Survivors to play at Swing Cats Cocktail Party

BRANFORD » The Branford Compassion Club feline rescue and adoption organization has something to swing about. BCC is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a Swing Cats Cocktail Party May 19 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club (2 Club Parkway).

Attendees will be transported back in time to a 1940s nightclub and get “in the mood” with dancing to the spirited music of the aptly named Survivors Swing Band, a seven-member professional ensemble playing 13 instruments, inspired by its lively 95-year-old sax player Jules Bashkin. As for dress, ’40s attire is optional. Tickets are $75 a person, available through brownpapertickets.com or by emailing bccspecialevents32@gmail.com.

As Branford Compassion Club has survived and grown from a group of concerned cat lovers working out of their homes to an 80-plus-member organization of volunteers with its own Feline Rescue & Adoption Center at 2037 Foxon Road in North Branford, the Survivors gleefully carry on their mission to keep alive the music of Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and other musical giants of the 1930s and ’40s.

“I’m so proud of all our dedicated volunteers and supporters who have helped Branford Compassion Club reach this amazing milestone,” said BCC President and Shelter Manager Patricia Cotton. “It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s all worth it when you see homeless cats and kittens go home to loving families and know that we make a difference in the everyday lives of those lessfortunate cats whom we care for in our area colonies. We celebrate all that, and look forward to more decades of compassion.”

BCC’s founding members — Eunice Lasala, Ann Marie Lorello and the late Friskie Wheeler — bonded over a common concern about the growing population of feral cats in the area. To alleviate cat hunger and suffering, they formed Branford Compassion Club in November 1997, working out of their homes to feed, trap, neuter and release the cats to colonies, which now number about 10 along the Shoreline. They never dreamed that one day BCC would operate its own shelter, which, since its opening in February 2011, has found homes for more than 1,300 felines.

The Survivors, who have a musician in each age group from the 50s to the 90s, have played more than 350 gigs — many to standing ovations, they note — all over the state since their start in 2011, with a nostalgic repertoire of danceband music of the swing era. Next month, they will perform at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven.

“We’re really proud of that,” says Bashkin of the invitation, which came after they pitched themselves to the festival. “We called and told them what we do, and they checked us out and called back. … It’s good for us, and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

In addition to dancing and generous hors d’oeuvres stations, there will be a silent auction featuring such items as a New Haven restaurant tour led by Register food writer Stephen Fries; gift certificates to area beauty, health and restaurant establishments; a tour of WTNH News 8 with anchor Darren Kramer; a New Haven night on the town with Shubert Theater and Shell & Bones gift certificates; a chef series KitchenAid mixer by celebrity cook Betty Ann Donegan; works by local artists such as cut-paper artist Martha Link Walsh and fiber artist Owen Luckey; home items; wine baskets and much more.

Cotton notes that this event is one of only two major annual fundraisers that help defray the considerable expense of keeping the privately funded nonprofit shelter open and vibrant. The other is Animal Awareness Day, Oct. 1 on the Branford Green, featuring the Blessing of the Animals.

BCC’s Feline Rescue & Adoption Center is open to the public Saturdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. To donate or volunteer, visit branfordcompassionclub.org or call 203483-6369.

CONTRIBUTED Jules Bashkin