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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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April
30, 2008
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Contact: Melody M. McDowell
773-660-2001 - Office 312-371-8917 – Cell
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REAL MEN COOK®KICKS OFF 19th ANNUAL FATHER’S DAY CELEBRATION IN 11 CITIES
National Event to Attract 30,000 and Raise Thousands of $$$ for Charity
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CHICAGO, IL – April 30, 2008 - Real Men Cook, America’s premiere urban Father’s Day family tradition that pays tribute to the family, will be held in 11 cities on Father Day, June 15. Over 30,000 people are expected to attend the celebrations, which will be held simultaneously in Atlanta, Chicago, Benton Harbor (MI), Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. Presented by Real Men Charities, the celebrations provide a platform where “real men” from all walks of life are honored for demonstrating extraordinary commitment to their families and communities. Since its inception, the event has raised over $1 million for participating charities whose missions reflect Real Men Cook’s resolve to uplift the community.
Hailed as the “largest, longest-running and most anticipated Father’s Day celebration of its kind,” this much-anticipated annual food-tasting celebration features approximately 1,000 volunteer chefs preparing their favorite dishes for the more than 30,000 people expected to attend. The cooks are committed dads and men from all walks of life and include entertainers, athletes, ministers, media personalities, politicians and other hard-working men who are bound by their resolve to uplift the family.
Senator Barack Obama, National Urban League President Marc Morial, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Eddie and Gerald Levert, Tom Joyner, J. Anthony Brown, Congressman John Conyers, boxing champion Lenox Lewis, TV host John Salley, music industry icons Isaac Hayes, and Damon Dash are among the men who have donned a Real Men Cook bandana and apron and served at this annual family celebration and food tasting fest, which is now in its 19th year.
Real Men Cook is presented by Real Men Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago, which is on a national crusade to positively change the way the world views men in relationship to their families and the community and to transform how Father’s Day is celebrated.
Another highlight of Real Men Cook events is informational pavilions, including the highly successful Real Men Charities Health & Wellness Pavilions featuring screenings, healthy foods, nutritional and fitness workshops. The events also feature Kids Pavilions and the Real Men Read Pavilion, promoting literacy product demonstrations, raffles and other assorted fun activities for the entire family.
Conceived and launched in Chicago in 1989 by entrepreneurs Yvette Moyo and Kofi Moyo, and produced by the marketing firm they founded, Resource Associates International, Ltd., the growth of Real Men Cook into a national celebration has also spawned success of branded products including Real Men Cook Sweet Potato Pound Cake®, a boxed gourmet cake mix and Real Men Cook Coffee, introduced in 2007, which is available on line at www.realmencook.com. The book, REAL MEN COOK, published by Simon & Schuster, is now in paperback, by popular demand. It features a foreword, including U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s memories of attending the events with his family, and highlights family celebration memories from participants in Real Men Cook and a compilation of 100 favorite event recipes.
Among the beneficiary charities of the 2008 celebration are Community Mental Health Council, South Side YMCA, Community in Schools, FACES Cancer, New York City Mission Society, Challenger’s Boys & Girls Club and Real Men Charities, Inc. Past beneficiary organizations include the Tom Joyner Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Museums, Blood Banks and food shelters.
The Nielsen Company, Cuisine Noir Magazine and the National PTA, are national sponsors of this annual food-tasting celebration. Many other major brands also sponsor Real Men Cook in local markets including State Farm Insurance and The Home Depot.
Tickets are available nationwide through www.TicketAnnex.com.
For more information, contact Real Men Cook at 773-651-8008 ext 5 or visit the website at www.realmencook.com.
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Caption: Senator Barack Obama serves up a dish during a recent Real Men Cook celebration.
2008 REAL MEN COOK EVENT CITIES & LOCAL CONTACTS
Following is the list of cities participating in the 2008 Real Men Cook celebration network. ALL events occur from 3:00-6:00 PM on Father’s Day, June 15, 2008, except in Houston where the event is tied-into the Juneteenth Celebration on June 21.
Tickets are available nationwide through www.TicketAnnex.com. Advance ticket prices in all cities are $20 Adult/$10 child.
ATLANTA
Georgia Railroad Depot – 65 Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive
CONTACT: Diane Larche – 404.273.3227
CHICAGO
South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60649
CONTACT: Justin Wooley – 773.651.8008 ext 5
BENTON HARBOR (MI)
Dwight "Pete" Mitchell City Center
(Downtown Benton Harbor at Main St. & Pipestone St.)
