Virtual event raises over $350,000 for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital

The latest show produced in the Media Stage catalog of virtual events was undoubtedly one for the books!

Last Friday, our technical team executed a Celebrity Virtual Wine Tasting in conjunction with the very talented staff at Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital. 500+ ticketed attendees were sent three bottles of wine and a gourmet cheese board in advance of the event to taste and pair along with live sommelier Stacy Babb.

Joining Stacy were BIG 105.9 radio host Doc Reno and two-time World Series champion (“Mr. Marlin”) Jeff Conine hosting from our Media Stage studio. Our space looked a little different than it did for the last few events we’ve done; we designed a tropical themed set with grey drape and neon up-lighting in the background as opposed to using our green screen.

The hosts and sommelier sat at a tiki bar surrounded by palm trees in the center of the shot with the decorated table holding the cheese boards and additional wine bottles at stage right. We switched back and forth between wide shots showing all three talent and individual shots during the interview portion.

Which brings us to the fun part… the celebs! We brought the following guests on virtually to interact with our hosts, answering fun interview questions while sampling the wine selections: Vanilla Ice, Shane Battier, Glen Rice, Gaby Sanchez, Kim Bokamper, Sheldrick Redwine, Davon Godchaux, Kayvon Webster, Jabaal Sheard and Jeff Dellenbach. We can’t forget our four-legged guest: the JDCH therapy dog “Freedom” who enjoyed his own wine-and-cheese dog toy before taking a quick nap on screen… he may have overindulged!

Stacy Babb, Gaby Sanchez, Sheldrick Redwine, Jabaal Sheard, Kayvon Webster We learned a lot about the efforts of Joe DiMaggio Children’s hospital throughout this process (again, having transformed what is usually an in-person gala) including their plans for expansion. We are so proud of their commitment to providing the absolute best care for the children of South Florida and it was truly a blast working with their team. Kudos to Aurelio Fernandez, Jennifer Barb, Kim Carbo and the countless others who played a role in such a successful fundraiser for an amazing cause.