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