Big Chill Jazz Ensemble Performs at Café Congo

Friday | August 31 | 7:00-9:00pm
First Congregational Church | 161 West Broadway
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First Congregational Church of Winona and Café Congo welcome you to a new season of good music and good times and all for a good cause with the return of the Big Chill Jazz Ensemble. For the past 30 years these very talented jazz musicians have been keeping their promise to reunite on Labor Day weekends and create musical magic together. Longtime friends Mike Franceschi, Karyn Quinn, Greg Balfany, Rich MacDonald, Dave Marck and Ray Dretske will ‘play it forward’, offering-up their musical talents for freewill donations to help fund the annual operating costs of our Café Congo programming.

Started in 2014, Café Congo presents about 10 events each year, giving talented young musicians a warm and welcoming venue to hone their performance skills and interact with appreciative audiences. Your donation at the Big Chill Reunion will make it possible for us to direct 100% of the freewill donations from future events to the good causes and organizations those young musicians help to choose. To date, and with your generous support, over $7,800 has been raised for many good causes at “Play It Forward’ events.

So please join us next Friday. You’ll not only enjoy some great music and refreshments, you’ll be sustaining a welcoming place for young musicians to share their talents and an opportunity to give back to the community. Doors open at 6:30. Please use the canopied entrance on Johnson St. The building is handicap accessible and air-conditioned. For information call (507) 452-5533. Café Congo is a Social Action Initiative of the First Congregational Church, an “Open and Affirming” Community of Faith.

Steve Bachler (Café Congo) is a member of the River Arts Alliance. To learn more about the benefits of membership, please visit: riverartsalliance.org/JOIN.