CFTC-McPherson

     Then on Saturday it was time for Concerts For The Cause Back to School Street Dance. If you missed this show, you missed a heck of a good time!

     Jeremy Hanna kicked off the evenings festivities from The Little Red Wagon stage. I believe that Hanna has become one of my new favorite performers. I just love to hear him play. Brian Hopp of Hopps Sno Shack found a real gem when he hired Hanna to play these CFTC events. This guy is good! Hanna plays acoustic guitar and he's spot on with his tunes, even playing outside in the heat and humidity, he does an outstanding job. He got the crowd all warmed up and ready for the headliner, Hell Creek Bridge.

     The McPherson Fire Department had their ladder truck out with a giant American flag hanging over the street stage as well as a fire truck pulled up blocking the street as a back drop for the stage. Little did anyone in the crowd know that as it got dark the light from the firetruck became the stage lights. There were regular flood lights and the red and blue truck lights. What a nifty idea!

     A chilly night for a dunk tank, but there were quite a few takers willing to be tossed into icy cold water for charity. Thank you to the brave souls who volunteered to be dunked. Across the way was a bounce house all decked out in Dalmation dog spots. There was no end to the line of children wanting to jump around in the bounce house or slide down the bounce house slide. For those to small for either the dunk tank or the bounce house, there was face painting.

     The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts had tables set up to give out information regarding their programs and they even ended up connecting with one another and making possible plans for activities together.

     Freddy's Frozen Custard was selling dishes of custard, of course there were sno cones from Hopps Sno Shack, and The Humane Society was selling popcorn and water. Craft Coffee was there if you were needing a warmer alternative. As always, the sno cone line was never ending. The girls working the sno shack were still wearing smiles when I stepped up for my sno cone at 10 pm. I was impressed that they could be that overwhelmed with a never ending line for three hours and when I stepped up there they still looked fresh and were still nice as could be.

     The Bug Lady from Wichita was there to put bugs on people, if they wanted to try them out on a test run. I had to laugh when at one point, The Bug Lady stepped away from her booth to talk to the Humane Society and when she turned around to go back to her booth, the massive crowd had sealed her way back. She held up the bug she was carrying over her head and yelled into the crowd, "Bugs coming through, no need to be alarmed they won't bite." The crowd parted like the Red Sea. After dark, she brought out the tarantula and put it on a couple of folks who had requested it. There was a lot of shivering and surpressed screams.

     At 8 pm, Hell Creek Bridge took to the street to play for a couple of hours. As it began to get dark the crowd also took to the street as young and old alike danced as if no one was watching. The drummer from Hell Creek Bridge played earlier in the season. Tonight the crowd got to see the rest of the band. They were incredible. They played a variety of country tunes but a few rock tunes made it into the mix, too. Very polished and professional would be accurate words to describe this group. Hell Creek Bridge is one to watch as they are going places. It was impossible to sit still while they played. Toes were tapping, feet were dancing, hands were clapping. It was a great time!

     This was a benefit for the McPherson Fire Department's Fill The Boot for MDA campaign and it also benefited The Humane Society whose event was rained out earlier in the season.

   

CFTC-McPherson

     This past weekend was a busy weekend for Concerts For The Cause. There were two events in McPherson and one in Hutchinson.

     On Thursday night, at Hopp's Sno Shack it was the return of Chris Arpad. Last year Arpad wrapped up the McPherson summer season to a standing room only crowd. This years crowd was even bigger than last years.

     Earlier in the day, the McPherson Parks Department dropped off benches to accommodate the crowd that was expected and it's a good thing too. Every park bench was full, people brought their own chairs, as well, and a good thing too as the sidewalks across the street were filled with folks. The line for sno cones stretched across the paved patio, spilled onto the sidewalk and stretched halfway down the block, never seeming to get any shorter.

     McPherson College students walked in from the college in groups of 10 or more students to attend the festivities. McPherson College was collecting funds at this event to donate to Circles of McPherson. Donating to the college was actually a donation for Circles. Interesting twist to the Concert For The Cause concept.

     Chris Arpad blew the crowd away with his island drum sound and calypso beat. There was a light breeze, the music was sensational and if you closed your eyes you'd swear you were on a cruise ship or a Caribbean island. A magical evening. The evenings music kicked off with the Bob Marley classic "Jammin". Arpad took time to explain about the drums he uses in his act which I found fascinating.

      No night of island music would be complete without Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville". At one point in the evening, Arpad tossed beach balls into the crowd for young and old alike to bat around. Of course, a conga line broke out at one point, this has become a staple of Arpad's performances in McPherson.

