From right, Eagle School Intermediate Assistant Band Director Paige Kozak and Band Director Matt Blom are served by Rotary members at the Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — A total of 200 local residents and visitors attended the first annual Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday afternoon and evening. This number, according to Shepherdstown Rotary Club Youth Services Committee Chair Cara Keys, was limited by a cap at the sale of 200 tickets, which were sold both in-person and prior to the event. However, that number will likely double in size in future years, as the club has more time to plan ahead for a larger turnout.

As it was, Keys said the fundraiser proceeds from this festival would make a substantial dent in the total amount the Shepherdstown Rotary Club is raising, to provide enough chairs for Eagle School Intermediate’s all-star band to practice and perform on.

“Our committee does several projects every year. We work heavily with the Title I schools, as needs come up,” Keys said. “Eagle School Intermediate is the only school that offers before, during and after programs for kids, and I believe that 70 percent of the kids live in poverty that attend that school. We are hoping to fund some of their chairs that they desperately need.”

“They have folding metal chairs, but a lot of them are broken or damaged, and I believe they’ve actually had some incidents where they’ve actually hurt themselves in folding them. It’s sad, because these kids aren’t in the best of circumstances in some cases, and they deserve to have nice chairs, comfortable chairs,” Keys said. “For a lot of these kids, they don’t have extracurriculars other than this. This is their only way to get involved in something.”

According to Keys, the total cost of the chairs is likely around $10,000, although the Shepherdstown Rotary Club will only end up paying a portion of that cost, as it hopes to band together with businesses and neighboring Rotary clubs to cover the cost, along with seeing if a discount will be offered by the chosen chair manufacturer. The chairs they are currently looking at buying are quality, so they will last longer, and cost $75 each.

Shepherdstown resident James Milller, left, takes a cup of beer from Greg Keys, who was helping at the event as the husband of its organizer, Youth Services Committee Chair Cara Keys. Tabitha Johnston

“It’s important to remember, though, that everything we raise isn’t going through somebody. It’s going directly to the projects, because we’re all volunteers,” Keys said. “This couldn’t have been done without our Rotarians and our committee, the Youth Services Committee. Jen Wabnitz, Walt Eifert and Austin Slater were instrumental in helping me bring this to life — the four of us really carried this through. With the help of all of the volunteers, of the Rotary and beyond, that’s how we were able to get this off of the ground.”

In the future, the Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest will take place in April or May, according to Keys. As with this event, future festivals will feature freshly-made food, beer, wine, hard cider, dancing, music played by a DJ and craft vendors.

Eagle School Intermediate All-Star Band Director Matt Bloom and Assistant Band Director Paige Kozak both attended the event, which allowed them to personally share the needs of the band, for which they were volunteering their time to lead.

“The Rotary invited us to do a presentation and have been incredibly helpful,” Kozak said. “To me, it’s really important, because Martinsburg’s my home town. But it’s a Title I school — our kids are impoverished and don’t get a lot of opportunities. With Mr. Blom and our band program, they’re able to get that.”

According to Blom, as of the beginning of this school year, part of the band is learning to play instruments from the only available seating — the school lunchroom benches. He said he hopes for the new chairs to be donated in time for the band’s winter concert.

Shepherdstown residents Donna Joy and Russ Byrum sign in at the ticket table for the Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

“Because we’re an intermediate school, we don’t get any county or state funding for our program at all,” Blom said, mentioning neighboring states provide funding for intermediate school band programs, unlike West Virginia, which only provides funding for schools with older students.

Blom said the program’s difficult financial situation was made clear at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, when he realized the school had only 30 instruments for their students to play this school year. Thankfully, after reaching out to the community, that number doubled, due to community instrument donations.

“We have about 90 kids signed up, just for the band. One hundred and sixteen are in our [music] program over all,” Blom said. “For the most part, we are able to supply instruments for students who want to participate in the program. There are some families that are able to purchase or rent their own instruments, which has helped out a lot, to ease the school being able to supply those.”

Jefferson High School Rotaract President Alma Cedillo and Rotary Club of Frederick members Caroline Pugh and Michael Pugh, who are also the parents of Shepherdstown Rotary Club Youth Services Committee Chair Cara Keys, help sign in ticket holders at the Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston

Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest attendees play corn hole at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

Sugar Whipped, which will be opening a physical location in downtown Shepherdstown this fall, donated cupcakes and cookies to the Shepherdstown Beer & Food Fest at Morgan’s Grove Park on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston