The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.
Home  >  News  >  Local News THINGS TO DO

Music fest to help fund ball fields for developmentally disabled

Hot Topics

The band TNT will be one of about 13 bands set to perform on Aug. 1 at the inaugural Summer Music Charity Festival at Rick's Tavern in Fairfield.
Greg Lynch/Staff file photo The band TNT will be one of about 13 bands set to perform on Aug. 1 at the inaugural Summer Music Charity Festival at Rick's Tavern in Fairfield.
By Michael D. Pitman, Staff Writer Updated 8:57 AM Friday, July 30, 2010

FAIRFIELD — The inaugural Summer Music Charity Festival will help fulfill a “dream.”

The fest is the creation of Rick’s Tavern co-owner Steve Minnielli, Steve Hacker of The IROCS and Kim Masters of After Midnight.

Set for noon to midnight Sunday, Aug. 1, at Rick’s Tavern, 5955 Boymel Drive, the event will showcase 13 bands from Greater Cincinnati and have a festival atmosphere.

The event’s proceeds will support the Field of Dreams project, two rubberized fields on Groh Lane for the developmentally disabled to play softball or baseball.

It will be the home for the Therapeutic Recreation for the Disabled’s softball league.

“We were real excited when we first heard about it,” said Steve Smith, one of the lead project coordinators.

“Of all the great causes out there, for them to choose us as the first ones to support, it’s an honor.”

The event was organized within six weeks by Minnielli, Hacker, Masters and Rick’s Tavern employee Jena Meiners.

“Yes, we are trying to raise money, but we want the community to come together so they can just enjoy the day,” Minnielli said.

The Field of Dreams project seemed to be a natural choice since it was a dream for former Reds baseball pitcher and broadcaster Joe Nuxhall, Minnielli said. Nuxhall died in November 2007.

The groundbreaking has been delayed until winter. About $300,000 is still needed to meet the $1.6 million goal.

The bands, including TNT, After Midnight, The IROCS, and Dangerous Jim and the Slims, all donated their time.

In addition to music, there will be a dunk tank, face painting, raffles and split-the-pot.

The Fairfield Fire Department will conduct a “Fill-the-Boot” campaign at the event.

Minnielli said he anticipates a crowd of 600-800 at the event.

Sponsorships will be available until the day of the event. Admission is free.

For more, e-mail Minnielli at steve@rickstavern.com.

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com. Follow at twitter.com/mdpitman.

How to go

What: Summer Music Charity Festival

When: Noon to midnight Sunday, Aug. 1

Where: Rick’s Tavern, 5955 Boymel Drive

Cost: (513) 874-1992

I think this is awsome. We have one here in Middletown and the kids love playing on it. For years children in wheelchairs could look on and just dream about playing but now they can have that dream. Some times it is that little touch of being like all the other kids that makes all the diffrents in a childs life.
Me
11:03 AM, 7/30/2010
We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.

The form has errors highlighted in red, please review these entries and try again!



Comments are limited to 500 characters


500 character limit

Incorrect please try again


These words come from scanned books.
Entering them helps digitize old texts.


Breaking news by e-mail

Start your day with top headlines in your inbox and get breaking news e-mail alerts at any time by subscribing to our Headlines e-mail newsletter.

See Sample | Privacy Policy
View All

Top Jobs


About our ads

About our ads

Copyright © 2010 Middletown Journal, Middletown, Ohio, USA.All rights reserved.

By using this site, you accept the terms of our Visitors Agreement and Privacy Policy. About our ads. You may wish to note our other business policies.