Heavy/Hallmark Erica Ash, Karen Pittman, and Joyful Drake in Hallmark's "Unthinkably Good Things"
One very lucky Hallmark fan is about to land a role in one of the network’s upcoming movies. On October 1, 2023, Hallmark’s Mahogany division will host its first-ever “Mahogany Moment” event, according to Atlanta Daily World, full of celebrity speakers, special workshops, lunch and giveaways — including the walk-on role — at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta.
Here’s what you need to know:
One Event Attendee Will Win Role in 2024 Hallmark Movie
GettyTabitha Brown headlines the first-ever Hallmark Mahogany event
The theme of the first “Mahogany Moment” event is “Transform Inspiration into Action,” according to the Mahogany website with a goal of giving guests a chance to “connect, create, and cultivate ideas with Black creatives.”
Emmy-nominated actress and social media influencer Tabitha Brown is the day’s headliner, and attendees will also hear inspiring presentations from guests including HGTV’s Egypt Sherrod, “Real Housewives of Atlanta” cast member Cynthia Denis Bailey, and Hallmark Media’s Toni Judkins, who oversees all of the movies produced under the Mahogany banner.
Alexis Kerr, vice president of Hallmark Mahogany, said in a statement, “For nearly 40 years, Hallmark Mahogany has connected with Black women through its creative expertise and the successful expansion into a lifestyle brand. I am thrilled to continue that with Mahogany Moment by uniting talented Black women in a dynamic gathering, providing them with a platform to network, gain empowerment, and effectively accelerate their creativity.”
General Admission tickets cost $199 while VIP access, which includes a “virtual debrief with Hallmark Mahogany creatives,” is $249. All guests receive lunch ad a goodie bag of Mahogany merchandise, but Kerr told news program 11Alive that only VIP guests will be eligible to win the walk-on role in a 2024 Mahogany movie.
“We’ve had so many people excited about the expansion of the Mahogany brand into films, so on a quarterly basis on the Hallmark Channel you will see an amazing Mahogany film,” Kerr said. “And now in 2024 we wanted to lend an incredible opportunity to someone live on site to be able to have that walk-on role.”
Kerr didn’t say which movie or exactly what kind of walk-on role will be given away. According to IMP Acting Academy, there are three types of walk-on roles, ranging from people with no lines who serve as background extras to those who actually follow a script and have a speaking part.
Kerr, who came up with the idea for the event, told 11Alive that Atlanta was chosen to host the first “Mahogany Moment” because it’s “one of the top five cities for Black women when we think about entrepreneurship, when we think about creativity, when we think about artistry.”
Hallmark Media Launched Mahogany Movies in 2021
Getty on behalf of The Alliance for Women in Media FoundationFrom L to R: Reps and stars of Hallmark’s Mahogany movie brand attend the 48th Annual Gracie Awards in May 2023
Two years ago, Hallmark Media started and has since expanded its Mahogany movie franchise, based on the decades-long Hallmark Cards line of the same name. Starting with its launch in 2021, Hallmark Media announced that movies made under the Mahogany banner would offer “powerful storytelling that exemplifies Hallmark’s core ethos – family, community, human connection, positivity, and the transformational power of love – through the unique lens of Black culture.”
In May, the team behind the Mahogany movie “Unthinkably Good Things,” which premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in August 2022, won a Gracie Award for Best Made for Television Movie. The awards — given out annually by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation — are named after beloved actress Gracie Allen, a groundbreaking comedian in the 1940s and 50s who often collaborated with her husband, fellow comic George Burns, to honor the “invaluable contributions women make in shaping our media landscape,” per the organization.
Most recently, the franchise also expanded into podcasting, with the August launch of “Crimson Hearts Collide,” an eight-episode audio series, which is Hallmark’s first-ever scripted podcast.
There’s also a Mahogany movie planned as part of Hallmark’s 2023 “Countdown to Christmas” lineup. A movie starring Mishael Morgan, Ronnie Rowe Jr., and Jaime M. Callica with the working title “Christmas With a Kiss” is scheduled to premiere on December 3. Hallmark’s synopsis says the movie is about a woman who returns home to help with her family’s Christmas Carnival and romance ignites.”