We Speak Events

Hill Harper, Mayor Kasim Reed, Dr. Jackie Walters Attend the 5th Annual “50 Shades of Pink” Fundraiser

Published

8 years ago

October 16, 2017

umeektv

MIE Images/ Marcus Ingram

(ATLANTA) – October 15, 2017 – Last night, the 50 Shades of Pink Foundation, founded by award-winning OBGYN and tv personality Dr. Jackie Walters, presented its 5th Annual Fashion Show Fundraiser in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Atlanta City Hall was immaculately transformed into a pink wonderland of chic decor, as over 200 guests – dressed in 1920s flapper-style attire – filled the Atrium to celebrate the breast cancer survivors and supporters featured on the runway.

The event began with a heartfelt poem by Hank Stewart followed by welcome remarks from Atlanta Municipal Court Judge and honorary event chair Terrinee Gundy and 50 Shades of Pink Foundation executive director Gary Andrews. Andrews then introduced the evening’s host — actor/author/philanthropist Hill Harper, who shared his story of being diagnosed with cancer several years ago.

The fashion show opener was a lively tap dance routine by Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies, after which, dozens of beautiful models strutted the runway in designs by Linda Bezuidenhout and Bramer Leon. The sight of the models – many of whom were recent cancer “warriors” – was inspiring and illustrated the foundation’s mission of catering to the emotional well-being of breast cancer patients and their families.

After the fashion presentation, Hill Harper and Dr. Jackie led an auction to find individual donors to sponsor the 50 Shades of Pink Gift Baskets that the foundation provides to breast cancer patients. Then, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed closed the program with a surprise check for $20,000 to the foundation to further their efforts to bring comfort and care to breast cancer survivors.

Special guests in attendance were Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms, “Married to Medicine” stars Dr. Heavenly Kimes, Mariah Huq, Curtis Berry and many more.

Sponsors of the 50 Shades of Pink Fundraiser were Ford Motor Company, The Cochran Firm, Jack Daniels, and All N One Security Services. Special thanks to event producer Eboni Cummings, S.T.E.P.S. Events and the City of Atlanta.

For more information on the 50 Shades of Pink Foundation, visit 50ShadesofPinkFoundation.org.

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We Speak Comedy

Caitlin Cook’s Musical Bathroom Odyssey Hits the UK

Published

1 week 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.