This Friday and Saturday, the RustyRavin Plant Ranch, a commercial greenhouse near Kenai, will be hosting the Rock’N the Ranch music festival for the second year in a row.
This year, there are a few changes, such as more bands and an additional day, but the purpose of the festivities is still the same.
The festival benefits Nuk’it’un, a transitional sobriety home for men in Kenai. Ravin Swan owns the RustyRavin Plant Ranch with her husband Rusty Swan and serves as board president for Nuk’it’un, which is the Dena’ina word for new moon. Coincidentally, July 13 is the new moon and the festival’s opening day.
The Rock’N Ranch music festival began last year as a fundraiser for Nuk’it’un. The nonprofit home is less than three years old and has the potential to host six men who are often coming out of treatment centers or corrections, Ravin Swan said.
“We have up to six beds, but we’re only utilizing three now,” Ravin Swan said. “We want folks that are serious about recovery.”
Ravin Swan said she and other members of the board came together to create Nuk’it’un because they wanted to help members of their community.
“There was a lack of resources for men who wanted to get on the right path,” Ravin Swan said. “We all had somebody close to us that had an addiction problem. So, we just came together and said that we got to do something for our community.”
The festival will have a beer garden and live music from Denali Cooks, Harp Daddy, Edge of the West and more, until 9 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, after which campfire jam sessions will start. Ticket holders have access to free camping on RustyRavin property. Local food vendors will be onsite as well.
The festival acts as a major fundraiser for the nonprofit, and the Swans expect it to continue as an annual event.
The festival begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, with music until 9 p.m., and then noon on Saturday, with music until 9 p.m. at the RustyRavin Plant Ranch, on mile 12.5, K-Beach Road. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com, GAMAS Designs and at the event. A one-day adult pass is $35, a two-day adult pass is $55 and children under 15 are $15 per day.
Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.
