A benefit performance for REACH of Jackson and Macon counties, Tommy and Dick Smothers’ music-and-comedy show will help raise awareness and funds for the two local agencies.

The Smothers Brothers have been performing for five decades and have shared the stage with a variety of artists, including the Beatles, Tina Turner, the Who, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte and the Doors. During their years of entertaining, the Smothers Brothers have received multiple awards for their defense of freedom of speech and for their comedy. Recently, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, at its Primetime Emmy Awards, bestowed an honorary award on Tommy Smothers.

In the late 1960s, the Smothers Brothers hosted the popular television variety show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” Since then, they have continued to perform, and 2008 marks their 50th anniversary in show business.

Along with enjoying the laughs, patrons also will have the opportunity to help REACH of Jackson and Macon counties, which are commemorating 30 years of service to their communities by combining efforts for the first time in their histories.

“If we can significantly raise awareness in our communities regarding the high cost of interpersonal violence and the tremendous harm that it especially brings to our children, then it will be worth it,” said Sandy Frazier, director of development for REACH of Jackson County.

“Any profit we derive from the event will be divided evenly between the two agencies and used for emergency shelter, crisis counseling, victim advocacy, medical care, children’s counseling and transportation.”

WCU’s Women’s Center also will help raise awareness about domestic violence during the same evening with the Clothesline Project, which provides a way for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating shirts that are displayed on a clothesline as a testimony to the problem of violence against women. The display will be in the Fine and Performing Art Center’s courtyard.

WCU and REACH also will host other events on campus to raise awareness about domestic violence and raise funds for the nonprofit agencies, including a panel forum about domestic violence at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Fine Arts Museum followed by a reception that is open to the public; a photography showcase of Donna Ferrato’s “Living with the Enemy: The Domestic Abuse Awareness Project” from Thursday, Nov. 6, to Saturday, Nov. 22; Healing and Art, an exhibition of work by regional artists, which will be on display along with Ferrato’s exhibit; and a silent auction of artwork donated by local artists to support children and adults at risk of abuse, which will come to a close after the Smothers Brothers’ performance on Nov. 19.

Tickets for the Smothers Brothers event cost $25 for balcony seating, $50 for club seating and $150 for orchestra seating. The $150 ticket comes with a meet-and-greet reception with the stars and is partially tax deductible as a charitable donation.

For more information, contact WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center at (828) 227-2479.

Maintained by the Office of Public Relations
Last modified: Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008