When, on Jan. 12, a magnitude 7 earthquake crumbled Haiti, many men and women around the globe asked themselves what they could do to help.

In Dunn, N.C., Irvin Warren, president and CEO of Warren Oil, initiated an effort to host an outdoor concert and party on a large plot of land—a pasture party—to raise money to fly local physicians to aid in Haiti’s recovery.

Paula Cameron, pasture party event coordinator, explained, "The man who runs Warren Oil is a good-hearted country music-loving guy who likes to take on philanthropic efforts, and because he loves country music and he had a relationship with Sammy Kershaw …they connected and said ‘let’s do this. Let’s raise some money for these earthquake victims,’ and that’s pretty much how it started."

On May 22, Kershaw, a Country Western artist, headlined the show for a nominal fee, along with four other bands. The efforts helped raise enough funds to send 20 physicians from the Wilmington area to Haiti, all expenses paid, with the leftover money donated back to the benefitting nonprofit.

A second catastrophe hit home for the Louisiana-born Kershaw, when on April 20, the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico caused 11 deaths and continues to threaten the marine ecology and the livelihoods of watermen and fishermen, and the economy that depends on them.

So, Warren and Kershaw decided to team up again for an encore concert.

This time, the pasture party—in an attempt to draw a larger crowd—will be held in a 42-acre field off of U.S. Highway 17 in Hampstead, where the North Carolina Spot Festival is annually celebrated.

With a goal of raising $100,000 for the nonprofit organization www.protectourcoastline.org, of which Kershaw is the spokesman, the Pasture Party on the Coast, planned for Oct. 12, is an attempt for one coastal community to help another.

Though the event is months away, planners are calling on business owners and locals to help make their effort possible.

"First, we have to fund it before we do ticket sales, and . . . how we do with our sponsorship commitments is going to determine if we’re able to pull this off or not," explained Cameron. "If we haven’t met our short-term goal for sponsors then the event won’t happen, and that would just be a shame because it can be a really great and exciting event and opportunity."

All levels of sponsorship are appreciated and all money will go directly to party preparations and www.protectourcoastline.org for the Gulf Coast’s recovery.

To find out more, call Cameron at (919) 820-0366.