New and improved Oxfam Cafe re-opens its doors
With new couches, a fresh coat of paint, and the promise of further renovations to come, Oxfam Caf?© opens this morning to the delight of vegetarians all over campus. The homey, crunchy-chic eatery, located in the basement of Miller Hall, boasts a diverse menu of light vegetarian and vegan fare at prices that are tailored to meet the needs of their student customers.
But vegan vittles are not all Oxfam has to offer. Since its establishment almost 40 years ago, Oxfam has been an uphill mecca for coffee-house indie music. Oxfam's inappropriately titled Midnight Caf?© features live music from area performers beginning at 10:00 p.m. on Friday and showcases local legends like last semester's John Burlock and theMark. This semester, Oxfam adds Jazz Night to its entertainment lineup from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Thursday nights. One of Oxfam's own volunteers, Jeffrey Khoo, headlines this week.
And what jazz caf?© would be complete without a humanitarian cause to advocate? Oxfam Caf?© is a non-profit organization staffed and run solely by Tufts students, and all of its proceeds are donated to the similarly dubbed Oxfam America, a Boston branch of the international aid organization.
According to the Oxfam site and Advertising Manager Anna Feldman ('08), a fundraising event specifically geared toward tsunami relief is in the works for later this month.
Oxfam is open Monday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Midnight Caf?© on Fridays.
A cappella groups team up in a concert for a cause
This Thursday, the Amalgamates, Beelzebubs and sQ! will band together to do their part in the fight against cancer with a joint effort known as "Rockin' for Research." Sponsored by the Leonard Carmichael Society, all proceeds from the concert will be donated directly to the Lance Armstrong Foundation to support cancer research.
Over 33 million LiveStrong wristbands have been sold to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation in its crusade against cancer. Despite the increased awareness and monetary resources the wristbands have raised, more funds are still needed to subsidize medical research for this disease.
In the past year, nearly 1.4 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the United States alone, and over 500,000 fatalities were attributed to some form of cancer, making it one of the leading causes of death in this country.
"Rockin' for Research" is scheduled to take place in Goddard Chapel from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. A minimum donation of $5 is required for admission.<$>
The show must go on
How many musical acts could honestly say that their first concert was not only sold out but received with a standing ovation? Not the Beatles, not Jimi Hendrix, not even Elvis Presley could make such a claim.
And yet that was the case for Innovata, a local brass quintet that has been making quite a name for itself ever since its stellar debut performance in Boston in 1999. This Friday, they grace the stage of Cohen Auditorium with a concert that is sure to be marked by ingenuity, skill and just a touch of sadness over the tragic loss of their trumpeter, Karen Antonio-Muenzinger, to a rare form of colon cancer at the end of last month.
Selected from the upper echelon of classically-trained musicians, Innovata was founded in 1998 by tuba player and Tufts faculty member Michael Milnarik. He had a penchant for eclectic musical styles, performing jazz, music from the Renaissance, Dixieland, among others. His brainchild collaboration is no exception.
Innovata's members come from musical backgrounds that are as diverse as they are critically acclaimed, and the collective sound they produce is consequently one of intense variation, inspired by genres from almost every major cultural and musical movement of the last five centuries. Innovata incorporates its love of heterogeneity into its interaction with its listeners, placing supreme importance on getting to know the separate histories of their diverse fanbase.
The concert starts at 8:00 p.m. and admission to the event is free.
--compiled by Kelly Rizzetta
