HONOKAA — Say “Salvation Army” and most people think of red kettles, bell ringers and thrift stores. ADVERTISING HONOKAA — Say “Salvation Army” and most people think of red kettles, bell ringers and thrift stores. However, their helping hands reach
HONOKAA — Say “Salvation Army” and most people think of red kettles, bell ringers and thrift stores.
However, their helping hands reach much farther, providing food, shelter, clothing, guidance and emergency services in 128 countries last year.
To support Salvation Army programs in North Hawaii, Gary Todd, their community development manager, will host a benefit art sale from 6-9 p.m. next Friday night at Kahilu Town Hall in Waimea. Admission is free.
The event will support the organization’s good works, such as numerous food pantries and the Angel Tree project, which provided gifts to 300 children last year. It will give opportunities to local artists as well.
Six Hawaii Island artists — Thu Nguyen, Janice Gail, Chris Kutler, Jerry Nelson, Jenny James and Patrick O’Kiersey — will be on hand to talk story about their work and inspiration, along with live entertainment and food stations.
“Erin Pasco’s Color Catering is high end organic, very health conscious,” said Todd, who happened to meet her at the Salvation Army’s Honokaa thrift store. “And, she’s bringing in Jorge Ayala to give us a flavor of Puerto Rico.”
Other food stations will share tastings from L&L Hawaiian BBQ, Tropical Dreams Ice Cream and Dan-o’s Doner.
Nguyen, originally from Vietnam, had her first success as a young girl in 1974, winning Best of Show in the UNICEF-sponsored children’s exhibition in Saigon. When the city fell in 1975, she was separated from her parents, and after a stay in a Hong Kong refugee camp she traveled to Los Angeles where she earned a master’s of fine arts degree, worked as a model, actress and artist, and eventually moved to Hawaii Island.
Also from Honokaa, Gail, has been an island kamaaina for over 30 years. She is skilled in multiple media, painting oil or watercolor landscapes, street scenes, and portraits of people and animals.
Kutler, Nelson and James are watercolorists, and O’Kiersey brings a completely different element to the mix with contemporary abstract paintings and charcoal drawings.
Entertainment will be provided by Ola Shaw and ohana, who recently filled the Honokaa Salvation Army’s lanai for its Easter Sunrise Service. Known for inspiring contemporary Christian music, Shaw is a singer-songwriter whose original CD “Out of the Dark, into the Light” can be found on Amazon Music.
Info: For further Salvation Army art sale details contact Gary Todd at 333-1248
