St. Josephs Cultural Center benefit to be held Sunday, June 27

The St. Joseph Cultural Center at 410 Church St. in Grass Valley will host the benefit, which starts at 2 p.m.

The Benefit to Preserve and Restore St. Joseph's Cultural Center will feature many of Nevada County's musicians, poets and public speakers.

WHAT: A Music Extravaganza Featuring Over 20 of Nevada County's Finest Musicians, Poets and Guest Speakers Benefiting the Restoration of Historic St. Joseph's Cultural Center

WHEN: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 2:00 – 9:00 PM

WHERE: St. Joseph’s Cultural Center, 410 South Church Street, (corner of Chapel St.), two blocks from downtown Grass Valley

WHO: Presented by St. Josephs Cultural Center and Nevada City Musical Events

ADMISSION: Suggested donation of $20; tickets at Gold Rush Records in Nevada City, the BriarPatch Co-op, Walker’s Office Supplies in Grass Valley, and at St. Joseph’s Cultural Center office.

530-272-4725 or visit www.saintjosephsculturalcenter.org

INFORMATION: Call Joseph Guida, St. Josephs Executive Director at (530) 272-4725

A direct link to the event can also be found at: http://nevadacitymusicevents.com/events.html#StJosephsBenefit

 St. Joseph’s Cultural Center is the home of the Grass Valley Museum, the Moving Ground Dance and Yoga Studio, Grass Valley Taiko, Foothills Arts, Resources and Media, John Olmstead’s Earth Planet Museum, 11 Artist's Studios, a Historic Rose Garden, and a Performance Hall.

 The buildings were originally erected by the community as a convent for the Sisters of Mercy in 1866. The Nuns cared for orphans there, housing, feeding, clothing and educating them for close to 100 years. The convent closed in 1969 at which time a group of concerned citizens formed a committee to preserve the historic buildings.

Today, St. Joseph’s Cultural Center is owned by the Historic Mt. St. Mary’s Preservation Committee (HPC), a 501 c 3 non-profit organization. With a mission to preserve the building and grounds for cultural use by the community, the HPC became a non-profit in 1972 and a State of California Historic Landmark in 1973. It was the first center for culture and the arts in Grass Valley.

The Benefit to Preserve and Restore St. Joseph's Cultural Center will feature many of Nevada County's musicians, poets and public speakers, including Grass Valley Taiko, Ivan Najera, Annie McCann, Dan Scanlan and the Strum Bums, The Shreds, Kimberly Bass, Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald, Molly Fisk, John Deaderick, Grease, Grit, and Grime, Don Ryberg, Nory Fussell, Barry Angel and Lee May, Menlo Macfarlane, Gopal Slavonic and Flamenco de Oro, Ludi Hinrichs and Chickenbonz, Lorraine Gervais and the Love Bombs, Buck Love and the Humperheads, and the Deadbeats.

Grass Valley Taiko will host a Yakitori Barbecue in the historic rose garden, and series of Fun $5 Workshops including Introduction to Sumi-e Painting, Furoshiki Making, Calligraphy, and Fun Japanese Phrases for Today, among others. Mountain Beat Music’s April Miranda will offer vegan cuisine. Snacks, sweet treats, sodas, water and juice will be in the Moving Ground Dance Studio located adjacent to St. Joseph’s Hall in the cultural center.

There will also be a silent auction featuring works by artists on the St. Joseph’s third floor studios, including original paintings by Menlo Macfarlane, Brook Caballero, Jessica Henry, and Ben Vierling.


Donations raised from the day long benefit will go towards refurbishing the façade of the Hall, purchasing a much needed HVAC system, repairing decayed window frames, and/or for the purchasing and installing of acoustical materials in the Hall.

This benefit is co-produced by Mikail Graham of Nevada City Music Events and is sponsored by KVMR-FM., the BriarPatch Co-op, Insight Healthy Living and Walker’s Office Supplies.

A word from the producer…

“Part of my passion for taking on this event is to tell a story which I don’t think has really been publicly known,” says Mikail Graham.  “St. Joseph’s as we know it today came to be when the Sisters of Mercy chose to make the old convent a gift to the community with the request that it become an arts and cultural center. What has happened over the years, I believe, is that many people think the church or the Sisters of Mercy still fund the cultural center. In actuality this is not the case at all as its operating costs come from donations, events and studio rentals. Another little known fact is that because St. Joseph’s sits two blocks outside the historic district of Grass Valley, this clearly historical cultural center is not able to receive any of the current funding or grants that may be available for redevelopment from the city or county. My biggest wish is that this benefit will awaken fellow lovers of the arts to rise to the occasion to help begin the process of restoration that is so badly needed at this time, and help preserve this wonderful gift that the Sisters Of Mercy so graciously bestowed upon our community.”