This program – specifically the Harold Aldridge Informances – is funded in part by the Oklahoma Humanities Council (OHC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expresses in this program do not necessarily represent those of OHC or NEH.
What the OAC says about our Festival “The applicant described a long-standing cultural event in a very rural and underserved community. The event has a strong reputation and attracts audience members and musicians from outside Oklahoma. Thorough explanation of expenses and income. Low cost of tickets ensures that this event is accessible. Culturally diverse audience and performing artists. Recommendations for the Applicant: Continue to seek out increased sponsorship and increasing vendor fees to continue toward sustainability for the festival. Review and refine social media platforms and presence as a component of overall marketing and event promotion.”
– we love them!!
RENTIESVILLE BLUES FEST
Sponsorship and Signage Opportunities
We print up to 20,000 post cards for every festival and distribute them beforehand. The sooner you submit your sponsorship, the better the distribution exposure for your company.
Bronze Level, $100-249: Sponsor signs posted on festival field and one free ticket per $50 of support
Silver Level, $250-499 Level B, $250-349: Sponsor signs at event and one free ticket per $50 of support (five-ticket maximum)
Level A, $350-499: Sponsor-provided banner close to main stage and one free ticket per $50 of support
Gold Level, $500-749: Sponsor logo featured on post cards and other print materials, T-shirts and 300 posters. Your banner, provided by you, will be placed in a high visibility area near the main stage. Gold Level sponsors receive one free ticket per $50 of support (10-ticket maximum). You provide the banner, or F.O.R. Blues Festival will create it for $65.
Gold PLUS, $750-999:Sponsor logo featured on post cards and other print materials, 400 T-shirts and 300 posters. Your banner, provided by you, will be placed in a high visibility area near the main stage. Gold PLUS level sponsors receive one free ticket per $50 of support (10-ticket maximum). You provide the banner, or F.O.R. Blues Festival will create it for $65.
Platinum Level, $1,000-4,999: Sponsor logo featured on post cards and other print materials. 400 T-shirts and 300 posters. Your banner, provided by you, will be placed in a high visibility area near the main stage. Platinum level sponsors receive one free ticket per $50 of support (10-ticket maximum) and a poster and T-shirt. You provide banner, or F.O.R. Blues Festival will create it for $65.
Major Sponsor, $5,000 plus:Sponsor logo featured on post cards and other print materials distributed across the state and beyond, 400 T-shirts and 500 posters. Your banner, provided by you, will be placed in a high visibility area near the main stage. Major Sponsors receive 10 free tickets, a poster and T-shirt. F.O.R. Blues Fest will create a complimentary banner from your business card.
All sponsorships are tax deductible through the non-profit organization F.O.R. Blues, Inc.
Please make checks payable to: F.O.R. Blues, Inc. Blues Festival Mail to: F.O.R. Blues, Inc. Blues Festival 103020 D.C. Minner Street Checotah, Oklahoma 74426
All sponsors are invited to a special Sponsor and Volunteer Thank You Party with live music and food, Saturday, October 7 from 3-
5 p.m. at the D.C. Minner Rentiesville Museum!
Signage Details
Are you a Silver “A” to Platinum Level Sponsor and want a festival banner, but don’t have the time to design one? For just $65, F.O.R. Blues Fest will create your banner from your business card! Call Selby at 1-918-855-0978. Major sponsors receive complimentary banners.
Bronze Level, $100-249: 8 ½” by 11” on the ground or screen all three days of the event
Silver Level “B”, $250-349: 11” by 17” on the screen or sponsor-provided banner on the field fencing
Silver Level “A”, $350-499: 3 feet by 6 feet banner on the fencing close to the stage
Gold Level, $500-749: 3 feet by 6 feet banner near main stage
Gold PLUS, $750-999: 3 feet by 6 feet banner near main stage
Platinum Level, $1,000-4,999: 3 feet by 6 feet banner nearer to main stage
Major Sponsor, $5,000 plus: 3 feet by 6 feet banner nearest main stage
who we are and what we do here:
Backgrounder by Bianca DD 27
F.O.R. Blues 2015 Action Sheet
Rentiesville fest keeps blues roots running deep
Labor Day Weekend
By Michele Schmidt in Currentland
RENTIESVILLE, Okla. –
Selby Minner
and Friends of Rentiesville Blues,
Inc. present the 23rd annual Dusk ‘til
Dawn Blues Festival Aug. 30-Sept. 1
at the Down Home Blues Club.
This longest running blues festival
in the state is downhome blues
– Oklahoma style – and features
over 200 musicians on three different
stages over the weekend. Blues
queen and festival co-founder Selby
Minner said that having musicians
from the area present and playing is
important to her.
“It’s about giving credit where
credit is due,” said Minner. “This year
is about bringing it all back home. So
much of the music we present has
Oklahoma roots and this festival is
really about showcasing that. It’s the
music that got me here in the first
place.”
Dorothy “Miss Blues” Ellis is an
internationally known blues legend
with the kind of soul that only comes
from real life hard experience. This
is why she is often called a “true
world ambassador of the history and
sound of the blues.” For more on her,
check out www.missblues.com.
Though many of the musicians are
local and regional, blues acts come
from all over to share their songs.
See the festival website
for more on bands, bios, music
schedules, and more.
The festival also includes a Children’s
Village
with lots of things to
keep youngsters busy. Jahruba will
be holding a drum circle, Joann Mc-
Millan will have her stick puppets.
It’s easy to see why this festival
is called the world’s best and largest
backyard party. It was created
together with Selby Minner by her late husband, D.C.
Minner (1935-2008), in an attempt to
keep his family legacy alive after a
string of old juke joints were being
bulldozed all across the country. In
fact, there were at least five others in
Rentiesville back in those days. Some had dirt floors.
“Things are so much more corporate
now than they were in those
days, as opposed to mom and pop
like they were then,” said Selby Minner.
“It was important to D.C. to preserve
some of that.”
So now, where he was born and
raised, musicians and music lovers
come from all around to enjoy the
sound of blues history. For this and
other reasons, the Down Home Blues
Club is important to many other people
as well.
“Tell everybody that in Oklahoma,
hidden out in the woods is a little
old juke joint called the Down Home
Blues Club. It’s authentic, funky, and
very much alive,” said Domenica
Lovera, founding board member of
F.O.R. Blues, Inc. “It is rural and real
in a sense that other venues fail to
capture. For those who long to feel
the power of the blues; try Rentiesville!”
Admission to the festival is $15
daily. Children enter free. Rentiesville
is 15 miles south of Muskogee and
about 5 miles northeast of I-40 via
U.S. 69. For more information, please
visit www.dcminnerblues.com or call (918) 855-0978.
Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.
–
Marjorie Moore