An Afternoon In The Park:_Fun In The Sun For A Friend

By Shannon Hicks

“It’s a little overwhelming that an idea I had has grown into this,” an awestruck Manny Pavone said Sunday afternoon, looking over the crowd that had assembled at Dickinson Park in Newtown. On September 9, a fundraiser was held for John McCourt, a friend of many and a former employee of Georgia-Pacific in Newtown who is fighting liver cancer. It was Mr Pavone who came up with the idea of putting together an event to help raise money for Mr McCourt’s medical bills.

 The fundraiser was presented in the form of a concert picnic. There was live music by The Manny Pavone Band — a special version of the band had been put together for the afternoon — and The Holden Truelove Band, a four-member blues band led by the 12-year old guitar prodigy who is the band’s namesake. The weather was perfect for a cook-out and some live music. People of all ages streamed into the pavilion and milled around its immediate area all afternoon, making new friends and catching up with others they already knew.

“John’s such a great guy,” Mr Pavone said Sunday afternoon. “I talked to Richie [Truelove] on the phone a few weeks ago and told him what I was thinking, and he said ‘Great, we’ll do this.’ Richie has just put his heart and soul into this.

Mr Pavone, who has been at Georgia-Pacific for 13 years, has known John McCourt for eight years. The two met when Mr McCourt started working at the Newtown company.

“He’s someone I really respect and one of the few, it seems, who has a very strong sense of right and wrong,” Mr Pavone said of Mc McCourt, who was at the picnic Sunday with his friends. “He also has a strong sense of patriotism. If he sees something he thinks isn’t right, he’ll give it to you with both barrels. He’ll call you on it, and that’s the way it should be. I look up to him completely.”

Mr Pavone then looked around at the large group of people at the park, all of whom seemed to be enjoying themselves while helping someone else.

“This just shows you,” continued Mr Pavone, “what people can do when they band together.”

The hope for Sunday afternoon was for raise $12,000 and, for event co-organizer Rich Evon, to sell all of the food that had been made available for the concert-picnic.

“We don’t want any leftovers,” Mr Evon said. “We’ve been given a lot of burgers and hot dogs, and we don’t have any way to keep them from going bad if they don’t get used up.” Among those who provided food for the picnic or gift certificates for the raffles were Botsford Drive-In, Poland Springs, Dunkin’ Donuts of Newtown, New Fairfield Food Center, Classic Rock Brew Pub, Helen’s Bakery, Super Stop & Shop stores in Naugatuck, Newtown, Seymour and Waterbury, Napolitano’s Pizza, and Bozzuttos.

Ninety minutes into the four-hour event, a tote board set up at the back of the park’s pavilion indicated more than $11,000 had already been counted. Around the same time, one of the men who was volunteering at one of the grills that day — everyone involved was volunteering their time — got word to Mr Evon that at the rate food was being purchased and consumed, leftovers would not become a concern. About an hour later an announcement went out that the total was already up to $13,500.

The pavilion officially opened for the picnic at 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, but friends and family who were helping out arrived hours earlier for set-up. A pig roaster had been fired up at 6 am, on which a 100-pound pig was cooked for the next eight hours. Others who were helping on Sunday started rolling in around 10 am.

For attendees later that afternoon, there was a choice of pulled pork sandwiches or pork rinds. Hamburgers and hot dogs were also available, as was corn on the cob, and countless cans of soda and iced tea, and bottles of water.

“I always enjoy playing,” Mr Pavone said after his set had finished. “The only time that’s too short in life is when I’m on stage. Time just flies then,” continued the musician who usually plays with a different line-up in his band.

For Sunday’s event honoring his friend, Mr Pavone wanted something a little special. For the concert-picnic, The Manny Pavone Band included Mr Pavone on lead guitar along with friends and co-workers Rich Evon on rhythm guitar, Kenny Kavanaugh on drums, and Richie Truelove on bass.

“I thought it would be cool to do this with his peers,” Mr Pavone explained. “I just thought it would be great if we could play together this afternoon.”

For the second performance of the afternoon, Mr Pavone’s band stepped aside for a little while to allow The Holden Truelove Band to steal the spotlight. This band consists of 12-year old Holden on guitar and vocals; Kyle Berardinelli, 14, on bass and vocals; Jerrod Cattey, age 16, on drums and vocals; and Bob Nuzzello, 16, guitar and vocals. Both bands offered sets of classic rock and blues.

Money was raised initially through the sale of tickets to get into the picnic itself. Then each food purchase, similar to a carnival ride, was made available by exchanging up to three tickets, with each ticket priced at $1.

Additionally, there were dozens of items raffled off, from sets of Timex watches to wine buckets and bottles of wine, from power tools and step ladders to travel accessories, lottery tickets and even a DVD player. The items and gift certificates had been donated by businesses and individuals throughout Fairfield County. Holden Truelove donated a guitar, a Squier Strat, for another raffle.

In addition to the companies mentioned above that had donated food or gift certificates, donations and other aid for Sunday was received from the Truelove family, The Holden Truelove Band, Bottom Line Publications, Pet Care Service, United Rentals, Country Amusements, Joe Dyes, Aramak, Summit Handling, Custom Bandage Tire, Dunleavy’s Truck Repair, Holly and Dan Leone, Brookfield Bowling Lanes, Manny Pavone Group, Tim and Tammy White, and Art and Joann Christiano. Ed Riley, a professional DJ, served as an emcee for the afternoon, calling out many of the winning raffle numbers and playing music between the sets of live music.

All of the proceeds from the advance tickets, the raffle tickets and the food purchases were all being donated directly to Mr McCourt. Even an ice cream vendor parked nearby was getting into the spirit of the afternoon, promising to donate half of his afternoon’s sales to those who had organized the picnic.