That’s right folks, we’re giving away 2 FREE tickets to one lucky winner to go see Amitabh, Abhishek, Ashwairya, Priti, Madhuri and more LIVE in Houston on the Unforgettable Tour Concert show!

If you’ve already gotten your tickets, register to win 2 more so that you can take your friends!  If you don’t have tickets (shame on you!), register for your chance to win 2 seats to the BIGGEST CONCERT IN HOUSTON!

Registration for the promotion is FREE, and one lucky winner will be drawn on July 26th!  You can register for this promotion on SABAsearch.com or by clicking on the following link:

http://www.sabasearch.com/promDetail.asp?promid=45

Good luck and ENJOY THE CONCERT!

Here is a video clip of the Unforgettable Tour Trailer:

As many of ya’ll know; the Olympics are approaching and that means 17 days of swimming, track & field, basketball and much more.

Below is the official website for the Olympics Games which will be held in Beijing, China.

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Which country do you think is going to win the most medals? My vote is the USA!!!

Opening Ceremony is on August 8, 2008.

National Stadium - Beijing, China

If you have the regular case of the “Mondays”, just remember that July 4th is right around the corner!  In Texas, that means this weekend will be filled with good drinks, good food and good fireworks. 

If you’re looking for a spectacular fireworks show, we recommend you head to downtown for Houston’s traditional Freedom Over Texas celebration.  Here is a little bit more info:

LIGHT UP THE FOURTH
The city’s Fourth of July celebration, Chevy’s Freedom Over Texas, will feature music from country singers Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert and Jo Dee Messina, followed by - what else! - a massive fireworks display.

• When: 4-10 p.m. Friday

• Where: Eleanor Tinsley Park at Buffalo Bayou (Houston,Texas)

• Fireworks: Begin at 9:30 p.m.

• Live broadcast: 7-10 p.m. on KTRK-Channel 13

• Tickets: $5 at the gate until 5 p.m.; $8 after that. No charge for children under 10.

• More information: Purchase tickets online at www.houstontx.gov/specialevents/cfot/index.

If you know about a good party or celebration, post it within the comments section of this blog posting.  Have a happy 4th!

FOKANA, Federation Of Kerala Associations in North America, will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary and yearly convention at the Hilton Americas in Downtown Houston. FOKANA is considered one of the biggest Malayalee events in the nation. The FOKANA convention and celebration will begin on July 1st, 2008 and continue through July 5th, 2008.

Here is a little bit more background on the FOKANA organization:

FOKANA (Federation Of Kerala Associations in North America) is an umbrella organization of Malayalee Associations in United States and Canada. FOKANA’s long history in the United States as an organization fostering the values of Kerala culture and heritage finds its formal beginnings in the early 1980s. The need for an umbrella organization that would unite the increasing number of Kerala Associations throughout theU.S. and Canada was identified far earlier as the number of Indian Americans grew rapidly.

 So, what does this mean for Houston?  Well, it’s gonna be crazy!  FOKANA is filled with various events throughout the 5 day period.  You can count on various seminars to be held during the day, and also events to be held nightly throughout the week/weekend.  The YOUTH organization will also be hosting various competitions, which allow the young FOKANA guests to show off some of their talents in different categories.

To learn more about the FOKANA event, please visit the FOKANA event listing on SABAsearch.com. 

To learn more about the Youth activities planned for the FOKANA event, please visit the FOKANA YOUTH website.

The SABAsearch Blog staff welcomes all FOKANA guests to Houston!  We encourage all FOKANA guests to leave their comments on this blog or leave questions for other FOKANA guests.  See you in H-town!

FOKANA 2008 CONVENTION:  Houston, TX
Location:  Hilton Americas Downtown
Dates:  July 1st, 2008 - July 5th, 2008
http://www.fokanatoday.org

Rapper Kanye West is making his way down to the Lone Star State!  For those of you Indians and Desis who don’t know who Kanye West is, here is a little Kanye West 101, provided by Wikipedia.com:

Kanye Omari West (pronounced /ˈkɑnjɛj/) (born June 8, 1977)^[1] is an American rap artist and hip hop producer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first three albums have received numerous awards (including nine Grammys),^[2][3][4] critical acclaim,^[5] and commercial success. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music.^[6] West’s mascot and trademark is “Dropout Bear,” a teddy bear, which has appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the singles cover for his songs “Stronger” and “Homecoming.”^[7]

West’s parents divorced when he was three years old, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. He enrolled at Chicago State University but later dropped out to continue pursuing his music career. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for musical artists including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. West’s style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. Some controversy has also surrounded West, such as an incident during a live telecast of a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, when he deviated from the script and told the audience, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

Here is the schedule for Kanye’s ”Glow in the Dark Tour”April 30th - Austin - Frank Erwin Center

May 1st - Dallas - Superpages Center

May 2nd - Houston - Woodlands Pavilion

Check back next week for our review of the concert. 

