Friday evening I was honored
to win tickets to the charity event to benefit drumStrong
(DrumsForCures)
and the Levine Children's Hospital's
cancer research here in Charlotte NC (Thank you Meck-South
Rotary for the evening)! Spirit Square was the
venue and the place will just never be the same for me! There
were amazing bands and a 'Not-So-Silent Auction' and lots and lots of
food and beverage! Generosity spilled into the hallways of Spirit
Square with donations from across the Carolinas and the
world! There were trips to Tuscany, autographed footballs and
photographs, crystal and jewelery and much more--all donated by those
who are just hoping and praying for a cure for children's cancer. The drumStrong live auction featured a Porsche 2-hour tour and other amazing items that those in the crowd so generously stepped up to bid upon.
The music began with a concert by a local band called HWY 17. As it happens, three of the band members are also members of my Rotary group and they put on quite a show! They played while we all ate and browsed the silent auction items.
Then a group of percussionists drummed their way into our hearts (with the belly dancers following) and led the crowd into the main McGlohon Theatre for the main event. I have to say that one of my favorites was Vinx--he is ONE talentented individual and I even got a hug from him after the show as he was browsing the auction items with the rest of us! That was quite a treat!
drumStrong is a multicultural musicial charity event that is produced by DrumsForCures. This organization showcases regional and national talent who support patients with cancer and their loved ones. drumStrong's heartbeat of the community event was matched dollar for dollar by the Levine family. Congratulations Charlotte for sharing your hearts of gold and supporting such a worthwhile cause.
I also took a few videos of the evening and would like to share them--these are my FIRST YouTube uploads so, appreciate them for what they are and don't be too critical of this novice's work!! ;-)
Percussionists/drummers/dancers inviting the crowd to the McGlohon Theatre.
Vinx on stage in the McGlohon Theatre (his act was just amazing and the acoustics were unbelievable)!
About
the author:
Debe
Maxwell is a Charlotte
Residential Real Estate
Broker, Certified Neighborhood & Relocation Specialist, ABR
&
e-PRO who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate
in the Charlotte NC
Metro Area.
If you're relocating to or from any other area of the
country,
Debe connects you with any member of her team of relocation
professionals in your destination or exit city of choice. The
destination service is of no cost to you! The
Maxwell House Group's
quality service guarantee puts this team far ahead of the competition;
providing unsurpassed customer service is their #1 priority!
Debe
Maxwell -- Helen Adams Realty -- 704.491.3310Copyright©
2009 By Debe Maxwell, All Rights Reserved...**drumSTRONG Charity Event in
Charlotte NC a HUGE Success**
Disclaimer: All
information
provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may
be based on information collected from several sources, which may or
may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and
may be time sensitive.
(THE best Charlotte home search available - no kidding!)
Debe Maxwell, CRS/Realtor®/Broker
Broker@TheCharlotteScoop.com
Phone (704) 491-3310
... more good times Debe ! ... the guy at the end (Vinx?) looked like he was fun !!!
Look at you - the socialite !!!! Nice !!!!!
Good for you D !
Cheers !
Sheldon
Debe - Congrats ona successful event! Looks like it was loads of fun too.
Hi Sheldon! We might well be on IM--I just commented on one of your comments on another post! I do love it when you stop by--you offer engaging and constructive or witty comments that let me KNOW that you've read the post and are interested in keeping the lines of communication open! I'll bet you're one heck of a REALTOR!
As for VINX--he was magnanamous!
Here's a shot of he and I after the concert--he thought we were playing poker at our table and stopped by--I jumped up and gave him a hug and told him how much we all enjoyed his show. And, BTW, we weren't playing poker--just laughing and joking with one another at our table!
Hi Tanya! It was a great time and the event was a success--I wound up winning several auction items so, I KNOW they got alot of $$ from me!! ;-)
Hi there Debe-Sounds like a great time was had by all. You are such a giving person with a big heart. These kinds of things are fun and for such worthy causes. Great post. Hope you and Ray are doing well. I'm good, just super busy. Nice chatting with you. Have a blessed week. :-)
Debe, I absolutely would have loved that. Not only was it for a good cause AND some wonderful entertainment. We occasionally see someone playing like that in Central Park and always stop to listen! Thanks for the videos, you did a great job.
