Supporters of Friends Helping Friends make their way into the Inn At Tamarind Court on Saturday. The group has worked for the past several months to help St. John residents meet the expense of sudden illness and other misfortunes.
Enighed — The Inn at Tamarind Court took on a festive look for the last weekend in July, playing host to events on Saturday and Sunday.
The first event of the weekend was a benefit for three St. John locals by the group Friends Helping Friends. Organizer Lori Krandal said she and her daughter had been putting benefits like this together for three years.
Red and white pennants trimmed the covered patio and the band, Brother Nature, struck up some tunes. A table shaded by a green umbrella invited people coming through the door to enter a raffle drawing. Krandal’s husband got down to business with a spatula behind the grill.
Up the steps, near the tamarind tree, teams of bean bag tossers tried to put the bag in the “cornhole” target as a father with two little girls ushered them towards the bean bag game.
This year’s fundraiser will benefit three people, including island musician Greg Jones. Krandal said she understood the need to suddenly come up with expenses for a life or death situation.
Three years ago it was her husband’s need for cancer treatment that got the fundraising ball rolling. Since then Friends Helping Friend has provided support for other cancer sufferers.
But as 2014 approached, organizers started including others. “Your house could burn down, you could need help,” Krandal said.
Krandal also thanked Stephanie King from Tamarind Court, Mary Heath, Tom Larsen from Sadie Sea, Destiny Thomas and Catherine Kenney for their contributions at Saturday’s fundraiser.
Larsen said he was also waiting to welcome some traveling wounded warriors to the party who were coming to St. John for Sunday’s Chaotic Kayak event, which would also spend part of the day at Tamarind Court.
