Karaoke-ing for a cause at Sing East End
A local singing event that has raised about $10,000 for East End Hospice during its first two years will be back for a third this Saturday.
Sing East End 2012 is an event where people buy a ticket to either watch other people singing or sing themselves on stage at the historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall on Peconic Avenue in downtown Riverhead.
Doors open at 7 p.m. (Buy tickets here.)
Doug Wald of Riverhead, a senior director of Internet marketing for CA Technologies, as well as an accomplished Karaoke singer himself, is organizing the event, in which people sing Karaoke for charity.
He became a fan of karaoke only a few years ago, and now knows more than a 150 songs. He became a fan of East End Hospice, a Westhampton Beach-based nonprofit that provides end-of-life care, when his late mother fell ill several years ago.
“This is my way of giving back, for all the things they did for my mother and my family,” he said.
The cost for the event is $25 in advance or $30 at the door, and there will be food served for the first hour, followed by performances beginning at 8 p.m. and running till 11 p.m. The dinner is included in the cost.
SEE SLIDE SHOW FROM LAST YEAR’S EVENT
The order of performances is largely first-come, first-serve, although Mr. Wald said that Kim Pokorny of Riverhead, an accomplished local singer, will lead off.
There are some rules, including a “no fly list” of common Karaoke songs like “Sweet Caroline,” or long songs like “Freebird” or “Stairway to Heaven,” Mr. Wald said.
“We don’t want commonplace Karaoke where you hear the same songs over and over,” he said.
And there’s no age restriction in either direction, with a 2-year girl expected to be the youngest singer.
A number of local restaurants have donated food, including Farm Country Kitchen, CK’s Deli and Catering, Digger O’Dells, Jerry and the Mermaid, Buoy One Seafood, Carlo’s of Riverhead, Signature Bagels, and Country Rotisserie, Mr. Wald said.
Chinese Auction prizes also have been donated by a number of local businesses.
Sing East End 2012 will be hosted by Ginny Naugles, who is a hostess at Outerbanks, and Lobster Roll, and James Ruggerio, who’s a dining host at Jerry and the Mermaid on East Main Street, Mr. Wald said.
The music will be provided by Mike “Flip” Gadzinski of Flipside Karaoke, who is a host at Jerry and the Mermaid and Cody’s, Mr. Wald said.
