On August 5, 2005, the New Hampshire Sierra Club sponsored a fundraising event at Veteran's Park in Manchester. The purpose of the fundraiser - a concert that featured Lanny the Earthman - was to raise money for the Sierra Club's environmental programs. During a concert intermission, Sierra Club members spoke briefly to the public about Club goals such as preventing mercury poisoning of our public waters and protection of open space.
Lanny the Earthman (Lanny Smith) is a nationally-known environmental activist who gets his message across to the public via his musical talent. His "Earthman Project" which is strictly non-profit, uses music, the arts and technology to create awareness. The project is explained on Lanny's website, earthman.tv. (The website includes several songs that are featured in Lanny's concerts, as well as suggestions for teacher-student environmental activities.) The Earthman Project is based in Florida, and restoration and protection of the Florida Everglades is one of the organization's main goals.
As in other Veteran's Park summer concerts, many of which are sponsored by Intown Manchester, members of the audience bring their own blankets, chairs, etc. and enjoy the presentations from a vantage point of their own choosing.
Manchester was only one stop on Lanny's country-wide 2005 summer concert tour. He enhances his presentation by wearing a colorful "Earthman" costume and including volunteer members of the audience to get his messages across. In the picture shown below Lanny is seen enlisting two such volunteers to explain his themes of "activate" and "educate."
Brian Roche, a Sierra Club intern, assumed the primary responsibility for organizing the event. Brian is shown below at the concert, discussing its proceedings with two other summer interns for the Club. In the background, Lanny (sans costume) can be seen with a friend. Also visible are several tents where food was sold to the audience. The food (pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers etc.) was donated by local stores and restaurants.
Other Sierra Club volunteers participated in concert-related activities. A table was set up in close proximity to the stage and various members assumed the responsibility for distributing copies of The NH Sierran (the Club's quarterly newsletter) and selling apparel with the Sierra Club logo. They also explained the Club's goals and activities, signed up people who were interested in becoming members, and arranged for a raffle that was conducted near the end of the concert.
