Local bands host 22nd annual Jamming with the Kids

Local bands are hosting Jamming with the Kids, a Christmas toy fundraising event, on Thursday, Dec. 5, at The Anthony, 127 Country Club Drive.

“This is going to be our 22nd annual Jamming with the Kids,” said event director Kemper Ehrhardt. ” it starts at 6 p.m. and ends whenever we get finished. That’s usually when we run out of items to raffle or auction off.”

In addition to an auction of items donated by the community and a raffle, the event features music for folks to enjoy and fellowship.

Beyond Walls Ministries, a program affiliated with the Warren County Chaplin’s Office, will be distributing the proceeds from the event to children with a parent incarcerated during the holidays.

“We’ll have local bands performing and a cash bar,” Ehrhardt said. “Most people enjoy coming out each year because this might be their only chance to see a friend. We usually have people come from all over to donate and participate.”

Performers include John Howard Dennis, Lee H. Abraham & Friends, Ralph Miller, Patchwork, My Brother’s Kemper Band and Simpatico, and expect to see a few special guests.

The idea for Jamming for the Kids came after Ehrhardt noticed that some children in the community weren’t given the same opportunities as others, and the event has grown each year.

“We started this because we saw that some parents might have fallen on hard times and weren’t able to provide gifts for their children,” Ehrhardt said. “We didn’t want some kids to think that Santa wasn’t thinking about them, and [we] decided to do something. We started off our first year with maybe a couple hundred dollars and some toys, and now we have groups that donate huge checks each year.”

Admission is $5 or an unopened children’s toy, and raffle tickets are $1 each. Must be 21 or older to attend.

For more information, call Kemper Ehrhardt at 601-629-2003 or visit the Facebook event page.