Irfan from Seven Seas Promotion is bringing Udit and Aditya Narayan to Houston!  Here is a little bit more info on the event:

 Udit and Aditya Narayan Concert - Houston
Date:  May 2, 2008
Location:  Arena Theater (7322 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77074)
Time:  9:00pm  (Add 1 hour for Desi Standard Time )
Tickets: $15, $25, $35, $45 and VIP.

To view more information on the event, or to access the event website to purchase tickets, please view the Udit and Aditya Narayan Concert event listing on SABAsearch.com.

Want FREE Tickets?

If you are a typical desi, and want to go for FREE, you’re in luck!  SABAsearch.com will be giving away 2 FREE tickets to this concert to one of our lucky blog readers!  Please register yourself in the contest by visiting the 2 FREE Tickets - Udit and Narayan Concert Houston promotion page on SABAsearch.com.  The winner of this promotion will be announced next Wednesday, April 30th. 

SABAsearch.com has given away lots of prizes in the past - here are some of the past lucky winners.

Good luck!

***UPDATE***

WIN 2 FREE TICKETS TO THE UNFORGETTABLE TOUR AMITABH CONCERT IN HOUSTON !!!!

The SABAsearch Blog staff is excited to announce that we have posted the promotion to give away 2 FREE tickets to the Amitabh Bachchan Concert (Unforgettable Tour) on SABAsearch.com!  Registration is FREE, and one lucky winner will be awarded the tickets.  Register for the promotion by clicking the link below:

http://www.sabasearch.com/promDetail.asp?promid=45

Good LUCK and Enjoy the Concert!

Rumor on the street has it that Star Promotions is bringing Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwairya Rai to Houston!  Star Promotion’s Rajinder and Hum Tum City’s Rehan Siddiqui are cooperating to bring you the biggest desi concert EVER in Houston.

The concert is part of Amitabh’s final world tour event.  This will be Abishek’s first world tour concert, and he will be performing alongside his wife Ashwairya Rai.

The world tour is set to begin in July of this year, and will make it’s way down to Houston sometime late this summer.

As soon as we get more info, we will be sure to post the event information within the Houston Indian and Desi Events section on SABAsearch.com.

IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! 

UNFORGETTABLE TOUR - AMITABH, ABHISHEK, ASHWAIRYA IN CONCERT!
AUGUST 2ND, 2008 @ 9:00PM
TOYOTA CENTER
TICKETS:  $65 AND UP
More Info:  Unforgettable Tour Information

Stay tuned into the SABAsearch Blog because we will be giving away 2 FREE Tickets to the concert!  Announcements to be made shortly. 

SABAsearch.com is proud to announce that FOI 2008, India United will be held right here in Houston, hosted by Delta Epsilon Psi’s UofH chapter.  FOI (Festival of India) has been a long standing tradition in the state of Texas among young South Asians collegiates.  The FOI event spans over a few days and includes various events such as a FREE Concert in the Park, Basketball Tournament, Talent Show and of course, the parties!

Here’s a little bit more background and history of the FOI event:

Since it’s inception at the University of Houston in 1992, the Festival of India has become an annual tradition that has grown from a local celebration into the most anticipated event in Texas. This four-day conference starting on April 10th - 13th will feature the first ever Festival of India in the Park, a Talent Show with the best performers qualified from a diverse number of Universities around Texas, and a nationally represented Basketball Tournament.

For the Sixtenth Annual Festival of India we have chosen the theme “India United”. It is in the last few decades that the South Asian culture has penetrated throughout American society and culture in terms of fashion, acting, journalism, and other fine arts. With the Festival of India, our goal is to portray the successes of these pioneering South Asians in a cataloguing and inspiring manner; presenting the various arena’s of success and inspiring the future young minds of our generation.

