Audiences 'come together' for Our Father's House
Beatles tribute band, 1964, to perform April 12
By Lindsay Sauvageau JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

On Saturday, April 12, the British are invading Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School.

For the Our Father's House ninth annual concert fundraiser, event coordinators have put together something a little different. Our Father's House has teamed up with 1964 … The Tribute for a night of music.

When the Our Father's House Board of Directors were discussing this year's concert, board member Stephen S. Ciccolini, a Leominster resident, brought 1964 to the board's attention. Rolling Stone has called them the "Number One Beatles Tribute Show on Earth," and the band has performed all around the world, playing venues like Shea Stadium and Carnegie Hall.

"Steve brought the band to light for us. He's been working in the entertainment industry in the Boston and Rhode Island area for over 25 years and he said these guys were amazing," said Catherine Benoit.

Last week, Benoit and Beth Sullivan, co-chairs of the Our Father's House development committee, discussed the upcoming concert and expressed the board's excitement about the band.

"This is our biggest fundraising event," said Sullivan. "And these guys just look phenomenal. We've already sold two-thirds to three-fourths of the tickets."

Performing in the Stratos G. Dukakis Performing Arts Center at Monty Tech, at 8 p.m., the 1964 band will bring the audience back to the '60s for an unforgettable night of entertainment. The band is vintage Beatles, from the Beatle boots and wardrobe to the equipment and staging. According to the band's Web site, band members take on the mannerisms of everyone's favorite Beatle, and in the end capture the essence of the band that changed music for the whole world.

Tickets for the event cost $40, and Benoit said 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Our Father's House Emergency and Transitional Programs.

"Most of our funding comes from the state and federal government, but we appeal to local businesses and individuals to make up the difference. We do about $275,000 in fundraising each year," said Benoit.

"We are also a United Way funded organization," added Sullivan.

Our Father's House opened in 1985 and has grown to include four programs that have over the past 23 years operated at capacity. There is an Our Father's House emergency shelter on Lunenburg Street in Fitchburg that includes 20 beds for men and 8 for women; there is Elizabeth House, a transitional Housing for women in recovery which serves eight women on Mechanic Street in Fitchburg; a permanent housing facility in Fitchburg, the Leighton Street Permanent Housing for men in recovery which serves 12; and a recently acquired transitional facility, Transitions at Devens, which has 16 units of transitional housing for homeless families.

Our Father's House also provides more than just shelter or transitional housing. There are case management services to help persons with substance abuse, mental illness, and financial literacy programs available to help those who need it with money saving and budgeting strategies.

Tickets are available in person or by phone with credit card or by check at Our Father's House, (978) 345-2256 Ext. 300 located at 4 Leighton St. in Fitchburg; IC Federal Credit Union, Bemis Road, Fitchburg or at Bovenzi & Donovan, (978) 840-4500 located at 14 Manning Ave., Suite 102 in Leominster.

To find out more about Our Father's House visit cmhaonline.org. To get involved or to make donations call (978) 345-2256.