5 Photos
Three local bands will perform at the Young Musicians Unite fundraiser held at Guild Hall on August 9th. COURTESY GUILD HALL
Earthreal
a group that will perform as part of a fundrasier on August 9 at Guild Hall. COURTESY MICHAEL CLARK
The Sectionals
one of three music groups set to perform at Guild Hall as part of a fundraiser to prevent gun violence. COURTESY MICHAEL CLARK
Yoga and music will come together in a two-part event to raise money for Moms Demand Action—a charitable wing of Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit organization devoted to solving the problem of gun violence in America. On Thursday, July 26, at 7 a.m., the first of two events will take place when Mandala Yoga Studios hosts 108 Sun Salutations, a community-oriented, hour-long session of yoga that will be held in the center of Amagansett Square. More than 20 yoga instructors based as far west as Southampton and as far east as Montauk will come together to teach the course, said Heidi Humes, retail and event director of Mandala Yoga, which is based in the square.
Though Ms. Humes said guests with yoga experience are encouraged to come, she also said that those who are not familiar with the practice are more than welcome to participate.
“This is a community-building event,” she said. “We want the market of people to represent a mandala of personality and roads of life.”
Ms. Humes added that in yoga, 108 is an auspicious number—one that represents celebration and bringing people together—and that is the reason for the precise number of sun salutations that will be practiced at the fundraiser.
Just two weeks later, on August 9 at 8 p.m., a second event to benefit Moms Demand Action will be held at Guild Hall in East Hampton—complete with speeches by distinguished guests, live music, food and beverage service and voter registration booths.
Michael Clark, who came up with the idea for the event in March and has since led its planning, said that proceeds from every facet of the fundraiser will go directly to Moms Demand Action.
Called Young Musicians Unite for Gun Sanity, the event will feature three local bands: The Sectionals, Earthreal and Big Karma. Speakers will include student activists, former New York City District Attorney Jackie Hilly and Paul Guttenberg, whose niece was a victim of the shooting in Parkland, Florida.
“[The fundraiser] is not at all about taking somebody’s gun away,” said Mr. Clark. “We’re just trying to close loopholes … getting a gun should be at least as difficult as getting a driver’s license.” Mr. Clark also said that he has “never been an activist,” but instead “more of a moderate.” After the recent shooting in Parkland, however, he decided to take action.
The premise of the event, Mr. Clark said, is “to get everybody out to register to vote … We’re letting millennials know that you have the majority—if you vote, you’re going to get what you want.”
Of Moms Demand Action, Mr. Clark said the group is steadfastly committed to its goal of protecting children from gun violence. “Why not raise money for a group that has some clout?” he said.
Anna Skrenta, Suffolk County-East End Membership Lead of Moms Demand Action and Amagansett resident, said she could not be more grateful for Mr. Clark’s efforts to put together the event. “We are the very lucky benefactors of his hard work,” Ms. Skrenta said of Mr. Clark. She also expressed the sentiments that the issue of gun violence is on the minds of everyone—including schoolchildren—and that advocacy is more important now than ever.
“Our leaders failed us,” she said, “it’s important for us not to become complacent and to take action.”
Ms. Skrenta will also speak at the fundraiser.
Tickets for 108 Sun Salutations are priced between $5 and $500, while those for Young Musicians Unite for Gun Sanity are available for between $15 and $40. For more information on either event, visit mandalayoga.com/events or guildhall.org/events, respectively.
