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emember what great fun you had at
the Blues Festival last year? |
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Well, get ready for the 2nd Annual Trinidaddio Blues &
Cultural Festival (TBF) to be held Saturday, August 26, 10am at Mulligans Pub
& Grub, the old Elm Street Station. Last year's inaugural event attracted
nearly 1,000 paying blues lovers and proceeds benefited the Main Street Group, a
group of local merchants committed to preserving and enhancing the historic
downtown district.
TBF began as the "notion" of festival organizer Neil
Sexton shortly after his Trinidaddio Blues Hour debuted on KCRT - 92.5 in
Trinidad. "I knew we could get top blues talent to play in Trinidad but ...
I didn't know a thing about putting on a blues fest," Neil explained. And
the idea might have died right there had the Trinidad Area Arts Council (TAAC)
not gotten involved. "Once the TAAC agreed to provide seed money, the
pressure was on to pull this thing off!" Part of the agreement with TAAC
was to include a fine crafts fair along with other cultural elements of
Trinidad, hence the official name -- the Trinidaddio Blues & Cultural
Festival.
The event truly grew into a group effort when local businesses
such as Land Properties, Trinidad Builders, The Whistle Stop & Subway Shop,
Circle Chevrolet and Black Jack's Salon & Steakhouse began to make
significant contributions.
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Other donations followed from the First National Bank,
Community First National Bank, Danielson Designs, Curiosities, and the Digital
Entertainment Store. The Chamber of Commerce, Trinidad/Las Animas County
Economic Development, and many local volunteers also began to play a major role
in the development process of this new Trinidad tradition. Marty Solano at Top
of the Rockies used Kyle Vincent Meredith's logo to produce the first TBF
T-shirts and Elm Street Station (now Mulligans), and the Main Street Bakery
& Cafe provided food & beverages. The event was a total team effort and
an overwhelming success. The community came together, the weather cooperated,
and top blues acts from all over the county & country performed.
But all that's last year's history. Here's a preview of this year's talent:
Trinidad's own Ginos Trio and Jaquie Gipson, from Pueblo, Blue Suburban,
Boulder's national recording artist, Otis Taylor, and Trinidad native now based
in Denver, Jason Eklund. Coming from out of state, the Albuquerque Blues
Connection, from Chicago performing her latest CD "Dream Shoes",
Katherine Davis. One of the nation's top harmonica and blues bands from Austin
Texas, Gary Primich. Closing out the evening are headliners: Tad (T-bags)
Robinson from Chicago and Los Angeles "Guitar Czar" Alex Schutz. Some
of the top blues musicians in the country are all coming to Trinidad so expose
yourself to the blues and don't miss this show. Gates open at 10am. 
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