6 Reasons To Attend ‘Back to Our Roots’ Event on April 23rd (Tickets Available Until Tuesday, April 19th)
Join Mano a Mano on Saturday, April 23rd, 2016 for our 7th annual event ‘Festival Bolivia 2016 – Back to Our Roots: Branching Out to Our MN Neighbors’ at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. Get your tickets soon – they are only available for a few more days!
YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE
Here are 6 reasons to attend:
- Book Release of La Familia: An International Love Story
- Silent Auction
- Entertainment by 4 Musical Groups
- Interactive Display from Metro State Students, Wine Pull, Photo Booth
- Video Interview With Surplus Program Beneficiaries in Bolivia
- Have a Fun Night, Support Mano a Mano
Book Release of ‘La Familia: An International Love Story’ by Mary Martin
Author Mary Martin will be reading excerpts from her new book about Mano a Mano’s co-founders Joan & Segundo Velasquez, with the book release event preceding the main event on April 23rd (4.30-5.30p – $15 to attend the book release event, which you can do on its own or combined with the proceeding main event). She will also be reading from the book during the main event. The book is based on her three years of interviewing and weaving Mano a Mano’s stories into a lovely, inspiring tapestry. La Familia provides a moving account of childhood challenges, intercultural pitfalls, and the ultimate creation of grassroots international partnership at its best.
Silent Auction – Many Great Items Available This Year
There are a lot of great items available in the Silent Auction ranging from small to large this year, from gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses; to dinner and Spanish lessons with our co-founders; to tickets to the Lynx, Gophers Football, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; to a hand-built rowboat! All items were donated, and all proceeds directly benefit Mano a Mano. A big thank-you to everyone that has contributed to the Silent Auction!
The rowboat, built by hand by Tony Schmitz, is coming along nicely.
Entertainment By 4 Musical Groups
We will have 4 different musicians/groups performing this year:
- Minnetonka Woodwind Quartet
- Rico Duran
- Joseph Caswell (check out his Youtube video below!)
- Trio Giovani
Interactive Display from Metro State Students, Wine Pull, Photo Booth
From 5.30-7p, sip on cocktails and mingle with friends as you bid on silent auction items, engage in the Surplus Program interactive display created by students from Metro State, and have fun with the wine pull, photo booth, and other activities. Entertainment provided by Joseph Caswell.
Video Interview With Surplus Program Beneficiaries in Bolivia
During the dinner & program from 7-9p, learn more about the Medical Surplus Program, which has engaged Minnesotans in many different ways for over 20 years. Hear from Mano a Mano’s Executive Director Nate Knatterud-Hubinger & Co-Founder Segundo Velasquez, and watch a video from our most recent distribution event in November 2015, with interviews from some of the many people that benefit from the surplus program.
Supplies being distributed to people & organizations throughout Bolivia, November 2015.
Dinner Menu:
- Salad: beet salad, arugula, radish, feta, citrus vinaigrette
- Entree: grilled filet mignon with a dijon-caper sauce, rosemary mashed potatoes, asparagus, and caramelized pearl onions; Vegetarian Pre-Order: wild mushroom ravioli
- Dessert: white cake with a raspberry filling, lemon buttercream.
Have a Fun Night, Support Mano a Mano
This is Mano a Mano’s 7th annual celebration event. Our main goal with these events is to have the opportunity to get together with many of our amazing friends for a fun night; each year we also have a project in mind to support with funds raised through this event.
This year we are focusing on the program that started Mano a Mano more than 20 years ago: collecting surplus supplies in Minnesota destined for the landfill and send them to Bolivia where they can make a huge difference in people’s lives.
There are currently more than 70,000 pounds of supplies in our St. Paul warehouse that are sorted, packed, and ready to ship; we are basically out of space! Our event on April 23rd will help up ship many of these supplies to Bolivia, where our staff & volunteers will distribute them to Mano a Mano projects throughout Bolivia, other organizations, and individual Bolivians in need.
This is what every room in our St. Paul, MN warehouse currently looks like…
Our last shipment of 99,000 pounds that was shipped in September 2015 recently arrived in Bolivia and will be distributed soon; we are hoping to get this next shipment en route.
Buy Tickets Soon – Only Available Until Tuesday, April 19th
We hope to see you there! There are only a few days left to buy tickets if you’re interested, which you can order via the Eventbrite form below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.