By Emily Williams
PreSchool Partners will pump up the volume in Crestline Village on Sept. 26 for the third annual Crestline Rocks concert, presented by Regions Bank.
“It’s an event unlike any I’ve ever seen in Crestline,” said PreSchool Partners Director of Development Allene Neighbors. “There’s something for every age.”
Neighbors said that the first Crestline Rocks, three years ago, was a product of her collaboration with Will Haver of Otey’s and Taco Mama.
“A couple of years ago, (Haver) and I started talking about doing an event that’s unique to Crestline,” Neighbors said.
The collaboration resulted in an event that brought together 850 people for a concert in the middle of Church Street. Neighbors said it was an amazing night, but the cost to block off the street for an afternoon and night, along with concerns from Church Street’s small businesses, caused them to reconsider their plans for the next year.
“We had to tweak the model for the next year, just in relation to raising money for PreSchool Partners,” Neighbors said.
Last year, the event was moved to the grassy lawn in front of Emmet O’Neal Library, where it will be held this year. PreSchool Partners also added another fundraising element to the model, the vote-by-donation competition. Video submissions were posted online and the public could vote on their favorite band for $1. The number of votes – or donations – decided where each band would be placed in the concert line-up.
“We raised $14,000 just in the vote-by-donations category,” Neighbors said.
This year, the vote-by-donation took place from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8, and the lineup will be announced Sept. 10. Two bands will have the opportunity to participate in the concert.
“This year, we had a hard time finding a date because of football season, so we chose a Sunday,” Neighbors said. “Not many bands want to go on stage on Sunday afternoon. Not many people want to stay out late on a Sunday night.”
To please the masses, Neighbors said, they happily shortened the event to five hours, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and picked the new Sept. 26 date.
Along with the two vote-by-donation winners, the line-up includes a performance by last year’s second-place winner, Hugh Row Thomas. Sarah Simmons of Mountain Brook and season four contestant on The Voice will wrap up the night.
Guests are invited to bring their blankets and coolers to the event, and hamburgers and hot dogs will be flipped on the grill courtesy of Otey’s. For the kids, there will be a variety of activities, including face painting and balloon twisting.
“Also, we’ve lowered the ticket price,” Neighbors said. “Tickets will now be $10 for ages 12 and up and $5 for 11 and under.”
Tickets can be purchased at The Pants Store in Crestline Village or online at www.preschool-partners.org. Proceeds from ticket sales and vote-by-donations benefit PreSchool Partners early learning programs. PreSchool Partners is a non-profit organization dedicated to preparing inner-city pre-schoolers and parents for Kindergarten.
“Ultimately it’s coming straight back to PreSchool Partners, which helps our entire program, which expands into other communities,” Neighbors said. “The reach is far greater than one event.”
For more information, visit the PreSchool Partners website or call 951-5151.
