Everyone wants to celebrate Pride in Miami Beach this Saturday, April 16! In addition to Bravo’s Andy Cohen who will be leading the parade, expect appearances by Miss Richfield 1981, Elvis Crespo and Erika Jayne. Also, deejays Miik, Bill Kelly, Vixen, Sayho and Jody McDonald will whip the crowd into a dancing frenzy. For those who want to know more about some of these entertainers, read on.
Star Power – Miami Beach Gay Pride brings out the Celebs
Everyone wants to celebrate Pride in Miami Beach this Saturday, April 16! In addition to Bravo’s Andy Cohen who will be leading the parade, expect appearances by Miss Richfield 1981, Elvis Crespo and Erika Jayne. Also, deejays Miik, Bill Kelly, Vixen, Sayho and Jody McDonald will whip the crowd into a dancing frenzy. For those who want to know more about some of these entertainers, read on.
Andy Cohen is Bravo’s Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development and will be the Grand Marshal of the 2011 Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade. Since Cohen took over the network’s current development and production slate of over two dozen shows, the network has become the home of gay viewers’ reality TV favorites, including hits such as the Emmy and James Beard award-winning “Top Chef,” “”Top Chef Masters,” “The Real Housewives” series, “Kathy Griffin My Life On the D List,” “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” “Million Dollar Listing,” “The Rachel Zoe Project,” “The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection,” “Bethenny Ever After,” “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover” and “Flipping Out.” Cohen is well-known for hosting (and producing) “Watch What Happens,” Bravo’s late night, interactive, weekly talk show that features guests from the world of entertainment, politics and pop culture. He is also a frequent guest on Today with “Kathie Lee and Hoda.” In February, Cohen teamed up with British rugby player Ben Cohen to film a video for the It Gets Better Project, offering a message about acceptance and celebrating differences. Cohen will surely be a crowd pleaser this weekend.
Miss Richfield 1981 is kicking off Miami Beach Pride with a performance at the Colony Theater on April 15 at 8 p.m. and will make an appearance the next day at Pride. In her new show, “30 Years On The Throne!”, Miss R looks back at her storybook life celebrating three decades of beauty sovereignty as reigning queen of Richfield, Minnesota, “where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage.”
Dedicating her life to the friendly citizens and responsible merchants of her hometown, Miss Richfield 1981 is fast becoming one of America’s national treasures. This Midwestern maven is winning over theater and cabaret audiences around the country with an interactive format that combines homespun warmth and edgy improv, leaving audiences in hysterics with a truly original performance. Miss Richfield’s national appeal includes riotous appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Today” on NBC, “Cake Boss” on TLC, and “Weekends With Samantha Brown” on Travel Channel. Her live performances have received critical acclaim and The New York Post recently honored “Miss Richfield 1981 as the must-see act in Provincetown”. The Chicago Sun-Times described Miss Richfield as “Garrison Keillor mixed up with Mary Tyler Moore.”
A portion of the tickets and proceeds from a raffle will benefit Miami Beach Pride and GLAAD.
Puerto Rican-American Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Winner Elvis Crespo is known for his Meringue music. He started out in Grupo Mania in the mid-90s and went solo in 1998. His debut album called “Suavemente” was a hit in Latin America and the United States. “Suavemente” set a record for holding the top position on Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks chart for six weeks. His follow-ups include “Wow Flash!” and “Regresó el Jefe.”
Dance diva Erika Jayne Jayne arrived on the club scene in 2007 with her song “Rollercoaster”, which went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. She followed the hit up in 2008 with “Stars,” which reached number one on Billboard’s Hot Dance Airplay chart. She released the album Pretty Mess last year, which features more dance hits.
A native of Miami, DJ Miik had a residency at The Copa in Ft Lauderdale when he was just 23-years-old. He holds the title of longest running resident DJ in the southeastern United States at a major nightclub with nearly nine years spinning Fridays at the Saint and Coliseum in Fort Lauderdale. He spun alongside Peter Rauhofer at The White Party’s headlining event, White Starz in 2007 attended by nearly 5,000 people.
Bill Kelly is the co-founder and director of the Winter Music Conference (WMC), the largest dance music convention in the world. The event generates over $250 million in taxable revenues for Miami Dade County, and earned Bill the Key to the City of Miami Beach, induction into the Dance Music Authority Magazine’s “Hall of Fame” and a Life-Time achievement awards from the DJ Awards given this past September in Ibiza.
Born and raised in Miami, Sayho has brought his touch to events like Winter Party Festival, White Party Week and Winter Music Conference. He reached Global DJ Status when he was invited to Europe for Barcelona’s Summertime LoveBall Festival.
DJ Jody has entertained at Sony Ericsson Open championship game, American Express host tent (Super Bowl XLI), Wellington Polo Club’s annual breast cancer equestrian championship, and Ocean Drive’s Art Basel event, as well as, the celebrity nuptials of Met’s catcher Mike Piazza and Creed front-man, Scott Stapp.
For information on these and the many other performers who will be at Miami Beach Gay Pride, visit MiamiBeachGayPride.com
