Rogue World Music announces AGE+  as the 2024 Rogue World Music Festival Fire Recovery fundraiser recipient. This program serves the Rogue Valley community members impacted by the 2020 Almeda Wildfire. This is the fifth year RWMF events have raised funds for Almeda Wildfire relief/recovery/rebuilding programs. As always all RWMF events are FREE. Giving is inspiration-based.

“Music is a powerful connector and unique in its capacity to create even as it is a creative output. Rogue World Music is dedicated to leveraging this power to generate tangible positive impact in our Rogue Valley communities even as we bring about opportunities for intangible community building too.” -Ana Byers, Rogue World Music Executive Director.

Each year, Rogue World Music raises funds for a nonprofit that directly serves fire-impacted community members. To date, the RWMF has raised over $36,000 for Almeda Wildfire relief/recovery/rebuilding programs, including:

• 2020: Phoenix-Talent School District Families Fire Relief Fund

• 2021: Unete Farmworkers & Immigrant Families Fire Relief Fund

• 2022: Coalición Fortaleza Resident-owned Mobile Home Co-op at Talent Mobile Estates

• 2023: ACCESS Center for Community Resilience program

“The housing crisis before the fire was exacerbated by all the additional housing we lost during the Almeda Wildfire. It will take up to 10 years for full recovery. The AGE+ housing project(s) are so important because housing recovery is not equitable. While we are seeing homeowners return, the rental market is still far behind, especially that which seniors can afford. We are grateful for organizations that participate in the recovery.” - Darby Ayers-Flood, Mayor of the City of Talent. 

AGE+ empowers communities of all ages to value and care for older adults, especially those who are isolated, low-income, and underserved. They engage communities through stimulating partnerships, convening stakeholders, and developing innovative programs that address the challenges and opportunities of aging across the lifespan.

Their  initiatives are rooted in a strengths-based approach, focusing on what’s working well and existing resources that can be leveraged. AGE+ embraces the expertise of local community champions and works alongside those with lived experience to create immediate and long-term impact. As an organization, their programs focus on serving where the need is greatest, including rural areas, low-income communities, and communities of color.

The amount of accessible, affordable housing available for older adults remains a challenge in rural areas, especially where communities are still rebuilding after devastating wildfires. In response to this crisis, AGE+ developed a new model of hybrid modular construction that quickly and efficiently creates housing, allowing many older adults to age in the communities they love.

AGE+ is the developer of a senior housing project in Talent. Their team spent significant time with local community members and organizations and has gained a keen sense of the community’s devastating loss from the fires. As such, residents for this new housing project will be older adults, low-income (60% of area median income), with preference to victims of the Almeda fire of 2020 that destroyed 2600 homes in the region, most of which belonged to Latinx families.

This 22-unit senior housing project on Suncrest Road in Talent will open in the summer of 2024.

As always, the festival as a whole focuses on cultivating opportunities for event attendees to participate, learn, and engage with festival artists in addition to raising funds for Almeda Wildfire recovery programs. 

2024 Rogue World Music Festival Events (All events are FREE):  

• Percussion Workshop: Friday, May 24th. 4 - 5:30 pm. Pear Blossom Park. Medford.

• Pear Blossom Park Concert: Friday, May 24th. 6 - 8 pm. Pear Blossom Park. Medford.

• SongWeavers Circle: Saturday, May 25th. 2:30 - 4 pm. Commons Library Park. Talent.

• The HeartBeat Stories: Saturday, May 25th. 5 - 7pm. Commons Library Park. Talent.

• Park Performances: Sunday, May 26. 12 - 6 pm. Litha Park Butler Bandshell. Ashland.

• Musician Talk Back: Monday, May 27. 11 - 12:30 pm.OSF Greenshow Stage. Ashland.

2024 RWMF Artists:

• La Doña: 2024 RWMF events- Park Performances.

• Seffarine: 2024 RWMF events- HeartBeat Stories, Park Performances, & Musician Talk Back.

• Renegade Orchestra: 2024 RWMF events- Pear Blossom Park Concert.

• John Mambira: 2024 RWMF events- Percussion Workshop, HeartBeat Stories, & Park Performances (with the John Mambira Band.)

• Dirty Cello: 2024 RWMF events- Pear Blossom Park Concert.

• Duniya: 2024 RWMF events- Park Performances.

• Maraval Road: 2024 RWMF events- Park Performances.

• Hālau Hula Ka Pi’o Ke Ānuenue: 2024 RWMF events- Park Performances.

• Ruth Hoffecker: 2024 RWMF events- SongWeaver Circle & HeartBeat Stories.

The Rogue World Music Festival is produced by Rogue World Music (a local 501(c)(3) arts nonprofit) in collaboration with the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission and the Medford Parks & Recreation Commission. Additional collaborating entities include the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, Travel Ashland, and Travel Medford. Founded 2016, the Rogue World Music Festival has been a free community event for the Rogue Valley Community. In 2020, it also became a fundraiser for nonprofit programs directly serving those impacted by the 2020 Almeda Wildfire. 

For ongoing updates about the RWMF line up, fundraiser progress, and all the event details of the 2023 Ashland World Music Festival,  follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RogueWorldMusic/) or Instagram (instagram.com/rogueworldmusic/) or join our mailing list (www.rogueworldmusic.org/contactrwm).

Learn more about AGE+ at www.ageplus.org.