Harmony for Heroes in Bloomfield

The 3rd Annual “Harmony for Heroes” event will be held Saturday, August 4th from 3 pm to 9:30 PM at the Hold-Field Rod and Gun Club (2857 Whalen Road, Bloomfield). 100% of the proceeds will go to our “heroes” at the four volunteer fire departments in the Bloomfield School District area: Bristol, Ionia, East and West Bloomfield.Some of the musical talents include the bands, Paulsen, Baker and Garvey, the Little Lakes Band and No Boundaries. A number of educational and fun activities have been lined up for kids of all ages. They include the Crosman Air Gun Range, an archery range, the Smoke House Trailer, a Moonwalk, a Cake Wheel, Lazy Acres Alpacas, a petting zoo, Pony rides given by “Little Painted Pony Rides”, “Roscoe” the clown, a Mercy Flight helicopter, an Army Reserve humvee, face painting, henna temporary tattoos, door prizes, 50-50 raffles, a “Royal Flush” booth. A number of arts and crafts vendors will be on hand to sell their wares, including jewelry and wood products. There will be both a silent and live auction where people can bid on items donated by local and surrounding area business. Firefighters from Bristol, East Bloomfield, West Bloomfield and Ionia will square off for a fun and entertaining water ball competition. Concluding the day’s events will be a spectacular fireworks display by Young Explosives Corporation.Ticket donations this year will be $5 per person. Each paid ticket holder is eligible to win one of three cash prizes: $500, $300, and $100. (Children age 10 and under will be admitted free, but are not eligible for the cash prize drawing.) Tickets may be purchased in advance from the Bristol, Ionia, East or West Bloomfield Fire Departments, or Bloomfield businesses such as Cheap Charlie’s, Hometown Pizza and Video, Parkside Pizza & Subs.“Harmony for Heroes” began from an idea Cheryl Walters, East Bloomfield resident, had a few years ago. She started with 2 classical concerts in local churches. Though they were successful, she envisioned thousand of dollars and realized a festival was a necessity including the “heroes” in action and the “harmonious” sounds from incredible local talents, vendors, kids’ activities and more!Walter says “Our goal is to “Help Our Heroes” and to “Make a Difference” in our community! It’s a great community effort for a worthy cause, one that continues on an annul basis. After the fatal accident that occurred last week, we should be thankful for these men and women that volunteer their services to help others, especially in a tragic situation. Imagine if there would be no volunteers to come to our rescue. The lack of volunteers is a national level concern. One of our goals is to increase the number of volunteers in our community. Also these volunteers travel to help other communities more often than people realize.” The festival this year is dedicated to David W. Good, a very dedicated West Bloomfield firefighter that passed away unexpectedly this spring.For more information about the event, contact Cheryl Walters, Benefit Coordinator, at 585-657-4777.