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Southern Oregon Music Festival needs help to survive Dancers mix it up to live jazz on the dance floor of KOBI's Studio C during the 2008 Medford Jazz Jubilee, which later changed its name to the Southern Oregon Music Festival. Mail Tribune / file photo Sunday Jan 29, 2017 at 12:01 AM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune The loss of three major sponsors who donated a combined $50,000 in the past has put the Southern Oregon Music Festival’s future into question. A fundraising initiative will be launched in about two weeks to help the festival survive, said Dennis Ramsden, festival board president and executive director. The festival needs money to sign contracts with musicians for the event, which is scheduled to run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 in downtown Medford. “We need to reach that goal of $50,000 by March 1 to continue this festival,” said Ramsden. “It’s got to be sustained. We are looking for new, sustaining sponsors, businesses or individuals.” Two individuals who died had contributed the bulk of the money, while Providence Medford Medical Center had contributed $10,000. Ramsden declined to identify the individuals. “These were all loyal donors. They have been with us for years,” said Ramsden. “We were going along fine, and all of a sudden you just get whacked. If anything, we are one of the outstanding festivals in the country.” Musicians including Tom Rigney and Flambeau, Gator Nation and Bob Draga with Friends have appeared at the event several times. “The bands are basically on hold right now. They are doing everything they can to accommodate us,” said Ramsden. “I can’t get them contracts now. There is a time element.” Ramsden plans to mail postcards to 5,000 people in the festival’s database as part of the fundraising effort, and a professional fundraiser has volunteered her expertise, he said. Ramsden said he is optimistic the effort will succeed. “I’ve been here long enough to know when something happens, the community gets involved,” said Ramsden. Musician Larry Bernard and others started the event as the Medford Jazz Jubilee in October 1989, and it has been held annually since. Originally a Dixieland festival, the event now encompasses a broad range of music. It was renamed the Medford Jazz Festival in 2009 and became the Southern Oregon Music Festival in 2014. Last year, the festival sold 1,800 passes for events at five venues over three days, offering 100 hours of music from 15 bands. Passes range from single events to the entire festival, and sales were up from the previous year, Ramsden said, adding that about 60 percent of attendees come from out of town. About half the festival’s budget comes from pass sales, while donations comprise the other half, said Ramsden. A portion of proceeds is used for educational programs. Providence has been aligning fulfillment of sponsorship requests more closely with groups that support the organization’s mission of health care, said Gary Walker, director of communications for Providence in Oregon. Based on a community assessment, groups that prioritize food and meals, access to care and homeless services have been funded. Providence’s decision on funding was made locally, Walker said. National Public Radio’s eTown recently gave the festival an eChievement Award for its Leave a Legacy program, which makes used instruments available to students in Jackson and Josephine counties. The program was launched four years ago and has supplied 200 instruments. Since its start, the festival has contracted two bands to arrive a week early and give performances in primary and middle schools. Last year, 15,000 students heard the bands in 30 performances. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].