Asian American Family Services Golden Ball | A Fancy Wrap Up

A swanky crowd with a mostly younger group of professionals gathered for a fun filled gala hosted to celebrate the 14th Annual Asian American Family Services (AAFS) Golden Ball at Hotel ZaZa. It was indeed a beautiful evening as AAFS was also honoring the Luminary Ambassadors for their spirit of giving.

The evening started off with a lavish cocktail reception with bare chested sexy hunks at the entrance welcoming guests. Models walked around in Jose Sanchez outfits with interesting masks, a concept mainly brought forth by the creative Gala Chair Viet Hoang. More than 300 party goers packed the ZaZa ballroom with a a glamorous soiree of sophisticated ladies and gentlemen dressed in chic outfits from both Indian and American designers.

The 2013 Luminary Ambassadors were: Sonia Azad, Dr. Sippi Singh, Farida Abjani, Reyne Hirsch, Tabitha Smith, Neeta Sane, John Bradshaw, Jr, and Munir Shivji. Among the other recipients were: Munir Ibrahim for the 2013 Harvest Award and Theodore & Naiyana Vora for the 2013 Golden Lantern Award. The winners for the evening were: Dr. Sippi Singh who won the Luminary Campaign Victory raising a whopping amount of $21,000, Farida Abjani was second and received the Most Spirited Ambassador Award, and John Bradshaw was third highest.

Shefali Tejani, Farida Abjani, Zara Merchant

The gala scores a high rating in part due to its entertainment, chic young crowd and a wide array of auction items. The one thing that caught everyone’s attention was Sneha Merchant‘s debut painting – a 3D Acrylic on Canvas masterpiece ‘OM’ for auction.

The fashion scene was sizzling with Tabitha Smith in a silver gown, Farida Abjani in a custom made Manish Malhotra, Sippi Singh in J. Mendel 2013 Fall Collection as seen in the Mercedes Benz Fashion Show, Sneha Merchant in a gold BCBG Runway gown. Among the other fashionable gals were: Duyen Huynh in a red fitted gown with a black feather neck piece, Mandy Kao, Simran Rihal, Azra Shariff Rauf, Hiru Mathur another stunner in a red gown, Zara Merchant, Shefali Tejani, Rekha Muddaraj, Sapna Patel, and many others. The gents were not left behind in looking sharp, dressed to celebrate were: Naushir Merchant, Ajay Khurana, Jared Lang, Michael Chabala, Corbett Daniel Parker, Shabbar Tejani Kassam, and Munir Shivji.