Kevin Byrnes, on guitar, and Patrick Goldsmith, on harmonica, at the inaugural Lambertville Elks Open Mic Night in August.
The Lambertville Elks are about to get livelier on certain Saturday nights. After recent renovations to their lodge and music stage, the Elks wanted to look for new community fundraising outreach opportunities.
Along came Lambertville residents and Elks members Audrey Byrnes and Craigh Ledger, who then pitched the idea of a weekend open mic night to Elks “Exalted Ruler” William E. Vogel. From there, the monthly “Open Stage” was born, with a mission to connect local talent, while supporting charitable causes in the community.
The inaugural Open Stage was held on Saturday Aug. 6, and benefited Lambertville Public Schools with cash donations and school supplies. Over ten local acts performed with Tyson Sleete, of indie rock band Sourland, and Bill Kershaw, of The Shackers, taking up hosting and sound duties.
The Elks, a national association, tend to focus on regional nonprofits and this particular open mic series selects recipients of donations upon need, and also, if they can accommodate the nonprofit’s needs. Fundraisers for the Elks National Foundation are also in the works.
The next Open Stage will be held on Saturday, Sept. 3 and will benefit the Lambertville Animal Welfare Pet Food Drive. The event starts at 7 p.m. and artist signup begins at 6:30p.m. The show is open to the public and attendees are asked to bring pet food donations.
For more information, contact the Elks Lodge at (609) 397-4210 and leave a message for Audrey.
I wish I had known about this sooner! I would have been there with cat food galore!