Zionsville Alumni Association to Host Inaugural Fundraiser Event August 24 at Moontown Brewing
Writer / Jennifer Brugh
Photography Provided by the ZAA & Rebecca McVay Photography
On August 24, the Zionsville Alumni Association will be hosting the Rhythm & Booze “fun-raiser” event from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m., in “The 1915 Room” of Moontown Brewing Company in Whitestown. The event will feature food, libations and live music from Nashville Recording Artist and Zionsville Community High School graduate Michael Krejci.
Over the years, the association has hosted numerous events for alumni members and the public, but the “Rhythm & Booze” event is the first of its kind. Every three years the association puts together an all-class reunion, with the next one being held in 2020. Still, they felt they could do more for alumni members.
“We talked about trying to have something between the three years to keep visible and have something for the members out there,” says Zionsville Alumni Association President Tim Ottinger.
Ottinger says the idea for Rhythm & Booze was partly due to the fact that past attempts to have an event during a Zionsville home basketball game have failed due to weather. He hopes that the change of venue and timing will help entice alumni and the public to attend.
The ZAA has used several different venue locations in the past but wanted something different for this event. According to Ottinger, Moontown Brewery seemed like the perfect location that offered great food, a lot of space and a closeup stage for live entertainment.
Finding live entertainment turned out to be easy. During an initial visit to Moontown Brewing to decide if it was the right place for Rhythm & Booze, the ZAA learned about a country music artist by the name of Michael Krejci, who just so happened to be a 1998 Zionsville graduate.
The board was able to get in touch with Krejci and book him as the entertainment for the evening. Krejci expressed how excited he was about coming back to his hometown and playing in front of old classmates and friends.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Krejci says. “I was glad to hear from Dr. (Jim) Haines, who’s involved with the alumni association, and Tim, to help set it up.”
While it’s not his first time coming back to Zionsville to play a show, Krejci acknowledges that it has been a few years.
“Over the years, I’ve done some events in Zionsville,” he says. “Lincoln Park concerts, I’ve done a few of those over the years, but I haven’t been back to perform in, I don’t know, five or six years.”
Krejci says he’s attended a couple of his class reunions but is looking forward to the August occasion. He plans to use his time off stage to connect with old friends who’ve stayed in Zionsville, proving why the ZAA puts on events like “Rhythm & Booze.”
“We always try to provide a network of alumni, teachers, staff, retirees, people who have been involved with the school either as alumni or teachers and so forth, to be able to have events like this and see people they haven’t seen in a long time,” Ottinger adds. “It’s a big part of what the alumni association means.”
In addition to providing a place to network, the association hopes to raise roughly $7,500 through ticket sales and sponsorships from four local businesses owned by alumni. These include Control Tech Heating & Air Conditioning, Zionsville Eyecare, Burrus & Sease LLP, and Carter Van Lines & A-1 Storage.
There will also be a silent auction, engraved pavers for sale and a chance to sponsor a tree at the high school. All the proceeds will go towards the association’s scholarship program as well as help pay for future events. Rhythm & Booze is open to the public, and tickets are on sale while they last. Association members can enjoy a discounted ticket rate.
Ottinger says he expects Rhythm & Booze to be a sell-out and adds that about half the tickets have already sold. The association expects roughly 140 people in attendance.
“I have a feeling that this will go very well,” Ottinger says. “Given that we don’t expect any snow or ice storm, yeah, I would like to think that this will be an annual event.”
Moontown Brewing Company is located at 345 South Bowers Street in Whitestown. Tickets for the Rhythm & Booze event are being sold online at zionsvillealumni.org.
