By Ron Evans
Missing live music? Of course you are! Well there are some great live tunes coming your way next week. And if you’ve been wanting to get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement in a safe, socially distant manner, this is double your event.
Pass The Mic: A Fundraiser For The NAACP is streaming LIVE right to your preferred device next Tuesday with a solid lineup of music, poetry and a silent auction compiled of locally donated goods and services.
Organizer and performer Rhia Foster gives us a detailed summary of this event.
Rhia Foster being Rhia Foster
“The solidarity march in Leavenworth sparked a conversation between business owners Kayla Applebay {Bushel & Bee} and Brittany Thurlow {The Plant Ally}. They were talking about it and thought it would be awesome to host a fundraiser to keep up momentum for Black Lives Matters. It was decided that an auction and/or a concert might be a great way to instill some energy into the movement in our community. We couldn't choose which one to do, so we're doing them both! The event is a celebration of black musicians and artists' incredible contribution to American {and world} music.” Foster said.
Who is running the event? Is it all happening in one physical space or is it live feeds from many places?
The event sponsors are Bushel & Bee, The Plant Ally, Waste Loop, Water from Wine, Norse Creative are all sponsors of the event. Smith Syndicate is also a major donor and sponsor.
One piece of the live-stream is happening at a central location but we do have some live stream “Inception” - we are live streaming a live stream and we're even sharing videos of artists from around the nation.
How will the auction work?
The auction will be held at this LINK.
It will be live on Tuesday. You can preview some items via the Bushel & Bee instagram or the FB event page HERE.
It is free to look - only asks your info if you want to bid so browse away! Payments will be made directly to Bushel & Bee or Waste Loop when the auction ends. The platform allows you to see the previous bid and will even alert you when someone outbids you! .
Is there time for other donations/auction items?
I can accept donations/auction items up to Sunday, July 26th. Contact: rhia@bushelandbee.com. We're looking for some small items to fill in baskets and packages at this time or services like home care, sporting things, etc.
If someone can’t make the live broadcast but they want to contribute, how can they do so?
You can totally bid on auction items! There will also be a link at bushelandbee.com to make a donation. There are raffle tickets for sale on our website as well. They are $5 each and while we will do the raffle drawings live at the concert, we'll also call those folks and let them know they won after the event is over. Raffle items include a cocktail class for 5 with Rhia Foster, a class with Brittnay Thurlow at Plant Ally, Swag packs from Bushel & Bee and other local businesses.
All of the proceeds from the auction and the raffle will got to the NAACP. The show is going to be DYNAMITE. All of the musicians performing will be honoring and paying tribute to black musicians in some way. Expect everything from learning about the instrumentation of bluegrass to great blues, funk, jazz and neo-soul! Comedian Sam Demaris is our guest MC and Testimony Tony will be opening our concert with some poetry!
Tickets: bushelandbee.com
