Cousin Jack's Annual Birthday Party June 18, 2011 in Mariposa, California

Cousin Jack's Annual Birthday Party was held on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at the Mariposa Art Park in Mariposa, California. The birthday party had thirteen bands lined up for the day along with a Free BBQ chicken dinner. The weather was gorgeous as the audience in attendance listened to the music and visited with old and new friends during the day long event. The Birthday Celebration is sponsored every year by The Cousin Jack Music Foundation. The Foundation was founded in 2003 by the Franklin family as a memorial to 'Cousin' Jack Franklin, who dedicated many years of his life to promoting music and the arts to the youth of Mariposa. The primary goal of the Cousin Jack Music Foundation is to continue the work of Cousin Jack, the Foundation’s mission statement is "promoting passion for music in youth."

Since 2004 the Cousin Jack Music Foundation began awarding a $500.00 music scholarship to a Mariposa High School Senior. This has been made possible by contributions from the Franklin family, as well as generous donations by the community. Starting in 2008 the scholarship was increased to $1,000.00. This years Scholarship winner was Andrea Guyton, a 2011 graduate of Mariposa County High School, who received $1,000 to further her musical endeavors. She will be attending Fresno State under a music scholarship. Every year the foundation also gives a free guitar away to an area youth. Any young person at the event can put their name into a drawing to win the guitar. This years winner of the Cousin Jack Music Foundation Youth Guitar was Spirit DeWitt.

Besides the scholarship, other goals of the Cousin Jack Music Foundation include:

        Community Events and Concerts

        Partner with other arts related agencies and groups within Mariposa

        A no cost musical instrument lending library for school music students

        Collaborate and provide financial aid to local schools to encourage the inclusion of music instruction on a regular basis to all students

For more information on the Cousin Jack Music Foundation: Cousin Jack Music