Chevy Kicks off the 2010 CMA Music Festival With Free Festivities

Chevy, the official ride of Country Music, is starting off the 2010 CMA Music Festival right with “The Sixth Annual CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Parade” at 11:30 a.m. CT and “The Fifth Annual CMA Music Festival Block Party” at 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday, June 9, in downtown Nashville.

 

“CMA is proud to have such a great partner in Chevy,” said Sheri Warnke, CMA Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. “These two great events will certainly help rev up the excitement for this year’s Festival.”

 

The kick-off parade will have members of the National Guard driving Country Music artists in several different Chevy vehicles, including the all new 2011 Silverado HD, Military Specialty Camaro, Silverados and Corvettes. Brenda Lee will lead as Grand Marshal with many other artists following, including Lynn Anderson, Katie Armiger, Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Bo Bice, Ash Bowers, Carter Twins, Jeff Cook, Diana DeGarmo, Fast Ryde, Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, Gloriana, Josh Gracin, The Grascals, The Harters, Buddy Jewell, KingBilly, Jesse Lee, LoCash Cowboys, Lonestar, Jerrod Neimann, James Otto, Danielle Peck, Point of Grace, Marty Raybon, Pam Tillis, Trent Tomlinson and Chuck Wicks.

 

Other participants that will be attending are the Boy Scouts of Middle Tennessee, Davidson County Sheriff’s Department, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, Mahindra Tractors, Music City Drum & Bugle Corps, costumed characters from the Nashville Children’s Theater, the Nashville Predators Dancers and mascot Gnash, Nashville Sounds mascot Ozzie, Operation Troop Aid, Prime Tyme Athletics cheerleaders and Tennessee Titans mascot T-Rac.

 

The parade will begin at the corner of Church Street and Second Avenue and will travel down Second Avenue to Broadway, turn right onto Broadway and end at Sixth Avenue.

 

Immediately after the parade, the Block Party will take place on the Chevy Music Stage on the Bridgestone Arena Plaza (at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway).

 

These events are free and open to the public.

 

The following four days will hold live entertainment on the Chevy Music Stage on the Bridgestone Arena Plaza (between Broadway and Demonbreun on Fifth Avenue). All performances are free and open to the public.

 

In addition to the music, fans also have the chance to test drive a Chevy vehicle of their choice and support flood relief at the same time. The Chevy Ride and Drive will be located on Fifth Avenue between Broadway and Demonbreun Street Thursday through Sunday, June 10-13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. Chevy will donate $10 for every test drive to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to help provide disaster relief for flood victims.

 

Fans will also have the opportunity to win a ticket upgrade to the Nightly Concerts at LP Field. Throughout the Festival, fans can text CHEVY to 66937 for a chance to win the best seats in the house.

 

In addition to all that Chevy is providing, Chevy will also host activities, appearances and meet and greets on the Chevy Stage in the Sports Zone.

 

Chevy will also have a booth in the Greased Lightning® Fan Fair® Hall so fans can get up close and personal with their favorite artists, including Rodney Atkins, and be one of the first to see the all new 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Cruze on display.

 

This year, CMA will be donating all proceeds from this year’s Festival to benefit music education in Metro Nashville Public Schools and flood relief victims. For up-to-the-minute information about packages, tickets, concerts, travel information, schedules, artists and more, visit www.CMAfest.com and sign up for CMA Exclusive e-news and join the CMA MOB mobile community. Also check out CMA’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/CountryMusicAssociation), Twitter (www.Twitter.com/Country Music),  MySpace (www.MySpace.com/cmamusicfestival) and YouTube (www.YouTube.com/CountryMusicAssoc) pages.