If you would like to help the Ventura band Blue Stew make its way to Memphis next month to compete in the 24th annual International Blues Challenge, come out to a fundraiser Thursday night in the Ventura Harbor Village.

The event will run from 6 to 10 p.m. at Hi-Cees BBQ Cafe, 1591 Spinnaker Drive.

Blue Stew is a popular mainstay on Sundays at Hi-Cees, where it has played for many years.

Fundraiser T-shirts will be for sale during the Thursday event. Tickets, $20, will be sold at the door; they will include a buffet meal, beverage and a raffle ticket.

A blues jam session featuring Blue Stew and a variety of other bands will highlight the evening.

Diehard Blue Stew fans Roxanne and Hank De La Cruz of Carpinteria plan to be there.

"We just believe in the guys; they're such a great group," Hank said, "not just great playing their music, but they're great people."

The De La Cruzes also number among about 20 local fans who already have purchased plane tickets to Memphis to watch Blue Stew compete against about 150 other bands on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

The De La Cruzes bought their tickets after watching Blue Stew win an Oct. 27 regional competition in Santa Barbara, earning the band a spot in the International Blues Challenge.

"I told my husband right there and then, if they win this thing, we're going to Memphis," Roxanne said.

The Santa Barbara Blues Society, which sponsored the regional competition, is donating $1,500 toward the band's trip, but it's not enough for room and board for the four band members. So Greg Launert, the manager of Hi-Cees, decided to organize a fundraiser to help the musicians out.

Blue Stew band member Randy Kizer is overwhelmed by the support.

"That people are going to Memphis, that's a mind-blower to me," he said. "They're reaching into their own pockets to go because they want to support us."

Blue Stew, which has been together for 12 years, specializes in what Kizer describes as "New Orleans-style, Chicago-style blues." Kizer plays drums, Kirk Maxson is the bassist, Mike Miller is lead guitarist and vocalist, and Steve White plays a number of instruments.

"He's our secret weapon," Kizer said of White. "In addition to singing, he plays saxophone, keyboards, guitar, harmonica and flute."

Blue Stew won the regional competition with four original songs composed by Miller, the band songwriter.

"I'm not one of these people who sit here and ideas come into my head," said Miller, when asked about his creative process. "I have to make a conscious effort."

Miller said he pens everyday phrases that people use, then tries to fit them into lyrics that will provide a slightly different twist to the "19 billion love songs" already out there, he said.

Miller and Kizer were both pleased that a band of veteran musicians is getting this sort of recognition. All four men are in their 50s.

"Blues is one genre of music where it doesn't matter how old you get," Miller said. "The older you get, the more you're respected."

Still, Miller said he's going to keep a level head as he and the band compete in Memphis.

"I have to stick with the pessimist that I am," he joked. "They're not going to give it (the prize) to a bunch of old farts like us. They're out to find the next big thing to pass the torch along."

A more optimistic Kizer explained that, if Blue Stew does win, the band will get a collection of national performance engagements, recording time and a number of other prizes. Kizer plans to win, and nudge the international blues spotlight toward Southern California.

"In addition to bringing back a big fat trophy, we'll put Ventura on the map like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy did," he said.