Battling cancer is a daunting feat for anyone. For Robert and Rebecca Bluestone of Santa Fe, N.M., the feeling could not have been more terrifying.
“I thought it was a death sentence,” 62-year-old classical guitarist Robert Bluestone said about his wife’s cancer. “It was awful for me.”
After being diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer in 2001, Rebecca Bluestone underwent six treatments of chemotherapy during a span of six months ending in January 2002.
During that period, however, Rebecca Bluestone, a professional weaver, wove eight tapestry pieces. Through her weaving and his music, the couple found solace.
“[Robert] nursed her back into health with his music,” said Charles Swanson, the director of Hancher Auditorium, who learned about the couple’s story when they were presented during the 2007-2008 Hancher season.
Hancher, along with the UI College of Public Health and the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, will host a fundraiser for the Iowa Health Care Program at the Orchard Green Restaurant and Lounge, 521 S. Gilbert St., today at 6 p.m. Ticket prices are $30 and include food and drinks. All proceeds will go to the project and the Bluestones’ travel expenses.
The project aims to bring the Bluestones to seven cities across the state to promote artistic health care to cancer centers. In addition to Iowa City, the other towns are Spencer, Carroll, Des Moines, Grinnell, Davenport, and Burlington.
“[The Bluestones’] mission is using the arts to help people deal with life-threatening illnesses,” Swanson said.
The couple, who will not be in attendance at today’s event, is set to arrive in mid-April and finish their three-week sojourn at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center in early May.
Events include two days of resident activities focused on creativity [performance and storytelling] and one day of music and weaving for patients and providers.
Hosting an event of this caliber couldn’t have come at a better time for Chef Bryan Herzic. The Chicago-born Wisconsinite and former executive chef of Fresh Food Concepts Inc., 250 12th Ave., Coralville, will open the Green Orchard with the event. The restaurant will be open to the public Friday at 5 p.m.
The establishment will serve contemporary American cuisine with a Mediterranean flair.
The menu is set to change seasonally and will run the gamut of options of seafood, five different types of steak, and even some game entrées. So far, the buzz has caught on.
“I had a reservation after the first 20 minutes I hooked up the phone system,” said Herzic, who had another reservation for 50 people after he finished building the lounge chairs with his two children.
Apart from the cavernous main dining room, the restaurant will also have a downstairs lounge that will feature various imported beers from Belgium on draft, as well as wine and live music.
The name that Herzic chose evoked childhood memories of growing up in a farm in Wisconsin and his love with the seasons the Midwest offers.
“That’s what it symbolizes, relaxed and classy,” he said.