News Release

2010 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival breaks record

PORTLAND, Ore. – (July 8, 2010) Stellar performances, enthusiastic volunteers, committed sponsors and generous blues fans helped make the 23rd Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union, a rousing success.

Blues fans set a new record, donating about $650,000 and exceeding this year’s $600,000 goal. Blues fans also exceeded this year’s food goal of 100,000 pounds, donating 100,662 pounds of food. In addition, the Oregon Potters Association’s Empty Bowls sales contributed $17,800 to support Oregon Food Bank’s mission.

“The festival involves the entire community. We thank our generous and committed sponsors, the more than 1,500 volunteers who kept the four-day festival running smoothly, the Oregon Potters Association and the music fans who donated food and funds,” said Rachel Bristol, Oregon Food Bank’s executive director and CEO.

Blues vocalist Janiva Magness, the 2009 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, underscored the significance of those donations as she shared her own experience with hunger with the festival audience. Living in Medford in 1976, she said, she was only able to make it thanks to the local food bank.

The annual Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is Oregon Food Bank’s largest annual fundraiser. Every $10 donation enables Oregon Food Bank to collect and distribute about 50 pounds of food, the average weight of an emergency food box for a family of four.

“From Trombone Shorty on the Miller Stage to zydeco on the Oregonian Front Porch Stage, the music offered something fun for everyone,” said Marlene Carlson, Oregon Food Bank director of development. “But it’s the atmosphere that makes this festival so special. We are fortunate to live in a wonderful place. It’s a heart-warming experience to look across the crowd and know that everyone participated in helping others while having a great time.”

Since its modest beginnings in 1988, the award-winning festival has grown to be the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi, attracting blues fans from throughout the world.

More than 100,000 people attended the festival. Visitors from every state in the nation as well as England, Sweden, Germany, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, The Philippines, Poland, Bermuda, and the Bahamas stopped at the festival’s Information Booth.

Performers included Taj Mahal, John Mayall, Trombone Shorty, Booker T., Bobby Rush, Michael Burks Band with Lucky Peterson, Janiva Magness, Little Feat, Commander Cody, Galactic with Cyril Neville, JJ Grey & Mofro, Super Chikan & The Fighting Cocks, Walter Trout, Chris Thomas King, Cedrick Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, Moreland and Arbuckle, Mingo Fishtrap, porterdavis, Norton Buffalo’s Knockouts, Kara Grainger from Australia, Baskery from Sweden, Paul Cebar and Curtis Salgado.

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 935 hunger-relief agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash.

Festival sponsors: The Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival is presented by First Tech Credit Union. Major sponsors included: FedEx Corporation, iQ Credit Union, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, The Oregonian, KINK.fm, KIA Motors and Delta Music Experience. Supporting sponsors include: Miller Brewing Co., Deschutes Brewery, Beringer Wine, Snapple, Pepsi, Earth2O Water, Frito Lay Snacks, Dave’s Killer Bread, Yoshida Sauce, Mission Foods, Dreyer’s Ice Cream, Sabra, Larabar, Cascadian Farms, Millstone Coffee, Shakers Vodka, The Boeing Co., Wahl Trimmers, Regal Cinemas, Portland General Electric, FamilyCare Health Plans, Schwindt & Co., NW Natural, KBOO, Blues Revue, OregonLive.com, EcoShuttle, University Place Hotel, Hotel Fifty and Marriott Hotel, SmartPark, Cascade Zydeco and Cascade Blues Association.