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02/10/2024 11:56 AMSocially active musical artist Adam Ezra, founder of the folk-rock-soul fusion sound of the Adam Ezra Band, is making his way to Branford on Thursday, Feb. 29, for a heartfelt solo performance to benefit Branford Food Pantry (BFP) at Stony Creek Brewery, 5 Indian Neck Aveune.
Tickets are selling fast for “An Evening with Adam Ezra.” Premium tickets, $55 and General Admission tickets, $35, are available at rally/sound.org Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. performance. Hors d'oeuvres will be served 6 to 7 p.m. The event will have a cash bar.
The performance is presented by Branford Community Foundation in partnership with RallySound to benefit BFP. Stony Creek Brewery is the venue sponsor. Additional support is also coming from businesses and organizations as sponsorships and services, said BFP president Jaye Andrews.
“It’s coming together because a whole bunch of people in this town have been very generous,” Andrews said.
The food pantry operates in the lower level of the Patricia C. Andriole Volunteer Services Center at 30 Harrison Avenue. BFP provides free weekly grocery staples to Branford families and individuals in need. In the last year and half, requests for support have grown exponentially, and are already on track to exceed last year’s record-breaking numbers, said Andrews.
“We were spending about $5,000 month for the food budget, and now we’re spending about $12,000. It’s a lot. It’s an over 100 percent increase of what we were doing a year and half ago,“ said Andrews. “In January alone, the number of unduplicated individuals that came in the door of the food pantry was 814. We had almost 300 hundred households.“
Coordinating Ezra’s Branford performance to help support and celebrate the mission of non-profit, 100% volunteer BFP has been an effort over a year in the planning by the BFP board and volunteers, said Andrews. BFP celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2023.
Now, it’s nearly showtime.
“We’re excited to have some fun, and to have Adam help us to build awareness about who we are and what we do,” said Andrews.
Ezra has been posting videos about his Branford performance on his social media. He also promoted the Branford event during his recent show at The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. At The Kate, Ezra also posed for a photo with a BFP performance poster, brought to him by BFP supporter and Ezra fan Denise Smolenski.
“He has been beyond great,” said Andrews.
To learn more about Branford Food Pantry, to volunteer, make a donation online, or seek assistance, visit branfordfoodpantry.org