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Proceeds from the Eureka Springs Blues Weekend go to benefit two non-profit organizations we have supported for the past decade, the Blues Foundation's Handy Artist Relief Fund and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. The HART Fund
One of our 2009 Blues Weekend performers, Candye Kane, was a HART Fund recipient. Candye was supposed to perform at the 2008 Blues Weekend, but was diagnosed with cancer and had to cancel. With the HART Fund's help, Candye was back on the road, stronger than ever and perform for the 2009 Eureka Springs Blues Weekend.
"I just want to thank you so much for your generosity towards me during this crazy health challenge...for helping me obtain a grant from the HART Fund. It has been so wonderful to have the luxury to focus on healing without worrying about mounting bills. Your compassion has really helped me and my sons during this crisis." For more information about the HART Fund and other Blues Foundation programs, please visit The Blues Foundation web site, www.Blues.org. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge
For more information about "BB King" and the other "Big Cats" of Turpentine Creek, please visit the TCWR web site at www.TurpentineCreek.org. After both of our favorite charity groups became involved in the 2008 Blues Weekend, we decided it was only natural that the Blues Weekend be restructured to benefit these great causes. We hope you will join our all-volunteer staff in supporting the musicians and animals while enjoying great Blues music in one of the most unique towns in America, Eureka Springs! Lori and Charles "Rags" Ragsdell, Producers
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Copyright © 2010 Eureka Springs Blues Weekend. All Rights Reserved.
The Blues Foundation established the HART Fund (Handy Artists Relief Trust) for Blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. The Fund provides for acute, chronic and preventive medical and dental care as well as funeral expenses. Grants generally range between $250 and $1500. 
Here's what Candye had to say about the HART Fund:
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is located seven miles south of Eureka Springs on Highway 23. It provides lifetime refuge to abandoned, abused, and neglected "Big Cats", with emphasis on tigers, lions, leopards, and cougars. Natural habitats have been built over the past decade to allow the "Lions, Tigers, and Bears" to live in more natural surroundings. 
During the 2008 Blues Weekend, a surprise birth occurred at TCWR. A recent rescue came to the refuge "with cubs", and two cubs joined the TCWR family. We got to see the newborns while giving a tour to some of the Blues Weekend musicians, and we decided to sponsor one, naming him "BB King", in honor of the "King of the Blues". BB and his brother Mac have had several health challenges, including a hernia surgery for BB, and bone density problems in both brothers that require expensive diet supplements. We are proud to help support the Refuge, and thank the musicians, fans, sponsors and volunteers who make Blues Weekend possible!
