Local Outreach
Giving Back
Beaufort Music Festival partners with Easterseals, UCP EMPOWER Morehead City to enhance music therapy for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Katherine Barrientos, EMPOWER Easterseals Morehead City Director, Kimberly Wade, Recreation and Wellness Supervisor, John LoPiccolo, Chris Taylor, Music Director Mary Withington, and Music with Mary participants.
The organizers for the Beaufort Music Festival, Beaufort Arts and Music OUTREACH program, have partnered with Easterseals, UCP EMPOWER here in Morehead City by donating $2,500 toward their weekly music therapy sessions. EMPOWER programs use music therapy to provide activities and training to adults with disabilities such as autism, down syndrome and cerebral palsy. The program reaches over 30 individuals weekly, providing enriching recreational, respite, and supported employment services.
Beaufort Arts and Music is a volunteer-run, 501c3 nonprofit organization working in the community to promote tourism through music in Beaufort and the Crystal Coast. This partnership is part of the organization’s core mission to enhance music opportunities in the community. Proceeds from last year’s enormously successful festival are making it possible for Beaufort Arts and Music to contribute to music therapy programs serving members of our own community. This is only possible through the support of the festival fans and sponsors!
For over 30 years, the Beaufort Music Festival has taken place in May in historic Beaufort, hosting bands across many musical genres. Since 2019, the festival has moved to a new location in Beaufort at Gallants Channel on property owned by the NC Maritime Museum and is situated on the waterfront at Gallants Point.