As the days move closer to the grand event, the entertainment slate just gets bigger and better.
Tickets are now on sale for Geauga Growth Partnership’s 3rd Annual HomeGrown Geauga fundraising event, Saturday, Sept. 26, at 5:30 p.m. at the Federated Family Life Center in Bainbridge. Admission tickets costing $125 per person may be ordered online.
First up, performing at 5:30 p.m., during the festival-style open air portion of the evening, One Dollar Hat features home-grown Gordon Keller and friends. These seasoned musicians play traditional American string band songs and tunes drawn from folk music of Appalachia and the Deep South (circa 1925-1940). One Dollar Hat has performed at the Kent State Folk Festival, the Beachland Ballroom, the Geauga Park District, Lake Metroparks, and many other venues and events.
Guests will enjoy the ambiance these musicians bring as they stroll through market booths while tasting signature beverages and artisanal appetizers prepared by local chefs using Geauga County spirits and products.
The evening continues in the ballroom with music from No Moss, a band with a diverse musical range, playing many musical genres including old standards, pop, country, blues and good old Rock-n-Roll spanning the past 50 years! Serious musical talent abounds in these seasoned and talented band members Jim Anderson, Denise Geisler, Bob Walker, and Bill Hanna. Jim Anderson and Denise Geisler offer a hometown connection, being Geauga County residents for close to 30 years. Jim Anderson has been in many rock groups such as “The Choir” and “Forever Young” but is now enjoying the acoustic part of his life in Bainbridge. Denise Geisler was also a member of “Forever Young” as their lead vocalist and currently works acoustically with Jim as “Jim & Denise” at local venues.
As the music plays on, HomeGrown Geauga guests will have plenty of other entertainment options to keep them amused, hosted by guest Emcee Kristi Capel, who has been with Fox 8 News since early 2011 and news co-anchor since early 2012. “I am ready to enjoy all things Geauga County!” says Capel. “I love what this event benefits. Our young people are so important and if there is anything we can do to help them become more successful, I’m on board.”
Intermingled with a delectable culinary feast prepared by Chef Kimberly McCune Gibson of Hungry Bee Catering (Bainbridge Ohio), guests will be amused by “green carpet” photo ops, personalized caricature sketches by artists of Kaman’s Art Shoppes (Bainbridge Ohio) and a one-of-a-kind “fair and honest appraisal of your appearance” by home-grown Jill Bumby of the internationally popular anonymous performance art duo The Bumbys.
A true entrepreneurial success story, The Bumbys first appeared on the scene in a Brooklyn subway station as a social experiment in 2008. Since then, they’ve performed nationally and internationally on behalf of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Microsoft, Coachella Music Festival, Bad Robot for the Sundance Film Festival, HBO for the Berklee College of Music, Vogue and MTV, to name a few. Now appearing for the first time in the Cleveland market, Jill Bumby (who grew up in Geauga) performs at HomeGrown.
The evening promises an experience packed with first-class culinary offerings, open bar, creative and clever home-grown entertainment, a farmer’s market and lots of take-aways. Funds raised through admission tickets and a brief live auction will benefit GGP’s educational programs developed toward the mission to “Prepare Tomorrow’s Workforce Today” through workforce training, and High School Internship, Career Readiness and Career Awareness programs. The multi-faceted workforce training program was launched in 2012 by GGP founding director Frank Samuel, who was passionate about preparing young people for successful careers.
The Internship Program, which initially matched nine (9) high school students with sponsoring employers for summer internships in 2012, has in 2015 provided internship experiences for 38 students. Since the program’s inception, GGP has added day-long Career Readiness workshops for students in their sophomore, junior and senior years, where participants learn soft skills, resume preparation and interviewing experience, among other skills. Over these three years, the programs have served more than 1000 students.
Geauga Growth Partnership would like to thank all sponsors who are helping to make HomeGrown Geauga possible: Great Lakes Cheese, Hungry Bee Catering, Rothenbuhler Cheesemakers, Inc., University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center, Kinetico, Patterson Farms, Richard & Christie Frenchie, Chris & John Steigerwald and Bechem Lubrication Technology, Arms Trucking, Geauga County Farm Bureau, Middlefield Banking Company, Sheoga Hardwood Flooring, Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, Universal Disposal, Inc., Caritas Financial, Exscape Designs, Glenmede Investment & Wealth Management, FirstMerit Bank, Kent State University at Geauga, Newbury Business Park, POV Communications, Company 119, Drs. Patra & Vichai Duangjak, Electrolock, Inc., HD Davis CPAs, LLC, Tracy Jemison, Owen & Associates, Representative John Patterson, Blake Rear, John & Virginia Wilhelm and The Wealthcare Group of Raymond James.
If you are interested in knowing more about HomeGrown Geauga event sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tracy Jemison or Paige Orvis at 440-564-1060 or tjemison@geaugagrowth.com or porvis@geaugagrowth.com. For more information visit the GGP website or call 440-564-1060.
