Special Event: Bring It On Home

CFSC is proud to have sponsored the successful benefit concert, Bring It On Home, and invites you to join us with your support! To donate to support farmers and food security efforts in the New Orleans region, go to the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group site at www.ssawg.org and go to their section on hurricane relief.



CFSC is working with a committee to distribute the proceeds from the food and beverage sales and any donations to farmers' market vendors from the Covington and New Orleans markets. The donations will be shared in the form of seeds, transplants and gasoline cards.

The Storyville Stompers	Germaine Basil, George French & Leah Chase

Concert Details:

In an effort to ensure that the unique musical culture and agricultural life of Louisiana is left intact in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a benefit concert entitled "Bring it on Home" has been organized to raise money for future musical performances and to support farmers market vendors in both St. Tammany and Orleans Parishes. The concert was held on Saturday, November 5, 1 to 6 p.m., at Bogue Falaya Park in downtown Covington.

"It is shocking to realize how many great musicians have at least temporarily evacuated Louisiana," says co-producer and musician Don Vappie, who has lined up the talent for the event. "We want to make sure they know they will have paid performances now and in the future. We are saying 'Bring it on Home', and we mean it."

Event co-producer Bo Gallup says, "I've been involved in many fundraising events for area non-profits, but no event has been as important to me as 'Bring It On Home'. The most important thing is that it raises money to support musicians and farmers, and yet, all of us who live here are also beneficiaries, because the concert will help ensure that what we love about Louisiana will be preserved."

Headliners who came to the event included:

Jazz singer Leah Chase, known for her sultry and improvisational vocal style. Ms. Chase has played with many of New Orleans leading musicians, and is a regular performer at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, as well as in leading jazz clubs and other musical festivals throughout the region. She and Phillip Manuel recently performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. George French has been a musician his entire life, beginning under the tutelage of his father, the renowned bandleader Albert "Papa" French. French's technical mastery does not impinge on the richness and even funk he brings to his repertoire of Trad Jazz, R and B, Gospel and beyond. In addition to annual performances at the Jazz Festival, French has played with such prominent artists as Robert Parker, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, James Rivers, Deacon John, Earl King, The Dukes of Dixieland, and countless others.

Philip Manuel, a mainstay of the New Orleans music scene, familiar to Jazz Festival-goers and Jazz Club patrons, will also perform. The singer's experience performing with symphonies and in musical theatre gives him a phrasing and articulation rare in world of New Orleans R and B, and yet his reputation for impassioned interpretations of R and B and Jazz standards is unparalleled.

The Storyville Stompers Brass Band is a regular at the Jazz Fest, at Mardi Gras parades and parties, and anywhere people want to have fun. Their brass band sound is traditional, and their repertoire includes classic jazz tunes that are often overlooked today. Their demand in New Orleans has not precluded tours across the U.S., and of Asia and Europe. A celebration of Louisiana culture requires a brass band, and the Storyville Stompers performance at "Bring It On Home" is integral to the event.

Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders are vital links to the roots of New Orleans music. Their repertoire includes early Creole jazz as well as the music of Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and many others, as well as original compositions. Their music has been featured on National Public Radio and Public Radio International, and Don's incessant quest to uncover and preserve Louisiana's Creole culture is the subject of a documentary being filmed by acclaimed filmmaker Glen Pitre.

While net proceeds from ticket and CD sales will benefit area musicians, proceeds from food and beverage sales will benefit impacted farmers and farmers market vendors throughout the region.

Net proceeds from the event will be administered by committees formed by the St. Tammany Art Association (for support for area musicians) and the Community Food Security Coalition (for support for area farmers), both are 501c3 non-profits. Monies will be held in escrow at the St. Tammany Homestead, which is also an event co-sponsor.