By popular request, in association with Finbar Hoban Presents, three bands again aim to provide the finest of music while helping to raise funds for C.A.R.I. (Children At Risk In Ireland)!  Friday 14th November at 9pm sees Mulroys Bar Ritz again become the venue for Castlebar's second Charity Rock Ball with Broke 'Till Thursday, Mother Black Cap & Sons of Gingerbread. However this time it is a Rock Ball with a twist as the CARI Cream Cracker Charity Challenge will also be held on the same night! The current world record is 3 crackers (without liquid) in 14.45 seconds & the challengers are attempting to match this record while also seeing how many crackers they can eat in a minute. There are rumours of some serious training being undertaken to be the Cream Cracker Champion around Castlebar, Balla, Murrisk & Louisburg at the moment! Challengers to date include Kieran Biggins, Noel Campbell, Stephen Connolly, Karen Conway, Shane Cunningham, Hassan Dabbagh, Ger Deere, Alice Hunt, Stuart Johnson, Kieran Munnelly, Ruairi Kelly, Shelley McCormack, Philip McDonagh, Paula McDonnell, Ruth O'Connor & Kevin O'Mahoney.

Photo includes: band members from Kneel Before Zod (Kenny McGreal, Vinnie McHugh), Sons of Gingerbread (Adam Cross, Gramham Duffy, Jonathon Fitzgerald, Tom Ricard, Tache) some of the Cream Cracker Challengers (Stephen Connolly, Hassan Dabbagh, Ger Deere, Ruairi Kelly, Kieran Munnelly, Shelly McCormack, Chris Rippingale) Finbar Hoban & Karen Conway.

There is one thing you may have noticed in this list, the girls are seriously out numbered! So, how about it girls? Are you going to let any one of those guys walk away as the CARI Cream Cracker Champion? This is a call to all you Cinderellas out there, make your way to the Rock Ball, never mind Prince Charming & you could walk away as a Champion on the night! On the off chance a cracker goes astray, Castlebar Order of Malta have kindly agreed to be on hand as medical knights in uniform!

Back to the Rock Ball, with the talents of John Duffy of Westcoast Audio at the helm, "Broke 'Till Thursday" comprises of Brian Kennedy (ex Castlebar band "Halyard") & two fellow students who are currently studying for their music degrees in Dundalk IT where they are recording a Demo CD. This Rock/Alternative Trio promises original music & covers from Led Zeppelin, Mogwai, Joe Bonamassa, King’s of Leon, Toto etc. With a huge local following "Mother Black Cap" is a little venture away for Castlebar band "Kneel Before Zod" covering versions including Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Neil Young & Black Sabbath. Final band of the night are "Sons of Gingerbread" who are all outdoor pursuits instructors  who studied at GMIT Castlebar. These guys not only have a former national IT song contest winner as a lead singer, are recording an album of their own material, have played in line ups with Republic of Loose, Preston Reed, Kila & Sharon Shannon but take a blend of soft guitar style, Hawian melodies, crunching hard rock riffs, thundering drums, deep south harmonica or guitar blues and make it uniquely their own!

So besides having a great night where is your hard earned money going to with this Charity Rock Ball? On behalf of CARI, Karen Conway is raising funds to aid Children At Risk In Ireland. Working in conjunction with Childline, Parents, Social Workers & Teachers, CARI is the only voluntary organisation in Ireland providing professional child-centred therapy, counselling and support services to children who have experienced child sexual abuse and their non-abusing family members/carers. They also provide the only specialised helpline in Ireland for anyone with a concern or question about child abuse and also provide training, preventative education and consultancy services to individuals and groups. Further information on CARI can be found on http://www.cari.ie/. or they can be contacted on 1890 924 56.  So while the reasons for raising funds with this Charity Rock Ball are serious, with supporting the night you are not only helping a worthy cause but can be guaranteed a great nights live music!