Sawdust Art Festival Special Guest Entertainers Donate to Japan

Media Contact:  Cynthia Fung
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July 26, 2011
For Immediate Release

Sawdust Art Festival
Special Guest Entertainers Donate to Japan
(Forest Note will play Thursday, July 28 and Saturday, July 30)
(Carol Kleyn will play Sunday, July 31) 

Laguna Beach, CA – Sawdust Art Festival special guest entertainers Forest Note and Carol Kleyn are traveling to the festival grounds this week to not only perform and share their musical talents with visitors, but to also pursue a philanthropic effort. Each musician is donating proceeds to support victims of the earthquake and Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, which occurred earlier this year.

Forest Note, a duet of Japanese folklore musicians, is scheduled to play Thursday, July 28 and Saturday, July 30 from 5-9:30 pm on the stage by the Greek Grill.  Bruce Huebner and Armando Yamahira formed this duo to celebrate their shared love of instrumental Japanese folklore music inspired by the mountains and forests of their respective homelands of California and Akita, Japan.

In the short time since Forest Note’s inception the pair has toured the scenic areas of both Japan and eastern California, a fitting setting for their tranquil tunes. Huebner on an instrument called “shakuhachi” and Yamahira on guitar and “charango,” the two are closely tied to the areas in Tohoku, particularly Fukushima, where they carried out most of their composing, improvising and recording.

To express their gratitude for Fukushima, the location of their musical teaching and inspiration, Forest Note will be accepting donations at the Sawdust Art Festival to help support the victims of the recent Japanese disaster and 100% of these collected funds will be donated to Japan Red Cross.

Another compassionate musician, Carol Kleyn, will perform on the festival grounds as a roving musician this Sunday, July 31 from noon until 5 pm, and has also expressed her intention of supporting Japanese disaster relief. Kleyn, a talented harpist with her beginnings deeply rooted at the Sawdust Art Festival, first started her musical career on the festival grounds back in 1972 and performed every year through 1984. After a long hiatus of performing in Laguna Beach, Kleyn returns to the Sawdust grounds to “touch base with her heart and soul at the festival.”

Kleyn recently re-released her original album “Love Has Made Me Stronger,” through Drag City Records in Chicago on July 19. Proceeds from purchased downloads of her song “Return of the Silkie,” a track based on and written in Laguna Beach, will go toward Japanese disaster relief. Kleyn feels this particular song is about healing and found it suitable to release the song as a donation for Japan. The charity download can be purchased at www.dragcity.com/products/love-has-made-me-stronger.

To check out more details about the Sawdust Art Festival’s 45th annual summer season and calendar of events, please visit www.sawdustartfestival.org or call 949-494-3030. The Sawdust Art Festival is open 10-10 daily June 24 through August 28, and is located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach with free City trolley service to and from the Act V parking lot. Admission prices are: Adults $7.75, Seniors (65+) $6.25, Children (6-12) $3.25, Children (5 & under) Free; Summer Season Pass $15; Annual Pass $20.

The Sawdust Art Festival is a non-profit art organization dedicated to educating the public and promoting the art created in Laguna Beach.

The Sawdust Art Festival thanks its 2011 sponsors Honda, 104.3 MYfm, Hoegaarden and Kendall-Jackson.

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