August 29, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Final Schedule — Experience Food Trucks, Community Vendors, and Performances from the Richmond Symphony, The Neons, Saint Square and more at the 2018 Northside Big Tent Community Festival – In Tune with the Northside: Celebrating its History and People

Saturday, September 8th
12:00 – 9:00pm
Bryan Park
(4308 Hermitage Road
Richmond, VA 23227)

August 29, 2018 – Richmond, Virginia: The Richmond Symphony is thrilled to be hosting In Tune with the Northside: Celebrating its History and People. This free outdoor festival to be held in Bryan Park on Saturday, September 8th will include live music, food trucks, community vendors, and more. Music will begin at noon, lasting throughout the day until 9pm. The festival will include performances from Triple Crossing Jazz Project, The Neons, Northside Church of Richmond, Cagey Watts, Saint Square, Rev. D. Kay Logan & the Nu Beginning Experience, VibeHouse, the Richmond Symphony & more.

Festival vendors/exhibitors include: Bellevue Civic Association, Recycling Perks, VMFA, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, All Saints Catholic School, Greater Richmond ARC, Friends of Bryan Park, Flowernoy Farm, Earth Redefined, Bike Walk RVA and more! The food truck court will include: Carolina BBQ Home of Inner City Blues, Curry in a Hurry, Haywood Grill Food Truck, and Sara Lou’s New Orleans Style SnowBalls.
Free parking and shuttle service available from: ACCA Shriners parking lot, 1712 Bellevue Ave., Richmond, VA 23227.
Many thanks to our shuttle sponsors: ACCA and Richmond’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities.

In Tune with the Northside: Celebrating its History and People in Richmond’s Joseph Bryan Park is timed to coincide with the 100^th Anniversary of the birth of another member of the Bryan family, former City Mayor Thomas P. Bryan, Jr. “Tommy”, as he was best known, was a partner in McGuire, Woods, King, Davis & Patterson, (as the McGuire Woods law firm was then known), then General Counsel to the Miller & Rhoads department store, before civic duty called, and he became first Mayor and later a Delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates. He promoted many civic events and especially loved the Richmond Symphony.

The Symphony’s Northside community festival continues the City’s plan, under the direction of Mayor Levar Stoney, for the Big Tent to move around all nine districts of Richmond, bringing people together through music and seeking to support cultural health and vitality at a local level. As with the previous Big Tent Festivals in the City, this event has the goal of leaving lasting benefit behind, in the form of proceeds from underwriting, donations from individuals and other funds raised, for purchasing musical instruments for the Northside’s public schools. Since 2015, the Symphony and its sponsors have donated over $265,000 from the proceeds of Big Tent Festivals held in the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th Districts, which have been channeled through the Richmond Public Education Foundation to buy musical instruments and other equipment to teach music in all the Richmond Public Schools of the East End and Southside. After-school programs have also been funded in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Woodville Elementary School and an in-school pre-K music program in Summer Hill Preschool Center. The Richmond Symphony would like to extend special thanks to Bon Secours and Weinstein Properties for their generous support of the musical instrument purchase program.

In the event of inclement weather during the day, the festival (or part of it) will be moved to the Scottish Rite Temple. Follow Richmond Symphony on Facebook for day-of-event updates.

For more information and to view the full list of activities and events as they are confirmed, visit: https://www.richmondsymphony.com/community/southside-community-festival-2018-united-music/

The Northside Big Tent Community Festival is made possible through generous sponsorship from Weinstein Properties, City of Richmond, McGuireWoods, National Endowment for the Arts, and The Community Foundation for a greater Richmond.

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About the Richmond Symphony (www.richmondsymphony.com):
Celebrating its 61st Season in 2018/19, the Richmond Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in Central Virginia, and its reach extends throughout the Metro Richmond region and across the Commonwealth from its home downtown in the Dominion Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The organization includes an orchestra of more than 70 professional musicians, the 150-voice Richmond Symphony Chorus and over 260 students in the four ensembles in the Richmond Symphony Youth Orchestra Program. Each season, more than 200,000 people enjoy its live concerts and radio broadcasts. The Richmond Symphony also provides inspirational and immersive educational programming for over 55,000 students and teachers each year.

Its 40-week season (from September through June, plus an annual July 4th concert and summer concert series) includes the following series and programs under the headings of Classics, Currents and Community: Masterworks, Pops, Metro Collection, Casual Fridays, LolliPops, Rush Hour, Discovery, Come & Play, Messiah, Big Tent community festivals, and annual contracts with Richmond Ballet and Virginia Opera. The Richmond Symphony was recently named as one of 21 American orchestras selected as a leader in orchestra innovation by the League of American Orchestras through its Futures Fund Initiative. The Richmond Symphony is partially funded by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Contacts:
Erin Frye
Marketing and PR Manager
p. 804.788.4717 ext. 121
e. efrye@richmondsymphony.com

Scott Dodson
Director of Advancement and Patron Communications
p. 804.788.4717 ext. 120
e. sdodson@richmondsymphony.com

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