Monica Offield headlines her own benefit concert

Monica Offield, local singer and songwriter, kicked off and closed the benefit concert held in her name last Sunday evening at Sisters High School.

Offield, a standout performer in the Sisters Folk Festival's Americana Project, has a severe kidney disease, and the show was organized to rally support and raise funds for her medical battle.

Also performing at the event were Dennis McGregor, Brent Alan, Brad Tisdel, Katie Cavanaugh, Patrick Pearsall and current students of the Americana Project.

The event's presenting sponsor was Strategic Mortgage, and there was wide support from local businesses and residents. The concert was organized through Sparrow Clubs USA, and all donations will go through "Sparrow for Monica."

A silent auction was held that kept the intermission lively and included works donated by artists such as Ken Roth and Dan Rickards, and numerous other items were donated to the auction. Some of the bidding was impulsive; others were strategic as some bidders waited on the sidelines until just before the close to submit a bid at the last second.

The event succeeded in raising just under $12,000 for the Offield family, according to Brad Tisdel, director of the Americana Project.

The 18-year-old Offield was diagnosed in 2005 with IgA Nephropathy, a severe kidney disease. Her condition deteriorated during the later part of last year and it became necessary for her to undergo surgery to facilitate dialysis. It is necessary for her to receive dialysis four times per day, and she requires a kidney transplant.

Offield has lived her entire life in Sisters and graduated from Sisters High School in 2006. Her friends, many of whom were involved in the Americana Project, organized the free benefit concert for her and asked her to to be the headliner.

The Americana Project was an outgrowth of the Sisters Folk Festival providing opportunities for young people to learn about, write, perform and record music. Offield was heavily involved in the Americana Project and has performed over 50 times as a student of the program, from Lincoln City to Bend to Prineville.

She has graced the main stage of the Sisters Folk Festival three times as a student and was recently hired as the youngest performer in the festival's 11-year history.

Offield is committed to music, and when asked what she would like to be doing five years from now, she quickly replied, "I would like to be traveling from Folk Festival to Folk Festival. My passion is folk music."

She usually performs solo but is in hopes of forming a full band at some point to better complement her music style and career. Maren Burck, a Sisters High School senior, reminisced about Offield saying, "I have known her since sixth grade. I used to play music with her back when I was in middle school, but I haven't done that for a long time."

Burck said that Offield was much more serious about music than she and really had a gift. Burck explained that she didn't want to miss this concert saying, "I have known Monica for a long time, and I enjoy her music."

She continued to say that she just loved coming to the Americana Concerts. These are events that she and all her friends always make a point of attending.

Offield has a mature outlook on life and when asked what she would like to be doing 30 years from now, her answer required but little thought.

"I would like to be coming back here and going to the Americana camp and being an instructor. Coming here to the high school and performing for the students again."

Dan Purvis, a Sisters High School junior, was enthusiastic about the concert

"I thought it was really good, and the students really brought out their talents," he said. "It was for a really good cause."

Offield says of Sisters, "We have a community that really supports music and that encourages music."

She explained that she has been involved in the Americana Project since she was a freshman in high school. She said that she had friends that were a year ahead of her in school and they told her about the Americana Project while she was still in middle school.

"It sounded so amazing, I knew that I just had to get in," she said. "It changed my life; without it I would not be the person I am today."

For questions about the Americana Project or to donate to Monica Offield, contact Brad Tisdel at 408-0200, or call Sisters High School at 549-4045.