Revisiting the life of Daniel Pearl via the Internet, I have been haunted ever since by what I read and saw.
Daniel’s life and death has been immortalized in many ways. The Daniel Pearl Foundation, started by his parents, is now a respected and influential organization worldwide. A Mighty Heart — both book and film– was not only his wife’s memorial to him, but also an impassioned plea for peace and dialogue. He has been the inspiration for songs, poems and other creative endeavors, both by well-known celebrities and unknown artists.
Internationally, university scholarships have borne the name Daniel Pearl, as do conferences supporting peace in the Middle East.
Daniel Pearl’s mission, in addition to journalistic excellence, was to utilize music as a vehicle to foster peace between diverse peoples and hopefully between nations.
Enter Todd Mack! Todd was Danny’s friend from “the Atlanta days.” Todd, who had attended Emory University, stayed on in Atlanta with a band he had put together called “The Cosmic Gypsies”; Danny, who was an excellent folk violinist, became part of that band while covering the Atlanta desk for the Wall Street Journal.
In 1993, the WSJ moved Danny to Washington D.C. By then, most of the Cosmic Gypsies had moved on to other fields. Todd continued performing and wrting music on hiw own. Mack explains, “whenever I had gigs in New York or Washington, Danny would join me. We also played together at each of our weddings.”
Fodfest (the Friends of Daniel Festival) evolved from the friendship and shared philosophy of these two men. While still in Atlanta, Todd celebrated each of Danny’s birthdays with music. In 1998, Todd and his family moved to Sheffield, Mass. The annual birthday celebration grew and evolved. “In 2005,” Todd said, “We took the show on the road.” It’s still going.
Fodfest, not to be confused with the Daniel Pearl Foundation, is a more home-grown creation. As Todd says, “The Foundation tends to perform along more academic lines. Fodfest is more of a people-to-people operation.” Fodfest celebrates by bringing audiences and musicians of all ages, backgrounds and musical genres together to perform, often meeting for the first time on stage. To date, Fodfest has performed in over 50 communities across the U.S. and in Asia, has featured nearly 750 musicians, and has reached thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds.
Jeanne Cassidy and I attended such a concert last October at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT. It was their last concert of the season. The warmth and the spirit of musicians, and the response of the audience was wonderful. We heard everything from polished professionals to a group of small children. We loved it all.
I contacted Todd Mack the next day. He was thrilled to hear about Lakeridge and we are excited that we will be having our own Fodfest at Lakeridge on August 28th! A committee is already at work to make this a wonderful day for Lakeridge residents and guests. We would welcome more volunteers especially to help us on that day. Our Fodfest will also be raising funds for Fodfest itself. There will be great activities all day for children and adults, culminating in a concert at 8:00 P.M.
People have asked me what the money raised is for. Fodfest raises funds that support three community building programs:
Fodfest in the schools educates, inspires and empowers students. Designed for Middle School and High School students, regardless of whether they are training as musicians, the program focuses on the community-building power of music and takes place in local schools or community centers where Fodfest concerts take place.
The Fodfest Abroad program consists of international tours that produce Fodfest concerts and school programs in areas with a history of conflict and with a focus on undeserved communities.
Fodfest Multimedia Productions broadens the reach of Fodfest to a worldwide community via the Internet through music and video projects. The musical message of tolerance and unity counters the exploitive use of the media to propagate hate and violence. Go to www.fodfest.org for more information on each program.
Make sure you, your family and friends are all here this August for what is sure to be an unforgettable experience!

Written by Evelyn Rogoff

Fodfest will be held on August 28, 2010.