Word is Brunswick’s best Classic Rock cover band will be celebrating the last day of school this Saturday June 16th at Bolos. Mama Tried, sometimes known as the house band for Brunswick Student Aid Fund, will be playing tunes from the 90’s and the 00’s at Bolos tomorrow night. The more people that go the more BASAF will benefit.
Think of it as Fajitas for Financial Aid.
Mama Tried has been raising cash and awareness for BASAF for years through efforts like this and its annual Brunswick City Limits Benefits at Brunswick High. Comprised mainly of multi-talented teachers and staff members from the Brunswick School Department, the band relies on auditioned student talent for a lot of the vocals during Brunswick City Limits but the band will be on its own at Bolos. No word if they’ll trot out that old Alice Cooper chestnut, School’s Out For Summer.
For those that don’t know, last year BASAF granted more than $543,000 in scholarships to 136 area students split about equally between graduates of Mt. Ararat and Brunswick High schools. To be eligible a student need not attend Brunswick or Mt. Ararat, they only need live in Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Brunswick, Harpswell, or Topsham, the five towns that sent students to Brunswick High School back in 1950’s when Mario Tonin, a principal at Brunswick High and later Superintendent, launched BASAF.
BASAF measures an eligible student’s need based on the federal student aid forms (FAFSA) against costs of the program the student will attend and assesses the gap the family needs to fill. BASAF awards are presented at the annual senior night awards ceremonies at the schools. Last year awards of as much as $4800 were made to individual students. BASAF mails checks directly to the schools, one in July and a second in time for the second semester. Students are eligible to reapply for the scholarship a second year too.
If you’ve already got dinner plans tomorrow you can catch up with the BHS Class of 1980 on July 1st at the Brunswick Golf Course to support BASAF.
Rita O’Connor Maines (also a Brunswick School Department employee) and her team will be leading the Class of 80’s push to endow their third BASAF Scholarship. This one named for Peter Gardner, Brunswick High’s first, and longest serving, varsity soccer coach, a math teacher, and a school administrator. Coach Gardner put 43 years in the Brunswick School system.
The photo of Coach Gardner, his sons and grandsons, was taken last year at the Dragon Scramble. The photo goes around social media all the time thanks to promotional efforts for the Dragon Scramble. Every time it pops up it makes me so glad I was there to capture it.
There’s more about the Dragon Scramble here including a link to all last year’s photos. You can see photos of Mama Tried with Brunswick City limits from 2023 here, and from 2024 here.
More important, if you want to support BASAF or learn more about it here is a link to their web page.
Bolos, at 7 Dunlap Street in Brunswick has all sorts of food and drink to accompany Mama Tried’s music.