie Wachtmeister
Photo by Harry SayerSherry and Tom Koski with Wendy Feinstein
Photo by Harry SayerThe Make-A-Wish Southern Florida organization has followed a familiar template with its Cooking For Wishes event in years past.
The event brought a number of guests to Michael's On East to cook their own meals under the watchful eyes of chef Jamil Pineda and Phil Mancini.
It worked (though the event space occasionally grew hot with the many stoves) year in and year out, but the organization decided to mix things up for its 2023 outing.
The latest Cooking For Wishes fundraiser took guests through the looking glass to a transformed Circus Arts Conservatory on Feb. 23. The annual event adopted a comprehensive Alice In Wonderland theme that started with Alice welcoming guests at the entrance and the Mad Hatter beckoning crowds into the space.
"I wanted to take this (event) down the rabbit hole from Michael's On East to the Circus Arts Conservatory," co-chairwoman Terri Klauber said. "We've doubled our audience."
Those near-450 people filled the circus space decked out in their wackiest Alice-inspired clothes from Red Queen makeup designs to Chesire Cat costumes.
The night helped the organization provide wishes for dozens of local children a year. Those wishes can take many forms, from meeting celebrities to being a firefighter for a day.
"Some can be a simple shopping spree," Make-A-Wish Southern Florida COO Richard Kelly said. "Some are more elaborate."
One of those more elaborate wishes was provided to wish child Silas Bichler, who traveled to Europe to meet the pope in 2017. Bichler and his mother Tonia attended Cooking for Wishes as a Make A Wish family.
There were also surprises in store. Local Make-A-Wish child Jocelyn Alvis — who said she always wanted to play in the snow — was welcomed onto the stage with her family to have her wish granted with the help of a snow machine raining flurries overhead.
Guests mingled before settling down to cook a series of meals with instructions from Pineda and Mancini. By the end of the night, the crowd had successfully cooked and dined on seafood, steak and a vegetarian plate.
By the end of the night, the event had raised $650,000 which will provide more than 80 wishes for local children.