Apr 1, 2008: For immediate Release: April 1, 2008 – San Jose, CA:

Aboard the USS Hornet on Saturday, May 17th, 2008 from 10am to 5 pm (Ship opens at 10AM; music starts at 11AM), the American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter Operation: Care and Comfort program will host TROOPFEST 2008, a benefit concert and festival to raise funds to send packages to US Troops abroad.

The highlight of TROOPFEST 2008 is the benefit concert with five hours of classic rock music on the hangar deck featuring the Greg Kihn Band, Midlife Vices, Cocktail Monkeys, and Evolution; a tribute to Journey. Guest star Chris Jackson of 98.5 KFOX and grammy winning artist Tony Lindsay will also perform.

“TroopFest 2006 was a great success! The bands were fantastic, folks were excited to come out and support our troops, and everyone had a great time on board the USS Hornet. I have no doubt that TroopFest 2008 will be a sell out, with the addition of the Greg Kihn Band and Evolution along with our favorite cover bands—MidLife Vices and the Cocktail Monkeys! With this election cycle so much in the forefront, our troops are not the main story in the news. We want to let them know that we have not forgotten them, and we are rocking and rolling in the San Francisco Bay Area to continue to show our support.” said Julie DeMaria, co-founder of Operation: Care and Comfort.

TROOPFEST 2008 activities include air craft carrier tours, exhibit and sponsorship tables, and a raffle. TROOPFEST 2008 Raffle Grand prize is a 12-day cruise for two from Holland America Line and other raffle prizes include an original 80’s Kramer Pacer American (Strat shape) all stock guitar signed by classic rock artists including Joe Satriani, Greg Kihn, Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons of The Doobie Brothers, Pat Travers, Dave Meniketti of Y&T, and others, donated by Chris Jackson.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth (5-17.) A special Military ticket is available for $15 with valid military I.D. All tickets will be $5 more if purchased at the door. The adult ticket is also a raffle ticket, and additional raffle tickets may be purchased for $15 each, or 8 for $100. Tickets may be purchased at Streetlight Records located at 980 South Bascom Avenue in San Jose or by logging onto to the U.S.S. Hornet website at www.uss-hornet.org. Updated event information is available at www.troopfest.org.

For more information on how you may participate in this event, call Julie DeMaria of Operation: Care and Comfort at (408) 373-8635 or via email at troopsupport@comcast.net.

About Operation: Care and Comfort
Since April 2003, the all-volunteer Operation: Care and Comfort program, unique to the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, has shipped over 375,000 pounds of care packages for distribution to Marine, Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard personnel deployed in the conflict regions. Adopted military units receive care packages monthly, until they return home. Operation: Care and Comfort is a member of the Department of Defense “America Supports You” program. For more information on this worthy program, please visit: www.operationcareandcomfort.org.

About The American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has provided service for military forces since the Spanish-American War began in 1898. Currently, the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services (AFES) is keeping pace with the changing military. Featuring the latest in computer and telecommunications technology, the American Red Cross Emergency Service Center delivers around-the-clock emergency communication services to active duty military personnel, and to their families.

American Red Cross Emergency Services are available to all members of the armed forces, and to their families. Both active duty and community-based military can count on the Red Cross to provide emergency communications, emergency financial assistance, counseling, veteran assistance and aid in the field where Red Cross workers are deployed to serve with America’s military. Operation Care and Comfort outreach efforts benefit AFES clients and the related family support groups.

The American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter is a non-profit, humanitarian organization, that depends on the generous contributions of time and money from Santa Clara Valley residents and companies to help the community prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Santa Clara Valley Chapter has over 1000 registered volunteers and 700 youth volunteers who are supported by 27 paid staff members and provides services for over 1.5 million residents of Santa Clara County in the cities of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose, Milpitas, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, and all unincorporated areas of the county.

For more information on disaster preparedness, health and safety classes, volunteer opportunities, and financial contributions, visit our website at www.santaclaravalley.redcross.org or call us at 408-577-1000.

About America Supports You “America Supports You,” a nationwide program launched by the Department of Defense in 2004, recognizes citizens’ support for our military men and women and communicates that support to members of our Armed Forces at home and abroad. America Supports You spotlights what Americans are doing all across the land, encourages others to join the team, and allows all to tell their stories by giving voice and visibility to their efforts. For More information on the program, please visit www.americasupportsyou.mil