Music festival to benefit community
Fraternity, entertainment agency bring bands together
Posted on August 30, 2007
The brothers of the newly founded colony, Alpha Tau Omega, and the entrepreneurial entertainment agency, Renaissance Entertainment, have joined forces for the first “Rock for R.A.K.” concert benefit in support of the Harrisonburg Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
The day-long music festival kicks off Sept. 2 with an eclectic performance line-up featuring Johnny Action Figure, The Sometime Favorites, The Greg Ward Project, Electric Baby, Live for Live, True Currency and Mike Smith.
Throughout the day, cash, furniture, a grill and other various prizes will be raffled. Music fans can also enjoy the barbeque concessions and refreshments.
“Rock for Random Acts of Kindness” is the perfect example of an innovative, pro-social initiative that unites the JMU student body. Both ATO and Renaissance are based on campus, directly incorporating students and involving the Harrisonburg community.
Local and corporate businesses contributed by donating for raffle prizes and the catering will be provided by Caesar’s. Numerous JMU sororities and fraternities will set up booths to showcase their philanthropy and JMU rangers will provide a measure of security.
Aaron Nussbaum, fund development associate for Big Brothers Big Sisters, acknowledged the potential impact of the festival.
“It’s great to get involvement from the people in the community,” he said. “We are excited about what the fraternity is doing. Even though [Big Brothers Big Sisters] have been in the community for 30 years, we need new resources as we continue to grow and we are excited to have Alpha Tau Omega behind us.”
For the Renaissance partner and ATO brother, junior Chris Ceccotti, the overarching concern is success on Sunday. However, he has greater ambitions for the festival.
“First off, I hope that this year [the concert] gains recognition and people across campus recognize this as a credible annual event” said Ceccotti. “In addition to raising awareness for a charity, we want this to become a bigger spectacle year after year with multiple stages school wide and community acclaim.”
“Rock for R.A.K.” will be held at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds, just off exit 243 from Interstate 81, starting at noon until 7:30 p.m. Admission is $7 at the door, but tickets can be preordered for $5 through jmu-ato.org/events.php. Shuttle bus transportation will be available from Godwin to the Fairgrounds every half hour starting at noon.