Ritz Fest

Ritz Fest is South Carolina's ONLY annual youth suicide prevention benefit concert held the first Saturday in February.

Through theater performances, short films and live music, our event aims to raise awareness for youth suicide prevention and funds for The Jason Foundation, Inc, a non-profit based on Tennessee that provides training and resources to fight a silent epidemic, youth suicide. They offer one option for South Carolina middle and high school teachers to receive professional learning on suicide awareness to meet certification requirements.

According to the CDC in South Carolina:

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for middle and high school ages.
We lose a young person (ages 10 - 24) to suicide every 4 days within the state.
41% of high school youth indicated that they may be clinically depressed.
Over 1 out of every 10 said they attempted suicide in the past twelve months.

These sobering facts highlight the reason Ritz Fest needs to continue with our success.

Be sure to check out the Newberry Community Players' webpage to learn about all the great events throughout the year. We fall under their 501(c)(3).

We have dedicated our fundraising efforts to go to The Jason Foundation (JFI), who use ~98% of their donations to go to programming to help teachers and others who work with youth to recognize signs to help prevent the silent epidemic of youth suicide.

We have set a $15,000 fundraising goal for JFI by the end of February 2026. Help us!

Here's how we hope to meet that $15,000 fundraising goal for JFI::

sales from tickets, concessions, raffles, and silent auction,

cash donations during our events,

and your generous donations directly to JFI. CLick the donate button at the top of this page or go to our FAQ page to learn how to make a donation TODAY!

Go to our Our Performers/Schedule page for details.

Ritz Fest supporting The Jason Foundation

Ritz Fest

Ritz Fest supporting The Jason Foundation