Indian Film Festival of Houston 2009
Nov 11, 2009 Bollywood, Film, Gala, Non-Profit, Social Hour
Event: Indian Film Festival of Houston Closing Night Gala
Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Houston, Texas
Date: September 26, 2009
Highlights from the first Indian Film Festival of Houston. Interviews with Deepti Naval, Manisha Koirala, Iqbal Khan, and Sonu Nigam.
Celebrating Indian Film Festival of Houston
Sep 29, 2009 Bollywood, Celebration, Film, Fund Raiser, Gala, Non-Profit, Social Hour
Event: Indian Film Festival of Houston Closing Night Gala
Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Houston, Texas
Date: September 26, 2009
Report: Ruchi Mukherjee
Photography: Ajay Sarpeshkar
Houston finally concluded a week long celebration of Indian cinema with a celebrity gala held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Houston,
Ruchi M with Actress Manisha Koirala
Texas on September 26, 2009. After ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ made a mark at the Oscars, Houston based film maker Sutapa Gosh felt that the time was right to give Houstonians a taste of Indian cinema. The film festival kicked-off with a reception party at Hotel Sorella Citycenter and showcased a few selected Indian films at Studio Movie Grill from September 21-25, 2009.
The Indian Film Festival of Houston is a non-profit organization devoted to creating a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by show casing quality films. The First Annual Indian Film Festival of Houston brought the best films made in different regional languages. A feast including ten feature-length movies, short films and documentaries. Screenings included Smile Pinki, an award-winning documentary about an impoverished girl whose life is changed by free surgery, bengali film ‘Janala’, Deepti Naval’s ‘Do paise ki dhoop Chaar aane ki baarish’ and Student Academy Awards Winner ‘Kavi’ by Gregg Helvey.
Gregg Helvey winner of the film Kavi
The festival was enjoyed by an international audience that featured question and answer sessions with directors, cast and the audience.
Friday evening saw the biggest crowds as Deepti Naval, Manisha Koirala and others showed up at Studio Movie Grill. The week wrapped with a star studded red carpet high profile celebrity gala which had 400 plus in attendance. The main highlight of the evening were the fashion statements of the guests at the gala.
Dr. Carolyn Farb’s mauve attire ‘lehenga’ (an Indian outfit) was quite a show stopper. Joanne King Herring who as usual never failed to impress with her warm personality and exotic costume. Dressed in gold, Joanne not only turned many heads but honored the theme of the celebrity gala. However, the very beautiful bollywood actress Manisha Koirala who charmed the guests with her personality did little with her outfit and looks. “It seems like she just rolled out of bed” says an onlooker. Deepti did maintain her directorial personality with a classy Indian saree.
Pretty in Mauve Carolyn Farb
Others present at the gala were Pop singer and India’s best playback singer Sonu Nigam, and model/television actor Mohammed Iqbal Khan.
Proceeds from the festival and gala will benefit the Indian Film Festival of Houston and MediSend International, that supports under resourced hospitals in developing countries with a multi-dimentional approach to improving community health.
Indo American Charity Foundation Gala
Sep 23, 2009 Fund Raiser, Gala, Non-Profit, Social Hour
Event: Indo American Charity Foundation Gala
Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Houston, Texas
Date: Saturday September 19, 2009
Report: Ruchi Mukherjee
Politics, entertainment, great fashion and a scrumptious meal, the 2009 Indo American Charity Foundation “Seduction of the Monsoon” themed gala had it all. Keynote speaker Varun Gandhi can be held responsible for drawing a good crowd. However, what got it going was the entertaining bollywood monsoon seduction style dance performances and the little chocolate goodies presented on the tables by Madhavi Gokhale of Desserts ‘n’ More.
Varun Gandhi, son of Menaka Gandhi and late Sanjay Gandhi, spoke at the occasion on various topics from India’s poverty to India’s entrepreneurial skills. “India is not a poor country but a poorly managed country,” said Varun.
He was quite impressed with the organization and the support that Indians living abroad provided for their country India.
Founded in 1988 by a group of Houstonians of Indian origin, IACF has developed into a highly respected, multi-faceted endeavor to help those in need of health, education and human services. IACF serves as a conduit between philanthropists and organizations such as UNICEF, Casa De Esperanza, YMCA, Daya, Indian Doctors Association Clinic, and Child Advocates of Fort Bend, to name a few.
APAHA Gala 2009 | 007 From Asia With Love
Jun 22, 2009 Gala, Social Hour
Event: APAHA Gala 2009
Venue: Marriot Westchase, Houston
Date: May 2009
The 17th Asian/Pacific American Heritage Association Gala honored the services of Asian/Pacific Americans who made great strides and contributions to the world.
The recipient of the George H.W. Bush Heritage award, was Former U.S Ambassador to the UN, Mr. Sichan Siv.
The theme for the 2009 gala was “From Asia With Love 007″. The glamorous evening was held at the Marriott Westchase Hotel. Guests enthusiastically dressed as their favorite 007 characters. Besides the award ceremony, the evening also offered a wide range of Mystery Boxes (Silent Auctions) including international round trip tickets donated by Continental Airlines. In addition, guests had the opportunity to play casino and dance to Bond classics.
Tags: APAHA
Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston 2008 Awards Banquet
Feb 18, 2009 Business, Celebration, Gala
Event: IACCGH 2008 Awards Banquet
Venue: Westin Oaks Galleria, Houston, Texas
Date: January 30, 2009
Due to Hurricane IKE the Indo American Chamber of Commerce of Houston had to reschedule their awards banquet which was finally held on Friday January 30, 2009.
