A Day Of Music Is In The Works, Just For The Fun Of It

By Shannon Hicks

Jason Glander is single-handedly pulling together a daylong music festival just because he wants to.

Mr Glander, a resident of Newtown who is home on summer break from the University of Colorado at Boulder, seems to be having withdrawal from all the arts and entertainment offerings he has become used to having at his fingertips while at college. So he has taken matters into his hands and is coordinating a day of live music, grilled food and other refreshments, and raffles that he is calling The First Annual Newtown G-Fest.

“Newtown needs something good like this,” Mr Glander said recently, sitting down at the pavilion at Dickinson Park — the same location next weekend’s big festival will be taking place.

“So often you have to go outside of town, or even out of the state, for really good music,” he continued. “This should get everybody’s blood pumping. I want to encourage everyone to go, not just teens — all ages can have fun at this thing.”

G-Fest will open at 11:30 on Sunday, July 25, and will feature ongoing live music performances until 10 pm. Admission is a $10 donation, with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association. There will be food including grilled hamburgers and hot dogs available and raffles, proceeds of which will also benefit AHA.

Headlining the festival will be Mental Gypsies, who plays what Mr Glander calls jazzy rock.

“They do nice piano stuff, and it’s a good rock band,” he said.

Also performing next Sunday will be the reggae band Dan Bailey, a band Mr Glander says he has seen open for The Wailers; Gutter Boogie, a classic rock band; Drawn Inward, with newer rock; and rock bands Gravy Hound, The Grapes, Amnesty, Drawn Inward, and Retzlib Flow.

Mr Glander, who has always been interested in music and plays drums and guitar, is the drummer for Retzlib Flow.

The event is going to be suitable for all ages, which is good considering its location in the town’s oldest public park. Parents and children can enjoy the music while also enjoying any of Dickinson Park’s amenities. Take a walk around the grounds, play some volleyball or tennis, play in the playground, and take in some of the music — the festival will allow people to enjoy everything the park always have available, with the bonus of having food and additional fun at their fingertips.

Sponsors have been donating items to raffle during the afternoon, including gift certificates, theme baskets, and single items. Drug Center Pharmacy, Emmett and Glander, The Ice Cream Shop, Newtown Color Center, Newtown Exxon, and Wesco Sports have all signed on to help sponsor the event, and Mr Glander is open to accepting additional sponsors and/or raffle items.

Mr Glander decided to donate G-Fest’s funds to The American Heart Association to honor his late father. Bob Glander, who was very active with coaching countless youth sports teams in Newtown and of the Western CT Youth Peewee Hockey team, died of a heart attack in October 1999.

The AHA will have a booth set up at G-Fest with information about the association and heart health.

When he returns to college in the fall Mr Glander will be a junior. While living in Boulder, he says, he became accustomed to the city and its offerings.

“Boulder’s a very good place to be. I like the town’s atmosphere. It’s more laid back out there, but there’s also a lot going on,” he said. “I would like to have that kind of thing going on here.”

Mr Glander said he has wanted to create an event like G-Fest for some time, and has even spoken with friends at school about doing something like this. He may even want to get into the promotions business in the future, although that isn’t definite. If he does decide to take his career in that direction, having organized a festival would look good on his résumé.

The name of the festival, by the way, comes from Mr Glander’s nickname.

“A lot of people call me G Man, so I decided to call this thing G-Fest,” he said.

“Hey it’s my festival,” he said with a laugh. “I can call it anything I want.”

To donate items for the raffle at next weekend’s G-Fest, contact Mr Glander at 270-9700.