 This year we estimate the Festival of India to attract over 2,500 people from West of the Mississippi to take over Houston, TX and represent the Indian Culture to it’s fullest.

To get more information on this year’s FOI event, please visit the event listing on SABAsearch.com, which contains the link to the official webpage.

Good luck to Delta Epsilon Psi for this year’s FOI event.

Happy Holi everybody!  I hope all of you had a great Holi and threw powder all over your sister-in-laws, brothers, cousins, dads, uncles, mummy’s daddy’s cousin’s brother’s son, or whoever you care about.

Raghav and I went to the Music Masala Holi Event, and it was awesome!  We’ve never attended a Music Masala event, but we went because all of our friends told us how great it would be.  So, Raghav and I decided to head out to Oyster Park to see what all the fuss was about - we’re glad we went!

When we got there, it was already packed!  We arrived at the park around 2pm, and it was already difficult to find parking.  The security was guiding us through the parking lots and we could hear the music blaring from the park grounds.  People were already covered in colored powder and we think some of the uncles had already had their fair share of Bhang. 

When we got into the park grounds, it was a madhouse!  People throwing powder everywhere, the music jamming, Sunil T on stage dancing…you get the picture.

If you missed it, here is a video of the festivities.  Enjoy!

Raghav and Rohini’s Event Review:

Holi 2008, Festival of Colors - Location:  Oyster ParkDate:  March 23, 2008 (Sunday)

What we Liked:
Raghav and I enjoyed the festive feel to the whole event.  Sunil T is a great host - he’s a comic and also keeps the party going.  It was fun to see him on stage making jokes and also encouraging the kids to get up their and show their talent.  We also liked the music they were playing throughout the event..it made us want to just get up and start dancing.  We also loved that we got blessed with a BEAUTIFUL day in Houston!

Not so Hot:
We didn’t like the organization of getting in and out of the festival.  It was difficult because it was just tight traffic everywhere.  There was only one entrace we could find and things were moving slow.  Maybe next time, there can be more direction as to where to go or where to park.

If We Hosted the Event:
If Raghav and I hosted this event, we would definitely try and bring in a famous singer..there were so many people there that it could almost account for being a large concert.  It would be awesome to see someone like Dahler Mendhi come and rock the crowd with his bhangra songs.  I know it would be expensive, but it would add a nice addition to the party…maybe next year Sunil T?  Wink…Wink

Overall Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars….Great Event!

What are your plans for this Sunday?  Well, if you don’t have any, then make sure you get out to the biggest Holi event to rock the city.  Holi 2008:  Festival of Colors will be hosted on March 23rd, 2008 by the Music Masla crew, Gujrati Samaj of Houston, TARA Energy and many other indian and desi organizations from around the area.

Did you miss the Masala Mela on Hillcroft or the huge bash in Sugarland Town Square?  Well, this is your chance to jump back into the fun.  The events hosted by Music Masala are drawing huge turnouts and you don’t wanna miss out.  This event will have everything from food, entertainment, rickshaw rides and of course, more colored powder than you could ever imagine.

Don’t forget to wear white to this event.  And by the way, its FREE

Here is a little bit more information on the event from the event listing on SABAsearch.com.  Enjoy!

Where:
Oyster Creek Park,
4033 State Highway 6 South,
Sugar Land,
Texas,
77479

Date and Time:
Mar 23 2008 11:00AM to 4:00PM

Contact Details:
281-277-6874

Hosted By:
Masala Radio, Gujarati Samaj, ICC and Tara Energy
—————————————————————————————–

If you are hosting an interesting event in and around Houston, and would like to share it with our blog readers, please email us at Support@SABAsearch.com. 

Shangrila Arts, a Houston based Art Studio, is currently hosting The Colors of India, which features and recognizes Desi Artists in and around the Houston area.  This event, which is slated to last until March 15th, allows the Houston Community to experience the tradition and eloquence of South Asian based Art. 

Shangrila Arts specializes in featuring South Asian and Eastern Asian based artists and artwork.   Their gallery, located at 2801 Sam Houston Parkway, Suite 188, is dedicated to promoting Asian artists who have an interest in contemporary and modern art.  Most of the paintings normally hosted and displayed by the gallery are of investment-grade quality.

The press release for this event has been provided for you below.

Colors of India - A Discovery of Local Indian Talent

We encourage all of you to go out and support our local Desi Artists as well as Shangrila Arts for their efforts in promoting our local talent.