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'The King' and The Castle: Charity event set for Chief's Wednesday
Becoming an octogenarian isn't always easy, especially if you're Elvis.
But with a little help from The Castle and Chief's Restaurant, The King is coming back and his spirit aims to raise money for the arts in local schools.
The two organizations have slated the event for Wednesday, Jan. 7 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Chief's, 5 E. Franklin St., Greencastle, and will see 15 percent of the evening's proceeds donated to The Castle.
The evening will feature live performances by Tony Harmless, John C. Little, Gus Moon and Jack Gibson, all paying tribute to the legendary musician who was once only allowed to be filmed from the waist up.
With Chief's owner Steve Geabes already poised to celebrate Elvis' 80th birthday as part of an annual event at Chief's, turning the evening into a charity night was an easy choice.
"Since we've been open we have generally commemorated it (Elvis' birthday) somehow," Geabes explained. "It just seemed to me that it would be a lot of fun to get local artists' takes on Elvis tunes this time and being that we're partnered with The Castle we thought, let's make it a benefit."
The Castle is a non-profit organization that works with teachers and schools to integrate arts into the existing curriculum of both middle school and high school classes in Greencastle schools. The organization also partners with local businesses each month to help raise funds and promote a sense of community.
Beyond the celebration of Elvis birth, Geabes' partnership with The Castle is rooted to an appreciation of the importance of the arts.
"I think they (The Castle) are really doing their best to keep the arts alive in some fashion in local schools and the arts are certainly very important to me." Geabes said. "They (the arts) are very important to Chief's and should be important to the town and the people at The Castle are trying to make that happen."
This is the second time that Chief's and The Castle have teamed up together for "Castle Days," events typically held on the second Friday of each month where a portion of the proceeds are donated to the arts program.
Chief's and Myers' Market are two businesses that the organization has primarily worked with but they have teamed up with Monical's Pizza in the past and are always excited to work with local businesses and to encourage community involvement.
Both Myers' and Chief's have provided regular locations for the most recent benefits, something that resonates with the mission of The Castle.
"The Castle is an organization that operates on the principles of community and coalition-building," founder and executive director Beth Benedix said.
"In this regard it has been especially gratifying and humbling to work with two local businesses so dedicated to these principles in the services they provide this community.
"I personally want to extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to Chief's and Myers' Market for their support, partnership and tremendous generosity," Benedix added.
Chief's will be serving up a special smothered pork chop dinner for the evening and participants are simply asked to bring a good attitude and a willingness to have fun and have a good time while celebrating the birthday of an icon and giving back to the community.
Although the January schedule is not confirmed, Castle Days at Chief's Restaurant are slated to take place on the second Tuesday of each month, with an exception being made for Wednesday's event, and Myers' Market Castle Days scheduled for the second Friday of each month.
For more information, persons may contact The Castle online at www.castlearts.org or Chief's Restaurant by telephone at 301-4135.