Preview: Noel Paul Stookey to Perform Benefit Concert at Montgomery College

On Sunday, February 13, folk music legend Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary will perform in a charity concert at Cultural Arts Center benefitting the Menare Foundation, a national nonprofit that works with individuals and organizations to use the legacy of the Underground Railroad as a spark for human potential.

Stookey, who performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people at the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King, believes as strongly now in the power of people as he did at that event almost 50 years ago “The idea behind this event was to celebrate how far we have come together, and just how far we can all go if we help each other get there,” Stookey said. “That’s what folk music has always stood for, and that message remains strong, and is still very much needed, in today’s times.”

Marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War the event will also feature singer and activist Josh White Jr., as well as author Dan Rasmussen, author of American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt. Reverend Elizabeth Stookey will serve as master of ceremonies, offering inspirational reading in between performances.

Menare Foundation founder Anthony Cohen eagerly awaits the event “We’ve never done a concert, let alone a fundraiser this big so far,” he said. When he was in town last spring, Paul came out and visited our Button Farm Living History Center. He learned more about our organization and wondered how he could help, which surprisingly and thankfully evolved into this concert,” Cohen continued.

Tickets range from $10 for MC students and faculty to $35 for general admission up to $60 which includes a private post-concert reception with the artists. Tickets for the show, which begins at 7:30 p.m., are available for purchase at www.tickets.com, or by calling 240-567-5775.