Calling all Glee fans, Daily Show viewers, and Star Trek diehards alike! Come join OPEN Chicago and leaders of the Pakistani-American community at the Pakistan Flood relief celebrity fundraiser.
The event will take place on Sunday, January 16, 2011 and will feature actor Faran Tahir (Iron Man, Star Trek, Charlie Wilson’s War), Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show, and Iqbal Theba from the acclaimed Fox TV show Glee. Acclaimed dessert chef Malika Ameen of By M Desserts and a Top Chef Desserts contestant will be in attendance.
Mark your calendars and tell your friends, your family, and your family’s friends to come join the effort to raise funds for the ongoing Pakistan flood relief effort. Trust us, this is something you won’t want to miss!
Sunday, January 16, 2011 | 12 pm – 3 p.m.
Carnivale, 702 W. Fulton, Chicago, Illinois
Event Host:
Event Partners:
Partnering Charities:
For registration and additional information visit:
The featured stars:
| Faran Tahir
|
Faran Tahir was born in Los Angeles while his parents were studying acting and directing at UCLA Theatre Dept. He comes from a theatre family well-known in Pakistan and India. Both his parents are actors/directors/writers in Pakistan. Faran moved to Los Angeles in 1980, when he was 17 years old. He completed his B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and his graduate degree from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard. He has been nominated and has won many awards for his work in theatre and film. Most recently Faran played a lead role in the film Star Trek Nemesis |
| Malika Ameen
|
Born and raised in the Chicago area, Malika Ameen’s cooking inspiration comes from two things: ingredients and people. She believes that beautiful, delicious food brings people together. She is also passionate about traveling, as it often opens her eyes to new ingredients, techniques and flavor combinations. A single mother of three boys, Malika is always incorporating her “chef thinking” into the foods she cooks daily for her children, in order to “open up their palates and make eating as exciting for them as it is for me.” The five ingredients she keeps on hand at all times are candied citrus, dried lavender, vanilla bean sugar, green cardamom pods and bittersweet chocolate. |
| Aasif Mandvi
|
Aasif Mandvi began performing at the age of seven as a pixie in a school play wearing tights and a bonnet. He knew from that moment on that discreet but comfortable leggings coupled with a desperate need for attention was the secret of success. Unaware of this at the time, but this type of beginning was perfect for a job as a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” where the official uniform ironically happens to be “tights and a bonnet” ( worn discreetly under one’s suit, of course).
Aasif made his first appearance as contributor on August 9, 2006. He is the recipient of the OBIE award for his critically-acclaimed one-man show “Sakina’s Restaurant.” Other New York stage credits include the 2002 Broadway revival of “OKLAHOMA!,” “Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom,” “Homebody/Kabul,” “Suburbia,” “Trudy Blue,” and “Speak Truth to Power.” Film and television credits include; “The Proposal,” “Ghost Town,” “Music and Lyrics,” “Spider-Man 2,” “The Siege,” “Analyze This,” “The Mystic Masseur,” “ABCD,” “American Chai,” “Sex and the City,” “Sleeper Cell,” “The Sopranos,” “Jericho,” “Oz,” “CSI,” “Law and Order,” and “E.R.” He will soon be seen in the upcoming features “The Last Airbender” and “Today’s Special.” Aasif’s journalistic integrity has never been questioned, and for that he is eternally grateful. |
| Iqbal Theba
|
Born in Karachi, Pakistan on December 20, 1963. Started college as a Freshman at the University of Oklahoma in 1981. Studied Civil Engineering at first and has a BS in Construction Engineering Management. Went back to the University of Oklahoma in 1986 and majored in Acting. Was the first South Asian to have appeared in dozens of mainstream national commercials in the 90s.
Went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman and is a Sooner Football fan. He arrived in Los Angeles with 37 dollars in his pocket. He stayed with his friend Mujahid Bashir for three months in San Bernardino until he earned enough money from waiting tables and found a place to live in Los Angeles. During his Freshman year in college he was a dishwasher at The Street Restaurant in Norman, Oklahoma. He was promoted to be a cook after a couple of months of washing dishes. The restaurant closed a year later. Left college in 1989 and moved to New York to pursue acting. In NYC he stayed with his childhood friend Tariq Agha until he found a place of his own. Did a few non-paying acting gigs and worked as a waiter. Went broke in early 1991 and decided to leave NYC for Los Angeles. He stopped in Norman, OK for two days because he was almost out of money. He worked at Misal Restaurant for one shift and made 60 bucks. His best friend Akbar Sultan gave him 50 dollars. He finally arrived in San Bernardino with only 37 dollars. He did not know anyone in Los Angeles so he had to stay in San Bernardino with a friend until he had saved enough money (from waiting tables) and moved to LA in March 1991. He was one of 13 student actors who auditioned for summer stock theatre in college. 12 were picked. He was the only one who was left out. |
Registration:
VVIP Package: $500 + $12 processing fee (limited Quantity)
|
|
VIP Package: $250 + $7 processing fee
|
|
General Package: $150 + $5 processing
|
|
| Special Package: $75 + $5 Processing fee | |
| General Donation: Any amount |
Online donations, sponsorship dollars, and tickets $250 and above are being collected by PAKISTAN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FOUNDATION, a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt corporation registered in California. Tax-ID # 20-2950808. For info about Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation, please contact Abdulrahman Rafiq at info@sarelief.com. SA Relief is a disaster coordination and relief unit operating under Paksef.
All other dollars are being collected by OPEN Chicago. OPEN Chicago is registered in Illinois as a 501(c)(6), Tax-ID # 26-3812805. For more info contact Ruma Samdani at OPEN Chicago, please visit http://www.open-chicago.org/.
All tax-deductible proceeds will be donated to Karachi Relief Trust and OXFAM America. For more information about the charities click here.