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The Songwriters Showcases of America, a non profit performance arts organization will be celebrating its 19th year Anniversary and having its 41st Music Festival in Ormond Beach this Fall on Oct 13th at the Casements and Rockefeller Gardens. The event is called Ormond Beach Live Original Music & Art Festival and will feature 10 stages and consist off over 100 original music acts comprising mostly of Rock, Folk, Jazz and Country music. The event will also consist of a community stage which will feature musical acts from area schools, churches and choral groups etc. Additional after hour stages at local nearby venues are also being planned. In addition to the live music featured at the festival the event will also feature over 40 artist display booths, various trade booths, food court, beer garden and kid zone

The SSA is going back to Ormond Beach where they held there first anniversary festival on Sept 30, 2000 which then consisted of 3 stages and 25 acts and was held at the former Ormond Central Perk and Baileys River Bridge Church ( a city owned building used for small events and meetings). Since then over the next 18 years the SSA has done most of its annual festivals in Downtown Deland (twice a year in spring and fall) in addition to Main Street Live in Daytona (once a year in Feb.) They also have done festivals previously at the Bandshell in Daytona Beach, Downtown Jacksonville, and the East & West Villages in New York City.

The SSA's president and founder Phil Weidner grew up in Ormond Beach and is excited to be bringing a festival back to his native town as well as to where the SSA held its first festival. He remembers as a kid going to art festival's at the former Ormond Hotel in the 70's and watching the live music held there. Although the hotel is now gone the Casements and Rockefeller Gardens will certainly be a great location to have this festival. The inaugural Ormond Beach Live will certainly be the largest music festival ever held in the city. The organization intends to invite acts back who played at the 1st festival in addition to acts that have performed throughout the years in addition to featuring new up and coming acts.

SSA President-Phil Weidner