News Release  

Bring the entire family!

2009 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival
fun for kids

My favorite Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival moment was 20 years ago when my son took his first steps at the first blues festival. We were dancing, and he got up and joined us. 
– Margaret Sprinkle, Portland, Ore. 

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 22, 2009) – In addition to offering more than 120 stellar blues performances, the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, is a powerful family tradition with fun activities for kids.

Daily entry is a suggested donation of $10 plus two cans of food per person – making this festival one of the great entertainment bargains of the summer. This year, the festival also offers four levels of passes with fabulous perks and

special access: Individual Sponsor, Blues Benefactor, Four-Day Festival Pass and Blues Buddy Pass.

Hear exciting young performers

Crossroads Youth Blues Ensemble. This group of talented young blues guitarists taught by Robbie Laws, showcase the love and inspiration these kids have for the blues and how this great style is being carried on through the next generation. Crossroads Youth Blues Ensemble will perform from 3 to 3:45 p.m., Thursday, July 2, on the A&E Front Porch Stage.

Mac Potts and Bridgetown Underground. Mac Potts, 17-year-old multi-instrumentalist from Kalama, Wash., leads this extraordinary band. Blind since birth, Mac is a true prodigy and played more than a dozen sets on saxophone and keyboards with veteran jazz, brass, blues and funk groups during Jazz Fest in New Orleans this spring.  Look for the band on the FedEx Workshop Stage.

Ben Rice Blues Band. The Ben Rice Band, 20, mixes the soulful sounds of blues and the passion and energy of contemporary music. The band combines the innovation of Robben Ford and the soul and virtuosity of Ray Charles. The band was the semi-finalist at the 2007 International Blues Challenge and was runner up in the King of Beale Street competition. Ben Rice started playing on stage at 9, formed a band in middle school. He, as well as every member of the band, has a college music scholarship. Band members include Mac Potts, a rising star in the Northwest and nationally (see above); Alex Ankeny on drums; and Alex McEntee on bass. The band will perform at noon, Saturday, July 4, on the Credit Union Stage.  The Ben Rice Blues Band will release its new CD.  Ben Rice turns 21 on July 5.

More fun things for kids

• Blues piano workshop for children. Portland keyboardist David Moore leads this hands-on workshop for kids on the FedEx Workshop Stage.

• Kids Crafts Corner at the festival’s DME Louisiana Pavilion will feature face painting and crafts for all ages. Create your own Mardi-Gras mask, pinwheel, kite or puzzle for a small fee.

• Cosmo the Balloon Man creates hats, animals and much more from balloons.

• Splash in the water at the Salmon Street Fountain.

• Wildhorse Resort and Casino Fireworks Show. The fireworks show is the largest display in Oregon. Western Display Fireworks choreographs the show from a barge in the Willamette River to music simulcast by KINK.fm, directly following the National Anthem at 10:05 p.m. PacificSource Health Plans will provide special 3-D glasses to view the fireworks.

Special amenities for parents and babies

• Burt’s Bees, Bee-Utify Your World booth, will include a baby-changing station and pampering station, special “Burt Day” games, prizes, hand massage and free samples.

Afternoon DME Blues Cruises

Afternoon DME Blues Cruises open to all ages. Take the family on a Blues Cruise. Hear blues as the Portland Spirit cruises past the beautiful Portland skyline to Oregon City and back on the Willamette River. Tickets remain for the July 5 Driftin’ Blues Cruise and for the July 3 Blue Bayou Cruise.

• DME Blue Bayou Cruise, Friday, July 3, with Dave Gonzalez, Mike Barfield and the Stone River Boys, Malford Milligan, Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat, and David Vest.

• DME Backwater Juke Blues Cruise, Sunday, July 5, with Ryan Shaw, Kevin Gordon, and Terry Robb and Lauren Sheehan, Lady A and the Baby Blues Funk Band, and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes.

Afternoon cruises board at 2 p.m. and return to dock at 4:30 p.m. Tickets on site are $30 at the Louisiana Pavilion. The Portland Spirit requires photo identification to board all cruises. The only exception is for children 12-years-old or younger.

About Oregon Food Bank: Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is the hub of a the Oregon Food Bank Network, a statewide network of 20 regional food banks and 915 hunger-relief agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash.

About festival sponsors: The Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is presented by First Tech Credit Union.  

Major sponsors include FedEx Corporation, iQ Credit Union, The Oregonian A&E, KINK.fm, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Wildhorse Resort and Casino and Travel Portland.

Supporting sponsors include Mission Foods, Deschutes Brewery, Henry’s, Beringer Wine, Snapple, Earth2o Water, Pepsi, Frito Lay Snacks, Yoshida Sauce, Dave’s Killer Bread, Eggland’s Best, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Burt’s Bees, NW Natural, The Boeing Company, PacificSource Health Plans, OregonLive.com, Blues Revue, Music Millennium, True Tone Audio, Karolyn March, Lions Foundation, Cascade Blues Association, Oregon State Fair, Winthrop Music Association, Oregon Potters Association, Cascade Zydeco Association, Delta Music Experience, University Place Hotel, Marriott Hotel, RiverPlace Hotel, Hotel Fifty, travelportland.com.

For more information, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.

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Note to reporters and editors: A Blues Blog, music samples by festival artists on our Jukebox, video links and downloadable, high-resolution photos are available at www.waterfrontbluesfest.com.