Giving Hunger the Blues relocates to Van Wezel

Fans of the annual block party Giving Hunger the Blues will notice some changes to the 20th annual event scheduled for October. 

For starters it will no longer be a block party that takes place on Hillview Street in Southside Village. The event will take place Oct. 30 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. 

The City of Sarasota denied event chair and promoter Peter Anderson’s request to shut down the Hillview Street for the event this year due to construction on bridge for Osprey Avenue. Crunched for time to organize the Oct. 30 event, Anderson found a solution in a venue change to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. 

Last year the event brought in an estimated 5,000 attendees with proceeds benefitting Mayors’ Feed the Hungry and Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County.

This year is expected to bring in just as many music fans with three stages for 20 musical acts. There will be a VIP lounge named after the Five O’Clock Club which has roots in the event which was originally established in 1995 by the Generoso Foundation. Anderson chaired the event last year after it took a hiatus in 2014. 

Fans of the free concert series Friday Fest will recognize the set up but with a larger main stage set up on the west-facing lawn of the Van Wezel. A smaller bayfront stage will host acts for smaller sets in between main stage acts. 

“That gives us continuous music on the lawn throughout the course of the day,” Anderson said. 

The youth stage is making a return with acts by local students and an area for families to enjoy games and activities. 

The change in venue could also allow Giving Hunger the Blues to expand according to Anderson. Before kicking off the 20th annual event, he already has plans for the 2017 event. 
 
“Going forward the Van Wezel gives us a big enough footprint to bring in a fourth stage to bring a national headliner,” Anderson said. “That bayfront is largely under utilized by the community so this will be setting the pace for other events that can take place.”

Tickets for the event will be available this week on the website GivingHungerTheBlues.org.