Once upon a time, there was a dark and delightful dance party that raised money to help people around the world. A chance for people to be bad and do good. A chance for a scary good time. It wasn’t too big or too small, but just right and a TON of fun. I’m talking about Shyamaween 2023!
It was a true honor to come back and assist with the live auction at this year’s Shyamaween Halloween Party. Legendary screenwriter, director and producer M. Night Shyamalan and his wife Dr. Bhavna Shamalan host the charity event. Proceeds from the event go to the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation.
The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation aims to empower communities so that they have the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and combat social injustice. They start by investing in their leaders. The Foundation firmly believes community leaders with fortitude and character drive impactful change. They can provide the cultural expertise to empower their communities to reach toward a bold vision for the future.
Shyamaween
The 9th annual Shyamaween event took place at the super cool restaurant, bar and club Fabrika in Fishtown. Fabrika has some of the best performers, stage shows, and exotic events in the country, including like Burlesque Thursdays and their much talked about Sunday Drag Brunch.
I hosted the Shyamaween live auction a couple of years ago for the event with a lot of the same performers. I figured they all flew in from Hollywood by M. Night himself, which was not the case. They are all from right here in the Philadelphia area. They perform multiple shows weekly. I highly recommend checking out Fabrika in Fishtown!
All sorts of cool opportunities were part of the auction. It raised tens of thousands of dollars for the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation. One of the prizes was the chance to attend the New York City movie premier of the very first feature film from Ishana Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night & Bhavna. It included VIP access and more.
We also auctioned off the chance to be an extra in M. Night’s current film that he is shooting in Toronto, including flights and VIP perks as well. M. Night & Bhavna also auctioned off the opportunity for the winner and 10 guests to join them at the Shyamalan house for dinner, prepared by a professional chef, and a movie screening of one of Shyamalan’s films. HOW COOL IS THAT!?!
Special Thanks
Thank you to M. Night & Dr. Bhavna Shyamalan and M. Night Shyamalan Foundation Executive Director Michelle Histand for having me back this year! It was a total blast!! See more information on the M. Night Shyamalan Foundation and all the great work that they do.
Huge thank you to Amanda Desouza (@go_amanda_go) for doing an amazing job on my makeup for the event. She did an incredible job!
