‘Funky Fridays’ raises $50k for parks
The Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation announced today that the first year of “Funky Fridays @ the Hood” – the music series at Hood Mansion near Oakmont — generated over $50,000 in net proceeds to benefit county parks.
The “Funky Fridays Fund” is earmarked for high-priority opportunities at Hood Mansion, the adjoining Hood Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, and other Sonoma Valley parks. Regional Parks and the Parks Foundation have begun to identify these projects and will provide more details in 2017.
The driving force behind the 15-week concert series, attended by over 6,000 people, were volunteer producers Linda Pavlak and Bill Myers of Kenwood.
“Funky Fridays was created to support our parks through live music, and this year’s series lived up to that mission,” said Melissa Kelley, executive director of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation. “We’re very grateful to Linda and Bill, to all the great bands, and to everyone who came out to the concerts and, in so doing, contributed to the Funky Fridays Fund.”
Inspired by their love of parks, Linda and Bill pour thousands of hours into Funky Fridays, recruiting bands, coordinating volunteers, lining up vendors, and managing the entire concert series.
“Their devotion is truly remarkable, and we express our deepest gratitude to these two phenomenal individuals,” Kelley said.
Additional support for the event included numerous Funky Fridays volunteers, Parks Foundation board members and staff, Sonoma County General Services and Regional Parks. Partnerships with the Rotary Club of Glen Ellen-Kenwood and Santa Rosa United Soccer Club provided consistent staffing for beverage service and parking.
“Funky Fridays was created to support our parks through live music, and this year’s series lived up to that mission,” said Melissa Kelley, executive director of the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation. “We’re very grateful to Linda and Bill, to all the great bands, and to everyone who came out to the concerts and, in so doing, contributed to the Funky Fridays Fund.”
Another positive outcome of Funky Fridays was a bump in sales of Sonoma County Regional Parks memberships. Event parking was free with a Regional Parks pass, $10 without.
“Between the first concert and the last, our parking attendants noticed a significant increase in people using their parks passes,” Kelley said.
Planning is underway for the return of the series to Hood Mansion in summer 2017. For updates visit sonomacountyparksfoundation.orgor funkyfridays.info.
