Series of concerts to benefit Imperial Valley Food Bank
IMPERIAL — A series of concerts featuring local bands will be taking place at Imperial Grove and the ticket proceeds will go toward the non-profit organization Imperial Valley Food Bank.
The Grove is an outdoor venue at the IVFB Rabobank Center, which is the new home of the Food Bank, 486 W. Aten Road.
The series of concerts, titled Imperial Grove Concert Series, began on Jan. 12 with a performance from the band Standing Room Only.
The second concert in the Concert Series will take place on Sunday, and will feature the Calexico-based band La Cachimba.
Members of the six-man group hail from the Calexico and Mexicali area. The band, which has been in existence for the past 12 years, performs throughout the Valley, United States and Mexicali.
On Wednesday afternoon, the band volunteered for a few hours at IVFB to pack bags of food for those in need.
“I am thrilled to welcome La Cachimba to the Imperial
Grove,” IVFB Executive Director Sara Griffen said. “It’s great to see members of our community supporting each other. We hope residents come out to see this great band, which will help support fighting hunger in the Imperial Valley.”
The concert series is being advertised with the slogan, “A benefit concert to feed the hungry.”
IVFB currently serves more than 23,000 individual residents in need each month as the central distribution point for all food donations in the Valley.
Last year, the non-profit increased the food distributed to the community to a record of 5.5 million pounds.
The Imperial Grove opened soon after IVFB officially moved into the Rabobank Center at the end of summer 2019.
The Grove has seating for about 200 guests, and plenty of dancing room. It is available for rent by the public for quinceañeras, weddings and other events.
The Jan. 12 performance was the first concert held at the Grove. During that concert, Standing Room Only, led by Clark Baker on trumpet and Katy Calvin- Gradillas on vocals, played a mixture of original and cover songs. All proceeds from the $25 cover charge benefited IVFB. For Sunday’s concert, IVFB is offering presale tickets, which are $20 each. They can be purchased at the Imperial, Brawley or El Centro chambers of commerce, or in person or by phone at the Food Bank. Tickets at the door will be $ 25. Doors open at 6 p. m., and the concert begins at 6: 30 p. m. The concert is for guests 21 years old or older, and there will be a cash bar for wine and beer. The next act in the concert series has yet to be announced.