MIAMI _ "Parkland 17" is more than a number to Dwyane Wade. It is a movement.
That, the Miami Heat guard said Saturday, is why he decided a weekend exhibit with that title at Wynwood's Art Walk.
The gallery was scheduled to be open for 17 hours this weekend, Saturday from noon until midnight and then Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The invitation Wade posted on his Twitter feed, reads, "Dwyane Wade invites you to honor the lives lost on February 14, 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and make a Call to Action."
Part of the event includes a "Call To Action Center," with that element defined as, "As a tribute to the lives lost, we are encouraging people to stop by and take action by contacting their representatives to voice their position on Gun Control by using the Ring your Red Phone Booth."
Wade said it is part of a personal commitment that included surprising students at the school when classes resumed Wednesday.
"More so than anything," he said before Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena, "what I think everyone is trying to do is trying to create a support for Parkland, a support in South Florida, support for the community, for the families. They lost loved ones. And everyone is trying to do it in different ways, in creative ways.
"And that's one of the things, that we're trying to go in multiple ways, is trying to be creative and be supportive, with everything that happened. But also, not letting it just go away: Continue to bring attention to it. Continue to make sure that that message, that the parents, that the students are saying, is being seen and being heard. So just making sure we continue to help with platforms to do that."
