Shaggy, Big Freedia Headline Saturday’s Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival, on Track to Raise $1.5M
Funds raised from this event annually raises over $1 million to benefit 10 local non-profit organizations that are leading the fight against the local HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Multi Grammy award-winning, reggae artist Shaggy and the Queen of
bounce music, Big Freedia will join an array of performers over
the spring break holiday for the 2019 Florida
AIDS Walk and Music Festival. Scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday,
March 23rd at Fort Lauderdale’s South Beach Park,
this annual event kicks off with a 5K walk culminating in a day-long
music festival to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS services
throughout South Florida, the epicenter of HIV in the U.S.
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WHAT: |
2019 Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival | |
WHO: |
Mayor Dean Trantalis, City of Fort Lauderdale | |
Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) | ||
Michael Kahane, AHF Southern Bureau Chief | ||
Leadership of 10 non-profit benefiting organizations | ||
Shaggy, Grammy award-winning artist | ||
Big Freedia, award-winning artist | ||
Thousands of local attendees | ||
WHEN: |
TOMORROW, Saturday, March 23, 2019 | |
Registration Starts at 9:00am | ||
Walk Starts at 10:00am | ||
Concert starts at 11:00am | ||
• Shaggy performs 12noon – 1:00pm |
||
• The Struts performs 3:00pm – 4:00pm |
||
• Big Freedia performs 4:35pm – 5:35pm |
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Note: Media avails with the artist will occur immediately |
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WHY: |
Nationally South Florida ranks #1 in regards to new HIV diagnosis. |
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Presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF),
the largest non-profit, global HIV/AIDS organization, the annual event
attracts thousands of attendees from across the region. Supported by an
array of corporate partners including AHF Pharmacy, a national chain of
pharmacies supporting U.S. & global HIV care, and Wells Fargo, the
Florida AIDS Walk annually raises over $1 million in the fight against
HIV/AIDS. Now in its 14th year, Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival has
become a highly anticipated event aimed at increasing South Florida’s
awareness, prevention, and treatment efforts against the spread of HIV.
Traditionally taking place as a Sunday morning 5K walk and concert, the
2019 event has been expanded to a full-day multi-faceted, music festival
experience that will kick-off as walkers return back to the beach.
Joining the line-up with Shaggy and Big Freedia are a diverse array of
performers including rock-and-roll sensation, The Struts,
Grammy-nominated duo, Coastcity, and South Florida’s own Deep
Fried Funk Band. The event will be hosted by celebrity DJs Tracy
Young and Alex Ferbeyre.
“Given South Florida’s ranking nationally as the epicenter for HIV, we
are pleased to present this annual event that both raises awareness
about the HIV epidemic and significant dollars to support 10 non-profit
organizations that are entrenched in the community, working to address
this devastating epidemic,” stated Michael Kahane, AHF Southern
Bureau Chief. “We thank all of the amazing performers, corporate
partners, team captains, individuals raising funds and the thousands of
attendees, for their support.”
The event helps to remind the community that HIV/AIDS is still impacting
our community by increasing the community’s awareness, education, and
prevention efforts all with the objective of reducing the spread of HIV.
Organizations benefiting from the 2019 event include:
AQUA
SAVE
SUNSERVE
POVERELLO
THE PRIDE CENTER AT
EQUALITY PARK
LATINOS SALUD
THE WORLD AIDS MUSEUM AND
EDUCATIONAL CENTER
PRIDELINES
URBAN LEAGUE OF BROWARD COUNTY
Registration for the walk & music festival is available at www.floridaaidswalk.org.
Other event sponsors include: Cardinal Health, Ameritech Solutions, All
In One Electric, Macy’s, TCGRx, Quest Diagnostics, CDW, iHeart Media and
South Florida Gay News.
HIV/AIDS in Florida:
According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC):
- Florida ranked 1st among the 50 states in the number of HIV diagnoses;
-
Three Florida cities, made the top 15 cities nationally, when it comes
to number of people with HIV. Miami is at the top of the list, with
Jacksonville and Orlando at the tenth and 11th spots, respectively; and -
Miami-Dade and Broward counties ranked top in the nation of new HIV
diagnosis.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS
organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more
than 1,146,000 individuals in 42 countries worldwide in the US, Africa,
Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To
learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org,
find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth
and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190322005482/en/