Performance Stage of 15th Annual Ali Celebrity Fight Night
Farano's "All Or Nothing" Original Painting
Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and Artist Justyn Farano
Tony Gonzalez of the Atlanta Falcons and Artist Justyn Farano
Farano Paints Live!  Red Carpet
Tony Hawk Custom 4WD DUBB Edition Jeep in Live Auction
Autographed Tiger Woods Club in Silent Auction
Autographed Ali Painting in Silent Auction
Vespa Scooters in Silent Auction
Autographed Guitars in Silent Auction  | Guest of Honor: Muhammad Ali
Evening Host: Reba McEntire
Music Director: David Foster
Entertainment: Jon
Bon Jovi, Charice, Roy Firestone, Michael Johns, Lucia Micarelli,
William Joseph, Ethan Bortnick, Jordin Sparks
Honorees: Kurt Warner, Michael Phelps, Stewart Rahr, Forest Whitaker
Celebrity & Athlete Introductions
The 15th Annual Celebrity Fight Night Weekend took place in Phoenix, Arizona at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa. The main event was held on Saturday March 28th. Celebrities and professional athletes from all over the country for years now have come to participate and be part of this very special evening and charitable fund raising night. The Annual Fundraiser primarily benefits the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute. The long list of celebrities and professional athletes included John
Elway, Steve Young, Danicka Patrick, Vince Young, Tony Gonzalez, Kurt
Warner...
When Celebrity Fight Night and the Muhammad Ali Foundation first
contacted Sports Art Illustrated about involving and incorporating
artist Justyn Farano into the event, Farano immediately accepted the
gracious offer and invitation. "It was an tremendous honor to even be
invited, never mind to actually be a little part of it all" says
Farano. "Without hesitation, I started on the painting as soon as they mentioned it."
Jimmy Walker, chairman of Celebrity Fight Night, was floored when long time friend of the Ali family, Stewart Rahr, donated an unheard of 2 million dollars to the Foundation. Rahr's tremendous support and generosity will surely help lead the way towards the continued fight against Parkinson's disease.
The live auction consisted with some really stunning items. Just to mention of a few of these elite items to bid on were a dinner with "The Champ" and his
beautiful wife Lonnie Ali, a Maui vacation with Kurt Warner and Larry
Fitzgerald, an up and close day on the set with on of Kevin Costner's
upcoming movies, a one of kind fully customized Tony Hawk DUB Edition
4WD Jeep Wrangler, a dinner with Lebron James.
The silent auction had a large variety of memorabilia and trips which
included hard to find autographed guitars of legendary music stars such
as Bon Jovi, Tom Petty, Alice Cooper, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Willie
Nelson and many more. A few of Farano's works of art were showcased
along with many other one of a kind memorabilia. There was a large
array of signed sports jerseys, balls, and other game used memorabilia
and collectibles.
Live musical perfromances by....
Awards were given to Michael Phelps, Kurt Wartner, Stewart Rahr, and Forest Whitacker.
Celebrity Fight Night is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Their
ongoing goal and effort is to stop sickness and poverty. Continues to
support the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and provides free treatment
and medicine for anyone regardless if they can afford it or not.
Continued research in a striving effort to find a cure for this
horrific disease. To find out more about the Muhammad Ali Parkinson
Center please visit www.maprc.com
Artist Justyn Farano was requested to paint live in front of the many celebrities, athletes and specially invited guests to the exclusive pre-dinner/ founder's night on Friday March 27th. Farano put the final touches on his new masterpiece of Muhammad Ali. The original oil painting is titled "All Or Nothing" and measures 30" x 45" in size. Jordin Sparks also performed live at this dinner.
"This was truly an amazing experience and huge honor to have been part of this extraordinary event. the courtesy was unrivaled. I can't believe how much work is put into this annual event and how " states Farano. The hospitality and generoisty made by the people with Celebrity Fight Night and everyone associated with the weekend were top notch and I can't say enough about them. The goals and amount of money they have raised over the years for the fight against Parkinson's disease is astonishing" states Farano. Celebrity Fight Night has raised over 65 million dollars over the 15 years!
Jon Bon Jovi finished up the spectacular night with an unimaginable live performance.
Sports Art Illustrated will be releasing a limited edition colleciton
of Farano's painting of Ali and will have a very rare signing with
Muhammad in late July of 2009.
Sports Art Illustrated will also be
donating a special canvas giclee of the Ali titled "All Or Nothing" to
the new Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Disease Center as a thank you to everyone involved.
“Recognized
as one of the nation's elite charity events, Celebrity Fight Night is a
star-studded evening presented in honor of our featured guest, Muhammad
Ali. Celebrities and professional athletes from all over the country
participate in a night filled with incredible Live Auction items and
live musical performances by many of today's brightest stars.” --
celebrityfightnight.org
Kurt Warner's Inspirational Speech
Jon Bon Jovi Live Performance
Lonnie Ali speaks on behalf of Muhammad
Michael Phelps Speech
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