A charity concert for the Thailand Flood Relief mission was held at the Silver Lake vineyard on Saturday the 5th of November. This event was initiated by the embassy of the kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangkok, the International Jazz Festival Alliance Foundation, and co–sponsored by many sectors including Silver Lake Entertainment, True Visions, JSS Production, Furama, and Pattaya Mail Media Group.
Hank the Groove band took the stage to warm-up the audience before the main performance by the Dutch Swing College Band which is regarded as Holland’s premier swing band and the best Dixieland jazz band in Europe.
This band was established in 1945 and has been going strong ever since, touring all five continents and entertaining fans with their great jazz repertoire. Their performance in Thailand, led by Bob Kaper, included many of HM The King of Thailand’s compositions.
Henk Cor van der Kwast, Deputy Head of Mission at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, hands a cheque for 250,000 baht to Chonburi Governor Wichit Chatpaisit (left), to help with the flood relief effort.
By the end of the night, about three hundred thousand baht was raised from ticket sales and donations, and all proceeds were handed over to the Governor of Chonburi, Wichit Chatpaisit, to help the people who have been affected by the floods and who took shelter at the Chonburi evacuation center.
The Dutch Swing College Band perform at Silver Lake vineyard, Saturday, Nov. 5.
Khun Wichit said to date there are over 10,000 people at the Chonburi shelter, most having come from neighboring flooded provinces, especially Bangkok. He said the first few days he only saw their tears and sufferings as many had lost their homes and almost all of their possessions. Some had not eaten for days.
The band gets the audience up on its feet dancing.
After about a week of receiving care and support at the center, they are slowly coming back to life and getting motivated again. Governor Wichit thanked all those who attended the concert and donated money to the cause.
We hope that once the water recedes those who were affected by this massive flooding, which is on record as being the worst in Thailand in over 50 years, can rebuild their lives and get back to normal again as soon as possible.
The Dutch Swing College Band pose for a group photo at the conclusion of the concert.
