For over ten years, phans have volunteered a lot of creative fundraising efforts to support the Mockingbird Foundation's mission to bring music education to underserved kids, including tribute band shows, poker tournaments, poster exhibitions and CD release parties.

For Phish's Denver-area run at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Commerce City, CO over Labor Day weekend, tour operator Greg Yance of Bobby D-Tour is donating the entire proceeds of the on-board bars on his upscale Denver shuttle buses to the Mockingbird Foundation. The rolling bars will feature beer, wine, sodas and snacks "at lot prices".

As an alternative to on site-camping or needing rental cars to get around Denver's sprawl, the Bobby-D package features lodging at Denver's downtown Curtis Hotel, bus shuttles to and from the shows at Dick's, and includes brunch vouchers, art museum and distillery tours and a Colorado Rockies baseball game on Labor Day. (Because of liquor laws, all participants in the lodging/shuttle packages must be 21+).

Bobby-D makes a good case for staying in downtown Denver and enjoying the cultural and entertainment opportunities rather than being closer to the venue.

According to the site FAQ, "Why should I stay so far away from Dick's Park?:

"Because there is absolutely NOTHING to do near the venue. Do you really want to eat at the Olive Garden and Denny's the entire weekend? Also, the only decent places to stay are over 2 miles from the venue. And if you drive, plan on paying a hefty sum to park. On Bobby D-Tour, you are free to roam downtown Denver pre- and post-concert. Besides having the most breweries of any city in the U.S., Denver also has excellent museums and restaurants. In reality, it only equates to a 10-minute difference in time, and you can spend that time sipping on a brew in a comfortable bus with your friends."

And benefiting the Mockingbird Foundation, we should add! Sounds like a wise choice.

Further details and online ordering information at the Bobby-D tour site here.

The Mockingbird Foundation is currently in the process of evaluating the over 1,000 initial funding requests for its 15th round of grants for music education submitted online by the August 1 cutoff. The Board will review the finalists and make grant awards sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

The all-volunteer Mockingbird Foundation has already donated over $620,000 in the previous 14 grant funding rounds, and special tour city and emergency program grants, the most recent to the tornado affected area of Joplin, Missouri in connection with the Mimi Fishman Foundation.

Further details about the Mockingbird Foundation's grants programs here.

If you liked this blog post, one way you could "like" it is to make a donation to The Mockingbird Foundation, the sponsor of Phish.net. Support music education for children, and you just might change the world.