Small jam still sweet at Nathan Benderson Park

In 2019, the Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota’s My Hometown Fest drew more than 3,000 people to Nathan Benderson Park.

Last year, the Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota, which provides speech and language services to children, had to cancel the event due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now the nonprofit is hosting a smaller version of My Hometown Fest called My Hometown Jam. 

People will be able to see six bands perform at My Hometown Jam from 6-10 p.m. March 26 at Nathan Benderson Park.

The bands include Tim Reynolds of Dave Matthews Band and TR3, The Derek Lersch Band, Michael J. Weiss Trio and Marcel.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to get out and enjoy friends and enjoy a nice evening of music,” said Tim Self, the treasurer of Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota. “There hasn’t been many opportunities to safely get out and have a nice evening outdoors.”

The event will be limited to 250 general admission tickets to allow for social distancing. The 50 VIP tickets have already sold out.

My Hometown Fest started in 2016 when the Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota was looking to get younger people involved in its organization, so members thought of hosting a craft beer festival. With guidance from John Saputo at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, the nonprofit started a food and beer festival, which became My Hometown Fest.

“The idea was every hometown has some kind of food they’re famous for, whether it’s Cajun food in New Orleans or crab cakes in Maryland or barbecue in Tennessee,” Self said. “Whatever the case might be, there’s some food that your hometown is known for. There’s also some type of beer, for the most part, that your hometown is known for.”

Self said the nonprofit has wanted to make My Hometown Fest into a two-day event by adding a night of music the day before My Hometown Fest for years, and now the pandemic provides the opportunity to make the music night a reality.

After having to cancel last year’s My Hometown Fest, which raised about $35,000, Self said the My Hometown Jam is a crucial fundraiser.

“When we don’t raise money, we can’t see as many kids because we provide our speech and language services regardless of the family’s ability to pay,” Self said. “If somebody can’t pay anything, they don’t pay anything.”