area businesses, venues, chefs, musicians, children and more join forces to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina

As New Orleans’ refugees face the devastating effects of the worst hurricane in a century, Seacoast businesses and foundations are organizing to raise relief funds to aid the victims.

Area businesses and venues are working together and individually to establish fundraiser dinners and concerts to help those in need, and they’re asking you to get involved.

The Bell Center in Dover is holding a benefit relief concert titled “Concert for Katrina” to help the victims, all the proceeds going to the Red Cross.

“We have an opportunity as a group of artists to make an impact on peoples’ lives,” said executive director of the Bell Center Cathy Fink in an e-mail sent to notify people of the concert.  “New Orleans has been a center of musical culture for many years and deserves our support.” 

“Concert for Katrina,” on Sunday, Sept. 11, from 2 to 10 p.m., will feature area jazz, acoustic and Broadway-style performers from the Bell Center, Garrison Players, Seacoast Repertory Theater, and local singers and bands.  Some names on the list include Mike Morris, Ed Gerhard, BJ Hickman, Billy Butler and Jody Gourlay. Fink is also working to get Percy Hill to perform at the event.

Aid organizations are looking for cash to help victims, rather than goods, which can be the wrong size or perishable and must be transported and stored. If you don’t have cash, they’ve recommended selling items of value and donating the proceeds. The “Concert for Katrina,” for example, will include raffle items and food from Smiley’s Beverage, Atlantic Culinary Academy, and local bakers.
“Raffle items will be gift certificates for products and services donated by local businesses,” said Fink, all the proceeds of which will be donated to the Red Cross.

The Seacoast area’s finest chefs are hosting “Seacoast Chefs for Hurricane Relief: A Tribute to Cajun Cuisine and Music,” a fundraising dinner on Friday, Sept. 16 at the Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle. The $195 a plate dinner features food prepared by chefs from the Muddy River Smokehouse, Jumpin’ Jay’s, 43 Degrees North, and Wentworth by the Sea. The Compaq Big Band will play at the event.
“Culinary-wise it’s going to be an amazing venue,” said Wentworth by the Sea executive chef Dan Dumont, who is co-sponsoring the event. “And it’s for a good cause.”

A silent auction during dinner will be followed by a live auction after the meal. Items auctioned will include the opportunity to rent-a-chef. The chefs participating in the fundraiser dinner will auction themselves off to prepare a five-course meal for the highest bidder and up to 11friends at their house, wine included. Dumont is hoping to auction a motorcycle, perhaps donated by Seacoast Harley Davidson, at the event.

Brotherhood of the Groove, a New Orleans-based jazz band, will be playing at the Muddy River Smokehouse on Sunday, Sept. 25 and donating 50 percent of their profits toward relief efforts. The New Orleans-based jazz band, which began touring earlier this year, has decided to continue their tour instead of going home to rebuild their lives.

“They lost everything they had,” said Chris Soucy, general manager and talent booker at the Muddy River Smokehouse. “Their business, their jobs, their houses.”

The Sheraton Harborside in downtown Portsmouth is providing four rooms to the band for free, and Soucy said the Muddy River Smokehouse is donating all of the cover charge made that night to the band and its fundraising efforts.

At The Press Room on Thursday, Sept. 22, Jon Nolan and the honky-tonk Citizen’s Band (Steve Roy, Matt Shipman, Bruce Derr, Rob Kneeland) will play from 7 to 9 p.m. and solicit donations for the Red Cross.

“It seemed like an easy way for people to help by just coming out and enjoying the Press Room atmosphere and listening to the old country tunes,” Nolan said. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

While businesses and restaurants are doing their part to raise money for hurricane relief, the Great Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross is training volunteers and deploying them to some of the hardest hit areas. 

Sarah Cherne, executive director of the Great Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross, said that they are teaching three courses to 120 volunteers on how to respond to distress operations, what to expect in hazardous areas, and how to operate and staff a shelter. According to Cherne, more than 600 Red Cross volunteers are being deployed to the region a day, including two volunteers from the Great Bay Chapter. 

“This is a hardship assignment,” is the first thing Cherne tells volunteers. “No air conditioning, no electricity, no potable water, very limited cell phone coverage and no hard (phone) line coverage.”  Volunteers will sleep in shelters, usually on the floor, and must carry all possessions and gear, Cherne added. 

The Great Bay Chapter is also accepting donations in Newington or through their Web site at http://greatbayredcross.org. “Lots of banks and local businesses are acting as drop-off sites,” said Cherne.

The Great Bay Chapter is not planning any fundraisers at this time but will provide callers with informatoin about local fundraisers and drop-off sites. One fundraiser Cherne recommends participating in is WOKQ’s “Pay and Play” from Tuesday, Sept. 6 through Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. Callers can call in and pay for a song they want played, said Cherne. “But if they want disco it will cost more money because they are a country station,” she added. 

Volunteers both young and old are pitching in for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. A Red Cross donation booth was set up at the Portsmouth Farmers’ Market this week, manned by Forrest Barker, 10, Kelsey Gallagher, 10, and Elizabeth Rice, 8.

“As soon as the market is over,” said Barker, “all of the money is going right over to the Red Cross for hurricane Katrina, and we’ll be set up again next week, too.”