Athletes, artists come together in Sarasota once again

This weekend, the Orioles hosted the sixth annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” charity event weekend, for the largest ever crowd since its inception in 2015. The event, which combines song and sport to support creativity and music and arts education featured the return of “Nashville’s Music Row Comes to the Ballpark” VIP charity event, and was attended by Orioles players and personnel, as well as front office executives, and other community leaders from Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville including representatives from Intersection of Change and Girls Inc.

Proceeds from the weekend’s events benefited the Intersection of Change’s Jubilee Arts Program in Baltimore and Girls Inc in Sarasota. Jubilee Arts provides comprehensive arts programs to children and adults, using art as a catalyst for social change, a tool for empowerment, and an alternative to drugs and violence in the community. Girls Inc. is focused on the development of the whole girl, using long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment, and research-based programming to equip girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. The “Athletes & Artists” series has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities through the Orioles Charitable Foundation’s Music & Arts Education Scholarship, which was created in 2019 to support deserving students and programs in Baltimore, Sarasota, and Nashville.

The event featured SiriusXM “Highway Find” and “CMT Next Women of Country” KALIE SHORR, lead guitarist of Matchbox Twenty KYLE COOK, and New York City-based singer-songwriter QUEEN V. More information about each performer can be found at Orioles.com/AthletesAndArtists.

The weekend-long series of events began on Friday, March 10, when Maryland Governor WES MOORE threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Orioles taking on the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium. “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” weekend concluded on Sunday, March 12, when the Orioles hosted the Boston Red Sox.

The annual “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” weekend fundraiser began in 2015 with the first “Nashville Comes to the Ballpark” charity event and has steadily grown to include more programming, including in 2019 when the ballpark hosted an on-field concert by country music rising superstar and 11-time No. 1 singer-songwriter COLE SWINDELL, to support selected charitable efforts. The Orioles also welcomed Billboard chart-topping and Platinum-certified country artist RAELYNN in 2020. In 2019, proceeds from the mid-summer “Athletes & Artists Play for Kids” fundraiser, held the evening before the historic BILLY JOEL concert at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, were used to fund community grants from the Orioles Charitable Foundation to JUBILEE ARTS and BALTIMORE SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS. Past beneficiaries include the MUSIC HEALTH ALLIANCE, SARASOTA YMCA, LIBRARY FOUNDATION FOR SARASOTA COUNTY, and GIRLS, INC.