KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Kansas City’s own Kicks Band will be headlining a big band benefit later this month to support the Kansas City Kansas Community College Jazz Band.
The “Tea Dance” is from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 in the ballroom of the Historic Lake of the Forest Club House, 100 Lake Forest in Bonner Springs.
The club house is off of Highway 32, east of Bonner Springs and west of Interstate 435. Coffee, tea and cookies will be provided, and set ups will be available for a minimal charge. Tickets are $15 per person; $25 per couple or $100 for a table of eight. Special pricing is available for groups of 16 or more. The event is sponsored by the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Department at KCKCC.
In addition to the refreshments, there will be a silent auction as well as drawings. The Kicks Band will provide big band-era music reminiscent of Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Proceeds from the event will help with costs of the KCKCCC Jazz Band's upcoming trip to the 30th-annual Havana Jazz Festival this December.
The Havana International Jazz Festival started in 1978 when Bobby Carcasses and other Cuban jazz musicians had a concert at the Case de la Cultura de Plaza. The following year, Chucho Valdes, now president of the festival's organizing committee, gave another concert. Those yearly concerts morphed into the festival as it is known today.
In addition to attending the festival, the jazz band will have the opportunity to explore Cuba's many historical venues including taking a guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Havana Historical Centre as well as exploring Finca Vigia, where Ernest Hemingway lived for more than 20 years.
For more information or to make a reservation, contact M.M. Hoffman at 913-288-7266 or by email at mhoffman@kckcc.edu.
