Note: If viewing Michael Jackson Ultimate Archive on archive.org (Wayback Machine), please view the latest snapshot of this page for the most up-to-date information and media.

Romero Britto Tribute / Neverland Charity Event

Date confirmed on event program (archived from archived eBay listing)

Michael Jackson, event program (archived)

My Dearest Guests,

Welcome to Neverland Valley Ranch. I’m so happy you could all be here today.

I am proud to be involved with events such as this, which bring so much good into this world. I am happy you have come, joining me in hosting this tribute for Romero Britto. Romero is a talented individual, with great reach and a huge heart.

Charities dedicated to helping children in need, uniting diverse groups of people, and then helping impoverished countries, will benefit from your gracious generosity.

Today, you will experience, first-hand, that Neverland is an incredible place. Neverland is much more than my home; it is also the source for much of my inspiration. I am confident that your experience here today will be one you never forget.

Sincerely,

Michael Jackson

KIIS-FM Broadcast from Neverland Valley Ranch (archived)

Thank you all for coming tonight. For in my opinion, in my opinion, is a very special cause and the cause is our future and the future is our children. I will continue to fight for them for the rest of my life. I thank Rick Dees, you're the man, and KIIS FM. I love you Rick! [laughs] I love you, thank you so much!

Arus, attendee, “Coffee with Michael” blog (December 22, 2010) (archived)

On September 9, 2003, I read a post at the old MJJFORUM (now MJJC) saying that they were giving away free tickets at 102.7 KIIS FM to go to Neverland for a charity after-party on September 13, 2003.  I immediately got a hold of all the phones I could find in my house and began dialing. After trying for about an hour, I finally got through.  When I got through they told me that they already had a winner. I told them that it was my dream to visit Neverland and started talking about what Michael meant to me and I believe the operator truly heard the sincerity in my voice and put me on hold.  I was put on hold for about a half hour and was told that I might soon be getting some good news.  The next thing I knew I was on air being granted 4 free tickets to Neverland. In my mind, I thought this day was the luckiest day of my life.  Little did I know that the luckiest day was yet to come…

September 13 came and we were told to meet at the KIIS FM studios in Burbank and we were driven to Los Olivos in a huge bus. When we got there, we had to sign several contracts, and then we were finally let into those big, beautiful, golden, stunning gates of Neverland that I had only dreamt of seeing. We then sat in the little train, grabbed some ice cream and were on our way to the amusement park. On our way there, we encountered some beautiful scenery. There was a huge lake in the middle of everything, with fields of large trees and vibrant flowers at every angle. There were little sculptures of children...and even classic Disney theme songs playing in the background of every corner.  It was like I entered a sweet fairytale.

We then arrived to the amusement park area and realized everything was free. Popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream, soda and drinks, snow cones, cookies and baked desserts, candy and chocolate, games and prizes to win, caricature drawings and rides.  I was in awe and couldn’t believe I was actually there.  We walked over to the movie theatre and found ourselves in front of a concession stand filled with every type of candy and popcorn.  Inside were beautiful red velvet seats and a good sized movie screen. We stayed for just a few minutes and left to explore more of Neverland.

We made our way to the dance club tent and just as we got there the host announced that Michael would shortly be coming out. The tent seemed to be filled with obnoxious drunk people and definitely not fans of Michael (there were very few real fans that day) so we easily worked our way up to the front row of the mini stage. He finally came out and he had never looked so good.  He was wearing a black button down shirt and black sparkly pants. He made a very brief speech in which he said:

Since his birthday was two weeks ago, they bought out a cake and we sung Happy Birthday to him. A few celebrities jumped up on the stage and had a little cake fight with Michael. It was adorable but before we knew it he got off stage and was escorted to his black Bentley. I managed to slip a little letter I had prepared inside his window before they drove off. I didn’t go to Neverland expecting to see Michael but seeing him and knowing he was there made me want to get closer. As I stood there watching the Bentley speed down the dirt road I wondered what we should do next…

“Coffee with Michael” blog (December 27, 2010) (archived)

We walked passed his large beautiful pool and finally came upon his "main residence", which was guarded by security.  It didn't look like what I expected it to be.  It was no modern mansion...even though it was quite big; it resembled a cozy cottage. We walked a bit more trying to discover the special parts of Neverland (at this particular visit we had full access to almost everything). We came upon a beautiful little Train Station in which I like to call "the Bakery.” I automatically recognized the Peter Pan and Captain Hook mannequins up in the ceiling from the "Living With Michael Jackson" special.  It was unbelievable to actually see them in person finally.  Especially when you have seen this stuff before on TV...finding yourself standing in front of it staring at it with your own two bare eyes is simply magical.  I also noticed a very narrow flight of stairs, which we did not climb yet. There were other various mannequins as well a huge Christmas tree.  Someone told me that Michael loves to keep the whole Christmas theme year round.  Being a Christmas lover myself, I just loved the idea.

After being treated to a few sweets, we walked to the amusement park by foot since the little train wasn’t working at the moment.  While walking…we came upon a cute little playhouse.  We walked up to it and read a sign saying something along the lines of, “Paris and Prince's House: Daddy loves you very much."  Inside the playhouse were several bins of toys. I was surprised at how unguarded it all was, the entire ranch was a free-for-all.  We continued walking towards the rides and started to enjoy some of them. One of the best feelings is riding the rides at Neverland while Michael’s songs are being blasted in your ears. That was truly memorable and my favorite ride was the Sea Dragon. We rode all of them except for the little kiddy ones.

After a good hour of fun, we walked around some more and found the Giving Tree. It was absolutely amazing to see it especially knowing all of the history behind. Yet again, another magical experience being right in front of something so special that Michael keeps close to his heart.  We also spent a few minutes sitting on the same bridge that Michael has featured in his “Gone Too Soon” video.  While we sat there, we talked about how much we loved him and tried to take the whole experience in.

We got in the mood for snacks so we went back to the Train Station/Bakery.  This time we did go up the little swirly stairs. Up there we found boxes of brownies, a TV, a comfy couch, a sculpture of Michael and some children in a glass case, and several board games and video games lying around. The whole experience seemed surreal as we found a comfortable couch and made ourselves at home while enjoying some milk and cookies. After a while, we noticed that we had better get going so we wouldn’t miss our buses, which were scheduled to leave at 2:00 am. We started to get going…but just before we made our way out, my friend found a small white teddy bear sitting on the train all alone and gave it to me. By then, it had already become the most special stuffed animal to me.  Little did I know that in a matter of minutes, the bear would be in my arms, as I would be hugging Michael...

As we were walking across the dark road back our buses, we noticed the same black Bentley pass us by with something very sparkly inside. It had to be Michael. We started following it as it went to the Main Residence Garage. We stood around waiting…staring at the black car. After a few minutes of waiting, Michael finally came out but we kept our distance.  It all seemed to be so surreal…all of it in slow motion.  As Michael walked away, we heard him say, “I love you…” As we continued walking, we came upon Michael opening a door (to what we found out later was his office).  He saw us and stepped away from his door and…gestured for us to follow him. I stood there staring at him and not believing my eyes.  I noticed he had no shoes on; only white socks. I thought it was adorable. I had seen Michael a week earlier at the Celebration of Love but I had yet to see him up close and meet him. He began making more “come here" hand motions for me to come closer. I was finally going to meet Michael.

I walked up the little steps to his porch, he came closer, reached his hand over to me…grabbed my head and pressed it against his shoulder.  He then gave me the most beautiful, strongest, tightest, most loving hug I ever received in my whole life.  Resting my head on his shoulder was true bliss. Nothing that came out of my mouth was making any sense but I managed to tell him that I loved him and thanked him.  He was so adorable and so SHY…giggling.  He was so unbelievably shy; he was just mumbling, “I love you”. A few of my friends took turns hugging Michael but I didn’t notice anything. No one was in my vision at that moment except for Michael.

We slowly walked away from the porch and said our goodbyes to him and went back to our bus and gave one final look at the beautiful, golden, stunning gates of Neverland…in hopes of one day seeing it again and experiencing all of the magic again.  That night...I held the little white teddy bear tightly in my arms as I laid in bed and thanked God for the wonderful experience he had given me.