Concert: Howie plays yacht club

Concert: Howie plays yacht club - Howard Livingston et al. sitting at a table in front of a television - Music

Concert money equals scholarships, sailing programs

Howard Livingston is known for “Living on Key West Time,” but on Thursday, March 2, he will be living on Marathon time. In the annual fundraising concert, Livingston will play acoustics with bandmates Rick Cleaver and Tim Alpine of the Mile Marker 24 Band at Marathon Yacht Club.

“Marathon is a great city,” said Livingston. “The folks at the yacht club are so wonderful and so generous.”

In the past two concerts, the yacht club has raised almost $50,000 for Howard’s charity of choice, KOA Care Camps for children battling cancer. This year, the concert will raise funds for local youth in the terms of scholarships and the summer sailing camps the Marathon Yacht Club hosts.

“When we started the Marathon Yacht Club Educational Foundation, we wanted to do something for kids here in the Keys,” said Jann Mellman, who is passionate about teaching local youth the ways of the water. The foundation started in 2013, and has since given $20,000 in scholarships to Marathon High School graduates and adults seeking money for marine related industries.

“We really want to increase the number of kids who participate in the summer sailing program,” Mellman said. “We are looking to add a meal program into this summer’s camp. Marathon Yacht Club has already said they would donate three-day’s worth of food for the kids. We are hoping we can find someone else who can donate food on Mondays and Tuesdays when the club is closed.”

Mellman added that Livingston has been so gracious over the years and that the event is open to the public. “We really need the public to come out and support this,” she said. The educational foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) organization from the club, and she has high hopes that the community will continue to support such a worthy cause.

Tickets are $85 and include the musical soundings of Livingston and his bandmates, as well as a silent auction, and food. There will be a cash bar. Doors open at 6 p.m. with Livingston playing from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.mycef.education/.

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Kristen Livengood is a Marathon High School and University of South Florida grad, mom of two beautiful little girls, and wife to some cute guy she met in a bar. She enjoys red wine, Tito's, Jameson, running (very, very slowly), and spearfishing.