CareFest to become annual event

ResourceCare’s first annual CareFest fundraiser took place last weekend, and although organizer Ragan Riley and program director Mindy Ary were disappointed that the event was not as profitable as they had hoped, they were very pleased with the event itself and they are planning to host it again next year.

“I think that a lot of people thought it was going to rain, and just didn’t show up, because attendance numbers were not as high as we had hoped,” Riley said. “But everybody who came said that they had a blast! The bands all played great, and everything actually went a lot smoother than we had anticipated.”  

Although the organizers are thinking of adjusting ticket prices and sponsor prices next year, they intend to keep the same basic format.

“It worked really well,” said Riley. “We’ll have food trucks again; we were really happy with them and lots of folks ate there. We were also very pleased with all the work done by the Albany Volunteer Fire Department and all of our other volunteers!” 

Riley said Resource Care made a donation to the AVFD, and in exchange, firefighters worked hard on litter patrol throughout the event.

Riley is hoping that more people will come to the event next year. 

“We intend for Care Fest to become an annual event,” Riley concluded.

Proceeds benefit ResourceCare programs including Summer Day Camp, senior citizens luncheons, ASPIRE, Vittles by Vehicle, Christmas for Teens, community outreach, and emergency assistance.