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Miami Valley Music Focus explores the places and people behind the music of Southwest, Ohio.

‘Rise Up!’ for a great cause and a fantastic show

On Friday, December 9, The Brightside Music & Event Venue will host the Rise Up!- A Seedling Foundation Fundraiser event. This show is, in its own words (via press release), "is a unique concert experience and a joyful way to raise funds for the Seedling Foundation - the nonprofit that supports the art programs at Stivers School for the Arts.”

For a more detailed description of the fundraiser, press materials from The Brightside Music & Event Venue and The seedling Foundation offer this, "This fun & fabulous live music event features original reggae from Dayton's own The Luv Locz Experiment, a DJ "after party" with Freekbass (Solo Grooves), and some special surprises throughout the evening! We're also hosting a VIP cocktail hour featuring Crabswithoutlegs, a young, Dayton jazz-fusion band comprised of Stivers alumni."

I was curious to know more about not only the show, but the organization behind it, the Seedling Foundation. Christie Baker, Executive Director of the Seedling Foundation, was happy to share details about both subjects.

My first question was, “Who founded the Seedling Foundation?” Baker’s answer was, “ The Seedling Foundation of Dayton Ohio was founded in 1995. Led by Lizabeth Whipps, the Dean of Arts Magnet Programs at Stivers School for the Arts, our initial board members were active members of the Dayton community, including a city commissioner, architect, realtor, CEOs and owners of local businesses. We were fortunate to have some great parents and other community members become board members as we began to grow over the year.”

I was curious to know if Stivers was the only school the foundation worked with. Baker responded, "While we've grown and changed over the years, we remain true to our founding mission of supporting the unique needs of the students at Stivers School for the Arts. The funds we raise each year go to funding our Extended Day and Extended Year arts programs, providing scholarships to summer arts intensives, purchasing consumable materials for each of the 11 arts magnets and so much more. Much of the work that we do could not be accomplished without the strong partnerships that we've formed with other organizations within the broader Dayton arts community.”

The ‘Rise Up’ fundraiser seems like a great idea. I asked Baker about the event’s origin. She said, “ The Seedling Foundation's board of directors have been working on ideas for a signature fundraiser for the foundation for a number of years, but with all that's happened in the world over the last three years, we weren't able to launch until this year. Carli Dixon, our board secretary, owns The Brightside and offered to host the event at her venue. Carli's amazing team at The Brightside, including Libby Ballengee, have been amazing with scheduling all of the acts and handling many of the finer details of the event.”

The last inquiry I had for Baker was about other fundraisers. Have there been any prior events to this recent one? Would there be other shows? Baker explained, "Every February we host the Savor Your Sundays brunch series at Coco's. We weren't able to do it the last few years, so we're looking forward to picking those back up again this year. Each Sunday in February, Coco's diners can enjoy a lovely brunch while enjoying entertainment from Stivers students. Half of the cost of the meal is donated to the foundation. This concert will serve as the first in a signature concert series we're launching, with the next coming up on April 14, 2023. I don't want to spoil anything, but we will offer a special discount on advance ticket sales to those who attend the Rise Up concert! We plan to do one concert in the fall and one in the spring every year going forward.”

There you have it. Next Friday, you can support gifted teens…by gifting them your time.

Event info:
Friday, December 9, 2022
At The Brightside Music & Event Venue - 905 E 3rd St, Dayton

7pm - VIP Doors / Cocktail Reception w live music: Crabswithoutlegs
8pm - General Admission Doors
8:30pm - Luv Locz Experiment
10pm - Freekbass Solo Grooves

**Tickets**
$20 General Admission Pre-Sale (+ $2 ticket fee)
$25 General Admission Day of Show
$75 VIP Ticket - includes early admission, cocktail hour with live music, hors d'oeuvres, and a drink ticket.

All available here - https://www.venuepilot.co/events/63898/orders/new

Miami Valley Music Focus explores the places and people behind the music of Southwest, Ohio. This series is made possible by support from Ohio Arts Council.

Greg Simms Jr. is a veteran content creator and cultural expert who's worked for numerous digital publications over the years. He's a resident of Greene County, but he's always aware of social-cultural events happening all over the Miami Valley. To contact Greg, email him at: grgsmmsjr@gmail.com