The Woodstock Chimes Fund Donates $5,000 to New York-Based Charity
Woodstock Percussion, Inc. Founders and Owners, Garry and Diane Kvistad established The Woodstock Chimes Fund in 1986, to support the arts and local food and shelter programs. This year, the non-profit Fund produced the third Drum Boogie Festival, a free multi-cultural arts event featuring drumming, dance and voice, which was held September 7, 2013 at Andy Lee Field in Woodstock, New York. To date, it was the largest of the three festivals, with several thousand attendees. In celebration of the festival’s success, the Fund donated $5,000 to Family of Woodstock, an organization providing critical services, such as emergency food pantries, shelters and counseling, to people in need in New York, the home state of Woodstock Chimes.
“Everyone knows Woodstock Chimes’ greatest passions are music, the arts and charitable giving. When you combine them in such a momentous way, it’s very powerful and inspiring,” said Garry Kvistad. “In keeping with that theme, our donation will support a music therapy program in the shelters, along with the teen painting program in the Hodge Midtown Neighborhood Center, based in Kingston, New York. We are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait to see the growth of these special programs.”
This year, the festival opened with a Ragtime tribute to the late composer, and Woodstock resident, George Hamilton Green at his Woodstock Artists Cemetery graveside. The tribute was led by the contemporary, GRAMMY® Award-winning percussion quartet, NEXUS.
The Drum Boogie Festival also featured two-stages, with the sounds of several GRAMMY® Award winners, such as jazz great Jack DeJohnette, renowned drummer Justin Guip and fellow drummer Shawn Pelton, of the Saturday Night Live band and NEXUS. Other performers included former Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band keyboardist, David Sancious and quintet group Mandara, featuring Saturday Night Live band member Valerie Naranjo.
The festival closed with the Midnight Ramble Band of the Levon Helm Studios, featuring the legendary drummer’s daughter, Amy Helm, multi-instrumentalist and previous member of Bob Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour” band, Larry Campbell, and Fender-endorsed guitar player, Jim Weider, as well as Guip and Pelton. The festival also showcased dance numbers, including performances by Egyptian Cabaret and American Tribal style belly dancers.
The Drum Boogie Festival is the brainchild of Garry Kvistad, and was spurred by numerous conversations with New York State Assembly member, Kevin Cahill, over a span of several years. After much encouragement from Cahill, Kvistad created a one-day event representing performers of world drumming in many distinct forms: jazz, contemporary, rudimental, rock, ragtime, Caribbean steel pan, Middle Eastern, African, kids and Native American.
Drum Boogie Festival sponsors included Bread Alone Bakery and Café, Ceres Technologies, Markertek.com, Walters-Storyk Design Group, Woodstock Chimes, New York State Parks and Recreation, The Peter S. Reed Foundation, First Niagara Financial Group, Ulster Publishing, Radio Woodstock 100.1 WDST-FM, The Wall Street Jazz Festival of Kingston, NY and the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
To learn more about the Drum Boogie Festival, please visit www.drumboogiefestival.com, or Family of Woodstock, please visit http://www.familyofwoodstockinc.org/.
Company Name: Woodstock Percussion, Inc., 167 Dubois Road; Shokan, NY 12481 USA
800.422.4463, www.WoodstockChimes.com
About Woodstock Percussion, Inc.: Woodstock Percussion, Inc., makers of Woodstock Chimes and the Woodstock Music Collection, is a leading manufacturer of musically-tuned windchimes, award-winning musical instruments and soothing home and garden décor. GRAMMY® recipient Garry Kvistad and his wife, Diane, created their first product over 30 years ago in New York’s Hudson Valley, where the company continues to design gifts and accessories using superior materials found around the world. The result is a unique collection of over 400 different products that bring joyful sounds to people of all ages. Popular collections include: Inspirational Chimes, Precious Stones, Woodstock Gongs, Temple Bells, Woodstock Rainbow Makers™, Asli Arts®, and, of course, its Classic Chimes. For more information on Woodstock Chimes, visit www.WoodstockChimes.com or call (800) 422-4463.
