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ROYAL OAK — For its 27th year running, the Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats festival has raised a significant amount of funds for local charities and cultural organizations.
Organizers of the event announced at an Oct. 9 press conference in Troy that the festival raised $335,103.53 and attracted approximately 345,000 people to downtown Royal Oak. The number of people who attended made the 2024 event one of the top 10 most-attended Arts, Beats & Eats in the festival’s history.
“This year’s Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats not only delivered an unforgettable experience with its blend of art, music, and food, but also made a lasting impact on the community,” Jon Witz, producer of Arts, Beats & Eats, said in a press release. “The support we have seen from attendees, partners, and volunteers has been incredible — raising significant funds that will directly benefit dozens of local charities and organizations that will make a real difference in the lives of those in need.”
Including the 2024 funds, the festival has donated more than $7.7 million to charitable organizations since 1998, according to the press release.
The release stated that this year’s donations to Royal Oak-based charities reached $117,289.54, bringing the total generated since 2010 to more than $1.7 million for the city of Royal Oak.
Funds were generated through gate admission fees, beverage proceeds, festival-sponsored community initiatives and more, according to the press release.
The press release listed all the charities to receive funds from the event starting with the core charities, who shared donation funds totaling $79,075.
The core charities included Children’s Center of Wayne County, Children’s Miracle Network, COTS, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, Dutton Farm, Forgotten Harvest, Lighthouse of Oakland County, Metro Detroit Youth Clubs, Soldiers’ Angels, Stagecrafters, The Rainbow Connection, and Volunteers of America.
Proceeds from beverage sales totaled $136,374.54 and went to 22 charitable and community groups.
An amount of $11,560 was donated to First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, Royal Oak First United Methodist Church and St. Mary Catholic Church for parking lots.
Cultural entertainment organizations received $6,750, and donations to Open Hands Pantry in Royal Oak totaled $4,000.
More than two dozen charitable organizations and community groups also received contributions totaling $97,343.99.
At the press conference Oct. 9, organizers of the event spoke on the impact that Arts, Beats & Eats has had on the organizations and the city of Royal Oak.
“It’s a collaboration with the county and with the city, but the way he (Jon Witz) brings the nonprofit community together to benefit from this is so important to me,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said. “This is the largest and most exciting event that we do in Oakland County, which is why we (Oakland County) are proud to support it.”
Mayor Michael Fournier spoke at the event and expressed his gratitude to the nonprofits, the organizers of Arts, Beats & Eats, and the safety and security personnel who were on hand to protect the people at the event.
“Royal Oak continues to be a proud sponsor and host of Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats & Eats, and it has been a destination in Royal Oak for 13 years now. It’s an amazing run,” he said. “More than 300,000 people attended the event this year, and for the most part there were no major incidents, and that’s not designed by luck. That is really a testament to so many people working together, especially our (Department of Public Services) teams and our police and firefighters.”
Witz closed out the ceremony mentioning that he looks forward to next year to continue the tradition of Arts, Beats & Eats providing money for charities, and hosting an iconic event.
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