Stop the Violence group to host ‘Celebration of Life’ gala at Rivers Club

Stop the Violence-Pittsburgh will present “The Gathering: Pittsburgh’s Celebration of Life” on April 4, at the Rivers Club, located at 301 Grant St., inside One Oxford Centre.
A Media Red Carpet event will be held at 5 p.m. in the Atrium of the Oxford Centre, followed by the Black Tie Affair from, 6-10 p.m. hosted by celebrity guest actor Pooch Hall.
“It is very important to show the collective work of people doing positive things to address and highlight incidents of violence inside the Black Community. The Gathering event has a fashion segment, comedy show, live band entertainment, motivational speakers and an award ceremony to honor individuals who are making a difference in our community,” said William Marshall of B. Marshall Productions.
The entire evening is planned to be packed with festivities that will keep the guests entertained.
There will be an award ceremony honoring Michael Bartley and Tonia Caruso of WQED and the New Pittsburgh Courier for its reporting on Black on Black crime within Allegheny County.
All proceeds from this event go directly to the production cost, national entertainment and advertisement of the 2015 Juneteenth: Black Arts Festival scheduled June 20 and 21 in Market Square of downtown Pittsburgh.
Stop the Violence-Pittsburgh is grateful to get the support of the Rivers Club and Oxford Centre for providing their facilities, Marshall said. Here are additional sponsors, donors and supporters who are contributing to the Celebration of Life Event; The Rivers Casino, Drusky Entertainment, Attorney Robert Stewart, Zellous Hope Project, POISE Foundation, Larrimors, E. B. Peppers, Roberta Weissburg Leathers, Kiya Tomlin, Rashida Thomas of Sheda’s Fashions, Docherty Modeling Agency, Willie Gee’s Fashions, Anji Corley, Professor Larry E. Davis of the University of Pittsburgh, LueAnn Coward and state Representative Ed Gainey.
“We selected ‘The Gathering: Pittsburgh’s Celebration of Life’ as the title of the affair because most of our get togethers are behind some incident of shooting violence or killing in our communities so why not come together for a celebration of life,” Marshall said.
Marshall and Kamau Jackson, of Internet Knowledge Solutions, are the planners of the event.
Hall will be hosting the event. Hall is a well-known actor, best known for his starring role in the BET hit series, “The Game,” and Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” He is also a community activist and heavily involved in charity work. He is involved in charity work affecting the plight of Black males throughout the country, which made him a good fit to host the event.
Stop the Violence-Pittsburgh is seeking to reach the capacity of the venue, which is 150-250 people.
At the end of the event, there will be an opportunity for others to donate and contribute to the Black Arts Festival that will take place later this summer in Market Square.
(If interested in attending this grand event, it is not too late to purchase tickets. Tickets are still available now. Please call 724-205-9376 or email theGatheringPgh@gmail.com.)
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter  https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Download our mobile app at https://www.appshopper.com/news/new-pittsburgh-courier