The Arnold Food Pantry will hold a benefit concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Rickman Auditorium on the Fox Schools campus. Doors open at 6 p.m.
The Garden Party band will perform. The St. Louis-based, three-piece band features Gene Ackmann, Liz Henderson and Richie Daniels, all members of the Butch Wax and the Hollywoods band. The group typically plays classic rock, classic country and other oldies.
Vern Sullivan, a Food Pantry board member, said the concert will last approximately 90 minutes and is appropriate for all ages. The first half of the concert will feature hits from the 1980s and 1990s and the second half will be Christmas carols.
Sullivan said 1,500 tickets are available for purchase. Of those about 450 are for seats in the center row on the floor of the auditorium and will be sold for $15 each. The remaining tickets on the side rows and balcony will be sold for $10 each.
Proceeds will be used to help local families in need of food.
“We tried to keep the price very reasonable so everybody could afford to come out and see a Christmas concert,” Sullivan said. “They help provide the ham and the turkey and all of the other fixings for the needy here at Christmastime.”
Concertgoers have several options for how to purchase tickets: in person at the Food Pantry’s Treasure Shoppe, 2024 Key West Drive; online at brownpapertickets.com; or at the ticket window on the night of the event.
Sullivan said that there is a need for donations as well, especially for canned goods and monetary donations. “The pantry provides food for a lot of people every Thursday. We take care of Arnold, Fenton, Imperial and part of St. Louis County. It’s a big operation. It’s the largest food pantry in the St. Louis area that does not take any state or federal funds.”
Food donations can be dropped off at the food pantry and monetary donations may be made online at wefeedthehungry.org or by mailing a check to their Key West Drive address.