By Thereasa Rasmussen
Thursday, December 22nd owner and operators of Pickers Paradise, Joe and Narie Young, donated instruments to Weiser’s Pioneer Elementary and Park Intermediate Schools.
This fall Pickers Paradise started their once a month Open Mic Nights to encourage local musicians to share their talent. Part of the proceeds and donations collected during these events were used to purchase musical instruments for the schools. “All of our customers and friends who come over to the store for Open Mic Night, whether participating as musicians or as the audience, have been donating money. We combined their money with our resources to be able to donate. Our customers have known that this is going to be benefiting area schools,” stated Joe. The Youngs shared that the open mic nights are a very positive environment for those who wish to perform. Those coming to both play and watch are encouraging and supportive. Weiser’s music teacher Victoria Arriero shared that she enjoys seeing the kids who are showing up to Open Mic Night, “They started here at our schools and it’s really exciting to see them giving back and helping to educate the new generation.”
The open mic nights were able to raise five hundred dollars since they started up and Pickers Paradise was able to use that money to purchase percussion instruments such as bells, boomwhackers and even some recorders.“The boomwhackers help teach rhythm and pitch. They are color coordinated so the kids can learn how to read music as time goes on”, explained Arriero. The bells and other instruments are color coded to match so that as students progress through instruments and grades they are able to learn the beginning foundation of music theory and be able to read music.
The Youngs plan to continue Open Mic Night to support local talent and want the community to know it’s a great way for them to support area musicians. By coming to the shows or donating it benefits the performers and local school music programs,“Either way they can do a lot more than they think by just coming and sitting and listening to the music”, stated Joe. As they build up funds they hope to be able to help out other local schools. Open Mic Nights are every first Thursday of the month at Pickers Paradise, 23 West Idaho Street, in Weiser.
Arriero explained that it takes time to build music rooms in schools due to the expense of instruments, “I have gone from having absolutely nothing within my classroom to having something as great as this. To have access to this for the kids and have it at their fingertips, it’s amazing and it’s truly a blessing for our community.” Arriero shared just how thankful she was to Pickers Paradise stating, “We are so completely grateful. I know for a fact that our kids appreciate it. I know that it makes a huge difference within their education. I am grateful to Pickers Paradise for being so amazing and so supportive throughout all the years, not just now. These guys have been in the background for many, many years. We are super grateful to them.”
