Written by Elise Olmstead
While most are aware of the meaning of the pink ribbon – Breast Cancer awareness– we are not always given an easy opportunity to help! You’re in luck, though, because an opportunity with no marathons or pink yogurt lids required has come along, instead you can buy a t-shirt, see some great music, and support a great cause. BreastFest of Champions, taking place in College Park, MD, on October 20th, is coming up in its 9th annual year to raise money for breast cancer research.
University of Maryland fraternity Kappa Alpha Order hosts the event on the front lawn of their chapter house, and Kappa Delta sorority will be co-sponsoring this year. Zach Smith and Isaac Hembree of KA are the co-chairmen for the event and are excited to make an impact within the local community. “The event was inspired by an organization created by an alumnus’ family after experiencing the loss of a loved one due to breast cancer,” says the Kappa Alpha Order chapter. The event has raised over $200,000 in the past couple of years.
Breastfest of Champions did not always have music, so this year’s lineup is an exciting addition to the event. “Last year we turned it into a concert…this is located on the front lawn of our KA chapter house. It is a large area and…we took advantage of it for the first time at last year’s Breastfest by having a stage and bands play for the first time.”
This year Higher Education will be headlining–a nationally touring psychedelic rock reggae band that melds many different genres and decades of sound into their music. “Higher Education is also from College Park, so this is exciting for them to play near home and for a great cause.” Edjacated Phools, another rising rock reggae band from Baltimore to keep an eye out for, will be bringing their power vocally-driven sound, along with Fallston, MD, reggae band The Never Ending Fall.
People of all ages are welcome to come, “We want this to be the biggest philanthropy event at the University of Maryland,” says Nick Delgado, who headed the event last year. Breastfest last year raised close to $40,000. You can purchase a t-shirt the day of the event, which will give you entry and access to music as well as food vendors. All proceeds go to directly to Cold Spring Research Lab: a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant genetics, genomics, and quantitative biology. The event takes place from 4PM-8PM. Music will start around 5pm. Stop by to pick up a shirt and catch some tunes!
KA will be accepting any donations throughout October. More information can be found on the Facebook breastfest event page.
