Pima County Fairgrounds to Hold Mega-Music Event
Family Focus, plus Fundraising Opportunity for Our Community
By Jennifer Boughton
Now is the time to get involved with the Vida Music Festival www.atcvida.com or mark your calendars for Saturday,
October 27th to attend this all day
community-wide festival and celebration planned for the Pima County Fairgrounds.
This multi-faceted event will offer fabulous live music and entertainment on six different stages, as well as including a Family Hall, Kids Fun Site, Exhibition Area and Food Vendors. Designed to support collaborative community-building in Southern Arizona, ticket sales are intended to generate financial support for local youth groups, schools and non-profit organizations through a lucrative revenue sharing opportunity.
“The Vida Music Festival is a great way to achieve successful fundraising for youth based and nonprofit organizations”, states James Oviedo, CEO and President of ATC (Always Thinking Community) the organization hosting the event. “Even with tickets reasonably priced at only $15 (per person) for the entire day, one-third of every sale ($5) can be designated to return into the community through the participating non-profit”.
As the Performers list continues to grow, Vida is quickly proving itself as a family friendly venue that will include music of all genres. Periodically updated with new participants, including information on how to participate, the website (www.atcvida.com) also encourages local vendors, exhibitors and other sponsors to still get on board.
Current line-up indicates that attendees will enjoy the popular smooth jazz
sound of The Les Baxter Factor, be entranced by Guitarist Extraordinaire
Edgar Cruz or possibly even unwind with the early evening jazz performance
from Spyro Gyra, whose innovative and eclectic sensibility has earned the
band nine GRAMMY nominations overall, and fueled the sale of 11 million records – including
one platinum and two gold records.
And that’s just on one stage.
Vida offers simultaneous concerts on multiple stages featuring various genres. A day designed to be fun for the entire family, attendees can choose from concerts featuring (but certainly not limited to); Country, Pop/Rock, Spiritual, Reggae, Rap, Latin, Jazz, Bluegrass and more. The initial lineup of attending musicians is impressive, and ranges from local favorites to national icons.
Unique performers already confirmed for this versatile line-up, include
Grammy nominated Thom Bresh, son of legendary country music performer Merle
Travis and 2001 inductee into the Thumbpickers Hall of Fame, as well as Roger
Clyne and the Peacemakers who offer a distinct flavor of desert-inspired
county Rock-n-Roll recognized by such media outlets as The Washington Post
as a mixture of ‘passion and whimsy’ and The Arizona Republic
as ‘brim[ming] with craftmanship’.
Although the stage(s) will feature over 40 artists whose successes are too numerous to list, it is the design of Vida and its ability to give back to the community that remains most impressive. A fundraising opportunity with unlimited potential and wide-spread family appeal has been long overdue for the non-profit sector of Tucson. With ATC planning Vida as an annual function, it’s possible that Tucson may finally have a venue that is a win-win for families everywhere.
“Can you imagine if a high-school football team sells only 5 tickets per player, with only 40 players on the team?” asks John Henning EVP and CCO of Always Thinking Community, “That’s 200 tickets sold and $1,000 in donations back to the football team! What other fund-raiser can generate that sort of return, and guarantee a family-friendly event that will bring an entire community together?”
Even in its infancy, Vida has already proven that it has the power to pull
in the entertainment – but will the non-profits and Tucson families
take advantage of this new opportunity? ATC plans for an attendance of over
20,000.
If you are interested in selling tickets to benefit your organization or would like to purchase tickets for the event, there is still time – qualifying non-profits can call 663-1383 for fundraising ticket order forms or consignment ticket information (fundraising sales conclude October 15th). Individual tickets will continue to be sold through ATC up to the day of the event (including at the gate). If you would like to rent booth space, sign up as a food vendor or become a sponsor, please contact atcvida@gate.net or call 663-1383 for further details.
If you go: Festival runs from 10am to 10pm, Saturday, October 27, 2007. Children 8 and under are free, General Admission is $15, parking at the Fairgrounds is $5 per car. VIP tickets are available at $100/ea. and include VIP area, 2 meals, VIP Shirt, preferred parking. Proceeds will benefit youth groups, schools and nonprofit organizations in Southern Arizona.
More Performer Info:
Spyro Gyra
A marathon runner in the arena of contemporary jazz, Spyro Gyra has maintained
the well-deserved reputation as a viable and highly versatile creative
force in contemporary jazz. In the midst of the achievements and accolades,
Spyro Gyra keeps moving having logged over 5,000 high-energy performances
in their prestigious and prolific career.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers
Offering a unique desert-inspired country Rock-n-Roll flavor, Roger Clyne
and the Peacemakers has traveled the country bringing rave reviews wherever
they perform.
Thom Bresh
Thom Bresh, Guitarist Extraordinaire, performs through amazing precision,
speed and complexity with which his fingers strike the strings of his guitar
creating a symphony of sound unusual to one instrument.
Edgar Cruz
Each year Edgar Cruz performs over 200 concerts and has played throughout
America, Europe and South America. He has been a headliner at The Chet
Atkins Festival in Nashville, TN since 1995 and is a strong icon at most
festivals in OK including Sunfest, Paseo Festival, Festival of the Arts,
Global Oklahoma and more.
The Les Baxter Factor
Since its formation in 2002, The Les Baxter Factor has been on a meteoric
rise to prominence in the international jazz community, especially after
their debut CD, THE CHRONESTRIAN, reached the top 10 on international jazz
charts. Their concerts and performances have covered the entire Southwest
US, and their songs are aired internationally. This is definitely not your ‘ho-hum,
elevator-music’ jazz band!
Also scheduled to appear:
Visit www.atcvida.com for
a complete list of performers and additional details.
Sponsored in part by
Good News Communications,
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940 and KLOVE 88.1
© 2008 Good News Tucson
