The Story

Food has a way of gathering people before anyone even knows what the night will become.

The Cambodian Cowboy Comes to Boston is a one-night Cambodian Texas BBQ, live music, and community gathering hosted by the Mabazza Foundation in Boston’s Chinatown. This event brings together bold BBQ, live music, cultural storytelling, AAPI cultural celebration, cancer survivorship awareness, and community connection for an evening built around flavor, celebration, and shared tables.

The event will feature the acclaimed Cambodian Cowboy traveling from Long Beach, California, to Boston for a special patio gathering with Cambodian Texas BBQ, live music, and a warm community atmosphere. It is designed as a lively, memorable evening where guests can eat well, hear music, meet new people, and experience a culinary style rooted in craft, culture, and smoke.

Guests will experience Cambodian Cowboy BBQ as seen on TV, live music, and a welcoming Boston gathering centered on food, culture, and community. As host, the Mabazza Foundation will include a brief moment recognizing cancer survivorship and the mission of the Foundation.

Listen below to his heartfelt story on CBS Mornings.

Why This Event Matters

The Mabazza Foundation is a Boston-based cancer survivor organization that creates community-centered events, storytelling projects, and cultural experiences that bring people together through resilience, connection, and shared life experience.

This event is not designed to be clinical or somber. It is designed to be joyful, alive, and full of community. Cancer survivorship is not only about treatment. It is also about life after treatment, rebuilding connection, being seen, and finding moments of celebration again.

By gathering around food, music, culture, and shared tables, this event will help raise awareness of cancer survivorship while also celebrating Cambodian American culinary creativity and AAPI cultural presence in Boston’s Chinatown.

Why We Need Support

Producing this event requires upfront commitments. We need to secure guest chef participation, BBQ service, venue needs, live music, permits, insurance, staffing, signage, printing, promotion, and event materials before the night can happen.

The venue can hold up to 250 guests, and the final BBQ cost depends on attendance and menu selection. Current service options vary depending on the number of items per plate, condiments, service details, and final event format.

Private dining and specialty BBQ events of this kind can sometimes cost significantly more per guest, with some private event experiences priced at several hundred dollars per person. Our goal is to create a special one-night Boston experience while keeping admission more accessible to the community.

Your donation, ticket purchase, or sponsorship helps make that possible.

How Funds Will Be Used

Funds raised through this Givebutter campaign will help support the production of The Cambodian Cowboy Comes to Boston, including:

Guest chef participation
Cambodian Cowboy BBQ service
Food and service costs
Venue rental and related fees
Live music
Permits and insurance
Staffing and event support
Promotion and outreach
Signage and printed materials
Event supplies and guest experience details

If this campaign exceeds the initial goal, additional funds will be used to strengthen the event, including expanded BBQ service, improved live music, increased staffing, better signage and printed materials, and an enhanced guest experience.

If the event is successful and produces net proceeds beyond event costs, those funds will help support the Mabazza Foundation’s work to raise awareness of cancer survivorship and support programs connected to survivors, caregivers, recovery, isolation, and life after treatment.

Our Goal

Our initial goal is $12,500.

This represents the minimum production threshold needed to move the event forward responsibly. A one-night BBQ and live music event requires upfront commitments before the night can happen, including guest chef participation, BBQ planning, venue needs, permits, insurance, staffing, promotion, signage, printing, and event materials.

The full event budget may be higher depending on final attendance, menu selection, live music, staffing, venue requirements, and guest experience details. Because the venue can hold up to 250 guests, support beyond the initial goal will help us scale the event toward a fuller experience.

Our goal is simple: raise enough to produce the event responsibly, keep the experience welcoming and accessible, and create a memorable evening of food, music, culture, and community.

Sponsorship and Support Opportunities

There are several ways to support this campaign.

Make a Donation

For those who want to help bring the event to life but may not be able to attend, any donation helps support the production costs and community purpose of the event.

Reserve Event Admission

General Admission includes Cambodian Cowboy BBQ, live music, and the community gathering experience.

Choose VIP Admission

VIP admission includes early entry, Cambodian Cowboy BBQ, live music, meet-and-greet access, the community gathering experience, and recognition as a supporter of the event.

Support as a Group or Partner

Host Committee, Table Partner, and Presenting Partner opportunities include multiple admissions, reserved seating, and recognition connected to the event.

More Than Just BBQ

This evening is about food, music, culture, and gathering.

After guests arrive, the patio will become a shared space for Cambodian Texas BBQ, live music, conversation, and community. The Mabazza Foundation will include a brief moment recognizing cancer survivorship and the mission of the Foundation, while keeping the evening joyful, welcoming, and full of life.

Original artwork donated or loaned to the Mabazza Foundation by artists and friends of the Foundation may be displayed throughout the space as part of the event atmosphere helping to create a warm and meaningful setting.

Rain Plan

The event is planned for a patio setting in Boston’s Chinatown, creating an open-air BBQ and live music atmosphere. If bad weather affects the event, the gathering will move indoors at the same venue or to the venue’s designated indoor space.

Thank You

Thank you for helping bring The Cambodian Cowboy Comes to Boston to life.

Your support helps make this one-night gathering possible and helps fill the patio with BBQ, music, culture, cancer survivorship awareness, and community.

We cannot wait to welcome you.

The Cambodian Cowboy Comes to Boston

Help bring Cambodian Cowboy BBQ, live music, and cancer survivorship awareness to Boston’s Chinatown.