Chamber to give back with EAT.SHOP.ROCK

On May 30, the Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce will hold its second annual EAT.SHOP.ROCK street fair, and this year it will also be raising money for charity.

EAT.SHOP.ROCK started last year as a way for Rockville Centre businesses to show off their wares and attract more customers. The fair was extremely successful, with more than 2,000 people visiting the various booths that were set up. This year, the Chamber hopes to double or triple that number.

And in addition to a larger turnout, the Chamber is also raising money for two local charities: The Tommy Brull Foundation and Brian Ripps’s Tour4ACure.

“This year, we decided to take a portion of what we take in from sponsorship and things like that and give it to charity,” said Greg Schaefer, the Chamber’s vice president. “And these guys were obvious because they’re both local.”

The Tommy Brull Foundation raises money for various special-needs programs in the area. Martin Brull, the president and founder of the foundation, said that all the money raised at EAT.SHOP.ROCK will be donated to the special-needs playground that is being built in Rockville Centre near Hickey Field. “We’ve already donated $15,000 to that project, and we’re going to continue to support them,” Brull said.

Brull was in contact with the band Driftwood, which he secured to perform at EAT.SHOP.ROCK. After the street fair, the band will go to Kaseys Kitchen and Cocktails to continue the show. They’ll be joined at Kaseys by Palace Trio, a Rockville Centre band.

“It’s good for the town,” Brull said of EAT.SHOP.ROCK. “I don’t think Rockville Centre has enough of these things: where you’re out on the town and the streets are closed and you can walk around.”

Tickets for the show at Kaseys, which are $10, are still available by visiting http://ticketf.ly/1ASux31.

Brian Ripps, a musician and lifelong Rockville Centre resident, is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society through his Tour4ACure campaign.

“I’ve been putting on shows and doing my best to spread good vibes and raise money by playing shows and talking with people,” Ripps said.

He was nominated by the New York chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to be its Man of the Year.

Ripps will be performing at EAT.SHOP.ROCK. And like the Brull Foundation fundraiser, he will continue his show after the street fair. He will be bringing his performance back to Cabo, where he will continue playing and raising money.

Ripps, who has been playing music for about eight years, has been helping out and playing for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for years. He was inspired to give back by his mother, who died when he was 11 years old. She had both breast cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I’m trying to change the world for the better and using music as a catalyst,” he said.

Ripps’s music is available at his website, www.brianripps.com.