*The 10th Annual Merge Summit Gala honoring comedian, media personality, and author Steve Harvey, Michelle Thornton (SVP, Media Sales at BET Her), and faith leader Bishop Joe L. Ealy took place last night at The Hilton Universal to kickoff a weekend of festivities. Guests showed up in their finest for the celebration.
The gala was part of a weekend devoted to the summit’s mission of bringing leaders together to “teach, prepare, and inspire” the next wave of leaders in entertainment and ministry. From outspoken politician Maxine Waters, to musical guest Mali Music, the carpet was filled with inspiration. Also in attendance was the legendary Faith Evans whose vocals could be heard outside of the gala doors. Faith attended with her husband, music producer and tv star, Stevie J. I had the pleasure of speaking with producer, best-selling author, and preacher DeVon Franklin, who did a meet and greet for the summit earlier today, and stated last night that aside from being “excited” to be there that he was “happy that Merge is able to celebrate 10 years because in terms of conferences, that isn’t always an easy thing to do.”
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The red carpet wasn’t the only cause for excitement, as there were plenty of social media worthy opportunities such as the 360 Glam Cam which gave attendees a 360 degree, 3D video to post to social media instead of the normal photo booth experience. To see just how creative some of the guests got with their videos, check out
@TheMergeSummit on Instagram.
The weekend is sure to provide plenty of motivation as numerous activities such as vision board sessions, panels and performances are planned. The Merge Summit is taking place in Universal City, California now through the 13th. For a full list of events and information on how to purchase tickets, visit MergeSummit.com.
EUR Extra Coverage … Video from the Merge Awards Gale red carpet:
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