Presidents Message

Tony Mustaro
Dear Friends,

The big event at this time is our annual Spring Fling dinner dance. This is a great evening of visiting, eating delicious food from Lombardi Caterers, drinking excellent wine by Marcucci Farms, and dancing to great dance music by the Steve Balich Band all for the amazingly low price of $25 per person. There are no other entertainment bargains like this anywhere in the North Bay. I have never spoken with anyone who attended one of these events who didn’t have a great time and appreciate the quality of the music, food and drink.

As you know this is one of our two major fund raisers for the year so please support your club by attending and bringing a guest or two to show them something about our club. You do not have to be a member of the ACR to attend this function. You just need an eye for a real entertainment bargain and the desire to have a good time. Please get your reservations in early as we need a count for the caterer sooner rather than later.

Those of you who attended the general meeting last month know that our own Bart Beninco was back to play for us again. Bart gave a wonderful performance as usual and we look forward to hearing him play for us again as soon as he can. We also had some great entertainment from George Simko who was here visiting from Texas. George gave us a great set on his own and then invited yours truly up to play some duets, and Kris Nelson joined us on vocals. Good times. Susannah Leon, who gets better every time we hear her and Arthur Seebach our Irish music specialist rounded out the evenings entertainers.

I have been speaking with Nancy Pordon and learned that John, our Tireless Treasurer has not been up to par. John missed our general meeting last month for the FIRST time since he has been a member. He underwent a surgical procedure a few days ago, and from what I hear everything went well. We’re looking forward to seeing John’s smiling face at the meetings again soon. Some of us will try to take up the slack in the tremendous amount of work that John does on behalf of the club, but it won’t be easy. You can send greetings and cards to his address in Sonoma where you send your dinner dance reservations. I think that a large turnout for this event next month will go a long way to bring a smile to his face. Get well soon John, we miss you.

Again I will remind you that yearly elections are coming up soon. Some of the Board members will not be standing for reelection this year so we are in need of members willing to run for these vacant spots. Please contact me or any other officer or board member for more information regarding running for office.

Tony Mustaro

President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods

Club Entertainment

Susannah Leon

Susannah just keeps getting better. She delighted us with “Snow Flake Walt,” “Away in a Manger,” “Silver Bells,” and “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.”

Arthur Seebach

Arthur delighted with his love for the Irish tunes of “Man of the House,” “King of the Ferries,” and “The Flat Bush Waltz.” It is always a delight to hear from Art.

Bart Benico

Bart, our soul man of the accordion, entertained us with “Le Seine,” “The Red River Valley,” “Tango of the Rose,” “Arriva Derci Roma,” “Catata Romana,” “Baby Elephant Walk,” and wrapped it up with “Tico Tico.” It is quite a gem we have in Bart!

George Simko

George dazzled us with so many: I had a hard time writing listening and taking pictures. He started with “Shall We Dance?” “West Falia Waltz,” “Waltz Across Texas with Me,” and a medley of “Texas Plain,” “Yellow Rose of Texas,” “San Antonio Rose,” and “Deep in the Heart of Texas.” He finished off his solo with “Blue Tango” and “Allegany Moon.”

Duet of Tony and George

Next we had a duet with Tony and George playing “Three Caballeros (Jalisco),” “Spanish Eyes,” “Only One Time,” “Solamente Uno Vez,” and “Up the Lazy River.”

The Fabulous Trio of Kris, Tony and George

After that, we had a trio with Kris, Tony, and George. With Kris singing “Your Cheating Heart.” Then back to the duet of Tony and George wrapping up with “Frau Lein,” and “Beer Barrel Polka.”

What a night; great entertainment and food. For THREE DOLLARS, you cannot beat that.

Click slide show for more pictures of Jammers and Audience

Spring Fling

Saturday March 28 2015 click form below to see flyer ACR Spring Fling.

The Presidents Message

Dear Friends,

Here we are at the beginning of a brand new year. I would like to wish all of you a very happy, prosperous, and healthy new year. Thank you to all of the officers, board members, and other volunteers who donate their time and efforts to keep this club running. It would be wonderful if this year we could enlarge this group of people in an effort to keep the club healthy and moving forward.

