20th anniversary concert
(Photo courtesty farmaid.org)
Farm Aid 2005, the 20th anniversay concert, will be held September 18, 2005 in Tinley Park, Illinois, featuring Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson, co-founder John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and other top artists to be announced later.
ìFrom small towns to folks in the city, everybody knows family farm food is the best,î said Farm Aid President Willie Nelson. ìItís good to be back in Illinois where it all started. This state is showing how good food can connect places like Champaign and Chicago. It inspires us to think about family farmers every day. Iím looking forward to playing on the Farm Aid stage, playing music with my friends.î Farm Aid 2005 Presented by Silk Soymilk will urge Americans to choose food from family farms. The 20th anniversary celebration will kick off with a week of food and music events in Chicago. Pre-concert events will showcase the cityís efforts to promote family farm food by linking rural and urban communities. The events will culminate with Farm Aidís 20th anniversary all-star fundraising concert to take place on Sept. 18 at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park, IL.
Farm Aid week in Chicago will include the County Fair at the Garfield Conservatory on September 17, a film festival, possible small-venue performances, educational and restaurant events, as well as the release of Farm Aidís book, FARM AID: A Song for America. During the week, Farm Aid will spotlight activities at Chicago-area farmers markets.
Farm Aid began in 1985 when Willie Nelson, inspired by comments from Bob Dylan at Live Aid, along with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, hosted a day-long music benefit for family farmers in Champaign, IL. From that moment forward, Farm Aidís activist board has shown relentless commitment and dedication, motivating support from millions of Americans and providing hope for struggling family farmers.
ìFarmers have a tremendous impact on the quality of food that we eat,î said Farm Aid Board Member John Mellencamp. ìFarm Aid is always a great show, but even more important is that Farm Aid helps the consumer and the family farmer work together for the benefit of all of us.î
Since its beginning, Farm Aid has traveled the country, supporting local organizations working to strengthen and promote family farms. From Washington state to Washington, DC, Farm Aid has established a platform for family farmers to help create a movement that increases the supply and demand for family farm-identified food. Farm Aidís vision is to offer as many opportunities as possible for farmers to provide us with good productsófood and alternative fuels that protect our land, our health and our environment.
ìRight now, America is on the cusp of a ìgood foodî movement, promoted and supported by Farm Aid,î said Farm Aid Executive Director Carolyn Mugar. ìThe American public recognizes family farmers as their resource for food that is local, humanely-raised, organic, and sustainable, and consumers are reaching for these foods in grocery stores, at farmers markets, in schools and even in hospitals. This demand offers growing economic opportunity for family farmers to thrive. Farm Aid will continue to work to increase the options for all family farmers in order to secure a safe, healthy food supply for our future.î
ìI am pleased to welcome Farm Aid to Chicago to celebrate its 20th anniversary,î said Mayor Daley. ìChicago is committed to supporting small businesses and improving the quality of life for its residents, and Farm Aid helps family farmers do their job of producing the highest quality food for our City and for people all over the country.î
For the third year, Silk Soymilk is the presenting sponsor of the Farm Aid concert. ìSilk Soymilk is proud to present Farm Aidís 20th anniversary concert,î states Mike Keown, Senior Vice President of Marketing for WhiteWave Foods. ìWe salute the important role that family farmers serve in promoting sustainable agriculture and providing healthy food to American families. We look forward to this celebratory event in the Chicago areaócentrally located in the heart of our nationís Farm Belt.î
Tickets for Farm Aid 2005 Presented by Silk Soymilk are on sale July 30 at 10 a.m. CDT and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Tweeter Center box office, charge by phone in Chicago at (312) 559-1212, or online at www.tweetercenter.com/chicago. For more information about Farm Aidís 20th anniversary, visit http://www.farmaid.org.
Farm Aid will offer special advance sale tickets to its FarmYard members. To become a member of Farm Aidís FarmYard, visit http://www.farmaid.org.
For directions, venue rules and regulations, parking and general information, please visit http://www.tweetercenter.com/chicago or call (708) 614-1616.
Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Dave Matthews joined the Farm Aid Board of Directors in 2001. Farm Aid has raised more than $27 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture. Through public education and direct grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to build and strengthen family farm food systems.
source: Farm Aid
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