By Judy Schuler
Celebrate Summer Solstice while supporting community radio with live music, beer and food.
WRFA-LP (107.9 FM, Jamestown) and Southern Tier Brewing Company are teaming up to present the tenth annual Great American Picnic – an evening of friends, food and live music performed by a variety of local and regional musicians. This year’s theme is “All Fired Up: Music from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Artists!”
The Great American Picnic will run 5-9pm. Tuesday, June 21, at the Southern Tier Brewing Company’s Empty Pint, 2072 Stoneman Circle, Lakewood, with plenty of outdoor seating and space. Proceeds will benefit WRFA.
Musical acts, celebrating the artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, include Juda H. Priest (Chris Lee & Friends), Backlog, Cold Lazarus, Cindy Love & Her All Star Band, Porcelain Bus Drivers, Gary Peters Jr. and Matthew Larson. All performers are volunteering their time and talent to perform on the outdoor stage, and all songs will be recorded for later broadcast on WRFA.
Purchase of a $20 ticket to support WRFA includes two complimentary Southern Tier beers and one complimentary ticket for the WRFA Gift Basket Giveaway. The gift basket will include items from a variety of local businesses, including Full Moon Bakery, the Biodome Project, Jamestown Skate Products, Labyrinth Press Company, and many more. Additional basket tickets and limited edition WRFA T-shirts along with 50/50 raffle tickets will be sold on premises.
Members of the WRFA Community Advisory Board will be on hand to sell hot dogs, all proceeds from those sales goes directly to the station. (Southern Tier Brewing will have their full menu on hand as well at the Empty Pint)
Tickets are available at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts box office, by calling (716) 484-7070 or at reglenna.com. Attendees can also purchase a ticket at the brewery the day of the event.
WRFA is the only locally owned, non-religious radio station in Chautauqua County. Licensed by Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, the non-commercial, listener-supported radio station is dedicated to providing access to the arts, cultural and educational programming, and a forum for the discussion of public affairs. In addition, WRFA provides community outreach through programs at area public schools, through its monthly “Community Conversation” live public affairs series, and with its new, recently launched “I Remember” oral history project. The station also relies on participation from local volunteers, who produce a wide variety of news, cultural and entertainment-related programming.
Station Manager Jason Sample stated, “This is a huge annual event and we are happy to invite everyone in our communities out to visit and enjoy the entertainment while supporting Jamestown’s only locally owned radio station!”
This event is made possible by Save a Lot Foods in Jamestown and Lakewood, Southern Tier Brewing Company and Empty Pint and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. Further information is available at wrfalp.com, reglenna.com, and on WRFA’s Facebook page.