Kim Everest, owner of Restaurant Number Four, has generously offered to co-create a fundraiser for the Music for All program of the local Instituto Internacional.
The school’s aguaponic farm, Granja El Diferencia is donating and delivering their organically grown, fresh tilapia, herbs and vegetables ready for the Four kitchen to cook and serve as a special dish.
Said Everest: “On the restaurant’s last five nights – Friday, August 29 through Tuesday, September 2 – we’ll donate 100 percent of the price of each tilapia plate to the school’s music program. They have a beautiful music room and a great musician, horn player Jimmy Barto to head up the program, but they desperately need instruments. This is our last hurrah. We’ve been all about music here and we want to give those kids a chance learn to play music too.”
In turn, the school’s students and advisors will be at the restaurant to meet diners and to answer questions about the school and the new Interact service program, Music for All, which is sponsored by the Chapala Sunrise Rotary Club. Under this umbrella, the young musicians plan to take the message of music to people of all ages in the lakeside area. They recently set a date to visit a local group home for a songfest.
This unique fundraising concept is the brainchild of Everest, school founder Lily Ehlebracht and Shannon Conshue, the school’s chemistry and biology teacher.
Explained Conshue: “There’s just no room in the school budget to buy instruments. I have a vested interest in this project. Not only is my daughter one of the officers of Music for All, she is also a frustrated clarinet player without an instrument. My son has sticks and a drum pad, and he’s anxious to put those sticks on a marching snare drum. Three snares were our first and most urgent need so that the drummers can accompany the honor guard that presents the flag in ceremony at the school every Monday morning. The good news is that at the first fundraiser night, Monday, August 25, we received enough donations to buy a couple of those drums.
“We’re hoping some of the members of the foreign community may have a trumpet or clarinet or flute that they no longer need. We have people who can repad and renovate older instruments. We know there is stuff out there that we could use. I saw a real deal last week on bongo drums and chimes, but we didn’t have the funding to buy them, even at a real bargain price.”
The officers of the new Chapala Sunrise Rotary Interact Music for All program are three grade 10 students: President Yudiel Ochoa, Vice President Sebastian Preciado, Secretary Melanie Conshue, and seventh grader Treasurer Nataly Perez Santana.
Everest warned area residents that they need to make reservations soon for the restaurant’s last weekend. Tuesday, September 2, the last night of operation is already completely sold out. Monday, September 1 is the next big blow-out fundraiser for the school’s music department. In addition to the donations from the tilapia, the school’s music director Jimmy Barto will be on the stage with Blackbird Jazz. Everest will be joining in on vocals. Music students will be on hand to meet the diners, and to sell 50/50 raffle tickets, also benefiting the school’s music program.
For more information about the Music for All program, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the school at (376) 688-0004. For reservations for Restaurant Number Four’s last weekend, call (376) 766-1360.