The event was sold out as the Chamber honored Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Houston Mayor Bill White for their extraordinary Leadership during Hurricane IKE at the awards banquet.
The Consul General of India Hon. Sanjiv Arora was the Chief Guest for the occasion.
At the event the best Community service award was bagged by Mr. Bangar Reddy of India Culture Center, Atul Vir got the entrepreneur of the year award and the Women’s entrepreneur award was given to Yasmin Wadia.
Tags: IACCGH
The Women’s Home Rose Gala Kick-off Event
Jan 20, 2009 Fund Raiser, Gala, Non-Profit, Outreach
Event: The Women’s Home Rose Gala Kick-off Event
Venue: Abrahams Oriental Rugs, Post Oak Boulevard, Houston
On Tuesday, January 13, 2009 the elite gathered at the Abrahams Oriental Rugs store Post Oak location for the kick-off party for The Women’s Home Rose gala. The gala will be held on January 30, 2009 at the Hilton Americas Downtown Houston.
The Women’s Home is a multi-ethnic, non-denominational, non-profit United Way agency. Founded in Houston in 1957, The Home’s reputation has grown alongside its facilities in both size and stature.
Omana and Sam Abraham hosted the event and also offer a gala special on their rugs up until January 30, 2009. One can receive a 40% discount off the list price of rugs at Abraham’s Oriental Rugs
in the Galleria with 5% off your purchase benefiting The Women’s Home.
Present at the gathering were Prashant and Nidhika Mehta, Shawn Broussard from Health and Fitness Magazine, Elizabeth Abraham, socialite Yuki Rogers and many others.
Tags: Abrahams, Rose Gala, The Women's Home
Asia Society Texas Celebration
Jan 14, 2009 Celebration, Gala, Non-Profit
Event: Asia Society Texas Celebration
Venue: Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston
Dignitaries and other well known faces from the Asian American community gathered at the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China as Asia Society was celebrating both the 30th anniversary of China US relations as well as their own 30 years of Asia Society in Texas.
The event was also a kick-off party for the upcoming Asia Society Tiger Ball on February 26, 2009 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Houston and this time the theme would be ‘The Splendors of China’.
The Chairs of the Tiger Ball Mrs. Ping Sun and Mr. David W. Leebron. The Honorary Chairs are The Honorable George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush. The Diplomatic Hosts are His Excellency Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United States Zhou Wenzhong and the Honorable Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Houston Qiao Hong.
News/Feature Journalist Ruchi M interviewed:
- Nancy C Allen
- Yellow Magazine Publisher Viet Hoang
- Gala Chair Mrs. Y. Ping Sun
Tags: Asia Society, China, Tiger Ball
Indo American Charity Foundation Gala
Nov 3, 2008 Fund Raiser, Gala, Non-Profit
Event: Indo American Charity Foundation Gala
Venue: JW Marriot, Galleria, Houston
Date: Sunday November 2, 2008
Both Indian and American women once again got a chance to dress up in their exuberant sarees and had a good time with the who’s who of Houston. About 600 people gathered at the JW Marriot, Galleria, Houston, Texas to raise some money for The Indo American Charity Foundation on Sunday November 2, 2008.
Miya Shay of Houston’s ABC Channel 13 was the emcee for the event. The evening was also honored by Mayor Bill White along with his wife Andrea White.
The Auction was the attraction for that evening. Abrahams’ Rug bagged all the attention. While Kartik Trivedi enthralled the gathering with his piano and art work that he donated for the auction.
People seemed to be having a good time at the gala either networking, catching up with friends, or just being generous. Mani Subramanium handed over the new presidency of the Indo American Charity Foundation to Rachel Varghese.
Photos courtesy: Ajay Sarpeshkar
With some entertainment like dancing, singing and auctioning the event gathered $230,000. But for the new President of IACF this was not it. “The foundation is now 20 years old and has been established as a non-profit organization. We have to now establish an impact with the community and my goal at present is to look around for preventive programs,” says Rachel Varghese.
UNICEF Gala – Mystique of India
Oct 7, 2008 Fund Raiser, Gala, Non-Profit
Event: UNICEF Gala
Venue: InterContinental Houston
Date: September 27, 2008
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s Houston office hosted a “Mystique of India” gala on September 27 to benefit UNICEF’s child survival programs in India. Originally scheduled for September 19 but postponed because of Hurricane Ike, the Bollywood-themed event was held at the InterContinental Houston and featured a magical bazaar and silent auction.
“Despite a devastating hurricane just two weeks ago, the residents of Houston were resilient and steadfast in their commitment to the world’s children, determined to support UNICEF’s survival programs in India,” said Caryl Stern, president and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “We celebrate both individual donors and corporate sponsors who not only have the interests of the global community in their hearts, but also their own neighbors here at home.”
Record breaking $1 million dollars raised ($770,000 cash and balance in-kind revenue).
Over 750 guests made for a beautiful vision of women in colorful saris and men in nehru jackets and some with turbans. When guests entered the foyer outside of the ballroom they were transported to the magical and mystical land of India. Mandap Creations and Steven Wagner and Paul Hensley created a Magical Bazaar for the silent auction area and cocktail reception. Snake charmers, puppeteers, and exotic and colorful costumed characters mingled among the guests.
Tags: Mystique of India, UNICEF
