A daylong concert in Aspinwall, hosted on four private porches, hit the right chord.
“The weather was beautiful, the bands were great and hundreds of people were there throughout,” Organizer Tripp Clarke said of the inaugural PorchFest.
The best part?
Though the event was free, donations topped $2,000 — enough to fund the Aspinwall Neighbors soup delivery program for the next year.
The advocacy group runs the food delivery typically only in the cold weather months but could be able to expand the timeframe based on donations.
Proceeds will cover the upcoming season of soup delivery, providing soup, bread and volunteer-baked cookies. It helps senior citizens — or anyone who has had a recent loss, illness or surgery — stay connected with their neighbors, Karin Asher said of the deliveries.
“We are excited to explore some possible expansions to the soup delivery program to allow us to reach additional neighbors, additional months throughout the year and a possible return to having volunteers prepare our soup some months,” said Asher, a volunteer with the Neighbors group.
Currently, volunteers deliver one quart of soup a month, at no cost once, to those who request it.
PorchFest was held Aug. 29 to celebrate national Play Music on the Porch Day. The event consisted of four bands on four porches in the 200 block of Western Avenue.
Musicians included Boxcar Skyline, Grimace, Normal City and Jeff Schmutz of Good Brother Earl.
Play Music on the Porch Day, founded in 2014 as an idea to illustrate the power of song, has grown to include musicians in more than 70 countries.
“It was such an incredible community event,” Asher said.
“Many people don’t know that our soup delivery program is entirely donation-funded and volunteer-run, so this event was an amazing way to kick off our season.”