BY TOM LAVIS
TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM
It looks like land sharks will be out in strong numbers when Jimmy Buffett impersonator Tom Watt returns to Johnstown to heat things up.
Watt will transform Ace’s at 316 Chestnut St. in Cambria City into a tropical paradise when he performs from 8 to 11 p.m. March 28 during the annual Alternative Community Resource Program Buffettman Beach Party.
Watt looks and sounds like Buffett.
His repertoire includes such Buffett hits as “Margaritaville,” “Fins,” “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”
Doors open at 6 p.m. with a happy hour beginning at 7.
“We’ve had different themes and bands over the years, but the Buffettman has been the most successful and most requested,” said Carol Onufro, event spokeswoman.
“We’re still two weeks out from the event and we have already sold over 400 tickets. We can accommodate about 600 people and we have been fortunate to continue selling out the event.”
On beach party night, gift baskets donated by local businesses will be chanced off.
For those who get hungry in paradise, hot dogs, cheeseburgers and nachos and cheese will be sold.
A variety of prizes will be awarded throughout the evening for best-dressed tourist, best Parrot Head hat, best decorated table, male and female limbo contests and hula hoop.
Watt began performing his tribute show regularly in the Pittsburgh area in spring 1998.
By the following year, he was performing Jimmy’s music up and down the East Coast, from Key West to the Carolinas and Virginia Beach.
Onufro said even true Parrot Heads, the nickname for fans of Buffett, will not be disappointed when they see and hear Watt.
“The event has the flavor of a genuine Jimmy Buffett concert experience,” Onufro said.
The Buffettman Beach Party will benefit clients of ACRP and their families.
The city-based ACRP is a nonprofit that serves disadvantaged youth in Cambria, Somerset, Bedford and Blair counties.
Decorations for the event will be made by children in ACRP’s day and evening programs.
“They outline their feet and make drawings of flip-flops, which we will put along the wall,” Onufro said.
“Some of the children write about what ACRP has done for them.”
Funds raised from the beach party also can supplement areas where ACRP might come up short, such as sports equipment.
Proceeds will be used for summer programs for at-risk children and teens at ACRP sites.
“We want the children to have recreational opportunities at our center in Tanneryville,” Onufro said.
“We have a weight room, Wiffle ball, ping-pong, volleyball and soccer.”
The extra monies will pay for educational field trips to destinations such as Carnegie Science Center and Carnegie Museum, both in Pittsburgh.
Onufro encourages people to get their tickets to the beach party as soon as possible.
In addition to individual admission tickets, tables of 10 will be available.
There also are multiple levels of corporate sponsorships.
Tickets are available by calling the ACRP office at 535-2277, ext. 321.
Cost is $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
Fundraiser
Who: Tom Watt.
What: Annual ACRP Buffetman Beach Party.
When: Doors open at 6 p.m. March 28.
Where: Ace’s, 316 Chestnut St. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.
Tickets: 535-2277, ext. 321.
Cost: $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