On the horizon we have our annual Spring Fling dinner dance. Please remember that this event is not only a opportunity to gather socially to share a nice meal, converse, and dance to some live music. It is one of the few fund raising events of the year for our club. Unfortunately our club has lost money on the last two fund raisers due to less than optimal attendance. This could be turned around and make these events profitable again if each attendee would bring another friend or relative along to enjoy the evening and support our treasury. Obviously, there is a limit to how long we can continue to lose money on such events. We are one of the few remaining venues providing live dance music in a family friendly environment. If you would like to see us continue to do so, we need your active support.

Please keep this in mind in regard to the Spring Fling in March. We are also planning a club dinner (food served to be decided) at the monthly meeting for the month of April, so please put this on your calendar. April is also election month. We will be electing officers and board members for the coming year. If you would like to take an active part in steering your club and you feel that you have ideas which would have a positive impact, please put your name forward for nomination. Contact me or any of the other officers or board members to do this.

Our friend George Simko will be our featured entertainer for the January meeting. We always have a good time when George is here. Please come out and support the musicians who are generous enough with their time to come entertain us. This is important if you want to continue to have good quality entertainment at the meetings. A good attendance makes it much easier for me to book good entertainment.

In closing I would like to ask you to remember our members with ongoing health problems and the many friends and supporters whom we have lost in the past year in your thoughts and prayers.

Tony Mustaro

President
Accordion Club of the Redwoods

News, December 2014 – January 2015

Christmas Dinner dance photos

Yes, Virginia…There is a Santa Claus

And his name is Steven Gatti. Steven was the donor of five poinsettias and an azalea which suddenly appeared at our recent dinner/dance. Steven was also thoughtful enough to donate a $50.00 check to our Scholarship Fund. The poinsettias and the azalea were a welcome, colorful addition to our stage. We appreciate his generosity by adding these gifts to our event….and yes, there is a Santa Claus and his name is Steven Gatti.

Entertainment

Carlo Solivan

Jim Lehman

Steve Albini

And the Fabulous Trio

Wow, what a night! This trio brought down the house, unfortunately, the house was very small. The food was great and plentiful, but the music was outstanding!

I thank Tony for keeping track of the playlist as I was too busy clapping and taking pictures. The playlist was “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Nature Boy,” “Guaglione,” “Besame Mucho,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Parla Piu Piano,” “Quando, Quando, Quando,” “Con Te Partiro,” “East of the Sun,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” “Marina,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Sway,” and “Al Di La.” When they come back, you must show up; they are the greatest.

Obituary

Mike Sarkisian

Services for Mike Sarkisian
January 30, 11:30 AM prompt

Veterans Cemetery Dixon,
5810 Midway Rd, Dixon CA 95620

Obituary

Yves Casabonne

Yves Gregoire Casabonne
Feb. 19, 1936 – Nov. 21, 2014

Yves Gregoire Casabonne, 78, died peacefully in San Francisco November 21, 2014. Yves was the beloved husband of Annette and very proud father of Daniel. He did it his way. He was dancing the polka on Sunday night, he worked in the yard on Monday and Tuesday, and that night he had a massive stroke. Two days later he was gone.A native of Arette (Pyrenees Atlantique) France. He arrived in San Francisco in 1959 to pursue the American Dream. Never afraid of hard work, long hours, and taking chances by looking forward with different ideas, he achieved all of his goals. Yves started from scratch four different successful businesses in San Francisco, Redwood City, and Saratoga. After retiring from the retail business that Annette and Yves ran together for 20 years in Saratoga, he felt like he was too young to really retire. That is when he got the idea to purchase his favorite dance hall, Little Switzerland in Sonoma. That was the beginning of another chapter in his life and perhaps some of his happiest times.Yves and Annette celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year and were planning a trip to France to visit family and friends.He had a love of cars, polka dancing (Little Switzerland-Sonoma), and he was always willing to try new things…..last year while on vacation in Mexico he went parasailing along the coast, did the zip cord through the jungle, swam with the dolphins, and petted sting rays. He loved wheeling and dealing. Three days a week he would be found at various flea markets from San Jose, Santa Cruz to Concord buying things that he didn’t need but he just couldn’t pass up because he was able to get a good deal.Survived by sisters Rosette (Pierre), Jacqueline (Jean Louis) and brother-in-law Emile Bourdet (Sandra) and many nieces, nephews, and cousins in France and in the San Francisco Bay Area.