LYONS, COLORADO-Presented by Oskar Blues Brewery and featuring a special performance by Grammy-nominated bluegrass-rock band The Infamous Stringdusters, the inaugural VIVA LYONS was an event of remembrance, marking the one-year anniversary of the devastating floods that caused severe damage throughout Colorado’s Front Range. The September 13th celebration, saluting the resilience and rebuilding efforts of hard-hit towns like Lyons, took place in Lyons’ Bohn Park.
Governor John Hickenlooper declared September 13 as a statewide day of service to support the many communities still recovering from the widespread flooding that took place in September 2013. Colorado United Day brought together volunteers from all over the state for a dedicated work day that continued ongoing disaster relief efforts in many communities. At the end of the day, Governor Hickenlooper addressed the crowd at VIVA LYONS, as the culminating event to this statewide effort.
VIVA LYONS was presented by Oskar Blues Brewery, a steadfast partner with The Infamous Stringdusters in supporting Colorado flood relief through the Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation. The inaugural event brought out 3,000 volunteers and music fans while generating $60,000 in revenue for the foundation. The foundation emerged following the Colorado flooding and has raised over $1M total while contributing over $700,000 to Colorado flood relief. All proceeds from the event benefit CAN’d Aid Foundation.
The event was made possible by The Zayo Group, Bank of The West, Xcel Energy and Oskar Blues Brewery. Produced in conjunction with the Town of Lyons, Cyclists 4 Lyons and the Office of Governor Hickenlooper, VIVA LYONS will become an annual celebration for Front Range communities to come together and mark new beginnings.
The next CAN’d Aid fundraising event will be OSKtoberfest, which takes place on Sunday, October 5, 2014, from 2:00 to 7:00 pm at River Bend, Lyons, CO. Featuring live music with Prairie Scholars at 2 pm, Stone Soup and Big Thompson Flood Band at 3 and 4 pm, and headliner Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams taking the stage from 5:15-7 pm. Food and brew will feature many local Lyons businesses, including giant pretzels from St. Vrain, Market Brats, dogs & German-style sides from Oskar Blues Grill & Brew and libations from City Star and Spirit Hound Distillers. This area is sponsored by Bank of the West & Xcel Energy.
With the $20 admission, guests receive $20 worth of tickets to be exchanged for food, drinks and games. Kids 12 and under are free and additional tickets can be purchased throughout the day. Special commemorative CAN’d Aid OSKtoberfest steins will also be available for purchase. All proceeds from the event benefit the Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation. Tickets are available here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/cand-aid-foundation-osktoberfest-tickets-12975023645.
About Oskar Blues Brewery
Founded as a brewpub by Dale Katechis in 1997, Oskar Blues Brewery launched the original craft beer-in-a-can with Dale’s Pale Ale in 2002 using a tabletop machine that sealed one can at a time. In 2008, the makers of the top-selling pale ale in ColoRADo moved into a 35,000-square-foot facility in Longmont, ColoRADo. The brewery has since experienced explosive growth-packaging 59,000 barrels of beer in 2011 and 86,750 barrels in 2012. In December of 2012, Oskar Blues opened the doors to an additional brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. Together, the breweries packaged nearly 120,000 barrels of beer in 2013, distributing its trailblazing craft brews to 35 U.S. states.
About Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation
The Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation was formed as an immediate response to the massive flooding that devastated our hometowns of Lyons & Longmont, CO, in September 2013. To date, CAN’d Aid has donated $700,000 for flood recovery and an additional $50,000 to charitable causes focused on outdoor rec, child & family advocacy and sustainability initiatives. Shakin’ things up in the world of non-profits, the public charity features funky, fractured, grassroots grants to fund worthy projects from coast to coast. By putting our own spin on what charitable giving looks like, we’re able to stay nimble, respond quickly and stay true to our roots. Every dollar raised by the CAN’d Aid Foundation is matched by Oskar Blues Brewery-doubling the “do-goodery” and maximizing the reach.
About The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters is a Grammy-nominated bluegrass rock band best known for deftly reshaping the boundaries of acoustic music. First formed in 2007, the band-Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle) and Travis Book (upright bass)-has spent the past eight years evolving from award-winning bluegrass torchbearers to multi-dimensional string explorers with a loyal fan following across the country.
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