BOISE — Saturday afternoon at JUMP in downtown Boise was all about the community, helping one another, and the blues.
The first ever, “Wipe Away The Blues Festival” kicked off on a high note.
Astegos.org, which supports families experiencing homelessness, put on Saturday's event, along with the Boise Blues Society and The Boise Phil.
"There's such a lack of affordable housing in the valley, so we just wanted to raise awareness about our program and the diaper bank's need," said Tim Flaherty, Executive Director of Astegos.org and Wipe Away The Blues Festival.
The event was free, but audience members were asked to donate baby wipes.
“The diaper banks gives out 500,000 diapers a year to families in need in the Treasure Valley and in Idaho,” Flaherty said. “I just want people to know that they can help.”
The Boise Phil's Eric Garcia didn't play with the Verde Percussion Group, but instead spent the day emceeing the event.
“To me, as both a music director and as a citizen of the community, it (the festival) means that I live in a really caring community,” Garcia said.
Hollis Welsh, executive director for the Boise Phil agrees with the sentiment.
“It just shows our community continues to grow in the right kinds of ways. We're getting bigger but we're getting tighter and we're getting more committed to one another,” Welsh said.