ON THE FLIP SIDE: A+E JORGE BLANCO: This abstract artist just wants to have fun. FAMILIAR FACE: Philanthropy fuels Dottie Baer Garner. 8
BLACK
YOUROBSERVER.COM
TIE
MAY 3, 2018
Photos by Kayleigh Omang
Co-Chairs Hakim and Melissa Morsli with Umbreen Khalidi-Majeed and Farhan Majeed
Above: CoFounders Shannon RoherPhillips and Neil Phillips. Right: VMA students Angel and Daniel
SUNNY BY DESIGN It’s always sunny in the Visible Men Academy. The motto for VMA is “Let your life shine,” which sparked the name of the gala, Shine On! In the nature of the Sunshine State, yellow was the color of the evening. Guests dressed in warm colors, channeling the bright Florida sky overhead and matching the vibrant tablescapes.
SHINE ON! Saturday, April 27, at Visible Men Academy | Benefiting Visible Men Academy
KAYLEIGH OMANG BLACK TIE REPORTER
B
etween the smiling students, guests and bright yellow color scheme, there was a particularly sunny feeling in the air April 27 at the Visible Men Academy for its third annual Shine On! fundraiser. Students at the academy come from families who are at or below the poverty line. The Visible Men Academy allows these students, who are from kindergarten through fifth grade, to attend the charter school tuition-free. Once inside the building, guests posed in the photo booth before being escorted by an academy student to the tent, which was decorated with metal artwork that was available for guests to purchase. Flags from around the world decorated the ceiling of the tent, representing the countries from which many of the academy’s students come. Before dinner, kindergartners and second-grade stu-
dents performed spoken-word poetry, which received a big round of applause. The evening continued with a welcome from the school’s Arts Coordinator Cedric Hameed, dinner, a live auction and a paddle raise. “Club Shine!” ended the evening by bringing guests to the dance floor with DJ Jay Gordon.
Jerod and Tricia Ward