I’m really excited to be doing this fundraising show tonight, starting at 7:30 PM. It’s literally within earshot of where I reside in Fairhaven! at the Chuckanut Center (formerly the Fairhaven Rose Garden) Gazebo! We’ll move inside if it’s raining, but otherwise, bring the family, bring lawn chairs or a blanket and come enjoy a cool Bellingham summer evening of folk and blues with me! There’s limited handicapped parking at the Center, and AMPLE parking two short blocks south at Fairhaven Park, or across the street at Fairhaven Middle School.

At the end of each of my two sets, we’ll pass around the money bucket. I need your help! to raise funds for a course I’m taking next month at the Inian Islands Institute, (www.inianislandsinstitute.org) located in remote SE Alaska. The week-long course is called “Environmental Rhetoric: The Art of Persuasion in a Time of Crisis”.

The central question at the heart of it is this. “In a polarized society obsessed with short-term profit, how do we understand the other side, gain trust and defend the long-term health of our planet?” I am drawn down the path of finding answers to this question that calls deeply into my heart and soul. And I will do my best to incorporate at least some of the answer into my environmental and social justice writing, teaching, and performances.

If you can’t make it to the show (OMG, there is SO much wonderful music happening in our lovely community tonight!) you could still contribute to my fundraising efforts by clicking on the Music tab above (and also at TRRitchie.com) to see if there’s any albums/books/DVDs you don’t have yet, and order them! Even if you already have them, consider buying them for gifts!

You can also donate to my PayPal account (azizspring@aol.com) or make a check out to me and send it to P.O. Box 4230, Bellingham, WA 98227.

I’ll post a bit more tomorrow about my journey into this work, but right now, I’ve got a show to get ready for!