Brades, Montserrat – On Saturday January 30, 2010, more than 20 of Montserrat’s musical maestros will raise their voices and instruments during a fundraising concert organized to help support the Haitian earthquake relief efforts. The family fun day and evening of entertainment will be held at the Montserrat Cultural Centre with 100% of proceeds generated from the event being donated directly to charities assisting in the Haitian disaster relief.
No stranger to natural disasters, the island has experienced and recovered from the ravages of Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and the eruptions of the Soufriere Hills Volcano in the mid-1990s. “The people of Montserrat know what it is like to live through and come back from a tragedy, which makes us all the more willing to lend a hand to our brothers and sisters in need,” commented Chief Minister Reuben T. Meade, who is in full support of the fundraising concert.
The concert will be held at the Montserrat Cultural Centre, a facility that was developed as a result of fundraising efforts by former Beatles producer Sir George Martin, and will feature a family fun day filled with games, a raffle drawing and other activities for adults and children. The evening of entertainment will begin at 7 p.m. with scheduled performances by legendary calypsonian and son of Montserrat, King Arrow — whose international hits Hot Hot Hot and Groove Master helped put calyso on the world musical stage — plus Kulcha Don, Hero and other local bands, soca entertainers and musicians. “The cultural centre was actually built from the generosity of musicians and other benefactors so it is fitting that it can now be used to help others,” said Peter Filleul of the concert’s organizing committee.
Montserrat has already raised $51,134 EC (approximately $8,000 USD) from a three-hour radio telethon that took place on January 14. The event was held at the studio of Radio Montserrat (ZJB) in collaboration with the Montserrat Red Cross and the Montserrat chapter of the Rotary Club. Other donations included clothing and other aid items will be distributed through local Haitian chapters of these organizations.
