Music festival helps make wishes come true
JACKSON, Tenn. — Music lovers from all over the U.S. gathered in Jackson to make dreams come true.
Leaders with the Jacob Barker Music Festival gathered in downtown Jackson to present a check to the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Friday evening.
Ronnie Barker, a coordinator for the Jacob Barker Music Festival, says he wanted to make the donation because he knows how it feels to be a parent of a Make-A-Wish child.
“It’s a little bit more personal to me because my son Jacob was an actual Make-A-Wish recipient. So when we were on our wish trip, that’s when my wife and I decided that the music fest, from now on, will be for Make-A-Wish,” Barker said.
Barker says he looks forward to hosting the event in remembrance of the struggle his son overcame and help inspire hope.
“We do the event every year. It’s called the Jacob Barker Music Fest,” Barker said. “Our target is to raise at least one wish, which is $8,000 every year. So far every time we have done it we have achieved our goals.”
Samantha Northcut, a resident from Texas, says she supports the music festival.
She says she can’t describe how it feels to know that she’s providing a sick child with a wish.
“It fills in my heart. There’s really no words just to see the smile on their face and know that what we’re doing is amazing,” Northcut said.
Barker says anyone can help grant the wish of a child.
“If you want to help a child and you feel like your three or four dollars won’t help, this is the place where it will help. We take the money that we make here and we give it to Make-A-Wish, and that’s what we did today with the check presentation,” Barker said.
The Jacob Barker Music Festival will host their sixth annual event in September.
It’s a free event for all residents of West Tennessee and will accept donations with proceeds to going back to Make-A-Wish.
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