CONTACT: Bryan Joseph -- 269-921-0769
DALLAS
State Fair Park, 100 2nd Avenue, TX 75216
CONTACT: Terry Allen – 214.376.6530
DETROIT
Focus: HOPE, 1400 Oakman Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48228
CONTACT : Carmen Carter – 248.910.6527
HOUSTON (Saturday, June 21)*
Tom Bass Park, 3452 Fellows Road, Houston, TX 77047
CONTACT: Francis Paige – 713.748.6300
LOS ANGELES
Challengers Boys & Girls Club 5029 S. Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90037
Phone: (323) 971-6161×242
Fax: (323) 971-2156
CONTACT: Gregory Johnson -- 310-330-2228
NEW YORK
Minisink Townhouse, 646 Lennox Ave, Harlem USA, New York, NY 10001
CONTACT: Angela Hollis – 646.682.9341 or 212-674-3500
PHOENIX
Hyatt Regency Phoenix, 122 North Second St, Phoenix, AZ
CONTACT: Patrick Porter – 623.910.4797
PHILADELPHIA
First District Plaza, 3801 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
CONTACT: Bruce Rush – 215.924.6263
WASHINGTON, DC
Historical Society of Washington DC/The Old Carnegie Library Building on K Street, NW between 7th and 9th Street, NW. Washington, DC 20001
CONTACT: Al Flowers, FLOW Entertainment 202-904-2318 and
O.D. Dixon – 202.986.2324
* Houston is the only event held at 3 pm on Saturday, June 21. All other cities host the events on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15, 2008.
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June 7, 2007
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CONTACT: Sharon Morgan
- 773.392.2961 - Sharonmorgan1@comcast.net
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REAL MEN COOK® ON “EMERIL LIVE”
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Food Network Features Real Men Cooking for Charity
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CHICAGO, IL (June 7, 2007) – A contingent from Real Men Cook – event co-founder, Yvette
Moyo, and several chefs who participate in America’s premiere urban Father’s Day family food-tasting event -- will be featured on an episode of “Emeril Live” on The Food Network on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at 8PM EST. The program, which has a viewing audience of 91 million homes in 135 countries, is icing on the cake for the 18th annual Real Men Cook event, which will occur in nine cities across the nation on Father’s Day, June 17, 2007.
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Real Men Cook is the ONLY event of its kind - one that celebrates men as fathers, care givers and pillars of strength to their families and communities. Chef Emeril Lagasse devotes an entire segment to saluting them as “all the great guys who prepare great meals for their families.” What he prepares on his show is “a home cooked meal” in tribute to the volunteer efforts of Real Men Cook “who nourish the body, mind and soul of their families by giving up their own chance at being pampered on Father’s Day to give something back to the community,” says Yvette
Moyo. Each audience member is presented with the Real Men Cook cookbook, which includes features profiles, recipes and family stories with a foreword written by presidential candidate Barack
Obama.
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Real Men Cook is presented by Real Men Cook Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago. First produced in 1990, the event will occur this year simultaneously in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. To date, more than $1 million has been raised for various charities through event ticket sales and donations.
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The biggest highlight of the event is the opportunity to taste “home cooked” specialties prepared by volunteer chefs. There are also informational pavilions, including Health and Wellness Pavilions featuring screenings, healthy foods and workshops; product demonstrations, raffles, fun activities and music for the entire family.
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The lead national sponsors for Real Men Cook 2007 are The Nielsen Company, Bounty, the official clean-up partner in all cities, and State Farm Insurance, a multiple city sponsor. In past years, the event has enjoyed the attention of Time magazine, USA Today and Southern Living. Celebrities like Barack
Obama, Damon Dash, musician George Duke, Eddie (O’Jays)
Levert, boxing champions Lenox Lewis and Roy Jones, Congressmen John Conyers, John Lewis and Danny Davis are associated with the events and generally attend in their home cities.
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For event tickets, visit
www.realmencook.com. Information on Real Men Cook on “Emeril Live” (episode EM0615) is at
www.foodnetwork.com.
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May
30, 2007
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CONTACT: Sharon Morgan 773.392.2961 Sharonmorgan1@comcast.net
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REAL MEN COOK® ANNOUNCES NATIONAL EVENT HOST
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R&B Legend Eddie Levert of the O’Jays
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CHICAGO, IL (May 25, 2007) – R&B legend Eddie Levert returns to the nation’s leading Father’s Day celebration this year as a National Event Host. This makes him the “drum major” of the 18th annual Real Men Cook which, on June 17, 2007, will take place simultaneously in multiple leading cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The song he recorded with his son, Gerald Levert, Wind Beneath My Wings has also been proclaimed by Real Men Cook as the official theme song for the 2007 program. For the first time in several years, Eddie Levert will attend the New York event without his son, whose life ended unexpectedly last year.
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Over the years, Real Men Cook has evolved into the largest and longest-running national Father’s Day celebration of its kind. Proceeds from event ticket sales are donated to local charities and, to date, more than $1 million has been raised through ticket sale proceeds and donations.
