Bluegrass marathon in Birchdale helps support families of troops

And bluegrass players in the heart of Birchdale will be joining them, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Birchdale Community Building.

While the marathon jam plays out in other cities, Birchdale will also host its own Acoustic Music Jam — singing and playing, hooting and hollering — all in the name of raising money for Fisher House Foundation.

All musicians in the area interested in jamming for this cause are encouraged to participate and should contact Soren Olesen or Judith Nelson at 218-634-2800. All veterans and military personnel are especially welcome to attend, as are other members of the public.

Fisher House is an organization which supplies room and board to the families of American soldiers recovering in VA hospitals. With funds raised, families can visit their wounded and recovering loved ones and have a free place to stay when they get there.

Birchdale resident Olesen and the members of his family band Sloughgrass as well as other players in the region will again participate in the marathon jam. Last year’s “jamathon” didn’t last quite as long as in some locations, according to Olesen, due to the extreme weather. But even the shorter jam was intense and enthusiastic, he said.

“ ... Audience members traveled hundreds of miles on the snow-covered roads to be a part of the fund raiser and to join in the fun time, “ Olesen said, adding that the hope is to double both the attendance and the funds raised last year.

In 2009, folks who attended the Birchdale event raised $600 for the Minneapolis Fisher House, which provides lodging for the family members of military personnel who have been wounded and are back in the states receiving medical attention at a VA hospital.

It has been said that the Fisher House is to the military what the Ronald McDonald House is to civilian America. A Fisher house can generally host between 16 and 42 families and is always within walking distance of the nearby treatment facility. Fisher Houses operated by the Department of Veteran Affairs serve at no cost to family members of military personnel.

Olesen said anyone at any musical level is welcome to join Saturday’s bluegrass jamming on acoustic stringed instruments. He described the setting for the jamathon:

“Typically the musicians will gather in a circle and take turns deciding which tune to play. This is a great way for both experienced musicians and not-as-experienced musicians to get together and share the joyous sounds of music.”

A chili potluck is being staged for the Saturday event, and those who come to play or listen should bring their own alcoholic beverages.

The fund raiser began as the brain child of author and bluegrass musician John Santa of Chapel Hill, N.C., where the event is globally centered (jams in Baghdad and Afghanistan are included). Santa’s dream is to have the marathon happening in every state of the Union.

“It’s just a way to say thank you to the sons and daughters and the husbands and wives of all the people serving the United States,” Santa said in a release. He said it is a way people can show how much they care.

Derek Donovan, vice president for operations of the Fisher House Foundation, recently sent a letter to all the team captains, including Olesen, for staging the jamathons.

“I want to personally thank you all for what you are doing on behalf of our men and women in uniform and the Fisher House program,” Donovan wrote. “You are showing those who have dedicated their lives through service in our Armed Forces that you recognize and appreciate their significant contributions and sacrifices, and care about them, particularly in their time of need.”

The Fisher House Foundation’s creed is “Dedicated to our greatest national treasure ... our military service men and women and their loved ones.

Donations may be made at the event or online at www.fisherhouse.org where details are available. More information is also available by visiting www.sloughgrass.