Miami Heat stars, $1,000-a-glass lemonade at Miami Children’s Hospital gala

Miami Heat President Pat Riley, team superstar Dwyane Wade and retired Heatster Alonzo Mourning at the Miami Children's Hospital Gala (Michele Sandberg/Special to Page2Live)
The sideshow of Dwyane Wade making it sorta official that he’s dating C-list actress Gabrielle Union didn’t distract from the true nature of Friday’s fund-raiser for the famed Miami Children’s Hospital, a traditional kickoff of SoFla’s social season.
More than 400 well-heeled South Floridians plunked down $1,000-per for the black tie at the Biltmore Hotel. They watched Wade getting inducted into the hospital’s Hall of Fame for his work with children. And they heard Oprah Winfrey protege Charice, a 17-year-old singer, perform in a voice that puts Whitney Houston’s to shame.
Hard to believe, but the gala was scaled down from last year, when the party on the floor of the AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami featured pop superstar Beyonce.
Still, the guest list this time around wasn’t too shabby. It included Miami Heat head honcho Pat Riley and retired Miami Heat tall-head Alonzo Mourning, who flashed a photo of his month-old son Alijah to anyone who’d offer congratulations.
Organizers already knew they wouldn’t be able to equal last year’s loot, a SoFla-record $12 million. But they tried hard, with clever things like the $1,000 lemonade glass (Frangelico, Stoli, lemonade — and a diamond).
For a slew of pictures of the gala by Michele Sandberg, look below




















