Styx to aid flood victims

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RAGBRAI concert, featuring Styx and The Nadas, to benefit flood victims
07/01/2008


The concert will also include an appearance by the popular Iowa band The Nadas, who came together as Iowa State University students.

The event will be from 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday, July 22, in the Iowa State Center parking lots.

T-shirt and autograph sales will benefit the Embrace Iowa: 2008 Disaster Fund. Donations will be accepted all day long at RAGBRAI information centers throughout Ames and at the evening festival. One hundred percent of donations will go to the relief fund.

Karin Sevde, co-chair of the Ames RAGBRAI committee, said in a press release that the idea for a benefit concert came from the riders themselves.

"The decision to work with RAGBRAI to create a fundraising event was driven by the many riders from the past that have been in touch with RAGBRAI on how they love Iowa and, when they heard about the flooding, wanted to help," she said.

Ames Mayor Ann Campbell said that the floods of 2008 brought back memories of the flooding in 1993.

"Now we have the tremendous opportunity to invite our RAGBRAI guests to join us in helping Iowans struggle to recover," she said.

ISU President Greg Geoffroy said the benefit concert will be a great way for the university and Ames to show their support for those who were victims of the flooding.

"I'm encouraging everyone to join us at the CYcling Country Festival and demonstrate our commitment to help those in great need," he said.

Admission to the CYcling Country Festival will be $5 for registered RAGBRAI participants and $10 for the general public. Tickets will go on sale July 10. Admission will be free to those who wear their official tie-dye CYcling Country T-shirts, including sponsors and volunteers, as well as individuals who wear the CYcling Country event T-shirts with Cy on the front. Event T-shirts are $20 and also provide free transportation around Ames. Shirts are on sale at the University Book Store, Dogtown University and online at www.amesragbrai.com.

The Embrace Iowa: 2008 Disaster Fund was established by Gov. Chet Culver and key Iowa business leaders, along with The Des Moines Register. Donations collected through the fund will go to Iowans who have experienced hardships during the floods of 2008.

For more information about the Embrace Iowa: 2008 Disaster Fund, go to www.embraceiowa.org. To learn more about RAGBRAI's visit to Ames, go to www.amesragbrai.com.