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Why Did Lea Black Postpone Her Annual Gala?

The RHOM star moved the event around a very special performer.

By Jocelyn Vena Oct 13, 2014, 3:46 PM ET

The party will go on, but later than originally scheduled.

The Real Housewives of Miami’s Lea and Roy Black have had to postpone their Blacks’ Annual Gala in order to secure an A-list performer, she's revealed.

According to the New York Post's Page Six, the couple have moved back the date by six months in order to have Aretha Franklin at the event. The party, which is now slated for Oct. 25 (moved from its original March date), was moved because Franklin doesn't fly so she'll have to take a bus to the Florida event. “They better not get a flat tire!” Lea told the site.

Franklin was ultimately booked after Pharrell Williams and Andrea Bocelli couldn't make it. The party will be emceed by E! personality Ross Matthews. Celebrity attendees include Gloria Estefan and Courtney Love.

In 2013, Lea opened up to The Dish about the annual event.

"I don’t think anyone knows how much work goes into it," she said. "I have one person on the charity payroll year round and then we hire somebody maybe for a month or two out of the year. So, it’s basically me and one other person. And when you’re trying to accommodate between 650 and 850 people, and 100-200 auction items, and two or three major A-list performers, and keep everyone happy, and take of the seating, and get the press there and get red carpet handled. It’s overwhelming. I’d say for three months out of the year it’s a full-time job for me. It’s just a huge amount of commitment and work and effort that’s behind the scenes that people just don’t see!"

The gala works with The Consequences Charity and Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Lea. It provides educational resources and experiences for at-risk youth that include scholarships, vocational training, camps, workshops and after school activities encompassing dynamic curriculums that address culture, the arts, life skills as well as workforce preparation. It also works to support transformational learning in the form of prevention, intervention and in lieu of incarceration.

[Source: Page Six]