Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Peace, Love, Cure Melanoma Benefit 4/17/2011

Not long after I made it public that I have stage III melanoma, our favorite local band, PolyChrome, contacted my boyfriend, my sister, and my best friend asking if they could organize a benefit event to help cover medical and travel costs during this crazy time. (Read original post here.)

I had no idea how big the event would actually be!

A bar in Roanoke, Schooners, donated their location, 8 bands donanted their time, and we had a blast! I will explain the day in picture form. (I do not take the credit for most of these pictures. Thanks to everyone for sharing!)

If you need a photographer, I suggest Robert West.
This is a picture of the shirt table.
A special thanks to Rayna & Christie for handling
the shirt sales, raffle tickets, and for
basically just being awesome friends!



The bartenders who made sure to keep
the crowd happy by keeping their drinks full!
*And I love them for wearing the shirts!


The guy who organized the entire event.
He would never take credit for planning everything but a little birdie told on him!
Sean Bera, you are one special dude.
You will always have a special place in my heart.


This is PolyChrome...the ones we owe extra thanks to.
Perry says we have to stop thanking them
but I had to do it one more time!
Besides being very sweet guys,
PolyChrome is an awesome, energetic, entertaining, talented band.
Go see them!

My sister & I with two amazing guys
who have had their own trials to face,
but continue to remain positive.
You guys give me strength!

The beginning of the day!

My Dad & Step-Mom out showing support!

My Older sister Erin,
Baby sister Cara,
"Canadian Mom," Susan
Step-Dad Bill
Momma Connie
"Richmond Mom," Tiffany

Since PolyChrome went against their goal of only
playing originals since they know we love
their version of Wagon Wheel,
I had to dance with Pop!

Were you a lucky winner?! :-)




A special thanks to these guys for donating their time & effort!

These guys are fun!
Looking forward to seeing them again.



These guys are very fun...
and their lead singer is a sweetheart.
Thanks, guys!

This girl can SING!
Seems like a sweet lady, too.
The band was awesome.

These guys had the crowd on the dance floor!
Thanks, guys. I hope you had fun, too!


Mafia Track Suit performing...
(If anyone has a better picture, please let me know!!)
They were such NICE guys!
If you have the opportunity to see them, do it!

I think my boyfriend fell in love with these guys!
Very cool group who closed the night out.

This guy deserves a very special thank you...

Wes was there ALL day long for all 8 bands, taking care of their sound, etc. I heard a rumor about how much he gets paid for an event, so for him to donate a full day's work...well...that is unbelievable. Look up CM Productions for your next event. He had a buddy lose his battle with melanoma...WEAR SUNSCREEN!


The boyfriend...Couldn't get through this without him!

Look who made it from NC?!
Love you, lady!

My beautiful sisters...
and Sean!


Around 8 PM, I started to feel pretty yucky...
After being there for 8 hours, I had almost reached my limit.
Although I loved meeting so many new people,
my body was a bit tired.
When you are being hugged and grabbed on for 8 hours recently after surgery,
well...
it hurts. ;-)

At about 9 PM I told the boyfriend, AKA Mr. Spots, I was ready to go.
He continued to postpone leaving...
coming up with excuses,
people to talk to, etc...

I had no idea Sean had put together one last surprise for me...


Although everyone had already done MORE than enough for me,
Sean donated his (I think?) guitar and had all of the bands sign it
as a way for me to remember the special day.



...like I could ever, ever forget.

So...all in all, it was a memorable, special, emotional day. I met fellow melanoma warriors. I met strangers who said they will never tan again. I even met a woman who demanded I give her a list of reasons why she should not tan...(After I gave her the reasons why, and she said "SO?" I had to walk away. Sometimes you really cannot argue with stupid. haha!)


I have always been amazed at the way a community surrounds people in their time of need. This time it was for me.

I look forward to being able to help them in the future.


Again---thank you to everyone: the bands who donated their time & energy without complaint, the friends & family who traveled great distances to be there for the event, the strangers who shared the beautiful Sunday with us, the staff of Schooner's for putting up with all of us, and again...I have to thank PolyChrome for organizing the entire event. You three have a very special, special place in my heart.

(OK, Perry...I will not thank you anymore!!!)



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pictures are awesome, but I'm sure they didn't do it justice! Wish I could have been there :( You've got probably the best support system in the whole world, and for that, I am grateful!

Tina Sullivan said...

Wow, that is awesome!!