The Miami Heat's players celebrated the season kickoff and introduced the team to its corporate sponsors at a Havana-style gathering at Villa Ferrari. The mansion, located on Palm Island in Miami Beach, was turned into a sophisticated, tropical paradise.
Guests sipped mojitos and nibbled on hors d'oeuvres while the Miami Heat's team was introduced. The final player—Shaquille O'Neil—created quite a stir amongst the proud invitees. Then it was time to move.
Guests were led through enormous burgundy drapes into a room with Cuban-style decor. Two girls dressed in colorful, ruffled Tropicana-style costumes greeted the crowd and offered guests Perdomo cigars. Café Pilon set up a café stand across from the casino room, where invitees were encouraged to play blackjack or roulette on lit tables courtesy of So Cool Events.
Inside the staged supper club, a band from Suman Entertainment played nostalgic Cuban songs. Nuage Designs dressed the tables in gold-accented burgundy tablecloths and added gold-colored bar stools. For those who preferred to dine overlooking the pool, bay, and cruise ships, tables covered with coffee-colored cloths stood on the ground floor of a multilevel courtyard. Three buffet stations serving authentic Cuban cuisine were situated on the second level of the courtyard, while tables for dominos, a game embraced by the Cuban population, were set up by the Heat Organization on the back patio.
—Ceci Valdes-Shaw
Photos by Ray Llera
Guests sipped mojitos and nibbled on hors d'oeuvres while the Miami Heat's team was introduced. The final player—Shaquille O'Neil—created quite a stir amongst the proud invitees. Then it was time to move.
Guests were led through enormous burgundy drapes into a room with Cuban-style decor. Two girls dressed in colorful, ruffled Tropicana-style costumes greeted the crowd and offered guests Perdomo cigars. Café Pilon set up a café stand across from the casino room, where invitees were encouraged to play blackjack or roulette on lit tables courtesy of So Cool Events.
Inside the staged supper club, a band from Suman Entertainment played nostalgic Cuban songs. Nuage Designs dressed the tables in gold-accented burgundy tablecloths and added gold-colored bar stools. For those who preferred to dine overlooking the pool, bay, and cruise ships, tables covered with coffee-colored cloths stood on the ground floor of a multilevel courtyard. Three buffet stations serving authentic Cuban cuisine were situated on the second level of the courtyard, while tables for dominos, a game embraced by the Cuban population, were set up by the Heat Organization on the back patio.
—Ceci Valdes-Shaw
Photos by Ray Llera
A true Havana-style affair waited behind colossal burgundy drapes at the Miami Heat tip-off dinner at Villa Ferrari.
Perdomo Cigars' expert cigar-maker rolled smokes on site for guests.
The Catering Mill served up exquisite seafood paella.
Playing old-time Cuban hits, the band set a nostalgic tone for the night.
