Pictured in headline: Members of Motown’s Velvelettes pose at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum during an exhibit designed in their honor.
Pictured right: Henderson Castle, Kalamazoo, MI.
KALAMAZOO (MICH)-When Peter and Laura Livingston-McNelis purchased the historic Henderson Castle in 2005, they saw many possibilities for its success. The castle, located at 100 Monroe St. in Kalamazoo, was listed at Top 41 Historic Hotels in the Nation according to a AAA survey.
However, the owners sent out a plea to the community last year as they called for help to keep their doors open. A total of $100,000 was the amount they would need to keep the lease on the Bed and Breakfast spot. Several area contributors have helped toward the goal in addition to various fund raising events.
On Saturday, June 4, area musicians will join in to help raise funds during a special concert at Chenery Auditorium. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. with a special VIP Afterglow event.
Motowns Velvelettes will be the featured performers during the event; sharing Do-Wop hits that will bring back memories of sock-hops and record shops.
The group, Funktion, also will perform. According to their website http://www.funktionmusic.com/band.html “Funktion, the 7-man band based in Kalamazoo, MI, delivers their dare-you-not-to-dance blend of funk and soul with a hip-hop beat that isn’t afraid to straddle genres — including rock and jazz. This lends to a gritty and some times flat-out rambunctious flavor in their live shows.
For more information on providing donations to save Henderson Castle, call 269-344-1827. Tickets for the event are available at Miller Auditorium Box Office on the campus of Western Michigan University.
For more on the performers, see more at: http://magazines.seedandharvest.biz/?id=hendersoncastle
