HYFIN – Milwaukee's only Urban Alternative radio station, from Radio Milwaukee – will host its Anti-Gala fundraiser Thursday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. at Turner Hall Ballroom, 1040 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.
Inspired by director Sidney Lumet's 1978 film take on “The Wizard of Oz” called “The Wiz” – starring Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor and Michael Jackson – the event is HYFIN’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
Organizers say the event will, “bring the whimsy of the ‘The Wiz’ together with the boundless creativity and innovation of Afrofuturism, which expresses notions of Black identity, agency and freedom through art, creative works and activism that envision liberated futures for Black life.”
In addition to an awards ceremony honoring Black talent in Milwaukee, the event will include a “The Wiz”-inspired fashion show by Edessa School of Fashion; a video DJ set by DJ Bizzon; and a menu also inspired by the film from The Diplomat’s Dane Baldwin, Vegan Soul’s Zakiya Courtney and Heavens Table BBQ’s Jason Alston.
There is also an online auction, which you can find here.
Tickets start at $75 and can be ordered online here.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
