This Saturday's Octoberfish event started in two very different places, but have now converged into one at the old Charleston Elementary School.

Shannon Souza was writing a proposal for the Oregon Coast High School of the Arts when she heard about the closing of the South Coast's commercial salmon season.

Since she's a musician, Souza was thinking about doing a show with other area bands to benefit the families of the fishermen.

Two years ago, Knute Nemeth - part of a group called “The Tuna Guys” and a 10-year veteran of the Burning Man Festival in Nevada - decided to do something akin to Octoberfest with fish and began what was a glorified tailgate party with his grill down in the marina in Charleston.

Year two was bigger, he said.

Somewhere along the line, Souza and Nemeth got together and compared notes.

She wanted a benefit festival with music; he had an idea that could use a boost to take it to the next level.

Thus, Octoberfish.

ORCO Arts is presenting the event. Tuna dinners grilled up by “The Tuna Guys” will be served from noon to 5 p.m. Nine bands are scheduled from 1 to 9 p.m.

The event is free, but donations are being accepted to help the families of the fishermen. The money raised will go into an existing account, directed by the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay - Charleston.

“I was thinking of some things we could do with them,” Souza said after hearing of the fishing closure. “Why couldn't we do a music festival?”

“We're musicians, so we started with what we had,” she said.

The group started contacting business and fisheries and found themselves in contact with “The Tuna Guys.”

“Knute will be grilling up 600 pounds of tuna,” she said. “They know how to feed big groups of people.”

That he does.

“The Tuna Guys” got their start at the 1997 Burning Man Festival - by mistake, Nemeth explained.

“Tuna we had caught off the coast, we loined it and iced it,” Nemeth said.

But the buyer for the tuna never showed up.

“We had 1,300 pounds of loin in the desert,” he said. “We needed to do something with it. There's no money exchanged inside Burning Man. It's on the barter system. So we begged and borrowed everything we could get our hands on ... grills, stuff for marinade.”

That was the beginning of “The Tuna Guys.” They are offering their services free of charge. The fish is being supplied by Bruce Burbee of the Charleston-based boat Rainbow. Other food items and the bands' time are also being donated for the event.

Good food and a good time, for a good cause.