The Turn Indiana Blue Music Festival will take place on September 7th, 2008 in Lafayette, Indiana from 11:00 am to 8:30 pm. The music festival is free and open to the public - no tickets required. It will feature 14 bands and several candidates for public office, on two stages - one at Riehle Plaza and one on the John Meyers Pedestrian Bridge. The festival will also include local food venors, a family area with children's activities, a voter registration drive, and a blood drive by the Indiana Blood Center.

The festival is an entirely grassroots efforts, citizen powered and funded, and not sponsored by any candidate or campaign. TIB will be attended by 200 local volunteers and over 7,500 attendees from our community and around the state of Indiana and surrounding states.

TIB will feature 14 musical acts, including headliner Kristopher Roe of the Ataris and several popular local and regional bands performing on two stages. Between acts, prominent Indiana Democratic leaders and
candidates will address the crowd, including Sheila Klinker, Nels Ackerson, Tony Roswarski, and Richard Wood. Full event schedule is posted online. Through the use of Renewable Energy Credits (REC's) to
offset emissions, the festival will be completely carbon-neutral.

Lafayette, with its strong Democratic base and close proximity to Purdue University, reflects the diversity of this state as a whole and is shaping up to be a major battleground in the race for Indiana's 11
electoral votes. Purdue, one of the largest universities in the state, has traditionally leaned Republican, but this year nothing is being taken for granted. Senator Obama has already visited the area three
times, and Senator McCain is expected to come sometime before November.

For many decades Indiana has been seen by political leaders as a solidly Republican state, causing both parties to spend little time and invest few resources into the presidential race here. However, this year the political map is shifting as political experts increasingly view Indiana as a new swing state in 2008.

For questions about the event, or to reserve your press credential for the event, please contact Misty Jones at press.turninblue@gmail.com or by phone at 765.420.9942.

About the Festival

The Turn Indiana Blue Music Festival is is a grassroots, citizen-powered event funded and organized entirely by local community members. It is by a group of volunteers in Tippecanoe County, IN working to elect progressive candidates in 2008. We provide support to federal, state and local campaigns in our area by volunteering our time, energy, resources, and ideas. If you are interested in getting involved, contact Joyce Wilkinson at joyceobama@gmail.com .