      A fun evening of music, Chris Arpad had so much fun himself, he has decided to make this an annual event and will be back next summer in late August to play for Concerts For The Cause in his third annual performance. Jim Griggs, from National Geographic, was on hand to take photo's of Arpad's performance.

     An amazing night. Anticipation builds for what's coming up on Saturday night with Concerts For The Cause Back To School street dance.

CFTC-McPherson

      Two weeks ago the Concert For The Cause event in McPherson was rained out. But have no fear, the band that was set to perform that night, Hell Creek Bridge, will perform at a street dance to raise funds for The McPherson Fire Department's MDA Fill The Boot Campaign fund raiser on August 20. The event starts at 7:00 pm.

     Now on to this past Thursday's Concert For The Cause Event which featured Hutchinson's own Soapbox Troubadors. The event was a benefit for the Omega Project. This is a religious group working to affect change within the heart.

     The Troubies were in fine form on this evening, even without several of their band members, which created unique challenges for the group with regard to arrangements. They still sounded great. They sang a variety of original songs; everything from The Road to The Hollar. The group also covered a few covers including Watch Over You by Alter Bridge. I loved their version of this song. They finished their set with the haunting Home which always brings a tear to the eyes of the audience.

     At the intermission, Brandon, a graduate and now a leader within The Omega Project, performed three original rap songs set to music expressing his love of Jesus Christ. They were inspirational songs.

     Concert For The Cause events are known for unusual things happening and tonight was no different. About a half an hour into the event an ultralight with a rainbow sail sailed over the event, he circled over the event throughout the evening until it neared dark and then he flew away. I was so curious to know if he could hear the music or not and just what could he see from up in the air. Did we look like ants to him? The ant myth seems to be a popular concept.

     Concert For The Cause is winding down for the summer in McPherson. If you haven't made it out to an event, there is still time to check out the music, the crowds, the sno cones, and popcorn. On August 11 Cody Marceau will perform in a benefit for The McPherson Dog Park. On August 18 Chris Arpad returns from California to perform at what has become an annual event for him, if you missed him last year, you've got to check him out this year. The crowd was incredible and he has a sound that is not heard in this part of the country. You'll swear you've gone to the islands when you hear him. His concert will benefit McPherson College. Last but not least, Hell Creek Bridge will end the season on a high note with a street dance to benefit MDA.

     

CFTC-Hutchinson

    This past Saturday night Concert For The Cause held a benefit for The Hutchinson Street Cat Society at The Flag Theatre. For those of you who didn't attend, you missed one of the greatest shows that Concert For A Cause has ever had.

     Bob Colladay opened the show. He's always great and such an entertainer. Sporting a shirt featuring a kazoo and the words: "I'm With The Band" he entertained the crowd with an hour's worth of tunes. There was the one he wrote with Bob Dylan, or maybe that was a dream he had, Monkey On A String. Once I heard it, I knew it was vintage Dylan, or not really. There was the new classic from Steve Martin's movie The Jerk, Tonight You Belong To Me. Colladay entertained the crowd with some lines from the show, although these have not been fact checked and could have just been something he made up. In any event, they were good lines. Colladay ended his portion of the show with a sing along to his hit, Outhouse. He accompanied himself on the ukulele. He ended his show by telling the crowd:  I was wonderful and you had a great time!

     Then Frequent Seas took to the stage. Shame on you if you missed this show. This band was polished, professional, fun, talented, and amazing! They played a variety of different types of music that ranged from jazz, Motown: Inner City Blues/Make Me Wanna Holler made popular by Marvin Gaye, blues, 80's rock: When You're Talking In Your Sleep by The Romantics as well as a jazzy version of I Didn't Mean to Turn You On. This group will play again this next Friday in the 500 block of South Main between Tyson and the barbershop. The show starts at 7:00 pm, make sure you're there. This band is unlike anything you've ever heard before.

     At the end of the evening Bob Colladay joined Frequent Seas on stage for a Brian Setzer style rendition of Stray Cat Strut. The perfect end to a perfect concert.
     

CFTC-McPherson

     Sam Unruh entertained a standing room only crowd this past Thursday at Concert For The Cause-McPherson.

     Unruh sang a variety of red dirt country tunes, mostly covers. One of my favorites was "Amarillo By Morning", I've always loved that song. He managed to include quite a few that he'd written, as well, although he didn't give the names of the tunes.

     This Concert For The Cause show benefited The McPherson County 4-H program. Many of the 4-H'ers were there mingling among the crowd. One young woman gave an inspiring talk during the intermission regarding an opportunity that she had had to travel to Washington DC. She spoke about all the sites she seen and stopped at along the way. One of the stops that made an impression on her was Gettysburg. She spoke about how this trip would never have been possible were it not for 4-H.

