Tabfest Charity Music Festival

About Our Foundation

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Tabfest is presented by the Harmony for Ohio Foundation.

What Is the Harmony for Ohio Foundation?
The Harmony for Ohio Foundation (HOF) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to raise funds through musical performances for the direct support of Ohio-based not-for-profit organizations whose programs provide comfort and care to children and families in need.

What Does the Harmony for Ohio Foundation Do?
Our largest initiative to date has been Tabfest, which has been organized to raise money and collect aluminum can tabs in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities. To date, Tabfest, through the Harmony for Ohio Foundation, has donated $18,000.00 and collected over 5,000 pounds of aluminum can tabs to RMHC.

As always, proceeds from Tabfest will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a "home-away-from-home" for the families of seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Visit www.rmhc.com for more information on Ronald McDonald House.

We are in the process of planning various other initiatives to:
- Increase the community awareness of Harmony for Ohio Foundation
- Support the overall mission statement

These initiatives include but are not limited to the following:
- Organizing other musical festival charity events
- Increasing musical opportunities and education for underprivileged children
- Gathering musicians for small musical performances for disadvantaged families and children
- Assembling volunteers to help the Foundation

How Can I Help?
- Save your tabs year round and bring them to Tabfest!
- Attend Harmony for Ohio Foundation supported events
- Become a volunteer by supporting HOF events and by increasing public awareness of the Harmony for Ohio Foundation
- Offer your (or your bands’) musical talents in support of HOF events
- Donate money to the Harmony for Ohio Foundation

About Our Charity

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Mission and Programs
A strong mind. A strong body. And a safe, supportive place to grow. These are things that every child needs - and deserves - to have.

Helping to provide these things is what Ronald McDonald House Charities does.

By creating, finding and supporting programs that directly improve the health and well being of children, Ronald McDonald House Charities is working to better the lives of children and their families around the world.

Ronald McDonald House Charities
During the 11-year partnership between Tabfest and the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Tabfest is pleased to have donated $18,000.00 and nearly 5,000 pounds of aluminum can tabs.

RMHC provides:

A caring and convenient place to stay for families with children receiving health care, regardless of their ability to pay; and Grants to other programs that directly help children and their families.

Since opening our door in 1980, the Ronald McDonald House of Dayton has served more than 7,000 families. The House is available to any family that has a child in a Dayton area hospital. We can accommodate most every family that calls.

The Ronald McDonald House is a private nonprofit organization. Although there are Houses throughout the United States, as well as around the world, each House is autonomous and has its own Board of Trustees. The House is not owned by The Children’s Medical Center, or by McDonald’s, and is responsible for its own fund-raising.

The Ronald McDonald House has 14 bedrooms; each with its own bathroom. In addition, there are four kitchens, a large dining room, a playroom, two family rooms, a library, elevator and other amenities. This facility allows the Ronald McDonald House of Dayton to serve families in need of a “Home-Away-From-Home.”

Why Aluminum Can Tabs?
Talk about little things adding up. The tab of a standard soda can is made of a high-quality, high-grade aluminum. By itself, it doesn’t mean much. When collected, pop tabs can add up to a valuable donation to your local Ronald McDonald House. And that means a lot.

How Do I Get Those Tabs Off of Cans?
Yowzer it's difficult to get tabs off of aluminum cans. View our handy-dandy diagram to guide you through the process safely and easily.

Why Collect Only the Tabs?
Though the whole aluminum can is valuable, the tab is made of a more pure form of aluminum. So when that little tab is turned in for scrap metal, it can make a big impact on Ronald McDonald House fundraising. It’s smaller and cleaner than collecting whole cans, so it’s easier for the House to handle the large volume it receives. Plus, it’s convenient, ecologically friendly, and does not compete with other can recycling programs.

But...we recycle the cans at Tabfest, too. Just because. But we're sure as heck not calling it Canfest. That would be silly.

Great For Kids, Great For Everyone
Because they’re common and easy to collect, pop tabs allow virtually any individual or community organization to participate. The program provides a terrific opportunity for children to get involved and make a genuine contribution to the Ronald McDonald House.

Many schools support this project – using it as a learning tool to teach math concepts, recycling and environmental lessons, and a spirit of belonging to a larger community. Service organizations and club members can participate as a means of earning service badges. Other participants include churches, synagogues and businesses.

How Do I Get Involved?
Contact the Ronald McDonald House closest to your community to see if it has a Pop Tab Collection Program. Many Houses provide cardboard collection containers in the shape of a house. Drop-off sites range in location from the House, to McDonald’s restaurants, to local banks and grocery stores.

Pop Tab Fun Facts
• The Ronald McDonald House Pop Tab Collection Program was established in 1987 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Ronald McDonald House community.
• To date, over 400 million pop tabs have been collected, generating over $300,000.
• The ring-pull can known today was invented in 1962.
• The pop tab design used today was invented by Mr. Ermal Fraze in Kettering, Ohio.
• Kettering’s Fraze Pavilion, a popular amphitheater in Dayton, Ohio, is named after the pop tab inventor.

