We were at Jazz Bash by the Bay in Monterey in 2022, living it up and enjoying the first live festival we had been to since 2019. We did not attend Fresno last year due to conflicts, so this was our first opportunity to get out and enjoy the music and company like we did before you-know-what.
We ran into Linda Shipp and Alfredo Montelongo, directors of the Fresno Festival. I had been told that that festival was on hard times and needed a financial boost. I was considering whether our club or ourselves should donate money and how much.
Then Linda informed us that one of their major costs was going to be the sound company, who had greatly increased their pricing from prior years. The amount that she told me they wanted was astonishing, especially for the size of that event; three indoor venues. On impulse, I told her that we would bring sound equipment for them and that Jeff would run it during their 2023 festival, but that they also needed to get more volunteers to operate it. This would save them thousands of dollars.
When we got home from Monterey, we called Jim Borland and asked him if he would help out and bring some of his equipment, as needed. He was all in. Over the course of the following year, we spoke to Alfredo occasionally to let them know that we were still committed to this offer. In October of 2022, I started to firm things up with Alfredo for Fresno, getting more spe
