Dear Friends, As another St. Patrick’s Day approaches and we begin to anticipate the end of winter, it is time for us to once again thank you for your past support and generosity and to announce the date of Finn Fest 2014. For 30 years Joe Finn brought us together at The Norwood Inn on Sunday afternoons to celebrate life with his gift of music ranging from the Irish folk tradition on which he was raised to the songs of Neil Diamond which so many enjoyed; we hope you can join us this year for another Sunday afternoon honoring the rich tradition he developed over those years. When our family first sat down to think about how we could best honor our father we realized that there was no better venue than a casual afternoon filled with friends and song at the Norwood. Throughout his life our dad was never shy to share his love and talent with others, whether through his work as an entertainer, volunteering as a golf or basketball coach at St. Rose, or simply being the husband, father or friend he was to us. He found so much joy in life by simply sharing his talent on stage with his guitar and was rewarded with your friendship - a gift that enriched his life and in turn, those of us who knew and loved him. Our father lived less than four months from the time he was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor in the summer of 2008. During that time he was treated at the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center, part of the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, NJ. In appreciation for the care they gave our dad as well as the support they provided to us, we set a modest goal to raise money to help continue services for other cancer patients and their families. Your overwhelming support at our first Finn Fest fundraiser in 2010 led the cancer center to the development of an enriched music therapy program which they will be naming in our father’s honor. The Joe Finn Music Therapy Program is made possible through the continued support of Finn Fest and we have nearly reached our goal in support of the David S. Zocchi Brain Tumor Center at Monmouth Medical Center. The program will offer iPads for patient use in the Infusion Center, an annual Joe Finn Music Therapy Program Survivorship Concert and Group Therapy Support Sessions. We hope that you will be able to join us at the Norwood Inn, Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ on Sunday afternoon May 18th from 2:00 - 6:00 to help kick off another great summer on the Jersey Shore. Joe, Jr. and Matt Finn will be playing along with the great talents of Jimmy and Bobby Byrne, the Pat Roddy Band and Ann Bonner with the Avon Barksdales. Tickets (a $50 donation) include a memorial T-shirt and open buffet. Green alligators and unicorns will be there for some Sunday Morning Sunshine, we hope you can be there too! Tickets are limited to 350, the capacity of the Norwood Inn. For more information about Finn Fest or the Joe Finn Music Therapy Program, to make a donation (if unable to attend) or to purchase tickets please call 732-923-6886 or log on the web at monmouthfoundation.org/giving/events.html Sincerely grateful for your continued support and friendship, The Finns Kathy, Moira Silva, Erinn Weisbrod, Brigid Maniace, Joe Jr., Katie Cashman, Eileen Larson, Matthew and Jimmy
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 18:07:31 +0000