Tecumseh MusicFest to benefit Community Arts of Tecumseh

Music fans will want to check out Michael Carluccio, headliner at the 4th Annual Tecumseh MusicFest to be held at Hantz Golf Club, 5200 Milwaukee Road in Tecumseh on Saturday, Aug. 20.

Called the “man with a thousand voices,” Carluccio, who has performed from New York to Las Vegas, will entertain with selections in the styles of Dean Martin, Neil Diamond, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Garth Brooks and more. Other entertainment during the evening will include music by local band Two Bricks Short and musician Andy Jacobs on guitar.

The event will be held from 5 until 9 p.m. and is one of two main fundraisers of the year for Community Arts of Tecumseh (CAT), a nonprofit organization that was established in 2009 with a mission to “stimulate the creative spirit of the community.” The evening will feature a buffet dinner with a choice of beef or pork, salad bar, desserts and a non-alcoholic beverage. A cash bar will also be available.

“This is my second year hosting this event,” said Diane Savoia, executive director of CAT, who said the ambience of the venue at the golf club is “gorgeous.”  She and the other event organizers, including committee chair Jim Lincoln, Anne Flora, Martha Melcher, Nancy Prezioso, Laurie Hofman and Kassie Gray, Savoia’s assistant, will embrace the “Hollywood Glam” theme by dressing up for the occasion. Missed your prom? Attendees are invited to join in the fun and be spiffily dressed for the event.

Ticket holders will have the chance to bid on various items in a silent auction during the evening, which will include many pieces of original art, pottery, gift certificates for local restaurants and entertainment venues, some smaller furniture items, and a Golf Buddy GPS, as well various other items.

A live auction will give bidders the opportunity to win combination prizes, including a chef’s dinner with wine for eight guests, hosted in an historic home on the boulevard and prepared by Anne Flora, a local artist who was formally trained in culinary management. Flora, who has worked as a chef in Brooklyn, New York, ran various food service departments for the University of Michigan until she retired in 2003.  She also ran a bed and breakfast in Wales for four months out of the year, during three years of her years at U of M.

Of the chef’s dinner auction item, Anne Flora said, “We are always looking for fundraiser ideas and we were looking for something a little different.” She planned the menus and other committee members will assist in preparing and serving the meal.

Other live auction items include a one-week stay in a cottage on Lake Michigan at South Haven, donated by Harvey and Pat Schmidt, and an outdoor entertainment package of a Weber gas grill, an outdoor propane heater and a fire pit, donated by Martin’s Home Center and the Tecumseh Herald. A Cookie of the Month package, provided by Anne Flora, was a popular item last year and will once again be on the live auction list.

“The profits of these events allow Community Arts of Tecumseh to continue to offer art and music classes and camps and programs here in the community,” Savoia said. Over the past year, in addition to traditional camps and classes, CAT held the Growing With Confidence program for middle school girls, and a bench program that provided benches for the middle school. “Tecumseh Plywood donated the benches and some of the paint,” said Savoia, “We had about 16 eighth grade students come to the arts center. They worked as teams and created their designs and painted the design on their benches.”

Diamond sponsors for the Tecumseh Music Fest are Hantz Golf Clubs and TLC Community Credit Union, and the Tecumseh Herald is a Platinum sponsor. Tickets for the event are $40 per person, with a limited number available. A discount is offered for those purchasing a block of eight tickets, which will cost $300 and will reserve a table for the party of eight. Tickets may be purchased by stopping into the CAT office between 9 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday, by calling the office at 423.000, or online at www.tecumseharts.org/tecumseh-music-fest.