The Catskill Chronicle

Story and photos by Carol Montana

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY (February 7, 2013) – The Great Sullivan County Food Raiser, held at four different locations on Saturday, February 2 brought in close to $12,000 for the Federation for the Homeless and 21 other Sullivan County food pantries.

Non-stop music started at 6:00 p.m. (and even earlier at the Catskill Distilling Company in Bethel) all performed by musicians who donated their time, some at one more than one venue.

Musicians included Elizabeth Rose, Rubber Band, Jazzmosis, Whiskey Bent, Smalltown Sheiks, Stacy & Friends, Yasgur, Gabe the Professor, Allen & Pat, Allison Fox, the New Kings and others.

And sponsors included Crystal Run Healthcare, M&M Auto Group, Ideal Snacks, Jeff Bank, Marshall & Sterling, Linda & Art Charpentier, Don Simkin and Ellen Singer.

At the Sullivan County Museum in Hurleyville, the Americana band Little Sparrow was hosting their monthly Woodsongs Coffeehouse featuring Louie Setzer and the Appalachian Mountain Boys and special guests Anne Loeb and Mike Baglione, and Van Manakas. The venue was accepting food as well as donations. A donation of $5 feeds one person for one day.

Mr. Willy’s restaurant in Monticello hosted Peter Florance & The New Kings, Albi Beluli amd Sommerville, David Rosenberg and others.

And the parties continued at Dutch’s Tavern in Rock Hill and the Catskill Distilling Company in Bethel, with Yellow Cab shuttling music lovers to all the venues.

The brainchild of Stacy Cohen owner of Catskill Distilling Company and the Dancing Cat Saloon, The Great Sullivan County Fund Raiser just celebrated its fifth event.

Cohen was thrilled with the turnout. “It’s fantastic, the quality of music, the musicians all came out, we got more than we planned.” She said that no band has ever canceled even when it snowed, which it was doing on Saturday. The musicians come from Pennsylvania, as well as from Orange, Ulster and Sullivan Counties.

“It really raises awareness,” Cohen said, “because the federal and state funding has been cut, so since we started this, it’s just gotten so much more important.” She mentioned that “everyone asks me why I do it in February. Because there’s one million events in spring and summer and people are dying for something to do in the winter, and we’re open in the winter and so are other businesses, and people are here, so we have no competition and everybody welcomes the night out. … We like the challenge of the weather. … I’m thrilled every single time and every dime goes to food, there’s no overhead on this event, all the musicians play for free, it makes my heart feel good. … I sing better at this event than any other time of the year because of the energy involved.”

Kathy Kreiter, Director of the Sullivan County Federation of the Homeless, who was on hand a Dutch’s Tavern said that attendees were able to donate to any food pantry across the county. “The musicians were fantastic and people just kept coming and going all night,” she said.

The Federation served over 73,000 meals last year. “We’re open for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday, and people can take a meal home with them as well. And if they have a children who are in school, they can get a takeout meal for them as well,” Kreiter said.

On the second and fourth Friday of the month people can pick up fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, some type of protein and whatever else we’ve gotten in as donations for the week.

To donate food, call 845-794-2604 to find out hours at the Federation, which is located at 9 Monticello Street, Monticello, NY.

To donate cash, make checks payable to SCFH. If you want the donation directed to a specific pantry only, note the pantry’s name in the memo space and mail to SCFH, PO Box 336, Monticello NY 12701.

More information is available at http://scfederation.org or by writing toscfh@hvc.rr.com.

To see more photos or to purchase prints from Fun & Funds for Food: The 5th Annual Sullivan County Food Raiser, visit The Catskill Chronicle on Zenfolio.