Care for Kara concert kicks off tonight

June 17, 2005

CASEY RESSLER/Frontiersman Valley Life editor

Tonight, some of the Valley's top musicians are coming together for an evening of music, for a great cause. The Care for Kara concert kicks off tonight, and money raised goes to help a Wasilla woman pay for a bone-marrow transplant.

Kara MacIver is a single mother who was diagnosed with leukemia several years ago.

She is currently in Seattle awaiting her marrow transplant. Tonight's fund-raiser is to help her pay for the transplant and associated costs.

"She has already left for the transplant, so the need is now," said Becky Day, a friend of the MacIver's who is helping organize the concert. "Every little bit helps, even if it's five bucks."

Tonight's concert has a good lineup of musicians. Local standout Josh Fryfogle and the Getogether will play, as will Jeremiah West and Eric Warner, two notable acoustic guitar players.

There will be a dessert concession, and in the middle of the concert, there will be a celebrity dessert auction, Day said.

"Right now we are short on prebought tickets, but we've learned that for some reason, Alaskans like to show up at the door and not buy tickets in advance," she said.

The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Machetanz Theatre in Wasilla. Tickets are $20 if bought in advance, and $25 at the door.

"All of the money is going for a good cause," Day said.

In Seattle, MacIver is slowly having her own bone marrow killed off, and then she will receive a transplant of a donor's marrow.

The community has rallied behind MacIver, with several fund-raisers being very successful.

Once it was learned that she needed an entire home renovation to make it absolutely germ-free, the Mat-Su Home Builders Association stepped in and offered to build her a house for free.

Construction is under way on the house, which will be ready for MacIver to move into upon her return.

For more information on the Care for Kara concert, or how to donate to help pay for MacIver's transplant, interested people can contact Day at 373-2022.