AmfAR Gala, Honoring Minnelli, Karan and Rachofskys, Presented Feb. 12

By Andrew Gans
February 12, 2009

Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli, who recently played a limited engagement at Broadway's Palace Theatre, will be among those honored Feb. 12 at amfAR's New York gala.

The black-tie evening at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan will honor Minnelli, designer Donna Karan and Dallas-based philanthropists Howard and Cindy Rachofsky for "their vital and distinctive contributions to the global struggle against AIDS."

Each will receive amfAR's Award of Courage for "outstanding leadership and distinguished service in furthering amfAR's mission, and for playing a vital role in increasing AIDS awareness and accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research," according to press notes. Vogue's Anna Wintour, amfAR's Kenneth Cole and Sotheby's Jamie Niven will be on hand to present the honorees with their awards.

The evening, which begins with a cocktail hour at 6:30 PM, also includes performances by Joan Osborne and Renee Olstead and a live auction conducted by Niven.

Previous amfAR honorees include Clive Davis, Peter Dolan/Bristol Myers Squibb, Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Quincy Jones, Patti LaBelle, Lorne Michaels, Rosie O'Donnell, Sumner Redstone/Viacom, Natasha Richardson, Bill Roedy/MTV Networks, Carine Roitfeld, Julian Schnabel, Bobby Shriver, Sharon Stone, Barbara Walters, Robin Williams and Anna Wintour.

For tickets, which begin at $1,000, contact Kate Fitzsimons at (212) 806-1612 or e-mail kate.fitzsimons@amfar.org.

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Established in 1985, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is "one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy."