Twenty bands, two stages, fifteen hours of music, and a chance to make a difference for many local children- this is what transpired at the Backpacks for Kids Music Festival on June 8th at Casey’s Lanes. This charity concert collected proceeds that aid underprivileged children in La Porte. The successful concert took a culmination of help from local musicians, businesses, and residents.
The day kicked off with a foot-race at 8 am. From there on, it was a day full of music and good times. The bands included: Rock Crue, The Mo Tones, Paradox, Tone Cardinale, C.O.R, the Dan Moore Band, Goliath and Stealing the Farm, Rodney See, Nutshell, George Prellwitz and Nate Miller, Ryan Panos, The Day Nine, Stephanie Daisy and Nanda Danitschek. This eclectic line-up of musicians kept guests entertained for fifteen hours.
Marcus Safirt, singer and bass player for Stealin’ The Farm, said, “This is a great charity cause. It has a good meaning, and we wanted to come out and help. It is going to be a good time and it is going to be good for the kids.”
Additionally, guests at the event could enjoy the beautiful weather by playing a round of corn-hole outside or by browsing beautiful homemade goods that were for sale. Even children could get in on the fun by playing one of the many outdoor kid games. Guests also had a chance to participate in a silent auction where over thirty items were available.
The purpose of the event was to raise proceeds to the ingenious and generous Backpack for Kids program. The program provides children in need with a backpack stocked with six meals and two snacks for the weekend throughout the school year. Tickets for the event sold for between ten and fifteen dollars-enough to feed one child for several weeks. The program is funded through the efforts of The United Way, The Salvation Army, The Food Bank of Northern Indiana, and La Porte Community Schools.
Tone Cardinale, local musician and event coordinator, explained, “There are over 7,700 hungry kids in the La Porte area. Which is staggering, and you wouldn’t think that we have that kind of problem around here. I just started calling everybody, and they were all on board. It took a lot of work, but it is a good cause so everyone was in.”
The day was a great day to enjoy local music while supporting a local cause.