     The crowd was the largest I've ever seen at one of these events. The grassy area around the stage was full of chairs, the picnic tables were full, people had placed chairs on the sidewalks, they were sitting in their cars in the surrounding parking, and even a few sat across the street in the Journey Church parking lot. Literally it was standing room only.

     Hopps SnoShack employees created a variety of sno cone concoctions, from scratch, with love, for all of those wanting sno cones. The line was long and seemingly never ending. Yet, they kept smiling, preparing sno cones and at one point apologized for the delay. No one seemed to mind, it was a patient crowd.

     If you haven't been to one of these events in McPherson, it's not to late to check out all the fun. Hopps SnoShack is the place to be this coming Thursday as Michelle and Sammy King along with The McPherson Brass Quintet have a special program planned to benefit Relay For Life. The fun and fellowship starts at 7:00 pm. Don't forget those sno cones! My favorite is the Sunrise. Check out all the flavors. They're all delicious.

CFTC-Hutchinson

     Mix three bands, two of which are heavy and heavier metal along with a bunch of tough, rockin', hard core roller girls and you've got Concert For The Cause-Hutchinson.

Roller Derby entertaining passersby in front of The Flag Theatre

     Three bands took to the stage at The Flag Theatre this past Saturday night to entertain a small but mighty crowd as a benefit for The Central Kansas Roller Girls. Correction, I think the name has undergone a change as of late due to the fact that the roller derby has gone co-ed. Yes, if you're a fella who'd like to mix it up in the rink with other highly competitive roller derby folks, now is the time to join in the fun.

Phenomenon

     The evening started off with the band Phenomenon and their other worldly sound. When the band was starting out, only one band member played two instruments at once, now they all do. I think it's a prerequisite to join the band. Burgess Martin, one of the members of the band, informed the crowd that they have a vocalist joining the group soon. No word yet on if he or she will have to play multiple instruments while they sing. Stay tuned to find out more about that as the band continues to develop.

Inflection

     Then it was time to "make the metal" as Inflection took to the stage. This group is for sure heavy metal but an even heavier metal band took to the stage after them, the ever popular The Space Between. I'm not a metal fan but the crowd in attendance was and if the cheering, catcalls and hand clapping was any indication of the artistry of these two bands, well, they must be artistic giants. The crowd was on fire for both of these groups. No one left the theatre during either set.

The Space Between

     As the evening wore down, the crowd and the roller derby headed over to The Rusty Needle for the after party. Live music at The Needle featuring: Ghost Town Strays, Sex Knuckle and Day Shift. Also the roller girls benefit continued at The Needle, with raffle items to be given away at the end of the evening. Those items were a laptop computer, a Kindle, Monarch VIP tickets and two interesting art prints suitable for framing.

     Don't miss out on all the fun. The next Concert For The Cause event at The Flag Theatre will be July 30 to benefit The Hutchinson Street Cat Society. The bands for the evening are yet to be announced. Check out the Concert For The Cause Facebook page here: CFTC-Hutchinson as the event gets closer.

Let's Eat Out! at Panda Express

      If you love Asian Cuisine, you need to take a trip to Panda Express at 1528 E 17th Street here in Hutchinson. This past Saturday, at noon, I decided to head out to check out the menu selections, the restaurant, and the customer service.

     As I entered the restaurant I was greeted with "Welcome to Panda Express". The young woman behind the counter was friendly and prepared my meal with a smile. I found a place to sit right around the corner from the counter and across from the drink machine. The restaurant was clean and neat. Obviously this was making an impression on those dining in because every person I observed cleared their trash from their tables and disposed of it after they ate and before they left. The drink machine was clean and tidy, and dispensed ice in mass quantities on demand. It was a hot day Saturday, having available ice and a working air conditioner was great for those dining inside.

     I had the honey walnut shrimp bowl on top of fried rice, and also asked to try a sample of the Pacific chili shrimp. If you like spicy you'll love the Pacific chili shrimp. It was a little too spicy hot for me, but by the time I had finished my sample it didn't seem quite as spicy as that first bite. Next time I may try a bowl of it.

     The honey walnut shrimp was amazing, if you like your Asian food sweet then this is the dish for you; with the flavors of the honey sauce, the crunch of the walnuts and the moist shrimp combined with the fried rice was delicious. I also had an order of cream cheese rangoons. They were crispy on the outside, warm and moist on the inside. I paired my order with a Coke. My meal was fresh and flavorful. It was a great value for a full meal at around $10.

     Between the atmosphere and the food, truly a relaxing lunch on a Saturday. If you haven't been to Panda Express yet, check them out, you'll enjoy your visit.