4TH ANNUAL IIRD BENEFIT IS A SUCCESS!

Despite competition from the rainy weather and the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Fourth Annual IIRD Benefit Party at BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups was a great success. Friends of Fr. Bill Christensen gathered at BB's on Saturday, October 13, 2001, and enjoyed live music from 2 to 8 p.m. In addition to raising money for IIRD's work in Bangladesh, the event was a farewell party for Fr. Bill, who returned to Bangladesh on October 16th after visiting the United States for several months.

For the fourth year in a row, the musical entertainment was headlined by Jobim Dreams (Margaret Bianchetta and Mary Dee Brown). Other performers included Dizzy Atmosphere (Chris Voelker, Mary Dee Brown), Monica Casey, Ron Reichard, Dick Scharff and Dan Lesicko. The surprise opening act was "Manosa" (Roger Sosa and John Manos), a blues duo from Chicago. In addition, guests were treated to a rare vocal duet performance from Margaret Bianchetta and Monica Casey.

Thanks to all of the musicians and to Mark O'Shaugnessy and his hard-working staff at BB's (including Carol, Jackson and Melody) for all their time and effort in making the event a success. Special thanks also to Greg Carl and Andy Wuellner who collected donations at the door and did their best to explain Fr. Bill's work to sports fans who unwittingly found themselves in the middle of the benefit, to Dick Scharff and Bill Michel, who helped chauffeur musicians to and from the event, and to Sara Layman, who helped organize the event and send out flyers beforehand.

Did the weather or the ballgame prevent you from attending this year? As with the baseball Cardinals' world series hopes, there's always next year! Check back soon for details regarding the 5th Annual IIRD Benefit Party to be held in 2002. Can't wait that long to hear some more good music? Then click here to hear a sample of Jobim Dreams' performance at the 2000 benefit party (in RealAudio format, 546k).