Pop Tab Measurement Equivalents
1 inch = 1 pop tab
1 foot = 12 pop tabs
1 meter = 40 pop tabs
1 lb = 1,267 pop tabs
1 km = 40,000 pop tabs
1 mile = 63,360 pop tabs

Tabfest History

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The Mission
The people who bring you Tabfest feel that helping those who are in unfortunate situations is our social responsibility. We as one are only part of a whole--as individuals we can come together to become something larger. With the combined effort of friends and fans Tabfest provides that link to become something larger.

Tabfest is Born
Giving back and taking action for a better good has always been the ideals of the Tabfest pioneers. With those goals in mind, Tabfest was born in the spring of 1998. The first Tabfest was simply an organized party aimed at collecting pull-tabs that were then donated to charity. The event was a success, as Tabfest-goers brought tabs and bought t-shirts, while enjoying an evening conversing with old friends while meeting new ones.

The biggest dilemma at this point was for Tabfest to pick a charity to donate the collected tabs and profits. After some discussion it was agreed upon that the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) would be the beneficiary, being a well-known charity that is famous for collecting pull-tabs. More specifically, Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Miami Valley became the target of the philanthropy in an attempt to keep the giving local.

Tradition
The second year of Tabfest, which was in the summer of 1999, catered to a slightly larger crowd. The location chosen was a park that was traditionally used for open-air dances. This was the first year with entertainment, which consisted of a DJ. Again tabs were collected and t-shirts were sold to raise money for the RMHC.

Let There Be Songs to Fill the Air
The summer of 2000 gave birth to a new and more mature Tabfest. Tabfest was no longer just a few college students enjoying themselves while contributing to charity--Tabfest became an established, professional event.

This was the first year with live entertainment, which included bands like The Shantee, The One-Eyed Show, Grasshopper Pie, The Big Creek, Brian Bocian and others. The event lasted for two days and was located in Mendon, Ohio. Approximately 600-700 people were on hand for the festival and 32 gallons of tabs were collected for the RMHC. The weekend was a success and it set the standard for 2001.

Tabfest 2001 established a new standard. Over 1000 Tabfest attendees enjoyed an entire weekend of some of the finest musical talent in Ohio, while also helping to donate $3500.00 and over 32 gallons of aluminum can tabs to Ronald McDonald House Charities. Bands performing at this edition of Tabfest included The Shantee, Peach Melba, The One-Eyed Show, Grasshopper Pie, Uncle Sam's Dream Machine, Color Wheel, Eric Zielinski, Waxy Monx, Brian Bocian and Friends, Capt'n Jackpot and Vynyl Groove.

2002
A fantastic musical lineup, great weather and the usual tremendous vibe helped Tabfest 2002 break attendance and charity contribution records. Featuring event hosts Grasshopper Pie and The One-Eyed Show, alongside Tabfest veterans The Shantee, Peach Melba, USDM and more, the 2002 edition witnessed great music from newcomers like The Recipe, Guest and Skeleton Crew.

Word spread nationwide about this little festival in west central Ohio. The weekend of July 26 and 27, 2002, suddenly the Mendon Speedway doubled the population of Mendon, Ohio, setting Tabfest attendance records with 1500 festival goers living it up with great music at a wonderful venue.

2003
Tabfest 2003 was the most exciting and successful year to date, as New Riders of the Purple Sage founder, David Nelson and his San Francisco-based band capped off a huge weekend of music and philanthropy with a blistering Saturday night set of music.

Buoyed by the largest attendance ever, Tabfest was able to add to their donation totals to RMHC of the Miami Valley. To date, Tabfest has contributed $12,000.00 and over 1000 pounds of aluminum can tabs!

2004
Thanks to the nearly 2000 attendees who supported Tabfest 2004. It was another amazing weekend of fantastic music, charity and positive energy that was capped off by a blistering set of music by Dickey Betts and Great Southern.

2005
Melvin Seals and the Jerry Garcia Band teamed up with the David Nelson Band to put an exclamation point on the 8th edition of Tabfest. 2005 saw the largest tab donations ever, as festival attendees chipped in 850 POUNDS of tabs!

2006
The 9th edition of Tabfest featured performances by Event Co-Producers Grasshopper Pie and The One-Eyed Show as well as Freekbass, One Under, Mike Perkins, Skeleton Crew, Uncle Sam's Dream Machine, JP and the Chatfield Boys, Lubriphonic and many more. Tabfest 2006 was coined "Back To Our Roots" as we got back to the basics of what has made us successful, stacking stellar Local music on Friday while featuring a Regional musical showcase on Saturday spanning rock, funk, bluegrass, reggae, jazz and beyond.

2007
Tabfest donated another $3,000.00 and contributed almost 1,400 POUNDS of aluminum can tabs!

The Future
As always, our goals and ideals remain unchanged. Support from our fans and friends is always greatly appreciated by the Tabfest family. We hope you'll join us for a weekend of good music and good times, all for a great cause.

Tabfest 2008—July 18 and 19 at the Mendon Speedway at the Grand Lake Motorcycle Club in Mendon, Ohio.

Updates to playlist: Tabfest 2003

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Updates to playlist: Tabfest 2005

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Updates to playlist: Tabfest 2005

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Updates to playlist: Tabfest 2007

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Updates to playlist: Tabfest 2008

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