More than 150 people were turned away at the door of Redwood High School’s “Night of Blues” last year. The popularity of the annual music department fundraiser had attracted another capacity crowd and had, once again, outgrown its venue.
“The event used to be a ‘black-and-white’ swing dinner-dance,” says John Mattern, Redwood’s music director, who inherited the event when he took over in 2004. Over the years, Mattern evolved the fundraiser into a more casual gathering with an emphasis on blues and watched it pack out ever-larger auditoriums.
“Tickets always sell out early,” says event co-chair Ronnie Sharpe, who helped search for a larger space.
Mt. Tam Racquet Club came to the group’s rescue and will host the evening of live music and dancing at 7 p.m. March 27.
“We will have twice as big an audience as last year,” Sharpe said.
Night of Blues features 80 musicians from three of Redwood’s jazz ensembles and two of its “performance workshops” — classes that enable students to form smaller bands and focus on their stage skills.
“This year we have 36 songs and three hours of music, with everything from ‘Kansas City’ and ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ to songs by Stevie Wonder,” says Mattern, who has grown Redwood’s music program from 50 to 200 students in 16 years.
“Night of Blues was a lot more simple when we only had one band,” jokes Mattern, who was named 2006 music educator of the year by classical radio station KDFC. “But it is a great opportunity for the kids to learn new tunes and get a lot of instruction.”
Tickets to Night of Blues are available online at bitly.com/nob2020. Show admission includes appetizers, non-alcoholic drinks and dessert. Tickets to a pre-event dinner at Left Bank as well as other ways to support the program are also available on the site. All proceeds benefit the Redwood music program.
“The best part of Night of Blues is watching the kids play and have 200 to 300 of their friends and family dancing, having fun and cheering them on,” says Mattern. “It should be a big night.”
Gift of history
The 120 volunteers who packed the American Legion Hall to be honored as part of last month’s “Heart of Larkspur” event were treated to Farm House Local edibles, door prizes, and news of a new fund aimed at preserving the town’s history.
The Larkspur History Fund was endowed by local volunteer Helen Heitkamp at her death in 2019. Serving as unofficial historian for decades, she devoted her life to conserving much of the town’s history, helping to place the downtown district on the National Register of Historic Places and to found what is now the Heritage Preservation Board in 1987.
“Helen is why we have a heritage board and why we’ve been able to save so much of the history of Larkspur,” says Sallyanne Wilson, Larkspur Community Foundation board member.
The fund hopes to encourage citizens to become involved in saving the community’s history through volunteering time and providing financial support.
“We view this as an educational opportunity to help perpetuate the understanding of our town’s history,” Wilson said.
The initial endowment totals approximately $20,000 and was funded by Heitkamp’s estate and supporters who donated in her honor. It will be administered by the foundation and awarded in conjunction with delegates from the Heritage Preservation Board and the city.
The first grant will digitize the out-of-print volume co-authored by Heitkamp and other local experts, “Larkspur Past and Present.” Money is also being directed to refurbish City Hall’s second-floor lobby and its historical display.
“There are specific needs for the present — like inventorying, displaying and storing Larkspur’s historic artifacts — that are not being met,” said Sandy Blauvelt, foundation chair. “We all tend to take our history for granted, but without sufficient attention to Larkspur’s past it can disappear.”