KINGSTON — The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is teaming with Glen Bui of Born To Be Wild to present the Victory Music Festival June 29, 4 p.m., at Mike Wallace Park.
This is a free event created to raise awareness of local children being treated for life-threatening diseases, and to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital where most of the children are being treated.
The headliner is Born To Be Wild, comprised of former members of Steppenwolf, Magic Carpet Ride, Savannah Nix and Pegasus.
The Christine Salazar Band will open.
There will be food and craft vendors, commemorative T-shirts, and the Kingston-North Kitsap Rotary Club Beer Garden.
Bui, Born to Be Wild’s guitarist, and Colleen Carey, Kingston Chamber executive director, planned the event after a benefit concert for “Caring for Carmen” in Poulsbo. Carmen Garringer, 9, of Suquamish is being treated for a rare form of cancer.
The band, Born To Be Wild, now devotes most of its performances to charitable causes. A New Year’s Eve performance at One Ten Lounge raised $1,000 for Coffee Oasis. A 2010 concert in Saratoga, N.Y. raised more than $70,000 for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities and their families. A 2009 concert for the Thurston County Boys and Girls Club at the Great Wolf Lodge raised more than $400,000.
“We’ve all played the arenas and seen thousands of people in front of us. This is a better feeling,” Bui said. “To walk away and know we’ve helped someone, even if it’s one person, it’s the best feeling you can ever experience. It’s better than playing in front of 20,000 people.”
Carey’s hope is that by introducing the children to the community on this large scale, their families will receive an outpouring of help — from financial assistance to child care to yard work.
“The burden on these children and their families is unimaginable to most of us,” Carey said. “I was very young when I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Thanks to the research and care provided by Seattle Children’s Hospital, I survived and now I am grateful for the opportunity to help in any way I can.”
For sponsorship opportunities and to make donations, contact Carey at the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce, (360)297-3813, or email director@kingstonchamber.com.
