Tonight’s ‘Bluegrass Jam’ Event in Knox Will Help Assist Hungry Starke County Citizens

Community members are invited to bring non-perishable food donations to the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center tonight in order to gain access to the Country Music and Gospel Bluegrass Jam event hosted by the City of Knox.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. and wrap up around 10 p.m.

Earlier this week, Mayor Dennis Estok told city council members and meeting attendees that there will be a few bands that typically perform during this annual event. However, he noted that it’s open to community musicians as well. Continue reading

Record Amount of Food Pantry Donations Collected at Local Event

Stephanie Shepard, Sarah Clemons and Jake Skorup help gather donations at the Bluegrass Jam
Stephanie Shepard, Sarah Clemons and Jake Skorup help gather donations at the Bluegrass Jam

The Starke County Community Services food pantry received a donation from a recent community event.

The holidays usually bring in a good amount of food for underprivileged families and then donations drop off. The Bluegrass Jam event helps supply the food pantry with needed funds and items to stock the shelves. The admission fee to the concert featuring local talent is a donation for the food pantry or a monetary gift so the staff at Community Services of Starke County can purchase what is needed for families.

The event at the Nancy J. Dembowski Community Center in Knox on Saturday collected 998 pounds of food and $440 was raised.

Knox Mayor Rick Chambers told the city council members this week that since the program started six years ago, this is a record high for collections in a single event. In all of those years, 6,529 pounds of food and $2,586 has been collected.

Bluegrass Jam held at Knox Community Center

Country music fans, especially of the Bluegrass persuasion, turned out Friday night for Mayor Rick Chamber’s Bluegrass Jam at the Knox Community Center.

Mayor Chambers said the event gives musicians, and fans alike a chance to get out and enjoy their music of choice.

“We had a great turnout as usual,” said Mayor Rick Chambers. “We had about 270 people here. We had donations for the Food Pantry and my pickup truck is full of food. We probably have 700 or 800 pounds of food. It’s a really great turnout. We hold these events about twice a year and we’d like to do more, but the Community Center is usually rented out, so we do one in early spring and late fall.”

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