SHERBURNE – An art auction, along with Japanese cuisine, folk music and story telling will be among the featured offerings at a benefit for Japan on Saturday, April 30 in Sherburne.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. within St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church parish hall on East State Street, concerts are scheduled with these performers: Emilie & Zak at 10 a.m., Brian Murphy, at 10:30 a.m., Treasure at 11 a.m., Pat Houghton at 12:30 p.m., Tomoko Gurbo at 1 p.m. and the Jennie Williams Blues Band at 1:30 p.m. Arline Saiki of Edmeston and other readers will open the event at 9 a.m. with Japanese story telling and an origami demonstration.

Benefit organizers Saiki and Gurbo hope to raise a substantial amount of money for the non-profit Japan Society. All the donations after the expenses will go to four organizations which the Japan Society funds and which work for the people on the front lines, following the March 11 earthquake, and related tsunami and nuclear power plant radiation fallout, Gurbo said.

A silent art auction will close at 2 p.m., with the winning bidders’ names announced during the last hour of the event. It will feature paintings, drawings or prints from Doug Jamieson, Gail Bunting, Carl Houghton, Walter Gurbo, Simone Mantellassi, Zena Gurbo and more. Saiki also contributed a few Japanese shadow boxes. Winning bidders are asked to pay before the benefit ends, organizers said. Maryann Stow’s paintings and Elizabeth Neils’ potteries will also be featured.