Page 10 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023 Free Concert! Third annual Bread of Life benefit concert in Melrose on June 25 F ormer Malden resident Howie Newman and Joe Kessler, who are also known as Knock on Wood, are anything but a typical folk combo, performing well-known rock covers and funny original songs (suitable for all ages). Their varied repertoire includes everything from Tom Petty to the Beatles to Dire Straits. Knock on Wood (www.howienewman.com/knockonwood) will be playing their third annual Bread of Life benefit concert at First Baptist Church (561 Main St., Melrose) on Sunday, June 25, from 6-7:30 p.m. This outdoor concert is free but donations will be accepted, with a portion going to Bread of Life, a Malden-based food pantry that serves Malden, Melrose and the surrounding areas. The fi rst two annual events drew good crowds and each raised several hundred dollars for this local organization. It’s a family-friendly show that might include some children’s music and songs for senior citizens. No matter what they play, Howie Newman (left) and Joe Kessler, aka Knock on Wood, will play an outdoor benefi t concert for Bread of Life on Sunday, June 25, at First Baptist Church in Melrose their show features excellent musicianship, pleasing vocal harmonies and … lots of fun. Newman (guitar, harmonica, vocals) is the songwriter, and his engaging manner, which includes G-rated comedy and lots of audience participation, has charmed audiences all over New England. Song topics include Smartphones, notso-graceful aging and his wife’s inability to parallel park. A former sportswriter for The Boston Globe, Patriot Ledger, Melrose Free Press and other newspapers, he will also be performing one or two of his many baseball songs, which include “It’s the End of the Curse and We Know It,” an R.E.M. parody. Kessler, who plays fi ddle and mandolin, has an energetic, improvisational style that includes folk, rock, jazz and bluegrass. He has toured extensiveBBB Scam Alert: How to avoid scams when booking a hotel online I f you are planning summer travel, keep an eye out for hotel booking scams. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scam Tracker has gotten multiple reports of travelers falling victim to lookalike websites. Always confi rm you are on the right website before making hotel reservations. How the scam works: You search for hotels in the city you plan to visit. Among the top search results is what appears to be an official hotel website or a legitimate travel booking agency. When you click the link, you fi nd a website with professional photos from the hotel and reasonable pricing. Everything looks normal, so you decide to book a room. You enter your credit card information and check out. However, when you review your credit card statement, you notice you’ve been charged a much higher rate than you agreed. It turns out that you weren’t on the offi cial hotel website after all! You accidentally clicked on a third-party site without affi liation with the hotel. One consumer reported this experience: “I was redirected without knowing it to a 3rd party website… which looked like the hotel website. I made what I thought was a reservation for two nights. But when I got the email confi rmation, I saw that I was charged almost $1,000. I was immediately concerned and located the ACTUAL hotel, and they said that there is no reservation under my name/ email and booking number which doesn’t even line up with the format that they use.” When you contact the company to cancel your reservation, you might not be able to get through to anyone. And even if you do, they’ll likely tell you you’ve made a nonrefundable reservation. The best they can do is cancel your reservation and charge you for it anyway. How to avoid hotel booking scams • Only book hotels through offi cial websites. The best way to avoid this kind of scam is to check and double-check you are on an offi cial hotel website before you enter your credit card information. Scammers are pros at building fake lookalike websites to fool you into giving up your information. Look closely at the URL to ensure you are on the hotel’s offi - cial website or a booking agency you know and trust. • Only make reservations through secure websites. You’ll also want to ensure websites and their payment pages are secure, meaning they start with https:// and display a padlock symbol. If a web page isn’t secure, don’t enter your personal information – and close the tab. • Watch out for misleading ads. Look at search results carefully. Just because a website is the fi rst result on the page doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Watch out for high-ranking ads that scammers could sponsor. • Research businesses you aren’t familiar with. If you fi nd a booking site that looks professional but you haven’t heard of it before, proceed with caution. Search for reviews on third-party websites and keep a close eye out for reports of scams. Never share your personal information with a person or business until you know they are trustworthy. For more information: To plan your next vacation, visit https:// www.bbb.org/all/travel-leisure for more tips and advice. You’ll learn more about best booking practices, staying safe during travel and avoiding scams. If you spot a hotel scam, report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker. Your report helps to boost consumer awareness and stop scammers in their tracks. ly throughout the United States and Canada as well as in eight other countries, performing with Morphine, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the Boogaloo Swamis and many others. The duo will be joined by Newman’s daughter, Jen, on backup vocals. She is a Malden High graduate. “We’re not the traditional guitar-and-fi ddle group,” says Newman. “Joe and I like to keep things up-tempo, do some rock covers and get the audience involved. The idea is to play some great music and have fun.” For more information about Knock on Wood, including videos and music samples, visit www.howienewman.com/ knockonwood. Call for Walkers Register for the 35th Annual Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai O n Sunday, October 1, thousands will participate in the iconic fundraising walk for DanaFarber Cancer Institute to support all forms of cancer research and patient care. Registration is now open for the 2023 Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai. Funds raised from the Walk support all forms of adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at one of the nation’s premier cancer centers, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The details: The Jimmy Fund Walk is the only organized walk permitted on the famed Boston Marathon® course, and participants have the flexibility to choose from four distance options: • 5K walk (from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Longwood Medical Campus) • 10K walk (from Newton) • Half Marathon walk (from Wellesley) • Marathon Walk (from Hopkinton) Whatever route walkers choose, participants will be treated to 10 refueling stations as well as poster-sized photographs of patients – Jimmy Fund Walk Heroes – displayed at each mile and half-mile marker as inspiration. All four routes of the Jimmy Fund Walk will culminate at the Jimmy Fund Walk Finish Line Powered by Schneider Electric. Due to construction in Copley Square, the Jimmy Fund Walk Finish Line location has been moved to the Fenway neighborhood for 2023. Walkers should know that distances might be slightly shorter, as we fi nish the walk in front of Fenway Park. The fi nish line will include a celebration complete with food, music and a speaking program. If walkers wish to participate a bit closer to home, the Jimmy Fund Walk has fl exible opportunities. Participants can also join the event virtually by “walking their way” from wherever they are most comfortable: in their neighborhood, on a favorite hiking trail or on a treadmill at home. Virtual programming and supporting materials will be available. The 2023 Walk will be held during the Jimmy Fund’s 75th anniversary year and will aim to raise $9 million in the eff ort to prevent, treat and defy cancer. The Jimmy Fund Walk has raised more than $167 million for Dana-Farber Cancer in its 34-year history, raising a record-breaking more than $8.8 million in 2022. Funds raised from the Walk support all forms of adult and pediatric paMARATHON | SEE Page 18
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