As some Puerto Rico residents struggle to recover from last year's Hurricanes Irma and Maria, a group of concerned citizens in Harrisonburg are hoping to fight climate change through humanitarian action – with a benefit concert this Friday [April 20, 2018]. WMRA’s Christopher Clymer Kurtz reports.
The evening of live music, dancing, refreshments and information about relief work will benefit the development of solar energy microgrids through the Solar Libre and Resilient Power Puerto Rico projects.
KAREN LEE: A lot of the folks down there believe that microgrid of solar power is an ideal solution.
Karen Lee is part of the organizing group, which formed after a climate change class through JMU’s Lifelong Learning Institute last fall.
LEE: It is an opportunity since they have lost everything else, for them to be self-sufficient.
The concert will include performances by Doug Hendren, an environmental songwriter whose songs include “Solar Spill” from his album A Little Climate Music,
[Song excerpt: “Solar Spill”]
and Trudy Cole and Bobby Driver,
[Song excerpt: “How Can You Have the Blues”]
And the evening will conclude with music from Trio ENKA, and some salsa dancing performance and instruction.
[Sound of salsa dance instruction]
The “donate what you can” concert is sponsored by eight local organizations and is 7-9 p.m. Friday at Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg.