Dinner for Darfur
We started the night with a fabulous dinner at the Chatham VFW. Fifty people attended. Special thanks to Jan Crowell (!!) and the VFW for donating the facility and doing so much to make it successful.
The event wouldn't have happened without Ed Ramirez who donated his time to head chef the dinner.
This event was made possible by the generosity by these restaurants who donated all delicious dishes:
Buca's
Campari's
Marion's Pie Shop
The Mason Jar
The Corner Store
Also, Mermaids on Main, and Tara Owen who prepared and donated gift bogs for our special guests and their families, and Stop and Shop who donated additional food.
Please patronize these businesses and thank them for supporting the fundraiser.
Also, thank you to Rolf Schmalzer who prepared two trays of food, Anne Hynes who helped arrange all the last minute details, and Jeff Howell who MC'd the event.
We also had a very successful silent auction. Items were generously donated by Brian Hamilton and Eastward Ho (Golf for 4), Rolf Schmalzer (two wood carvings), Buca's (gift certificate), Eastern Mountain Sports (kayak rental) and John Dickson (sailing outing and Alaskan salmon). Thanks to all!
We were treated to a slide show review of her mission to Rwanda by MacKenzie Hamilton, then a talk by Omer Ismail, a Darfuri exile and senior policy advisor at the Enough Project, and finally a performance by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion.
Concert for Darfur
From the dinner, we scampered across town the Bandstand for our outdoor folk concert. We entertained an audience of about 150-200.
Special thanks to Brian Boyle - our expert Lighting Technician, and lighting guru at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, who has been donating his time, equipment and talents to us for years.
Also, thanks to Erik Raneo, who set up and ran the sound system, also donating his time, equipment and expertise. They both did a fantastic job producing a professional event.
Thanks also to The Wayside Inn, who lent us tables, power cords, and outlets. And most especially to the Chatham Parks and Recreation Commission, who generously granted us permission to use Kate Gould Park and supported our mission of genocide relief.
We had wonderful opening performances by Chad Wimberly of Harwich High School, Anna Hirst of Nauset, and Lillian Terry-Welsh of Chatham and Cape Cod Academy. John DIckson also led us in singing the Preamble as a warmup.
We were then treated to an outstanding set by Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, featuring songs from their "Folksong" and "Exploration" recordings among others - visit sarahleeandjohnny.com and buy these!
Omer Ismail gave a stirring and emotional appeal for us to keep up our work on Darfur, Sudan, and other human rights issues.
Sarah Lee and Johnny concluded their set, and then came into the audience for an intimate sing-a-long encore, ending with a rendition of This Land is Your Land that is still running through my mind.
Thanks to all the STAND members who made this event happen - MacKenzie Hamilton, Andie Ramirez, Ellyn Schmalzer, Cynthia Miranda, Ethan Razinha, Abigail Hynes Houston, Mary Hall, Robert Pirtle, Colin Hamilton, and Ellyn's cousins!
To see more pictures of the concert, check out this slide show on flickr.
A great event - looking forward to our second annual event Summer 2010!
