PWR's Paretti Plays to Packed Uptown

Parents Who Rock's Ellen Paretti played to a packed house last night (Note: An icy Thursday night in a down economy!) at Uptown Bistro, and helped raise money for Little Kids Rock in the process. Read more from Kristen Kemp's great blog, Montclair Kids:


Kids & Music Invade Restaurant to Raise Money

Susan Pinkwater, owner of the Uptown Bistro, was brave last night. At 5:30 pm, all 52 seats in her Upper Montclair restaurant were filled. At least two-thirds of her patrons should've been ewring bibs--and she told me she totally didn't mind.

What seemed like 6,000 kids--three of them mine--were calmly, quietly and politely eating their food for a Parents Who Rock fundraiser to raise money for Little Kids Rock, the nationwide organization that's based in Montclair. The children were not running all over the place as artist Ellen Paretti tried to sing. They were not throwing French fries all over the floor. And they definitely were not whining for dessert.

We parents know kids never do things like that.

Pinkwater offered to host the event and donate 5 percent of the proceeds to Little Kids Rock, which is working with PWR to raise $50,000 for music education in our local public schools.

Uptown will host the same event next Wednesday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m. Music for Aardvarks' Alisa Harmon will sing. And certainly, many kids will be on their best behavior. After such a large crowd last night, reservations are recommended, 973-744-0915.

But wait, I heard from a reliable source--well, Pinkwater--that Uptown won't be called Uptown by next Wednesday. She's closing Uptown on Sunday evening and reopening it on Tuesday, February 3 under a new, top-secret name for the beginning of Montclair's Restaurant Week. I begged her not to take her sirloin burger off the menu, and her smile suggested she won't.

Want to have some fun fundraising without kids? This Saturday, January 31, Parents Who Rock will host an adults-only show (not that kind of show) at Diva Lounge to benefit Christ Church Soup Kitchen in East Orange from 7 to 10 p.m. It costs $10 at the door.

(All photos courtesy Kristen Kemp)