posted on 5.10.08 at 12:31 pm

The River City Bags Classic to Benefit the St. Jude Chi
The River City Bags Classic to benefit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will take place at the Kelleher's Riverfront the weekend of June 20^th and 21^st. The festivities will begin the evening of Friday, June 20^th with a local celebrity bags tournament being held on Water Street in front of Kelleher's.  Area political figures, news anchors, radio DJ's etc. will participate. One-hundred twenty-eight teams of two will compete in the game of bags, also known as "bean-bag toss" and "cornhole" all day on the 21^st.  All proceeds from the event will go toward the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Though many different sponsors have contributed to make this event possible, it is being underwritten by Robert W. Baird & Co. of Peoria.  Nick and Andy Babcock, two of the co-founders of the tournament said, "It's shaping up to be the largest bags tournament this area has ever seen, and we really can't thank our sponsors enough for their generous contributions."

In addition to the exciting tournament action taking place, there will also be plenty of other activities at the event for spectators and players who are between matches. Live music by Waterstreet, Microwave Society and The Bill and Nick Duo will be featured throughout the day.  For the children, a balloon artist and giant, inflatable playgrounds will be available from noon until 2:00 p.m.  Food and beverages will be on sales during the event as well.

When asked why he decided to be a co-founder of this event, Shawn Glatz said, "We've been active in St. Jude events in the past and strongly believe in their purpose of helping children who otherwise wouldn't have anywhere to turn.  We decided we wanted to go the extra mile and create another way to generate proceeds for St. Jude while playing a game that we love."