Community members gather for Day 2 of Jacob Barker Music Fest
JACKSON, Tenn.—One festival brought community members downtown to celebrate an important cause.
Ronnie Barker said he and his wife decided to donate to the Make-A-Wish Foundation after their son Jacob was diagnosed with retina glaucoma at 2.5-years-old.
Eight years later, the festival is still going strong.
Ronnie Barker told us that the Jacob Barker Music Festival is their way to make one wish happen thanks to the support of the community.
Their goal is to raise $8,000 every year.
“We’ve got probably 11 or 12 bands today, barbecue, bologna, anything you need, we’ll sell it to you I promise,” said Ronnie Barker, dad of Jacob Barker and Festival Host.
He said it’s important to him that we show how much we care about one another.
“It’s nice to see the look on that child’s face when they see that they’re going to do whatever their wish is. It could be a toy room or it could be a trip somewhere,” Barker said.
“They get to go for a week. They don’t have to worry about what they’ve been through in the past. They can just enjoy the now,” Barker continued.
Guests had the option to sit in their lawn chairs and enjoy the music, face painting and so much more.
Barker said the foundation usually contacts them when there’s someone in their region who needs to be sponsored.
“My wife and I are Make-A-Wish volunteers, so we do the initial interviews and then we do the wish reveal, which is when we tell the child and the family that their wish is being granted,” Barker said.
“Jacob’s a fighter, so this means a lot for what was given to him when he was sick and his family,” said Heather Higdom, cousin of the Barkers.
“Everybody, the people that do booths, that set up to help support it, it just shows that there’s so much love out there and right now, we need that,” Higdom continued.
Barker said the same volunteers that started with them eight years ago are still here and he’s appreciative of that.
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