SHERBURNE – An art auction, along with Japanese cuisine, folk music and story telling will be among the featured offerings at a benefit for Japan on Saturday, April 30 in Sherburne.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. within St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church parish hall on East State Street, concerts are scheduled with these performers: Emilie & Zak at 10 a.m., Brian Murphy, at 10:30 a.m., Treasure at 11 a.m., Pat Houghton at 12:30 p.m., Tomoko Gurbo at 1 p.m. and the Jennie Williams Blues Band at 1:30 p.m. Arline Saiki of Edmeston and other readers will open the event at 9 a.m. with Japanese story telling and an origami demonstration.
Benefit organizers Saiki and Gurbo hope to raise a substantial amount of money for the non-profit Japan Society. All the donations after the expenses will go to four organizations which the Japan Society funds and which work for the people on the front lines, following the March 11 earthquake, and related tsunami and nuclear power plant radiation fallout, Gurbo said.
A silent art auction will close at 2 p.m., with the winning bidders’ names announced during the last hour of the event. It will feature paintings, drawings or prints from Doug Jamieson, Gail Bunting, Carl Houghton, Walter Gurbo, Simone Mantellassi, Zena Gurbo and more. Saiki also contributed a few Japanese shadow boxes. Winning bidders are asked to pay before the benefit ends, organizers said. Maryann Stow’s paintings and Elizabeth Neils’ potteries will also be featured.
A drawing from Ken Otsuka, an established artist from Lee, Massachusetts, will be an auction highlight, and a 100 percent silk Hanae Mori scarf will be raffled off as well, Saiki said.
Chicken teriyaki and other Japanese food will be made on site within the church’s kitchen, along with bake sale desserts donated by parishioners. Most of the benefits’ expenses are for lunch foods only so the benefits’ expenses will be minimal, Tomoko Gurbo said.
Ongoing throughout the day will be Chinese auctions featuring gift certificates from several area merchants, such as for an ice cream cake from Garf’s Deli and Ice Cream, and a pizza from Pasquale’s Pizzeria in Norwich and Sherburne.
