Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg

Foundation's 2-day festival fetes activist Chavez

A two-day celebration of the late Arizona civil rights activist will fill several stages and the grounds of Steele Indian School Park March 31 - April 1.

With help from the city of Phoenix, television stations Fox 10 and MY45, the Cesar Chavez Foundation will host the national event to raise funds for its educational initiative "Educating the Heart." The foundation aims to engage schools and teachers across Chavez's home state in a K-12 program to increase academic and civic drive among youth. Through training workshops, the foundation provides the tools and resources for students and communities to engage in service-learning projects that reflect Chavez's core values.

The celebration is being produced by R Entertainment Company, the Scottsdale-based booking, marketing and events company helmed by Reed Glick.

"The event will incorporate the elements of music, education and housing fairs, national leaders and a community service village," Glick says.

Over the course of the commemoration, guests will enjoy hearing an array of Latin music acts, including Los Necios, Power Drive, Michael Salgado, the Voices of Latin Rock, Graciela Beltran, Los Cuates de Sinaloa, Caribe and War.

Admission is $15, or $10 with a bag of 5 large cans of food as a relief donation to California farmworkers. Children age 12 and younger are free. Tickets can be purchased at www.gittix.net or at the door.

For info, contact Francisca Montoya, Arizona director for the foundation, at (602) 272-0080 Ext. 1.

If you have limited time for a tribute, check out the Cesar Chavez Luncheon hosted by the foundation and the city of Phoenix beginning at 11:15 a.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center, 2nd Street and Adams March 22.

Luncheon keynote speaker is Dolores Huerta. The event theme is "Honoring Women of the Movement . Continuing the Legacy." Several women will be honored for their activism from 1967 to 1973.

Tables for nonprofits start at $850; corporate tables start at $1,500. For more info, call (602) 272-0800, Ext. 3.