Very well crafted post, Debe. You did a great job of capturing the event for your blog while fully enjoying it! I fund that hard to do, myself.
... lol ... characters like Vinx leave a lasting impression, and often bring a smile whenever you think of them ... kinda like that smile you have in the photo with him :o)
And thanks for the kind words ... insincerity is not a trait I subscribe to
Debe: Sounds like an amazing event! Kudos to the organizers, and to folks like you who participated in a fun evening for such a worthy cause!
Debe,
Great job with capturing the essence of the event..and still having fun! Thanks for sharing.
Debe,
Sounds like a blast....What a good time. What a super great Localism post...makes you want to be there!!!
a GREAT time for a GREAT cause. The youTube was good. I need try doing a video on youTuve as well.
Awesome. I am involved in several charity events in my home town and it is always a great way to see the community coming together.
Very nice recap and fun vids Debe. I'm so glad you were a part of the festivities. Pretty unique "party"! Yes, it was BIG fun! With great talent and BIG hearts! Vinx, The Brubecks, Jim Donovan and all who volunteered... did you stay for the crazy late night percussion Jam? Everybody was on stage.
Through our DrumsForCures :: drumSTRONG events, we do showcase the cancer health resources available in the region (and globally), educate, support survivorship, and raise awareness and funds. As important as anything else we do, we encourage the community to focus on 'playing nice' (lighten up on the constraints and limiting factors of "competitiveness") giving rise to true, solid, collaborative initiatives.
We are not competing for "cancer dollars" like so many. DrumsForCures wants you to intelligently support the cancer societies and research facilities that do the most good. We make them available to you and ask that we be the conduit. We help so many in such cool fashion. Many positive activities are manifesting such as bringing percussionists into the pediatric clinics, programs to educate youth about cancer health and drum circles around town. We gather people to rhythm, facilitate opportunities and create sound community.
Not another walk, run, ride, golf tournament; truly something for all ages, wages and stages of health...
In the very near future, there will be drumSTRONGs in multiple cities so that wherever we are, we will show the neighborhood what's available and support the local needs.
Oh yeah, did I mention BIG fun?
Wishes of peace and good health,
Scott
www.drumstrong.org
Hey Debe, This was really cool. Thanks for sharing. How much did the Porsche go for?
http://www.homeinspectioncarolina.com
Preston Sandlin
Home Inspection Carolina
Hi All! Thank you so much for all of your kind words! I have been quite busy this week and am hopefully going to be able to catch up a bit in the next couple of days! BTW--Russell, I've missed you too!
SCOTT: I have to say that I'm SO honored that you visited my blog! WOW! Thank you for your permissions last week to post the information about your event. As you know, our Rotary group was doing some volunteering for the event and I had my entire day packed full with clients so, I wasn't able to volunteer! Imagine my surprise and exhilaration when I actually won tickets to attend the event! We had an absolutely wonderful time and I was very impressed with the organization and the volunteers that you had working the event--not to mention the music!
I don't know how the numbers finally tallied but, I certainly do hope that it was a better event than you had expected. Also, the question has been asked about the Porche--what DID it go for? I know Scott, my partner, had a fit over the Lamborghini--he had an entire 'photo op' after the auction!! LOL So, we didn't stay for the percussion jam at the en--I really hate that I missed that!
Hey, thanks again for stopping by--you're my first celebrity visitor to my blog! I hope you'll stop by often.
Preston: See above--I have no idea but, hopefully Scott will be able to tell us--this is HIS organization!
Debe, you do such an awesome job on your posts! Love the mix of color...sounds like you had a wonderful time. ;-)
Deb, can you please tell me how you get the color fonts in your posts?? thanks
Teri! Thank you so much! I enjoy this part of my 'marketing' and playing around with colors is just fun to me! Thanks for always stopping by and being so positive Teri!
Rebecca: I use Nvu--go to www.NVU.com and download the program for FREE! You can create your posts in WYSIWYG, then convert to html and upload into your AR blog. It's fun to be creative with it and very easy to use.
Hi Debe,
Talk to me about how to best let folks know about drumSTRONG '09 May 16th & 17th. They need to know to register online at www.drumstrong.org, solicit per hour drumming sponsorships, come out & play, get solid info and have a blast.
Thanks,
Scott