Free Evening of Food, Drink and Music for Those Affected by Recent Government Shutdown
On Friday, February 1, 2019 at the Tri-County Fairgrounds Tallman Pavilion, Inyo Council for the Arts, Sierra Club, Eastern Sierra Land Trust, Friends of the Inyo, Rotary Club of Bishop Sunrise and several other organizations hosted a free and fun evening of food and music for Inyo and Mono County federal workers, contractors and their families affected by the recent government shutdown. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) sponsored the event, billed as the Shutdown Hoedown, with other local community members, organizations and businesses of the Eastern Sierras.
One hundred and twenty five plus attendees enjoyed a taco bar buffet, cookies and drinks and local musicians, who went by the name Shutdown String Band, provided the entertainment. An art table was set up and volunteers offered games and activities such as recycled hat and bookmark making to kids in attendance. All of the event’s offerings were donated and greatly appreciated by the furloughed employees and local organizations.
“The generosity of our community, including LADWP, also allowed us to purchase gift certificates from local establishments and we had some donated event tickets, all for a raffle which was fun and popular. Additionally, we were able to donate some leftover appetizer ingredients, raffle prizes and money to an event happening in the nearby town of Lone Pine,” Lynne Cooper, Executive Director of Inyo Council for the Arts and lead coordinator for the event.
“We at LADWP know what it’s like to dedicate your career to facilitating important aspects of daily life in the Eastern Sierra, and knowing that our agency partners were unable to do this work was discouraging,” said Clarence Martin, LADWP Aqueduct Manager. “We’re doing our small part to help alleviate some of the hardships during the shutdown by supporting the End of the Shutdown Hoedown event.”
