Café Kubal is hosting Water Ball Friday evening, an event that will raise funds and awareness for Charity: Water, in the hopes that it will spark fundraising for the rest of the year.

“Charity: Water builds wells and water systems in areas that we get our coffee beans from. It was a no-brainer,” said Nate Palumbo, project manager for the Water Ball.

All of the proceeds from the event will go toward building wells and water systems in water scarce areas. Aspects of the event include live music, food and drink, a cash bar and a silent auction. The event is a scaled back version of the annual Water Ball hosted in New York by Charity: Water, according to the event’s website.

“It’s going to be a kickoff for us raising funds for them throughout the year,” Palumbo said.

One of the more original aspects of the event is an activity called the “Water Walk,” an activity in which participants carry heavy jugs of water down a walkway, simulating what it is like to live in areas with insufficient water access, said Amy Bleier-Long, social media and marketing manager of Sky Armory.

The event is scheduled to take place at Sky Armory, a recently opened event space in Armory Square. Café Kubal is a “Sky Partner” with the company, providing coffee drinks for Sky’s events for the past year. Therefore, it was natural for the event to be held at Sky, Bleier-Long said.

“We’ve been working with them closely,” said Bleier-Long. “One of our philosophies is to stay as local as we can, especially with food and drink.”

Refreshments include appetizers prepared by the in-house Executive Chef Jason Jessmore, in addition to coffee and desserts from Café Kubal. Some of the items include shrimp cocktail and macaroni and cheese.

The event will also feature live music from a DJ, as well as local band Early Bird, which plans to play songs from its first album alongside songs from its upcoming album.

“We really want to show people that our music is really good music,” said R. Aaron Walters, Early Bird vocalist and guitarist.

Water Ball is the band’s first charity event.

Early Bird booked the gig when a member of the band, who works at one of the Kubal locations, asked if they could perform at the event. Palumbo decided its music was perfect for the audience they were catering for, Walters said.

“He didn’t want jazz because that applies specifically for adults, but he also didn’t want to only have a DJ that only applies to a younger crowd,” Walters said. “He believed we would be a really nice middle ground.”

The event will start at 7 p.m. at Sky Armory. Tickets can be purchased on Café Kubal’s website. There are a variety of pricing options, from couple’s packages to group discounts.

“They give us business by providing our beans, so we return the favor by giving them clean water,” said Palumbo. “Water is super essential to everything people do. I don’t think people realize how important water is in this country.”

 

Published on January 28, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Hanna: hrhorvat@syr.edu