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GUMBO 678 McDonnell Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312 850-425-2805 Dear Friend, For fourteen years I have been making gumbo during my gigs all over the country, in Canada, and in Europe. What started out as a clever idea has evolved into a total experience, breaking down the barriers and blurring the lines between artist and audience. Indeed it transforms audience into participants in community. Over these years, I have fed over 100,000 people for free. This became his message of sharing and brotherhood. I have preached the "Gospel According to Gumbo" in bars, at festivals, in restaurants, street parades, community gatherings, and private parties; feeding people's stomachs and souls at the same time. All along the way I felt the need to incorporate the travelling gumbo show into some kind of social service for people less fortunate. On November 13, 2002, I was invited to do a gumbo show at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Orlando, FL. The performance on November 13 was a watershed because so many things came together that gave me a template for what to do. On that day I took my old 1933 National Steel guitar and his gumbo pot down to play for the homeless at the soup kitchen. I played and sang and spoke about the gumbo. The response was absolutely incredible. The workers at the center said they had never seen these people smiling, laughing, and talking like this. But here's the kicker. Not only did we feed the people in need, but we also had a live feed via satellite to the local Fox News network beaming the whole mess all over Orlando for the morning news. Lots of people saw the faces of a faceless problem. So here's what Planet Gumbo's goals are: 1. Feed the needy. 2. Give hope and sustenance through music and the message of the gumbo. 3. Raise community awareness (and therefore the community involvement) of the problems and solutions to the problems. 4. Provide a clearinghouse for materials on programs that homeless or needy people can benefit from, to improve their condition. 5. Assist local organizations in their efforts to help those in need. We have done this
in cities throughout the US. I think that Planet Gumbo will expand exponentially
as time goes on. In my performances I say, "Why don't we forget our
differences for a moment, sit down to the dinner table, treat each other
like neighbors, then maybe we can work some of this stuff out." Join
us in our efforts to help those in need. Thank you so much,
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