Belmont’s community celebrated SchoolForce’s 19th annual Celebrate the Music festival with food, carnival games, and live music performances. 

 

Created in 2002, the event, initially named Save the Music, aimed to raise money to support the Belmont Redwood Shores School District’s (BRSSD)’s music program due to budget and program cuts throughout California. 

 

After 2021, SchoolForce came to the consensus that the programs no longer needed to be saved, prompting the name change of saving the music to,rather,celebrating it. 

 

Though the main purpose of the event is to showcase the performers’ talents, the festival also brings the Bay Area and Belmont community together.  

 

Ulla Foehr, a Belmont resident and president of the Belmont Community Foundation (BCF) runs a booth at the festival Over the years,she has, became more involved in the festival. 

 

“I originally started coming to the event because I had kids in elementary school and volunteered with SchoolForce,” Foehr said. “Now, I’m here not only to watch my daughter perform with Carlmont’s choir, but also to raise awareness and funds for the Belmont Community Foundation.”

 

The BCF was one of the many booths at the Celebrate the Music festival this year. Created in fall of 2022, the Foundation aims to raise awareness and funds towards the renovation of Barrett Community Center. Though the community center has already-existing plans for renovations, progress is yet to be made due to funding shortages, forestalling the project indefinitely. 

 

Carlmont sophomore Nathan Tokunaga shares similar sentiments with Foehr about raising community awareness and increasing engagement.

 

A few hours into the event, Tokunaga, with bandmates William Knox, Josh Lin, Ethan Htun, and Nicholas Oey along with vocalist Marlo Jae Lewis, who make up Nathan’s Fearless Five, played a selection of jazz songs in front of an enthusiastic audience. 

​

The band, created in Oct. 2021, regularly plays local gigs, specifically with an emphasis on community impact and social justice.

 

“We originally started as a band to raise funds for the New Orleans Musician’s Clinic following the devastation of Hurricane Ida,” Tokunaga said. “After raising over $1800 for that, we’ve since focused on other gigs that align with our mission, like playing at Old Skool Cafe, a San Francisco jazz supper club that provides job opportunities to at-risk youths.”

Tokunaga, like Foehr, has attended the event in the past, but is able to view it both as crucial in his development as a musician and with a newfound appreciation for its impact. 

 

“This festival holds a very special place in my heart because it was the first time I attempted a jazz solo, but now I can see beyond just that and appreciate the importance of the causes it supports, like music education. It’s all for a great cause,” Tokunaga said. 

 

Both Tokunaga and Foehr are satisfied with their outreach at the event, and are excited to continue to use its opportunities in the future to broaden their community impacts. 

 

“It was definitely a great experience to be able to support and play for the local community all while supporting a great cause, so I’ll definitely be back in the future,” Tokunaga said. 

 

With the festival attracting more and more attendees every year, it’s evident that community interest will keep the event running for years to come.

 

 “It’s all about community and bringing people together. It’s really neat to be able to connect with people and have the opportunity to spread awareness about what’s going on in our community,” Foehr said. 

​

Carlmont sophomore Nathan Tokunaga shares similar sentiments with Foehr about raising community awareness and increasing engagement.

 

A few hours into the event, Tokunaga, with bandmates William Knox, Josh Lin, Ethan Htun, and Nicholas Oey along with vocalist Marlo Jae Lewis, who make up Nathan’s Fearless Five, played a selection of jazz songs in front of an enthusiastic audience. 

​

The band, created in Oct. 2021, regularly plays local gigs, specifically with an emphasis on community impact and social justice.

 

“We originally started as a band to raise funds for the New Orleans Musician’s Clinic following the devastation of Hurricane Ida,” Tokunaga said. “After raising over $1800 for that, we’ve since focused on other gigs that align with our mission, like playing at Old Skool Cafe, a San Francisco jazz supper club that provides job opportunities to at-risk youths.”

Tokunaga, like Foehr, has attended the event in the past, but is able to view it both as crucial in his development as a musician and with a newfound appreciation for its impact. 

 

“This festival holds a very special place in my heart because it was the first time I attempted a jazz solo, but now I can see beyond just that and appreciate the importance of the causes it supports, like music education. It’s all for a great cause,” Tokunaga said. 

 

Both Tokunaga and Foehr are satisfied with their outreach at the event, and are excited to continue to use its opportunities in the future to broaden their community impacts. 

 

“It was definitely a great experience to be able to support and play for the local community all while supporting a great cause, so I’ll definitely be back in the future,” Tokunaga said. 

 

With the festival attracting more and more attendees every year, it’s evident that community interest will keep the event running for years to come.

 

 “It’s all about community and bringing people together. It’s really neat to be able to connect with people and have the opportunity to spread awareness about what’s going on in our community,” Foehr said.