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<< Previous   of   Next >> Joe Beavers  (click to enlarge) Total Experience Gospel Choir and Ain't No Heaven Seven perform at the 2008 Jazz Walk in Monroe. The groups, as well as Hillbilly Highway, will perform in Monroe on June 20.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, June 13, 2009 Jazz Walk fills 3 Monroe churches with music By Christina Harper Herald Writer The sounds of three very different musical groups will be heard raising the roofs of three Monroe churches on June 20 at the Third Annual Jazz Walk. The fun fundraiser will feature Southern-themed church music and takes place in the 300 block of S. Lewis Street. "My joke is that it's like a pub crawl without the booze," said Joe Beavers of Gold Bar. Beavers acts as project manager for the event and grew up in Texas. He was used to a different style of church music than what he's heard in the Pacific Northwest. "I thought it would be neat to bring those genres in," Beavers said. Jazz Walk is underwritten by FaithChoices, a cooperative ministry that started when four local churches -- Morning Star Lutheran Church, Monroe United Methodist, Monroe Congregational United Church of Christ, and Church of Our Saviour Episcopal -- got together to help in their community. Jazz Walk 2009 is also supported by a grant from the Tulalip Charitable Trust. As part of their goals, FaithChoices decided to offer the public three different musical sounds in three churches over three hours. Performances will be held at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. with enough time to stroll between venues at the end of each performance. "The three churches are close together," Beavers said. After people have gathered to listen to Dixieland music by Ain't No Heaven Seven at Monroe Congregational; bluegrass by Monroe's own Hillbilly Highway at Church of Our Saviour, Episcopal; and The Total Experience Gospel Choir at United Methodist/Morning Star Lutheran, there will be an old fashioned sing-along -- weather permitting -- at 9 p.m. on the steps of Monroe United Methodist Church, Beavers said. All donations from the event will be given to Take the Next Step, a resource and referral agency that helps those in the Sky Valley area work toward self-sufficiency by providing classes, workshops, clothes and shelter. "It's things like this that keep you going," said Janos Kendall director of the drop-in center. "Jazz Walk, I think, is a really great event where everyone can come together and listen to different kinds of music and have fun." They can also learn about what Kendall and her volunteers do at Take the Next Step. Beavers loves the event and is looking forward to listening to the church music of his youth. "Anytime you can go and hear St. James Infirmary," Beavers said. "It's a good night." Christina Harper: 425-339-3491, harper@heraldnet.com. If you go Jazz Walk, 6 p.m. Saturday June 20 on S. Lewis Street, Monroe. 360-794-2111. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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