Two Community Events, One Fun Day for All

By: Lisa Slaton, Events Manager
The City of Lilburn and Lilburn Business Association will host activities September 12 that bring thousands of smiles to Lilburn City Park.
Snellville, Ga. (June 24, 2009) – Celebrate summer’s end Saturday, September 12 in Lilburn City Park with family-friendly fun during the day, followed by a Banks & Shane benefit concert on the lawn that evening. A complementary shuttle service will begin at 10:45 a.m. from designated free parking areas. Event proceeds benefit Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization devoted to children with very complex health issues. Event details, sponsorship packages, and more than 300 volunteer opportunities may be found at www.DreamHouseForKids.org or by calling 770-717-7410.

The 1st Annual Main Street Fair takes place from 11 am. to 3 p.m., and will feature free health screenings, a children’s corner and a $5 per person carnival fun zone. See up close the R2B2 Motors monster truck and a fire engine, hang out with local sports team mascots, plus stroll through the Meet Your Neighbors Village showcasing area businesses and community organizations.

Following at 5 p.m., gates open for the 7th Annual Music-on-Main. Sponsors will enjoy premium reserved seating. General admission tickets are $10 each, available on-line or at the gate. Bring your own chairs, but no coolers are permitted in the park. Food and beverages will be sold during the event. From 5-8 p.m. concert-goers may bid on a great selection at this event’s Lilburn-famous silent auction, or purchase a $20 entry to the always-popular Heads’n’Tails game for a chance to win a Big Green Egg®. Banks & Shane will take the stage at 8 p.m., playing two 50-minute sets.

The City of Lilburn and the Lilburn Business Association are hosting this great celebration for the seventh year. “Music-on-Main has been a summer highlight since the first one in 2003,” commented Lilburn Mayor, Diana Preston. “This year’s event is sure to be one of the best, and our community is really looking forward to the Banks & Shane performance.” Also new this year is a VIP Reception, for Bronze-level and above Sponsors that will take place from 6-7 p.m. in the Lilburn City Hall Auditorium.

Emphasizing the valuable role the Lilburn and greater Gwinnett communities have played since 2001 to help build and sustain the now statewide Dream House organization, its Founder and CEO Laura Moore remarked, “Local non-profit organizations, like Dream House, are able to fulfill our missions during a tough economy because of incredible community involvement, individuals and business leaders actively engaged in advocacy efforts, and a collective willingness to collaborate.”

Lilburn Business Association President Thor Johnson echoed that sentiment. “As a business, your participation in Main Street Fair and Music-on-Main is your opportunity to champion a terrific organization and be recognized by your community for your support.”

Mrs. Moore is very excited and humbled by the response for this year’s two-part event format. “The two September 12th events are not just fund raisers that enable Georgia’s medically fragile children live to at home. Our wish is to also give back to the Lilburn and surrounding communities with a great day of fun that benefits everyone.”

About Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, Inc.
Based in Snellville, Ga., Dream House is a 501(c)3 children’s charity teaching families and communities how to help kids with very complex health issues live at home. Heroic medical efforts save sick and injured children, leaving some medically fragile – fully dependent upon medications, equipment and therapies. Visit www.DreamHouseForKids.org for more details.
A critical first step for these children (biological, adopted or foster), and their families, is access to the innovative Dream House Family for Keeps™ Transition Care Program. This ground-breaking, hospital-to-home program is setting the standard for the home care of Georgia’s medically fragile children. Via Family for Keeps™, Dream House has served nearly 1,000 medically fragile children in 42 Georgia counties since 2001.
Named a Best in America Local Independent Charity, by the Independent Charities of America, Dream House supporters invest in a mission that uses 86 cents of every dollar donated to directly benefit medically fragile children and their families. Family for Keeps™ provides a pathway for Georgia’s medically fragile children to get out of institutional care into stable, single-family homes. For one-third the cost of housing these kids in hospitals or adult nursing homes, Family for Keeps™ is the resource that enables medically fragile children to have a home, a family and a future.