Summer Solstice music fest to aid Hospeace House in Naples
NAPLES — In the first in-person fundraiser for Hospeace House since before the COVID era, six hours of live music Sunday will benefit the Naples comfort care home.
The “Summer Solstice Music Festival,” set for noon to 6 p.m. June 26 at Star Cider in Canandaigua, will feature three musical acts, plus raffles of works from area artists and other donated items.
“This is our first time getting people together in one place,” said Robert Brancato, president of the Hospeace House board. And while there have been a number of benefits centered around disc golf or Monte Carlo nights, he noted, “The music fest is kind of a new venture for us. Music is such an important part of people’s lives. In the last stage of their lives, people really love their music; it does things emotionally and physically.”
Performing at the music fest will be Big Blue House, Krypton 88 and Aaron Lipp & Richie Stearns. Big Blue House is a trio of musicians who play a mixture of folk, rock, blues, jazz and reggae and call their music “chamber rock,” featuring acoustic rhythm and lead guitar and stand-up bass with occasional guest artists on percussion, harmonica, trumpet and flute. Krypton 88 is a modern rockabilly band with elements of honky-tonk and Americana. Singer/guitarist Lipp and banjo player Stearns are frequent musical partners presenting music rooted in old-time tradition.
In addition to the music, Brancato said several local artists – including Tina and Peter Blackwood, Neal Allen, Barbara Doyle, Phil Probst, Patricia Tribastone, Kait Grevel and Theresa Hays, among others -- are contributing artwork for the raffles at the festival, and he credited the Ontario County Arts Council for its support. Various local businesses are donating items as well, including Vine Valley General Store and Renaissance The Goodie II Shoppe.
Tickets for the event are $35 and can be purchased at the door at Star Cider (3365 Route 364) or at www.hospeacehouse.eventbrite.com or www.hospeacehouse.org/events.
Fundraisers like the Summer Solstice fest are important for Hospeace House, a two-bed, end-of-life care facility, as they’re among its only sources of income.
“We’re a comfort care facility, so we don’t get money from insurance companies or the state – it's all done from fundraiser donations or individual donations,” he said.
Upcoming fundraisers include a disc golf event in July, a Monte Carlo night in the fall and an upcoming auto show. In addition to the fundraising aspect, Brancato said, an important aspect of these events is education and awareness about end-of-life care and the importance of helping people in those end stages. He spoke fondly of a recent event in which Naples schoolchildren brought a busload of donated items for the home and spent time with the resident.
“It helped them understand, it doesn’t have to be as scary as we sometimes think these end stages of life are,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Summer Solstice music fest to aid Hospeace House
