Harvest of Hope Fest

By Nick McGregor

The Oldest City has attracted scores of heavy hitting bands since the St. Augustine Amphitheatre reopened after renovations in 2007. But nobody thought the St. Johns County Fairgrounds, which underwent its own ‘07 facelift, would also drastically improve the music scene on the First Coast. With the three-day Harvest of Hope Fest slated to hit the Fairgrounds (located 13 miles west of downtown in Elkton) on March 6th-9th, the list of musicians losing their St. Augustine virginity – from Canadian punk-rock radicals Propagandhi to mashup DJ king Girl Talk – will increase exponentially.

And it’s all because of the hard work of four very different men.

Using an inheritance from his social worker grandmother, Phillip Kellerman founded the nonprofit Harvest of Hope Foundation in 1997 after gaining experience manning the National Migrant Education Hotline at State University College in Oneonta, NY. Providing emergency and educational financial aid to hard-working yet needy migrant farmworkers and families, Harvest of Hope has distributed close to $700,000 for everything from car repairs to utility payments to scholarships for college.

“Another goal of Harvest of Hope is to generate awareness of the huge economic, social, and cultural contributions of migrant farmworkers and their families,” Kellerman says. “They travel long distances to work in our nation’s fields harvesting a large share of the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that Americans enjoy daily.”

And lest Harvest of Hope be grouped in with other nonprofit agencies squandering millions of dollars, Kellerman gladly offers up a detailed account of micro-loans given out during 2008.

“Strict procedures for the distribution of funds is adhered to,” he reiterates. “The Foundation provides a hand, not a hand-out.”

Kellerman moved the Foundation to Gainesville, FL, in 2003, and a coworker from New York suggested that he contact Ryan Murphy of local record label No Idea Records. Murphy began working with Harvest of Hope through his graduate program in English as a Second Language at University of Florida, and in 2005 he convinced good friends and Gainesville natives Against Me! to play a hometown benefit for Harvest of Hope.

“The band liked the grassroots aid that we provided,” Kellerman remembers. “They performed four more 2005 benefits in Athens, Chicago, Little Rock, and once more in Gainesville, and the monies donated from the five benefits totaled $18,000.”

Murphy then began discussing a larger Harvest of Hope Fest with No Idea Records publicist Tony Weinbender, who organizes the wildly popular The Fest in Gainesville, and St. Johns Fairgrounds/St. Augustine Amphitheatre general manager Ryan Dettra.

“The three of us met and decided to apply for a grant from the St. Johns Tourism Bureau,” Kellerman says. “Ryan and Tony convinced them that they had the experience and support to bring thousands of concert-goers to St. Johns County.”

The Tourism Bureau liked what they saw, and awarded Harvest of Hope $50,000 – the largest amount ever donated to an organization by the county.

“It’s super hard to book a first-time festival,” Dettra says. “But since Tony has personal contacts and long relationships with so many bands, we’ve been able to establish the Harvest of Hope Fest as something new and exciting.”

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For more info:harvestofhopefest.com

staugamphitheatre.com/fairgrounds

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So far, confirmed acts include pop-punk legends The Bouncing Souls, Jacksonville indie pop sensation Black Kids, Gainesville ska veterans Less Than Jake, North Carolina cowpunks Lucero, Canadian garage rock ensemble King Khan & The Shrines, and folksters John Vanderslice, Tim Barry, and Hammell On Trial. As of press time, commitments were also pending from New York Gypsy collective Gogol Bordello and D.C. hardcore pioneers Bad Brains, and Dettra insisted that several more announcements would be made in coming weeks.And that doesn’t even begin to include the multitude of smaller St. Augustine and Gainesville acts eager to add their voice and assistance to the show.

“The punk rock and progressive rock movement has many open-minded individuals who like the unique work of Harvest of Hope in helping migrant workers,” Kellerman says.

Fifty percent of the bands have offered to play totally gratis, and those generous donations combined with the expected throngs of fans will go far to further Harvest of Hope’s agenda.

“There are three objectives to the Harvest of Hope Fest,” Kellerman said. “First, the overall mission is to raise funds so we can continue to provide essential direct financial aid to migrant farmworkers and families. Second, the HOH Fest will provide many opportunities to increase awareness of the challenges facing our nation’s mobile harvesters. And third, if the HOH Fest raises substantial dollars, Harvest of Hope would like to establish an endowment to secure the financial future of the organization.”

In the end, Harvest of Hope Fest will let you keep your New Year’s resolution about giving back to the community, while also indulging in some seriously sweet shows under the beautiful spring Florida sun. Rocking out for a good cause never sounded better.