Festival Grant Stories
Festival Grant Stories
Jason's Festival Grant at Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival (OMF) 2018
Our second Festival Grant was awarded to Jason Egli, a high school teacher and basketball coach who was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer three years ago. Jason invited both his mother, Doris, and girlfriend, Ellie, to attend Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Okeechobee, FL with him as a part of his Festival Grant.
In 2017, Jason was forced to take a leave of absence from teaching to continue treatment for his condition. Jason was nominated for a LUTW Festival Grant, by his mother, Doris. In her submission, she told us that Jason’s love of music began after he suffered a sports injury in high school that left him without the use of his motor skills for an extended period of time. While recovering from this injury, Jason turned his attention to learning how to play the guitar. Music performance became a passion that he continues to this day, but music in general is a love that Jason carries with him through all walks of his life.
During the Festival Grant, Jason and his companions were able to enjoy the music, art, and community that the OMF team worked so hard to curate. They were also able to meet executive members of the OMF team, hop on one of the stages, and meet Juda & the Lion. But most importantly they became a part of the incredible OMF family.
"I wanted to thank all of you for making this weekend so incredibly special. Once in a lifetime opportunity that you have given not only to me, but my closest friends and family. The best part of the entire experience is that at the end of it all, I truly feel like I can call each of you, "my friend." It takes quite a bit for me to call someone my friend. I have a lot of acquaintances, but very few friends."
-Jason Egli, Festival Grant Recipient
Calvin's Festival Grant at Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival (LIB) 2017
In September 2017, we awarded our inaugural Festival Grant to Calvin Huang. Below you can read about Calvin's experience and watch his recap video.
Thank you to everyone who helped us make this Festival Grant possible, and we look forward to a busy 2018!
Calvin was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma in 2016. However, this didn’t stop him from completing his college degree. Calvin currently resides in the Bay Area and is employed as a software engineer. We are so thankful we were able to invite Calvin to the Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival in Downtown Las Vegas, and that he was able to share the experience with his girlfriend, Charlotte.
"I had an awesome time at LIB, and I really enjoyed having the opportunity to show my girlfriend her first music festival; I had a lot of fun seeing artists I knew, and Charlotte really enjoyed discovering all sorts of new music. We had lots of fun meeting you guys and getting to see behind the scenes of the festival; everything was so perfectly set up for us."
-Calvin Huang, Festival Grant Recipient