Charitable event to include Pato Banton, Arden Park Roots, Island of Black and White and others
A new music event unique to Folsom is set to make its debut in just a matter of weeks and it’s all happening with a local organization behind it, known for its goodwill and ability to put the “fun,” in fundraising. It’s the inaugural “Folsom Flower Festival,” planned to make its debut on April 20 at Rodeo Park.
Organized by local non-profit organization Friends of Folsom, the Folsom Flower Festival is being advertised as bringing “Good vibes, good music and good people,” together for a day that will also feature craft beers, food trucks, vendors and more. The event takes place from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. with nearly a dozen different musical talents performing, providing a non-stop flow of reggae music by some of the area’s best known bands.
According to Friends of Folsom President Jeff Garcia, bands they have signed for the affair already include Pato Banton, Arden Park Roots, Island of Black and White, Eazy Dub, Cali Beach Boy, Skinny Hendrix, Ryder Thieves, the Bennies and more.
In addition to the music festival, the Friends of Folsom will also be hosting its annual “Fools Games” fundraiser on the adjacent side of the park. This event takes place each year to raise funds for the Friends of Folsom’s annual turkey drive and other causes they support. It’s a day in which they all compete in what you could best describe as makeshift Olympics with activities that have ranged from traditional cornhole, putting contests, ping pong ball tosses, table games and more.
“We moved the Fools Games to take place on the same day as the festival for organizational purposes,” Garcia told Folsom Times. “Instead of trying to do two different events in the same month we will do it all in one place on one day and the participants of the games can also enjoy the live music and fun for the whole day.”
Friends of Folsom is known around town for its various fundraising events, not just during the holiday season but year round, as they raise money for a number of local charitable causes, many of which surround the holiday season, such as the turkey drive they are best known for. They are also a big part of the annual Hangtown Motocross at Prairie City each year, helping to prepare the course and facility for racers and fans, manage parking and more, all of which they earn a portion of the proceeds for, to apply to their local charitable causes.
From all the fundraisers they plan and organize, Friends of Folsom puts the proceeds back into the community in a variety of ways to help those in need. They help many other charities locally that help with the homeless situation, hunger, underprivileged children, housing and more.
Through the years, Garcia has planned and organized a number of different events, but the Flower Festival will be one of his biggest, and most labor intensive efforts to date. The local resident has been busy, not only securing vendors and performers for the event, but applying for use permits through the City of Folsom and going through all of the steps to make his vision become a reality.
Recently, he was thrown a curveball when the City of Folsom alerted him it was also holding its inaugural Earth Day event nearby. According to Garcia, the added simultaneous event resulted in additional measures, conditions and costs he wasn’t expecting, but he is working through the requests with the city to insure the “show goes on,” so to speak.
“We had everything in place and thought we were good and they came to me when they announced they were planning the Earth Day event the same day. At first it felt like we we’re going to have to cancel or move our event, after promoting it and marketing it for months,“ said Garcia, who quickly secured a back-up location at the Orangevale Grange when the possible conflict arose recently, just to make sure the show will go on. “As of right now, we are working through all of the things they want us to do and our plan is to be right here in Folsom where we should be. But Orangevale said we are welcome if needed so regardless ,this event will be happening and it will be great.”
The Flower Festival will take place from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. on April 20. Admission tickets are $42 for the event and are available for purchase online at www.friendsoffolsom.org or by CLICKING HERE to go directly to the ticket sale page. Additional information about the event can be found at both locations.
As for the Fools Games event, it will be limited to a total of 24 teams for those wishing to compete and will soon be sold out. For those wishing to learn more about this visit the event page HERE
Rodeo Park is located at 200 Stafford Street in Folsom, behind the public library.
