The event is a benefit for Long Island Cares – the food bank Harry Chapin launched.
(PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.) - Nassau County Legislators Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) and Arnold W. Drucker (D – Plainview) are pleased to announce that the Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark on Main Street is “Just Wild About Harry!”
Tickets are now on sale for the 20th annual “Just Wild About Harry” concert – a celebration of the life, music, and advocacy of Harry Chapin featuring 18 of Long Island’s top musicians and songwriters performing selections from Chapin’s legendary songbook. The concert, which is being sponsored by Roger Tilles and co-promoted by the Folk Music Society of Huntington, is set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4 at the Jeanne Rimsky Theater, 232 Main St., Port Washington, N.Y. 11050.
Tickets are now available for purchase online or at the box office; all proceeds will be donated to Long Island Cares – the food bank Chapin established. As has been customary for the last two decades, attendees are encouraged to bring donations of non-perishable goods to further support Long Island Cares’ hunger-fighting mission.
While the “Just Wild About Harry” concert is typically held at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater on or near the anniversary of Chapin’s untimely July 16, 1981 death, this year’s initial concert was rained out, and subsequent efforts by organizers to reschedule the concert at Eisenhower Park were not fruitful. Upon learning of the impasse, Legislators DeRiggi-Whitton and Drucker wrote in September to leaders at the Landmark on Main Street and suggested the Jeanne Rimsky Theater as a potential venue. With the new December date, the concert is now being held as a celebration of what would have been Harry’s 81st birthday.
“For two decades, ‘Just Wild About Harry’ concerts have beautifully spotlighted Harry Chapin’s vast musical and philanthropic contributions that have enriched our society and established him as one of Long Island’s greatest cultural and humanitarian figures,” Legislator Drucker, who has proposed legislation to make July 16 Harry Chapin Day in Nassau County,” said. “We are absolutely thrilled that concert organizers, the Folk Music Society of Huntington and Roger Tilles have forged a partnership with Landmark on Main Street to continue this cherished tradition in its 20th anniversary year.”
“In his songs and his advocacy, Harry Chapin embodied the best of Long Island, and he was a true pioneer in the battle to end food insecurity and hunger in our region,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton, who represents the Legislative district encompassing Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington, said. “We are profoundly grateful to Richard Mayer, board co-Presidents Hiram Matthews and Suresh Sani, and the entire Landmark on Main Street board for opening their venue to Stuart Markus and his team of wonderful musicians. We’re all so glad to know that the show will go on in Harry’s honor!”