Entertainment
February 23, 2018

Hands4Hope Press Day By Sheryl Aronson

By Sheryl Aronson, MFT

 

On February 21st, the organization Hands4Hope held Press Day to welcome media and guests to visit their facility that houses the program and to also talk about the upcoming 18th Annual Serenade Benefit Concert on March 10th.  Lydia Floyd, Founder of Hands4Hope and Jacki Smith, Chairperson for the Serenade Benefit Concert were on hand to greet all the guests.

Artist, Gary Taylor & Lydia Floyd, Founder of Hands4Hope with the kids.

One of the first people to arrive was Gary Taylor, recording Artist, who will be performing at the concert. “Hands4Hope is a very special cause. It’s for children and they are our future. We have to invest in our future. If it means giving up our time and doing the right thing, it’s what we need to do. As far as this particular show, it’s an honor to be a part of it. I get to sing some of my songs but I also get to sing a song my cousin wrote for Bill Withers, “A Lovely Day.”

Gregg Hanley, Nils Jiptner, Art Jackson, Lydia Floyd & Priscilla Valldejuli

The media outlets that attended that afternoon were Art Jackson’s Smooth Jazz Magazine, Gregg Hanley of Hanley Entertainment, and The Hollywood 360. Other guest artists were Gail Jhonson,the Musical Director for the Hands4Hope concert, Smitty Smith, bass player for the band, and Nils Jiptner, who had previously played for one of the benefit concerts.

Lydia Floyd gave a tour of the facilities and the guests were able to see the kids in action at the computers and studying.  Afterward, theHands4Hope kids performed some songs as a vocal group and instrumental rock band.

Please join us on March 10th at the Harmony Gold Theater on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood,  for the 18th Annual Starlight Serenade Benefit Concert as we honor Bill Withers. The show will be hosted by the popular radio personalityPat Prescott, 94.7The Wave and the super funny comedian, Sinbad. The musical performances will be featuring 7-time Grammy Winner Larry Dunn, Greg Adams, Founder of East Bay Soul, Gary Taylor and many other fantastic musicians. There will be a surprise Grammy Winning Artist also there who has just released a new CD and will be performing a song from that album.

You can buy your tickets at:  www.hands4hopela.org

All photos taken by Sheryl Aronson, The Hollywood 360.

Tags18th Starlight Serenade Concert Gail Jhonson Gary Taylor Gregg Hanley Hands4Hope Jacki Smith Lydia Floyd Nils Jiptner Sheryl Aronson Smooth Jazz Magazine TheHollywood 360

About The Author

Sheryl Aronson is an award-winning entertainment reporter for THE HOLLYWOOD 360 and has a blog called Arting Around on AGENDA magazine online (agendamag.com) and in print, available on Amazon.com (type 'agenda magazine' in the search of Amazon.com). She writes profiles on celebrities in the film, music, and theater industries; plus reviews film, theater, music, etc. Aronson covers red carpet entertainment events in Los Angeles. She has traveled extensively and has reported from the East Coast, Europe, and Africa as a published journalist and poet. She is in process of finishing her first non-fiction novel and has a few more books in the works. Having written about countless celebrities, Sheryl Aronson is one of the most prolific entertainment journalists in Southern California to date.