PORT TOWNSEND — This will be a weekend of live music and motion — for an international cause — at Room to Move, uptown Port Townsend’s yoga center at 1008 Lawrence St.
Ilana Smith, Room’s owner, has been traveling for 15 years to study and teach yoga in Molyvos, a town on the Greek island of Lesvos. She is acquainted with Melinda McRostie, who runs the Captain’s Table, a restaurant on the waterfront.
Molyvos, which is about as far from the Turkish coast as Whidbey Island is from Port Townsend, has become the place where thousands of Syrian refugees have come. They travel on rafts and rickety boats, arriving on Lesvos wet and hungry.
McRostie has turned her restaurant into a refugee center, a place where rain ponchos, shoes, blankets, socks and other clothing are collected and given out to those in need. She has established the Starfish Foundation, which will be the beneficiary of two fundraisers at Room to Move.
First is the PT Music Project’s concert, pairing the world-folk group Strong Sun Moon of Port Townsend with Bellingham’s Meghan Yates and the Reverie Machine on Saturday.
Admission is a suggested $25 donation, but organizer Aba Kiser emphasizes that no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show, which will also feature desserts by Pane d’Amore and kombucha by the glass from Iggy’s Raw Culture.
“It is difficult to imagine the courage of these people fleeing with their lives, and the volunteers who are working around the clock to provide relief,” Kiser said in her news release.
“We offer a night of music and solidarity, sending a beacon of support from our beloved Port Townsend.”
Kiser added that she was enchanted by Yates and the Reverie Machine when she heard them at Fort Worden State Park this past summer. And Strong Sun Moon has impressed her with its Latin rhythms, vocal harmonies and instruments, ranging from the charango to the slide guitar.
Sunday dance gathering
Sunday brings a winter solstice-themed dance performance. Room to Move will host dancers Jo Alber, Vickie Townsend, Denise Banker and Camille Hildebrandt for an afternoon of bellydance, hula and contemplative dance — with Ron Myhre’s Tibetan singing bowls added for good measure.
All of this will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday with Smith leading a few minutes of yoga.
Chanting and a story about the solstice will also be part of the gathering.
Sunday’s performance will be a family-friendly event, said Smith.
“We can accommodate 50 or 60 people. I’ll be handing out candles,” she promised.
Room to Move is also a collection point for clothing to be sent to the refugees in Molyvos. Donors can drop off new or slightly used backpacks, waterproof walking shoes, rain ponchos, socks and underwear in all sizes, warm waterproof jackets, men’s and women’s pants, warm scarves, gloves, hats and fleece blankets at the yoga center.
For more about the weekend’s activities, contact Room to Move at 360-385-2866 and see www.roomtomoveyoga.com, and for information about Saturday’s event and the PT Music Project, email ptmusicproject@gmail.com and see www.brownpapertickets.com, where the show can be found under “Syrian refugee benefit concert” in Port Townsend.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
