We Speak Events

Future’s Freewishes Foundation Takes Care of the Community

Published

7 years ago

December 19, 2017

Sunday, December 17, over 600 families in the Atlanta metro area were treated to an afternoon filled with holiday joy and the spirit of gift-giving. The FreeWishes Foundation presented its 5th Annual Winter Wishland Extravaganza at Bessie Branham Park in Kirkwood.

The Christmas celebration wrapped up the foundation’s holiday season giving campaign and was hosted by DJ Greg Street (V-103 Radio Personality) with a special appearance by Grammy nominated recording artist Future. Special thanks to this year’s sponsors, Freebandz, BMI,Toys For Tots, The Atlanta Music Project, DJ Greg Street, Kali Dance Studio, Alpha Industries, and Vibe Ride.

Lines were wrapped around the park awaiting entry to the most anticipated holiday charity event of the year. When doors opened, hundreds of families were wowed by the winter wonderland transformation of the Bessie Branaham gymnasium. Kids walked into a production filled with giant nutcracker statues, a station to decorate Christmas cookies, a musical picture booth with Santa and Mrs. Claus, access to Santa’s toy shop filled with mounds of electronics, bikes, game consoles and more.

Each child was gifted with a brand new coat and toys to take home! The families also received customized hoodies donated by Freebandz Touring. In addition, families enjoyed free food and drinks, a special musical performance by the Atlanta Music Project, dancing by the Kali Dance Studio and were able to win huge raffles by participating in the annual dance competition!

This year marked 5 years of philanthropic efforts in the community for the FreeWishes Foundation founded by mother and son duo, Future and Stephanie Jester. “We are truly humbled to be able to give back to so many deserving families.

Future and I are completely filled with joy when we see so many smiling faces from the mothers, fathers and children”, said Stephanie Jester, President and co-founder of FreeWishes Foundation.

The crowd erupted when Future made his grand entrance and greeted attendees. Future also spoke to the eager crowd of children and gave away raffles that included iPads, Xbox game systems, bicycles and a chance to take pictures with the superstar!

Up Next

Join North Metro’s One Hundred Black Men

Don't Miss

Future to Host 5th Annual Winter Wishland Through FreeWishes Foundation

Michael Walker

Click to comment

We Speak Comedy

Caitlin Cook’s Musical Bathroom Odyssey Hits the UK

Published

3 days ago

May 9, 2025

Joni Jones

What do cowboy dicks, milk pistols, and public toilet walls have in common? They all find a strange kind of poetry in The Writing on the Stall, the wildly inventive musical comedy from US performer Caitlin Cook, landing in the UK this summer. After sold-out runs Off-Broadway, at Edinburgh Fringe, and in London, the New York Times Critic’s Pick returns for a short UK tour—playing Brighton’s Komedia (31 May & 1 June) and Soho Theatre, London (4–7 June).

Set entirely in a public bathroom, The Writing on the Stall is anything but private. In this whip-smart and wickedly funny one-woman musical, Cook dives into the scrawled messages and mysterious wisdom etched on cubicle walls and turns them into something bold, bizarre, and unexpectedly moving. The songs are catchy, the jokes are razor-sharp, and the show isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty—literally.

Armed with a guitar and a knack for digging gold out of the obscene, Cook crafts a genre-defying hour that’s part stand-up, part cabaret, and all catharsis. This is confessional comedy with clever hooks, pitch-perfect melodies, and enough surprises to keep your eyebrows permanently raised. Expect satire, sincerity, and some surreal props—rumour has it a pair of slingshotted knickers makes a cameo.

Caitlin Cook isn’t your average musical comic. She’s Oxford-educated, New York-hardened, and streaming in the tens of millions. She’s also collaborated with some of comedy’s finest, directed offbeat hits, and performs as one-half of the musical duo 2/3rds of a Threesome. With this new UK run, she’s not just touring a show—she’s building a movement that blurs the lines between comedy, theatre, and performance art.

If you missed her during her Edinburgh frenzy, this is your chance to catch the musical everyone’s been whispering about in pub toilets and shouting about in five-star reviews. You might come for the laughs, but you’ll stay for the songs that (fair warning) may live rent-free in your head for months.