By JARROD WISE / KVUE News The Austin City Limits Music festival is just days away. As of Wednesday afternoon, the stages were still being assembled. They’re being constructed on the new drought and wear-resistant bermuda grass.With the recent rains, the turf seems to be holding up to what’s expected to be a record-breaking crowd.
“We’ve taken extra precautions with the rain and wet ground. We’ve been laying down special paneling with anything that comes on the ground, such as special forklifts,” said C3 Present Spokeswoman Lisa Hickey.
That’s just right for sponsors and organizations like the Livestrong Foundation. Their stage, which was donated by C3 Presents, is front and center to some of the biggest headliners.
“Cancer is a disease that’s often forgotten. And we know that one in two men, and one in three women are going to be affected by this disease,” said Livestrong Foundation President Doug Ulman. “The fact that Dave Matthews is going to be here and Pearl Jam is going to be on this stage on Sunday night — as a nonprofit and a mission, you couldn’t ask for better visibility.”
There is one area in Zilker Park where there will be no live music or food. It’s a place where festival-goers can actually participate in possibly saving a life.
“They’ve graciously invited us to do one of our bone marrow drives,” said Love Strength Hope Foundation Spokesman James Chippendale. This year those attending the festival can volunteer to have their cheek swabbed so their DNA can be put in a bone marrow donor database. This has been done at 62 other music festivals. ACL will be the biggest.
“There’s actually been 15 matches that we’ve had from our events around the country, which is actually 15 lives saved,” Chippendale said.
Friday October 2 will not only be the first day of ACL fest, but also the 13th Anniversary of Lance Armstrong’s own diagnosis with advanced testicular cancer. It could also be the day someone else’s life is saved.
“We’ll be able to look back at ACL festival and say, WOW, we saved 12 lives, 15-20 lives, just from the festival itself and that’s really making a huge difference right now,” said Chippendale.
