Sharing gifts
Portrait of Erica von Kleist and Mike Eldred in the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. The two will be performing The Gift of Thanks, a benefit concert on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Erica von Kleist and Mike Eldred in the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. The two will be performing The Gift of Thanks, a benefit concert on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Erica von Kleist at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Erica von Kleist and Mike Eldred in the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. The pair, along with seven other local musicians, will be performing The Gift of Thanks, a benefit concert, on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. (Brenda Ahearn photos/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Erica von Kleist at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Erica von Kleist at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Erica von Kleist at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Mike Eldred at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Mike Eldred at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
Portrait of Mike Eldred at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. (Brenda Ahearn/This Week in the Flathead)
‘Tis the season for giving and gratitude, and Sunday night a group of Whitefish musicians are joining forces to celebrate both.
The Gift of Thanks concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center is a benefit for the Flathead Food Bank and Groovetrail’s Gift of Music program. Proceeds from ticket sales will be divided between the programs, and there will be a food donation collection in the lobby before and after the performance as well.
The concert is being put together by Erica von Kleist and Mike Eldred, who will both be featured performers that night.
“Erica and I talked about how music is a unifier and heals and how the community can really use that right now,” Eldred said. “We decided this was a way we could show thanks to all the amazing people here, show our gratitude. ... We both believe there’s a tremendous amount of healing in this gift we’ve both been given — music.”
Von Kleist said the song selections for the evening all center around the themes of gratitude, thanks and forgiveness.
“It shall be an array of colors,” von Kleist said. “This is an opportunity for us to spread our wings a little bit and do something collaborative for the community.”
Eldred agreed.
“Our best feature as a community is compassion, generosity and giving ‘til it hurts,” he said. “I love this place! I’m proud to be here. And this just seemed such a perfect way to celebrate community with music.”
The Gift of Thanks concert will include performances and collaborations with von Kleist, Eldred, Halladay Quist, Jeremy Reinbolt, Matt Seymour, Mark McCrady, Sky Thoreson, Jolene Green and Eric Holdhusen.
Tickets for the concert are $20 for general admission and $75 for concert admission and a special VIP after-party at an undisclosed location.
“I definitely have some tricks up my sleeve for the after-party,” von Kleist said. “There will be libations, food and live music ... it’s a celebratory extension of the concert and all for a good cause.”
Advance tickets are available at the Whitefish Liquor Store and online at http://groovetrail.org.
Groovetrail is a Whitefish-based nonprofit organization designed “to use the myriad of talented musicians who live in the Flathead Valley for concerts and workshops at schools, community centers, hospitals, retirement communities and veterans homes.”
For more information about the Gift of Thanks concert and Groovetrail, visit http://groovetrail.org. For more information about the Flathead Food Bank, visit http://www.flatheadfoodbank.com.
Arts and entertainment editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.