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The event will be held on Saturday from 12:30 - 10 p.m. and will continue on Sunday from 1:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Herman Park Pavilion, located at Woodland Ave. and S. Green St. The event raised $2,005 for the Red Rock Area Community Action food pantry last year.
The annual event will feature musical acts all weekend as well as meals for $5, T-shirts for $15 and an auction, with all funds raised going to the Red Rock Area Community Action food pantry at 606 Greene St. Those who attend the event are asked to donate a non-perishable item, can good or to make monetary donation to the food pantry.
Don Ely, of Boone, is the master of ceremonies for the event as well as the Pavilion Jam Committee chairman. The Pavilion Jam Committee consists of 16 people, who work together to gather sponsors and musical acts.
Ely took over the job as committee chairman in 1999, when Jim Haberer, of Boone, asked him if he could fill the position due to funding issues. The Pavilion Jam started out with Haberer running it in 1991 and was put on at that time by the Slim & the Bear Band. At the 1996 Pavilion Jam, organizers started collecting items for the food pantry and have since made contributions part of the event's tradition.
"It started out being a listener appreciation show and from there built into a purpose," said Ely, who has performed at the Pavilion Jam every year. He will perform on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Ely said he will play ballads, country, oldies as well as some originals that he has performed on three cassette tapes and two CDs made in a recording studio.
The Red Rock Community Action food pantry has sought to refill its shelves due to a busy summer and the Pavilion Jam will assist the pantry in doing so. Joyce O'Tool, county coordinator at Red Rock Community Action Program, said there are some things in particular the food pantry needs. She said the food pantry is seeking canned fruit, canned meat, peanut butter, soups, Hamburger Helpers, pastas, spaghetti sauce, dish soap, laundry soap and toilet paper.
"We need all the personal things a person can't buy with food stamps," O'Tool said. "Also, pretty much anything that you can make a meal with."
Ely said they are looking forward to helping raise funds and donations for the food pantry.
"We're not looking for recognition ourselves, we're just looking to get them stocked up for winter," Ely said.
Ely credits his hard working committee and his love for music with why he likes to help with the event. In the past, Red Rock Area Community Action Program put money towards an electric bill for Ely.
"They helped me out when I needed it, so I would like to give back to them," Ely said.
The event will also feature a musician of the year award, which has been presented since 1996 to one of the musical acts that plays at the Pavilion Jam. Ely said some of the criteria for selection of the winner include involvement in events that benefit the community as well as notable music videos or CDs. The winner in 2007 was the band Tortured Father, who will be featured on Saturday 9:30 p.m. Ely said the committee votes on the winner of the award every year before the event.
"Last year it was a three-way tie broken by just one vote. So sometimes it's tough to pick the winner," Ely said.
Ely said he cannot announce who the musician of the year winner is yet, but he said there was one nomination and a unanimous vote.
Ely said many of the bands that will play this weekend are classic rock bands and there will also be one blues duo, with the rest of the acts being duos or solo acoustic guitar singers. He said many of the acts write their own songs.
"The acts all play at the Pavilion Jam for free. All of them donate their time and their material," Ely said.
Richard Clark, of Boone, will be performing on Saturday, September 13th at 3:30 p.m. Clark said he has been performing at the Pavilion Jam for about 12 years total. This weekend, Clark will be playing a guitar that he made himself and he is excited to perform.
"We're musicians and we need someplace to play, plus it raises money for the food drive and gives us an opportunity to play for our fans," Clark said.
Ely said the musical acts also donate a public address system to use for the weekend, as well as can goods and monetary donations. Ely said this year, 24 acts vied for 16 positions for the Jam, and the committee had to vote to decide which acts would perform.
The event used to be only one day, but in 2004 it expanded into two days due to interest. Ely said most of the acts have played at the Jam before, except for 35 South, which is a southern rock band.
"Our hopes are to have a better year than last year," Ely said, "Every year we try to get more people involved."
On Sunday at 5 p.m., Craun Auction Services, who donated their services, will be auctioning off items, with all of the funds raised going to Red Rock Community Action food pantry. Ely said the Pavilion Jam Committee is still accepting items for the auction as well as support from any businesses.
"In past years, we had items donated to us that we didn't know what to do with them, so we're having an auction for the first time this year," Ely said.
Picnic tables, provided by the City of Boone, will be at the park for people to sit at during the weekend. He said that Jam goers can bring alcohol to drink, but it will not be sold at the event.
"We encourage people to bring their lawn chairs and kick back for the afternoon," Ely said.
In the future, Ely said they would like to make the event bigger and perhaps move it to a new location, such as the fairgrounds, so they can have camping and conclude later in the evening.
"We could have more acts and even start on a Friday night, instead of a Saturday," Ely said.
For more information on the Pavilion Jam & Food Drive, go to www.myspace.com/pavilionjam or call Don Ely at 515-230-4604.
Katie Stines can be reached at kstines@newsrepublican.com.
