PODCAST:

Jackfest is a family-oriented charity festival supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charlottesville taking place Sunday, October 18th, from noon to 4pm at Foxfield in Albemarle County.

TRANSCRIPT:

Nadyah Ahmed:
You’re listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts This Week we sat down with Michael Callahan, board president of the Ronald McDonald House of Charlottesville, and father of Jack, the little boy whose battle against cancer inspired Jack Fest, a charity festival coming up at Foxfield on Sunday, october 18.

Michael Callahan:
I’m Mike Callahan, and my son is Jack, who Jackfest is named after, and Jack was three years old when he was diagnosed with cancer, and it was metastatic, so that means it spread through his body, and he had to get medical treatment at UVA, and then eventually that didn’t work out. You know, they did a great job, but he needed to go up for more care at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and while we were there, we stayed at Ronald McDonald House for eight months. And so Jackfest is a big event out at Foxfield, a lot of fun, but it’s all about raising money for Ronald McDonald House, Charlottesville.

Nadyah Ahmed:
And what is the Ronald McDonald House?

Michael Callahan:
Ronald McDonald House is a global charity, and we have a chapter here in Charlottesville, and our mission is all about meeting the needs of families who have sick children. So, if maybe you had a baby premature, or you have a child that needs a heart transplant, or a child with cancer, or many other illnesses, then we provide a place for you to live while your children are getting medical treatment. And so, we operate an 18 room house here in Charlottesville. So we’re hosting 18 families at once, and we provide for them warm meal every day, transportation. We meet their needs for lodging, and we also provide a community of people who are going through a really hard situation, and we do all of this free of charge. So if your child is sick and you have to come from hours away to Charlottesville unexpectedly, we’ve got a light on for you. You can come and stay for free at our house, and it’s right next to the hospital.

Nadyah Ahmed:
How did you become involved with the Ronald McDonald House?

Michael Callahan:
So I knew about Ronald McDonald House, but I didn’t know much, and then my family had to stay in one for eight months. My son did bone marrow transplant and and radiation and other treatments up in Philadelphia, and I just loved it because we made good friends and we also had all of our needs met. And you know, think about having a child that’s sick. You and you need to leave home. You also are probably leaving your job and losing your income. You’re not in your community anymore, and it you know Ronald McDonald just about meeting you and your needs, and it’s it’s powerful. It’s amazing. And so when I got back to Charlottesville in 2020, I reached out to our local house and said, “Let me get involved. I want to help in any way. And they brought me on the board, so I’m now the board president of Ronald McDonald House, Charlottesville.

Nadyah Ahmed:
And how did Jackfest start?

Michael Callahan:
Yeah, so Jackfest was started by the Lorenzoni family, which owns Ragged Mountain Running Shop. And when Jack was sick, they wanted to support our family, so they started the first Jackfest, and it was so popular. We now do it again and again to raise money for Ronald McDonald House, Charlottesville. But at that time, when Jack was sick, we had to move to Charlotte out of Charlottesville to go to Philadelphia, and we had a lot of needs. And Jackfest helped us during that time, but now it’s about paying it forward, and when Jack was in Philadelphia, he had to endure a lot of difficult treatments, including multiple rounds of bone marrow transplant, 30 fractions of radiation, surgery, additional rounds of chemotherapy, and you know we were unable to do much other than support him. So Ronald McDonald House was there for us in Philadelphia. Jackfest was supporting us back from home, but now you know Jackfest is all about helping other families that are going to find themselves in a similar situation. We have families that come from all over Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, for treatment here at UVA, and they stay with us for as long as they need, and they stay for free. So we we’re all about supporting that mission.

Nadyah Ahmed:
Can you tell us a bit more about Jackfest?

Michael Callahan:
Jackfest is a community festival coming up on Sunday, October 18th, from noon to 4 p.m. at Foxfield in Abemore County. It’s a fun event that’s geared towards families and children, but people of any age are welcome to come out and have fun, and we especially need volunteers. So go to Jackfest.net to sign up and learn more.

Nadyah Ahmed:
Jackfest will be on Sunday, October 18th at Foxfield from noon to 4 p.m. For more information and volunteer sign-up, go to jackfest.net. Arts This Week is supported by the UVA Arts Council and Piedmont Virginia Community College. PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance, music, theater, and visual arts programming. Learn more at pvcc.edu. For WTJU, I’m Nadyah Ahm