Talk about taking lemons and making them into lemonade–for a lot of other people.
Wilton resident Andy Schlesinger got a little fed up with some of the carping and complaining that happens on local social media pages. He decided to channel that emotion to do good instead. Less than a month ago, Schlesinger came up with the idea to throw a live concert to benefit the Wilton Food Pantry and the CT Food Bank. Once he got the idea, he ran with it, and quickly put together an event for Saturday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. called “Wilton Rocks for Food.” It will be staged at Trackside Teen Center.
“We’re calling it ‘The First Waltz.’ There was this great concert and movie by The Band years ago called The Last Waltz. It was a huge event–The Band played and all these guest stars got up and sat in with them. We’re kind of ripping off that theme. We’re all Wilton musicians. We’ll have a house band–myself and some other A-players–and we’ve opened it up to all these Wilton musicians. I have 20 people who have signed up to come and play,” Schlesinger describes, adding that there will be whole bands as well as individuals who will jam with the house band.
If you have encountered Schlesinger on the local Facebook pages Wilton 411 or 412 (or Wilton Tag Sale, for that matter), you shouldn’t be surprised that he has pulled it all together so quickly, and with a sense of blunt and honest humor.
“We’re calling the tickets a $50 minimum donation. I made it a reasonable price, but it’s Wilton and we’re hoping people will be like, ‘I paid $75 to play in a tennis tournament at the club on Sunday, if I can do that, I can certainly pay $100 for a charity for people to eat,’” Schlesinger says. People can buy tickets online and he hopes they’ll be more generous than the $50 minimum per-ticket price.
He has quickly gotten posters designed and printed, and he’s now at work getting t-shirts designed and produced as well. Schlesinger hopes that local businesses will sign on for auction items and sponsorships. And he really wants people to come to do good and have a good time as a community.
“Everybody bitches and moans, let’s do something positive instead of going on 412 and complaining,” Schlesinger says. “We need to spread the word and motivate people to buy a ticket and come.”
Not only is he creating a fun event that will give back where it counts, but he’s setting an example for how easy it can be to actively be a force for positive change within Wilton. He hopes it will inspire other people.
“I hope to make this an annual event. I would love to make this so big that we have to move this to another venue. This could be something that becomes a Wilton-signature event. There will be beer and wine, food, and watching great musicians. Meanwhile you’re supporting a great cause, and your fellow Wiltonites. It just has a great vibe to it,” Schlesinger says.
An added bonus? The musicians will all be locals, mostly all from Wilton. “Some of these guys you’ll see have done this for a while, and other guys don’t really do this, and they’re living out a fantasy. These might be your friends living a dream and we want a big crowd to support them and cheer them on when they get up onstage and do this.”
To buy tickets, visit the concert website Schlesinger has created.