Jeff Kennedy & Dean Lewis
Tatyana Aviles & Bradley Sanders
Jennifer Friedrich & Freida Flowers
Back: Doug Landreth, Louis Cooper & Asher Balfour
Front: Brian Heike & Donna Stough
Chandra & Corey McKern
Sarah Wagner & Maris Jimenez
S
tronger Together NWFL and Gay
Grassroots hosted the 3rd Annual
Winter Gala on Saturday, December
9. This “kick-off” event was held
from 6-10pm, and was the fi rst of the season.
This year, the annual Gala was moved to
the Pensacola Opera house, in the heart
of downtown, to allow for more ample
attendance.
A gourmet holiday buffet dinner, wine and
specialty drinks, live entertainment, holiday
decor and gift auction, door prizes, and a
caroling sing-along were included for only
$25. Suggested attire was holiday, cocktail,
semi-formal dress. The menu for the night
featured baked ham, roast turkey, southern
dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, and
other holiday favorites.
Door prizes and raffl e items were
graciously provided by Rodney Kehl, OWA
Amusement Park, Randall’s Formalwear,
Jeffrey Dean’s Personal Roast Coffee, native
author Jay Watkins, Painting With a Twist,
Handmade Mercantile, Cactus Flower Café,
the Pensacola Ice Flyers, Grover T’s BBQ,
the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Urban Objects,
Big Kahuna’s Water Park, the Pensacola
Little Theatre, and many others.
Stronger Together NWFL is a grassroots
organization that unities people who stand
for creating positive social change through
education, political, and social action. Events
like the Winter Gala are held throughout the
year to fund and encourage movement and
planning for the organization’s largest event
of the year, which is the Festival in the Park:
Pensacola Pride.
Winter
Gala
photos & story by
Kristina Wright
Debby Meyer & Jason Pasicznyk
VIP Pensacola at Pensacola Opera
presented by Gay
Grassroots of NWFL
74 | VIPPensacola.com
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12/26/17 4:53 PM