News Release

2008 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival offers activities 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. And now he’s taking another step as a college student. – Margaret Sprinkle, Portland, Ore. 

PORTLAND, Ore. (June 18, 2008) – 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 a number of activities for children.

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 3, on the A&E Front Porch Stage.

Roots Revival. This ensemble of talented young musicians originally came together to present blues education programs in area schools. Explore the roots of the blues with the genre's future: featuring guitarist T.J. Moor, who at age 14 has already jammed with such blues legends as Pinetop Perkins and Willie Big Eyes Smith, and multi-instrumentalist Mac Potts, who sat in with Harry Connick Jr. during New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival. Roots Revival were recently invited to appear at next year's Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, the premier blues festival in the South. Roots revival will perform on the FedEx Workshop Stage from 2:15 to 3 p.m., July 4.

Special Features

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

Spectacular fireworks, funded in part by the City of Portland and donations from Western Display Fireworks, July 4, 10:05 p.m. The fireworks show is twice as large as any other show in Oregon. Western Display Fireworks creates the show from two barges in the Willamette River.

Workshops

Blues piano workshop for children. Portland keyboardist David Moore leads this hands-on workshop for kids, Sunday July 6, 12:45 to 1:30 p.m.

Note: The Ethos Music Lab bus will not be operating at the festival this year.

Blues Cruises

Afternoon DME Blues Cruises open to all ages.  Take the family on a Blues Cruise. Hear blues in an intimate setting as the Portland Spirit cruises the Willamette River.

Three afternoon Blues Cruises include:

• Drifting Blues Cruise, Friday, July 4;
• Sail On Sister! Blues Cruise, Saturday, July 5;
• Blue Bayou Blues Cruise, Sunday, July 6.

Afternoon cruises board at 2 p.m. and return to dock at 4:30 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance are $20. Tickets on site (if still available) are $30. The Portland Spirit requires photo identification to board all cruises. The only exception is for children 12-years-old or younger. Purchase tickets in advance through Tickets Oregon, a new ticketing venue created by Patrick Lamb. Visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com for more information.

About Oregon Food Bank: Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is the hub of the Oregon Food Bank Network, a statewide network of 20 regional food banks and 919 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 Freight, PacificSource Health Plans, iQ Credit Union, Daimler Truck Financial, Land Rover, The Oregonian A&E, KINK.fm and Travel Portland. Supporting sponsors include Burt’s Bees, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Miller Brewing Co., Henry Weinhard's, Deschutes Brewery, Beringer Wine, Snapple, Pepsi, Nutrisoda, Earth2o Water, Frito Lay Snacks, Yoshida Sauce, Mission Foods, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, NW Natural, FedEx Kinko’s, Impact Advertising, Edge Design, The Boeing Company, PGE, KBOO, OregonLive.com, Blues Revue, Music Millennium, Karolyn March, Guitar Center, Lions Foundation, Cascade Blues Association, Oregon Potters Association, Cascade Zydeco, Delta Music Experience.

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