Diamonds & Denim looked a little different this year as the annual event evolved to keep patrons safe while still raising money for the South Florida Baptist Hospital Foundation.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event shifted to still offer something that could help raise funds for the hospital while also ensuring social distancing to keep attendees safe.
A maze winding through the Florida Strawberry Festival’s parking lot last Thursday night was used to funnel in the hundreds of vehicles that had purchased meals for the event. As cars arrived they turned in their tickets, waved to the committee members and slowly wove their way toward the large tents that stored the many bags of dinners.
The committee members, all donning denim masks, then loaded the meals into the backs of the vehicles via customized Diamonds & Denim coolers. Families then took their meals home and enjoyed the massive spreads in the comfort of their own dining rooms. Steak, chicken, rolls, vegetables, baked potatoes, salad, cupcakes, cookies and the legendary cocktail shrimp were all packaged up for the guests.
But the party didn’t stop with the meals. A Facebook Live event was held that night so that attendees would still have “Dinner and a Show To-Go.” The live event had three drawings: a drawing for a diamond ring, the 50/50 drawing and the Grand Prize drawing. There was also a silent auction up for four days during the week of the event.
Last year, the foundation was able to raise $117,000 for the hospital.