Submitted Photo

A band performs during last year’s Joe Fest as an image of the event’s namesake, the late teacher Joe Kirkman, appears to the right.

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DOBSON — Music by a variety of area bands, along with fireworks and cash drawings, will be part of the annual Joe Fest Saturday at Dobson.

The event billed as a “musical fundraiser” — which is now in its sixth year — pays tribute to a late local educator, Joe Kirkman, while also generating funds to help educate future teachers.

It will be held Saturday at Fisher River Park just outside Dobson, from 3 to 10 p.m.

Four groups are scheduled to perform, covering musical genres ranging from rock to Celtic to bluegrass. Included are Men in Black, None of the Above, One String Over and Joe’s Jammin’ Band. Kirkman, who also was a drummer as well as a teacher, performed with the latter group before he died of cancer in 2005.

Admission to Saturday’s Joe Fest is free, but tax-deductible donations will be accepted for The Joseph Roy Kirkman Foundation. It honors his memory by awarding an annual teacher scholarship named for Kirkman to help others desiring to become educators.

“We have awarded our second scholarship this year,” Trinette Kirkman, his widow, said Monday of how Joe Fest is furthering the teaching careers of others.

Kirkman served in the classroom for 32 years, mostly at Franklin Elementary School. His last assignment was at Pilot Mountain Middle School, where Kirkman taught until December 2004 as his illness worsened.

“It is our hope that through like-minded individuals and organizations, we can continue to make a difference in the lives of future college students and the communities they will serve,” Trinette Kirkman said Monday of the overall goal of Joe Fest.

“I think that we can all remember memorable teachers, and I think that we as a society should help these young people fulfill their dreams of becoming teachers — because we need good, caring teachers,” she added.

Along with the music, fireworks and cash drawings, Saturday’s Joe Fest will include children’s games, door-prize giveaways, food and a silent auction. Those unable to attend can still aid the scholarship program by sending tax-deductible donations payable to the Joseph Roy Kirkman Foundation. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 365, Mount Airy, NC 27030.

An updated website dedicated to the scholarship program, at www.teachfundfest.org, contains more information about it and Kirkman.

Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@heartlandpublications.com.