Faro aims to raise $50k for pediatric patients

LACONIA — Faro Italian Grille raised $30,000 for the 2018 CHaD Baseball Classic, and the restaurant is pulling out all the stops to beat that number this year.

Last year’s figure was raised primarily by raffling off an Indian motorcycle. This year, the restaurant is offering a custom-made motorcycle as its raffle prize, and is also auctioning off a vacation package.

All the money raised will be donated to the 2019 CHaD Baseball Classic, which pits a team of firefighters against a roster of police officers for a game played Aug. 2 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester, the park that the New Hampshire Fisher Cats call home.

Ticket sales and other revenues from the game will go to programs that support the patients and their families as critically ill children seek the treatment they need. Every dollar raised at Faro will support CHaD patients, said Faro manager Bri Heney.

First up is the motorcycle. It’s a bike built by Providence Cycle Worx of Austin, Texas, a shop run by Xavier Muriel, former drummer for the rock band Buckcherry. The motorcycle, on display at the restaurant, is valued at $30,000, said Heney, though its winner can ride it home for just the $25 cost of the winning ticket.

The tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased in-person at the restaurant, by calling the restaurant at 603-527-8023, or by emailing figrestaurant1@gmail.com.

The bike has been attracting attention at the restaurant’s entrance, Heney said.

“People have been buying tickets already, that’s for sure.”

Muriel is offering more than just a motorcycle for the effort. He will be in New Hampshire for the last several days of Motorcycle Week, Heney said, and is expected to be at Weirs Beach on Thursday, June 13. He will spend Friday visiting with patients at Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, and then on Saturday, June 14, he will be back at Weirs Beach for CHaD Appreciation Day at the Laconia Roadhouse. Muriel will be a guest participant in the CHaD ride, which leaves the Roadhouse at 10 a.m. on Saturday and returns at 1 p.m. Later that afternoon, the winning ticket will be drawn for Muriel’s custom bike.

Then, during July, Faro will hold weekly CHaD days, Heney said. One night each week, the restaurant’s deck will be reserved for special drink samples and hors d’ouvres, and people who buy tickets to the event will also have the chance to bid on a silent auction for a trip to the Bahamas.

“I really want to do $50,000,” said Heney. “We have a lot more going on now, so I hope that will bring some more money in.”