Local effort to put on benefit for Haiti victims

Published 3:37 pm Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Inspired by a local barber and barbershop, Northwest Caribbean Connection and the City of Auburn will throw a grand musical festival at the Auburn Avenue Theater on Feb. 27 to raise money for the suffering people of Haiti.

From 4 p.m. to midnight, the Help Haiti Relief Fund Music Festival will shake and thrill the old theater with a cultural mix of entertainment numbering three disk jockeys and acts like the Tacoma Voice of Praise Gospel Choir, the Nyabingi Drummers, Caribbean Vision Steel Drum Band, Jah Breeze, Crucialities, Unified Culture, Groove Fiery, the Laborers and Alex Duncan.

All funds raised go directly to the Red Cross to support the Haiti relief effort.

“We hope that the community comes out from all over Auburn and surrounding areas to bring hope to Haiti’s future and celebrate our Auburn community together,” said Alexandra Davis, cultural diversity liaison for the City of Auburn.

The City has donated the use of the theater, and Athens Pizza and Ivar’s Seafood bar have donated food for the event. The City also has helped promote the event and worked out space, lighting and sound issues.

Barber Randy Simon and the rest of the crew at Auburn Valley Barbershop have helped with food and clothing drives for the Seattle Union Gospel Mission, and every May since 2005 Simon has walked in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk Foundation event in Tacoma.

Helping out is a bit of a family thing for Simon. As a boy in the Caribbean nation of Antigua, he watched his grandma, Elfreda Christopher, help folks in need. He remembers how much joy it gave her. He tried it out for himself and found out his grandma had something there.

“I saw that with the little bit that she had how much she gave,” said Simon, an American citizen since 1982. “The only thing I saw was that she was always happy when she was doing that, and it took me a while to gravitate toward that, to realize that this makes you happy doing it.

“So when the situation came about with Haiti, I thought we have to be able to do something to give back to those less fortunate, plus the fact that I’m from a Caribbean Island,” Simon said. “So I figured I would talk to the coworkers and call the small Caribbean community that we have in Washington state to get together and form a little organization and put the word out.”

Simon doesn’t know how much he hopes to raise.

“We started with collecting donations here at the barbershop,” Simon said. “Somebody would leave a tip, and I would just stick it in that can over there. I can’t actually put a number on how much we hope to raise, but the more the merrier.

“We need everyone to come out that day, donate, come in enjoy some good food, enjoy some good music and participate in the fact that all of us can be able to give a glimmer of hope to those who are suffering in Haiti,” Simon said.

“I just think it’s a great thing to do this for the people of Haiti,” said stylist Artemas Malone. “Maybe if other people see that people in a barbershop working every day can do this, maybe they’ll take notice and start trying to do something.”