By Adam Forsgren, EastIdahoNews.com
IDAHO FALLS — United Way of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County is giving local residents a chance to better the community while listening to some good music with their Live United Concert series.
Live United kicks off this Thursday, July 15, at The Waterfront at Snake River Landing. It continues each following Thursday through August 19. Not only do these free performances offer a family-friendly opportunity to hear live music, but there are collection projects for adults and special activities for children.
Food vendors will also be on hand to feed concert-goers’ tummies while the musicians feed their ears.
Each show will feature a special engagement project designed to address challenges facing the community. Adults bring items for the collection projects such as hygiene or school supplies, which will eventually be made into kits.
It all adds up to a fun night that raises awareness for problems in the community and gives people a chance to do some good for their neighbors.
“(Live United) is really an opportunity for people to connect with our nonprofit partners and understand what their roles are and what their services and resources are (in) our community,” United Way of Idaho President and C.E.O. Christine Wiersema told EastIdahoNews.com.
One specific focus Live United will be addressing this year is learning loss for students in the area.
“This year, we received a grant to mitigate learning loss for our students here in Idaho Falls,” Wiersema said. “We’re going to be offering brand-new books to all kids 5 to 13 when they get there. We’ll also have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) test where kids can do an activity at the concert and take it home. (Thursday night) we are going to be making skeletons out of macaroni.”
“It’s really a free family-friendly event,” she added. “You just need to bring a blanket and chair and come and enjoy the evening.”
Live United 2021 opens with a performance from local favorites County Line.
“They have a huge following here and they’re a lot of fun,” Wiersema said. “They play a lot of cover music, country rock, old-style rock n’ roll, and country. They pretty much play all the genres. They are very versatile and a lot of fun to listen to because they play the songs that you want to sing along to.”
Read more at eastidahonews.com