The Vandergrift Business Association is bringing live music to town.
The group will debut its Bandergrift event May 30 in Kennedy Park, said Nikol Reed, president of the association.
“This year, we decided we wanted to do something really big in a different part of Vandergrift,” Reed said.
The usual community events are the Gathering on Grant nights. They’re summer markets hosted on Grant Avenue in the town’s business district. They are typically hosted three or four times throughout the summer .
Reed said while Gathering on Grant is still happening, it will be taking place twice this summer.
“We’ve really been putting a ton of energy into Bandergrift,” Reed said.
Bandergrift is a “paws and claws” fundraiser, Reed said.
Starting at noon, five local bands will perform in the park until 8 p.m. DJ Flipside Louie will host karaoke between sets. All of the entertainers are donating their time to benefit two local animal rescues, Tiny Cause and Champions Crusaiders.
Reed said some of the shelters’ animals available for adoption will be at the event for people to meet.
Reed said finding the bands was a group effort. It started with messaging local groups on Facebook and relying on people they know. She said some band members already volunteer for the shelters and jumped at the opportunity to help. Others agreed once they heard about the event.
“We kind of got lucky reaching out to band after band after band,” Reed said. “Everybody was either like, ‘Hey, let us help you,’ or, ‘Oh yeah, we’d love to help you.’ I’ve been so impressed by the outpouring, especially from our entertainers.”
Reed said the event isn’t just for raising money. It also gives people a chance to gather in person.
“You see people on social media, and they are bantering or trolling, and I feel like it creates this animosity and an undercurrent of bad vibes,” Reed said. “But when you see people in person and you have somewhere to go an enjoy a time together, then you realize maybe this town isn’t so bad.”
Bandergrift will feature food trucks, vendors, drinks and children’s activities, as well as 50-50 and gift basket raffles.
The event is free to attend.
Donations to the shelters can be made at zeffy.com before and during the event.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source triblive.com ’
