CareFest 2023 draws record 1300+ crowd
By Donnie A. Lucas
A record crowd of music festival fans were on hand last Saturday for the fifth annual CareFest benefiting the ResourceCare centers serving six area communities.
The event was hosted at Happy Wife, Happy Life Event Center located about four miles west of Albany.
“It was definitely our best year yet,” co-organizer Mindy Ary said. “We don’t have an official number yet, but between 1,300 and 1,400 people attended.”
The event featured six known artists, including headliners Kevin Fowler and Pat Green. Also performing were Della Rose, Mike McClure, Cody Canada and the Departed, and Cory Morrow.
“It was an unbelievable event,” Ary said. “The crowd was fantastic, with very few problems. And the weather was great too, with a brief shower just as we started at 5:00 p.m. which cooled things down for the rest of the evening.”
She added that the ticket holders came out earlier for some of the early shows this year.
“Usually it is slow at first and picks up for the last two or three performers, but this year our opening group, Della Rose, packed in a lot of fans who stayed throughout the night,” she said.
While the total revenue from the event has yet to be officially tallied, Ary said that this year will be a record.
“We already know that our profit is double what it was last year,” she said. “We sold a record number of tickets, and we had an amazing 72 sponsorships of various levels. I have already had a number of people approach me about sponsoring it next year who were amazed an event like this was held in Albany.”
She added that downtown merchants also reported more shoppers during the day and were appreciative for the number of customers.
The day started with Lunch on the Lawn at the Bank Park at 11:00 a.m, with Della Rose performing and food trucks available for downtown visitors. A drawing was held with shoppers receiving a ticket for every $20 spent prior to the deadline. Robert Hill of Albany was the winner of two general admission lifetime passes to all future music fests.
Ary said the fifth annual event would not have been possible without her ResourceCare team of volunteers.
She also expressed appreciation to Sheryl and Kelly Scott for hosting the event at their facility.
“This is the fifth year the Scotts have allowed us to use their beautiful venue and have never charged us a cent,” Ary said. “We definitely couldn’t do it without them.”
She also thanked CM3 Services for handling the deposal of trash throughout the day and afterwards.
“Also, Alpha Security of Abilene and the Shackelford County Sheriff’s Office and deputies were great with crowd control,” she said.
The money generated by the event will be used to help fund ResourceCare programs such as Meals on Wheels, Day Camp, Christmas program, and the emergency assistance fund.
In particular, ResourceCare hopes that their board will approve the use of some of the proceeds to purchase a car to transport patients and clients, which would be shared among the six clinic locations.
The non-profit center, which originated in Albany over 25 years ago, provides health care, dental, mental health services, and social programs in six area communities including Albany, Breckenridge, Cross Plains, Baird, Clyde, and Merkel.
