Farm Aid 2020. An interview and a help request.

Farm Aid. I am a long time supporter and I love the mission of this event. The music is something special and the geographic concert settings each year are very unique to share with the thousands of people who come back year after year. Our job as attendees is not just to celebrate the incredible music this event brings together each year. Our real job as an attendee is to raise awareness and money to help farmers and their small family farms to sustain the people who feed this great nation. We not only donate our money but we also embrace the concepts of buying local produce and farm products from local businesses. That makes us all thrive as communities while eating good food from the people who raise it. In the end we all win. The music at Farm Aid? Well it’s off the meter as I like to say. I am going to tell you some stories. Stand by.

Willie at Farm Aid 30 in Chicago. He is an American original. You know that.

I am launching my Farm Aid 2020 fundraising page today and hoping I can convince at least 50 people to give $10 or 100 people to give $5. If you want to give more that would be awesome. It takes a village to raise money and it is only important to help if you can and to the extent you can. I am asking low and aiming high. This year has been full of storms that damaged crops. This year started with a pandemic that challenged our food delivery systems and even growing many crops this year. This has been a challenging year from the farm tariffs and other things that are causing our farmers to struggle. If we all give them a little help when they need it we can help a lot. Our farmers are front line workers and in my book they are our heroes. So we need to let them know that we have their back through the thick and the thin. I will give you the link again to donate but here it is right below:

https://give.farmaid.org/fundraiser/2873149

Dave Matthews. He rocks.
John J. Mellencamp. ‘Nuff said.
Neil Young at Farm Aid.

Here is the companion podcast for this blog post. This is also available on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, and Tuned In Radio…subscribe for free or just listen right here. My guest today is Caroline Fiore who is the development manager for Farm Aid. Caroline and I talked about many aspects of Farm Aid and told some personal stories abou thow great his event is and how the mission of the organization is so important. You will hear more about what is happening on September 26, 2020 with the virtual Farm Aid 2020 and with Farm Aid in the future. Listen in!

My podcast guest on this episode. Caroline Fiore. Caroline is the development manager for Farm Aid and a part of the staff for the last 10 years.

I want to tell you a story from the 2019 Farm Aid event in East Troy, Wisconsin at Alpine Valley as they call the venue. It was a raining and I wanted a hat. I had seen some hats I liked and I know from past Farm Aid events that you better buy your merchandise early if you want to get the item you liked. Things sell out in the popular designs and favorite colors real fast. So there was the 2019 hat I thought was cool. Barely an hour into the show I walked back up that “mountain” of a sidewalk at Alpine Valley from down front during an intermission where I had a pretty good seat on the left side of the stage. It was a wet sidewalk as the heavens had opened for a bit to wet the surrounding farmland. I went to the first vendor stand…no hats. The second stand…no hats.. I went to them all…no hats. They were gone! So I see this guy selling shirts behind a table and working very hard as a volunteer. He has on the hat I want. I stood there and thought back to the time I talked a vendor into giving me the shirt he was wearing off his back at a festival because it was the only one left. He pulled it off and sold it to me. For those who don’t know me well I love a good negotiation and I am always thinking…it is genetic from my grandfather who I am named after. On this day I pulled my raincoat hood over my head and stood in line in front of the guy with the hat I want. When it is my turn I look at him and smile. I said “I want a hat like yours.” He turns to look at the empty box behind him and there of course are none. He says “Man I can’t help we are sold out.” I said “Yes you and all the other stands are sold out. Can I buy the one on your head?” He grinned and pulled it off and looked at it thinking… He looked at the person beside him and smiled and said sure!” He then said “it is going to cost you!” I said “Well I will pay you face value and make a donation in the bucket what do you think.” He said “deal.” I paid him, left a donation in the bucket, and got some high fives from the people working the stand and a whole bunch of smiles! What a memory. The story goes on…I head down the slippery mountain sidewalk back to my seat and adjust the hat to the maximum diameter as my head plus my thinning hair is one of those XXL somethings. Sad news…this hat is too small for me and I celebrated too soon. Great design, terrible fit for the XXL head. So the hat goes back into my backpack never to be worn. So as I launch my fundraising campaign today I am going to offer you a story and a chance to have my awesome hat with the hope that your head is not one like mine…XXL whatever. If you are the highest donor to my fundraising campaign I am going to mail you my hat as a thanks for helping Farm Aid. It is a very cool hat I want someone worthy to enjoy and to tell the funny story. Smiles all around. Donate your ass off…you know you want this hat. Highest donor gets it…I will be watching.

This hat can be yours if you are the largest donor to my online Farm Aid 2020 fundraising campaign. It is brand new with very slight wear. I wish I could wear it. I really like this hat.

Want the link to my page where you can donate? Here it is! Please help with any amount!

https://give.farmaid.org/fundraiser/2873149

One of my many framed Farm Aid posters in my listening room at home.
Another Farm Aid poster that hangs over my desk in my home office. I have many of these as they remind me of some great experiences and incredible music. Keep America Growing!

There are many things we talked about on the podcast so I don’t want to write about all of them but I do want to revisit another story. Jack Johnson. My personal input? He and Lucas Nelson could be the a couple of the future stewards of this event as we move through time. They have my vote if there was one. I hope there is a Farm Aid 100 and then some. Personally I really enjoy watching Jack perform and I have seen many shows through the years. I have shook his hand before and exchanged a brief conversation and smile as I have with Zach Gill on a few occasions. They are very normal people who have incredible non-profit leadership and they are showing the world they care about the planet. Those are the kind of people I like to work with and support. The music is awesome but a good heart is the best. So here is the story. Farm Aid 2015 Chicago. Jack comes out with a paper and reads the lyrics to a song he just wrote about Willie. The video tells the whole story. I was there and it was a blast to see live.

My photo of Jack reading his new song at Farm Aid in Chicago.
The video helps you feel the moment.

That is just a small chapter in my Farm Aid story. Tune into my podcast with Caroline! The Virtual Farm Aid 2020 is coming on AXS TV and YouTube on September 26th! Tune in for one awesome lineup and please help me with my fundraising no matter what you can give. We need to help make a difference and we together we can.

Spread the word. Keep America Growing. Donate!

The lineup for Farm Aid 2020 and other information can be found here: https://www.farmaid.org/festival/lineup/ See you there on September 26, 2020. Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.