Mardi Gras concert to support New Orleans
Melissa Reaves presents charity rock show at Dragonfly Theater Feb. 24

By Jeff Eason

If you know anybody who lives in New Orleans, you know that the Crescent City community is not fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Not even close. Three-and-a-half years after the disaster, folks are still putting their homes, schools, churches and lives back together.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people who have made rebuilding New Orleans their passion. One such group of people is located right here in the High Country.

WeCAN (Watauga Emergency Crisis Assistance Network) is a program sponsored by the Hospitality House that responds to neighbors in crisis. In addition to helping with the needs of High Country residents, WeCAN has sent work crews to New Orleans on a regular basis to help that region return to its former glory.

The High Country United Church of Christ will sponsor its Fourth Annual Mardi Gras benefit concert at the Dragonfly Theater and Pup on Tuesday, February 24. The concert will feature singer, songwriter and guitarist Melissa Reaves and her musical friends. The doors open at 6 and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 per person.

The benefit concert is the result of a group effort by Melissa Reaves, Dragonfly Theater owner Sheri Baker, and High Country United Church of Christ congregants Renee Boughman and Shelly Wilson.

Performing with Reaves will be Dave Fox on keyboards, Zack Page on bass and Doug James on guitar. The band will perform dance tunes, rock and roll and a few New Orleans-flavored Mardi Gras numbers.

“Along with the Mardi Gras theme, we will have ‘We Can Survive Katrina’ tee shirts for sale,” said Boughman. “Since the hurricane we have continued with these efforts, along with efforts to help our own community. With WeCAN, we have always divided our ministry efforts between New Orleans and folks who need our help in the High Country.

“Interest in Katrina has waned. Our approach has been that there are still parts of the city that haven’t been touched, nearly four years later. The response to Katrina has to be continually addressed. Folks can’t be forgotten.”

According to United Church of Christ spokesperson Jeff Woodard, “15 UCC members from eight states traveled to New Orleans and coastal Mississippi Dec. 8-11 to learn firsthand of the progress made and the complex challenges facing residents more than three years after Hurricane Katrina. The group visited a half dozen work sites supervised by UCC National Disaster Ministries Staff. Also on the three-day itinerary of the ‘Hope Shall Bloom’ educational mission trip were visits to Little Farms UCC and Beecher Memorial UCC, a tour of a new multi-purpose facility for the homeless downtown, and a daytrip to Biloxi and Pass Christian, Mississippi.”

WeCAN

All proceeds from ticket sales from the Mardi Gras concert will support WeCAN (Watauga Emergency Crisis Assistance Network) and the High Country United Church of Christ’s ongoing relief work in New Orleans.
WeCAN is a program sponsored by the Hospitality House that responds to neighbors in crisis. Among its services, WeCAN helps with the heating bills of Watauga County’s neediest residents.

Tickets

Tickets for the concert are $12 per person and can be purchased at the door or by contacting the High Country United Church of Christ at (828) 297-1092. Tickets are also available at Reid’s Café, Mast General Store in Boone, and Espresso News.