Vancouver, WA – A benefit concert featuring Doug Smith, Grammy award winner and US National Fingerstyle Champion, along with Shohei Toyoda, Japan’s National Finger-Picking Champion, will be held Sat., July 2, 5-7 p.m., at Vancouver United Church of Christ, 1220 NE 68th Street.
A $20 suggested donation includes complimentary light food & beverages for the two-hour indoor concert. Donations will benefit both Friends of the Carpenter and Vancouver United Church of Christ. Call or text Harry Smith (360) 768-6454 to RSVP; seating is limited.
Acoustic Guitarist Doug Smith is a Grammy award winner and the 2006 winner of the prestigious Winfield International Fingerstyle Guitar Competition. Smith’s playing has been heard on the big screen in the popular 2007 film August Rush and his original compositions are heard everywhere from NPR to TCM to Martha Stewart to Good Morning America. His playing combines folk, classical and jazz elements and has been called “a cross between Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges.”
Shohei Toyoda was born in Japan and raised in Dublin, Ohio. He moved to Boston in 2004 to further pursue his musical education at Berklee College of Music. In December 2010, Toyoda released his first solo instrumental album, “The Hills Have Ears.” He currently resides in Kyoto, Japan, working as a performing guitarist all over the country.
About Friends of the Carpenter
Friends of the Carpenter was incorporated in Vancouver, WA in Oct. 1998 and began as a vision of a practical outreach of simple welcome and personal interaction between volunteers from the church and people living in poverty. Since the beginning, regular contact has been made with vulnerable members of our community through woodworking events scheduled around the area and which, today, are mostly held at FOC’s Friendship Center. Our mission: Friends of the Carpenter is a non-profit, faith-based day facility that provides safety, structure and purpose for vulnerable members of our community. Learn more at friendsofthecarpenter.org.
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