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07:41 PM MDT on Saturday, September 10, 2005

Alyson Oüten
Idaho's NewsChannel 7

KETCHUM-- The Dalai Lama made his much anticipated arrival into the Wood River Valley Saturday afternoon under a cloak of secrecy.

KTVB

The Dalai Lama will deliver a message of peace to the Wood River Valley on the anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks.

But it is country crooner Willie Nelson who's taking center stage tonight.

NewsChannel 7 has a backstage pass to the event.

You might not automatically tie Willie Nelson with the Dalai Lama, but there is a legitimate connection here -- all in the name of charity.

Money made from tonight's show will go to the children of Tibet.

During the course of one day Ketchum’s Park N’ Ride was converted into a concert hall, a stage for Willie Nelson, Astroturf for thousands of ticket holders.

Tickets for this sold out show were sold for $40 apiece. The proceeds will go a charity near and dear to the Dalai Lama’s heart.

“This is going to the Tibetan Children’s Fund, so Willie is donating his whole performance fee tonight to that fund, so every dollar that Willie would make tonight is going towards that,” said promoter Paul Thornton, Bravo Entertainment. “We knew from working with the city council of Ketchum that the Dalai Lama was going to be coming in this weekend before it was really announced publicly. We also at the same time were already working on a date with Willie Nelson here, so we kind of called him up and said this is going on, you know, do we want to tie in a benefit, and Willie jumped on the idea and said ‘yeah I love it, let’s do it.’”

Typically, the venue holds 4,000 people, but given the demand for tickets and the worthy cause, organizers are squeezing in an additional 1,000 fans.

“Since the proceeds are going to charity, we all kind of figured, well we’ll make it work, and we think tonight people will be more understanding about being a little more crowded because it is for a charitable cause,” said Thornton.

There is also a special section blocked off for VIP's. In addition to some "A" list Hollywood stars, 20 Buddhist monks are expected to be in this exclusive group.

The show gets underway at 7:30 p.m. Willie Nelson should hit the stage at 9 p.m.

The Dalai Lama will not be in attendance at the concert. We are told he goes to bed early and rises early – about 3:30 a.m.

He will make his first public appearance Sunday afternoon.

Among those hoping to get a glimpse of the Dalai Lama Saturday were a group of local residents lining Sun Valley Road.

Children flew kites in anticipation that His Holiness would drive by and take notice. That he did.

But those well wishers missed it. Without fanfare and for security reasons the Dalai Lama drove right by in an inconspicuous SUV.

However, that didn't dampen their spirits.

“We're so excited. It just such and exciting event to be part of such good will and philanthropy, and spreading compassion to the valley and the rest of the world,” said Theo Koffler, waiting for Dalai Lama.

On Sunday, 10,000 people will be able to see the Dalai Lama as he addresses a sold out crowd in Hailey.