Paladin

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: City Style

Media Credit: Jorge Ramos [Click to enlarge]

On Saturday, Sept. 13, LBCC hosted the second annual Reggae Festival at the PCC, where hundreds of enthusiastic fans attended the charity event that featured eight bands. The event was to benefit charity, and donations of any amount were gladly accepted by Children Today, the Long Beach organization which, helps homeless families in the community by offering children a place to learn and develop life skills.

The line-up consisted of local bands, Chapter 11 and The Bredrin Daddys, Qwiksand, and from Huntington Beach, Inhale from Riverside, Live at Subs from Australia, and Mystic Roots of Chico, which performed with headliner Pato Banton of England.

The afternoon kicked off shortly after 1 p.m. with Live at Subs, a reggae band that played a 30-minute set to no more than 40 people.

The crowd steadily increased after the college radio station KLBC, took over the airwaves, attracting people still outside of the event area roaming the merchandise booths.

Inhale went on stage next, the band did a routine sound check with the sound technician, and began playing the song "Laughter."

Inhale does at least two charity events a month front man Mike Silva says, "It's something we do to give back, we strongly support this one."

People walked from the event area to merchant and food booths after making donations and receiving a red bracelet.

The LBCC Community Relations and Cultural Affairs Committees through advertising, contributed greatly to fan attendance, and did not go unnoticed by Children Today's marketing director, Miles Nevin.

"I appreciate that volunteers were informing guests about Children Today and our mission of serving homeless families in Long Beach," Nevins says.

Most of the money used to provide for the festival came from the ASB fund. Still, a considerably high percentage of the money went to Children Today.

The positive vibes continued with Qwiksand, which played music that got the crowd on their feet with there fusion of blues jazz/reggae/rock inspiration.

Continued...

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