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The producer of the event, Real Men Charities, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization based in Chicago, is on a national crusade to positively change the way the world views men in relationship to their families and the community and to change how Father’s Day is celebrated globally. The event provides a platform where “real men” from all walks of life are honored for demonstrating extraordinary commitment to their families and communities. The centerpiece of the celebration is the over 1,000 volunteer chefs who prepare their favorite dishes for more than 30,000 people who attend the events in host cities. The chefs include committed dads and father figures, entertainers, athletes, ministers, media personalities and politicians – all bound by their resolve to uplift the family. Some of the high-profile men who have donned toques and participated as cooks and servers for the food-tasting celebration in the past include U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressman John Conyers, boxing champion Lenox Lewis, music icons Isaac Hayes and Damon Dash. Another highlight of Real Men Cook events is informational pavilions, including highly successful health and wellness pavilions featuring screenings, healthy foods and workshops. The events also feature product demonstrations, raffles and other assorted fun activities for the entire family.
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Eddie Levert says that “Real Men Cook has been a blessing for me and Gerald. It brought us together to do something that showed people that family unity is alive and well. By our example, we tried to inspire other families to come together. Even though he is not with me this year, I am continuing the tradition in his memory. He is still the wind beneath MY wings!”
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Eddie will also be promoting his latest project “Something to Talk About”, the duet album featuring Eddie and son Gerald Levert being released by Atlantic Records on June 12th.
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The lead national sponsors for Real Men Cook 2007 are Bounty products, the official clean-up partner in all cities and Nielsen Media Research, a multiple city sponsor. Many other major brands including State Farm Insurance sponsor the celebration in local markets.
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Tickets priced at $20 for adults and $10 for children, are available nationwide through
www.TicketAnnex.com.
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For more information, contact Real Men Cook at 773-651-8008 or visit the website at www.realmencook.com.
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Photo: Yvette Moyo, Real Men Cook co-founder with the late contemporary R&B singer Gerald Levert in "Fatherhood" t-shirt, Gerald's father the legendary Rock & Roll Hall and Fame Inductee Eddie (O'Jays) Levert and Kofi Moyo, Real Men Cook co-founder at the 15th annual Real Men Cook. Eddie and Gerald served as national hosts of Real Men Cook in 2003 and 2004 and Gerald hosted Real Men Cook in 2005 in New York. This year, for the 18th Annual Real Men Cook Father's Day celebration Eddie serves as a National Host. Tributes to Gerald will take place in all ten Real Men Cook cities, June 16 and June 17.
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Eddie Levert will NOT attend the New York Real Men Cook event. He will spend the weekend celebrating his 65th birthday (June 16th) with family. His role as National Event Host for Real Men Cook is an honorary title that acknowledges his ongoing commitment to the nation’s premiere Father’s Day celebration. We hasten to add that many other celebrities are involved and can be made available for media interviews upon request.
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2007 REAL MEN COOK EVENT CITIES & LOCAL CONTACTS
Following is the list of cities participating in the 2007 Real Men Cook celebration network. ALL events occur from 3:00-6:00 PM on Father’s Day, June 17, 2007. Tickets are available nationwide through
www.TicketAnnex.com. They go on sale Monday, March 26, 2007. Advance ticket prices in all cities are $20 Adult/$10 child.
ATLANTA
The Foundry at Puritan Mill, 916 Lowery Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30318
CONTACT: Diane Larche –
404.344.8496
CHICAGO
South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60649
CONTACT: Tara Davis – 773.651.8008
DALLAS
Dallas Convention Center 650 South Griffin St. Dallas TX, 75202
CONTACT: Terry Allen – 214.376.6530
DETROIT (Saturday, June 16, 2007)*
Focus: HOPE, 1400 Oakman Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48228
CONTACT : Carmen Carter – 248.910.6527
HOUSTON
Tom Bass Park, 3452 Fellows Road, Houston, TX 77047
CONTACT: Francis Paige – 713.748.6300
LOS ANGELES
EXPOSITION PARK INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY CENTER
(EPICC) 3980 S. Menlo Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90037
CONTACT: Greg Johnson – 310.330.2228
MIAMI
Florida Memorial College, 15800 NW 42nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33054
CONTACT: Tara Davis – 773.651.8008
NEW YORK
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, New York, NY 10001
CONTACT: Frederick Johnson – 347.787.4027
PHOENIX
Phoenix Civic Plaza, 225 East Adams Street (Hall E), Phoenix, AZ 85004
CONTACT: Patrick Porter – 623.910.4797
PHILADELPHIA
First District Plaza, 3801 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
CONTACT: Bruce Rush – 215.924.6263
WASHINGTON, DC (Saturday, June 16, 2007)*
The Zanzibar on the Waterfront, 700 Water Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024
CONTACT: O.D. Dixon – 202.986.2324
* In Houston and Washington DC only the events are at 3 pm on Saturday, June 16. All other cities host the events on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17, 2007
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