Traveling Bonfires' Wander Women Program Launches Series of Breast Cancer Awareness Events at Vanuatu Kava Bar, Oct 27 and Westville Pub, Nov 15

WANDER Women, a partner program by the Traveling Bonfires that is spearheaded by but not exclusive to women, launches “Purple is the Color of Fire,” a series of events for breast cancer awareness.

     The kick off show, which is an open dinner invite to breast cancer survivors and patients and their families, happens on Oct 27, Saturday, 8PM at Vanuatu Kava Bar on 15 Eagle Street in downtown Asheville.

     The free show features local singer songwriters Dulci Ellenberger and Madelyn Lavender, poet-singers Regina Duke and Alisa Danielle Kuumba Zuwena, and poet Jadwiga McKay. Breast cancer survivors and patients and their families are invited to share dinner and enjoy the show, free. Neo Cantina and The Blotter co-sponsor these events.
     The second event, set on Nov 15, Thursday, at Westville Pub in West Asheville, highlights the soul and R&B band WestSound, along with Laine Lewis and dancer Deva Laxamana. Suggested donation for this show is $5, entitling the patron a raffle ticket to various gifts from Asheville supporters.

     “Purple is the Color of Fire” is a continuation of a similar advocacy event for breast cancer prevention that was held in Manila and Baguio City in the Philippines in 2010. The Traveling Bonfires originated in the Philippines but has made Asheville its home since moving here from New York City in 2002.

     “This series of events is a continuous advocacy project that doesn't just happen in October,” says Marta Osborne, TBonfires and Wander Women supervising producer. “We are committed to carry on not just in Asheville but also in other cities and also in Manila.” October is billed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

     The Traveling Bonfires' centerpiece project is the “Bonfires for Peace,” a movable feast of family fun and community connectedness through music, arts and dancing, held mostly at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville. The project just concluded its 3-event 2012 summer program, its 10th year in the mountains, last Sept 15. The organization organized an unprecedented 16 weekend events here in 2004, and more through ensuing years.

     The Traveling Bonfires has also produced similar outdoor and indoor events in New York City, Baltimore, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and in the Philippines where it originated, “instigating arts and music events and bringing people together in celebration of peace and multicultural connectedness. “

     “We see the need to effect a vibe of peace and joy in Asheville in the light of a record increase in crime and violence in the last few years,” says TBonfires founding executive director Pasckie Pascua. “We don't have to launch speeches, we just play music and enjoin the community to come out, dance and be together.”

     The Traveling Bonfires' events enjoyed the support of a number of local Asheville businesses, organizations, and individuals. Projects have benefitted non-profit organizations that work with at-risk youths, families of the disappeared, orphans, and disaster victims.

For more info, http://ashevilletravelingbonfires.blogspot.com/ or call Marta Osborne at 828 280 1555 or email pasckie@yahoo.com

ART by Duane Lucas Pascua