The Things You Cannot Do/Say at This Year’s Camping For Cans

Ahead of every radio station event I like to send out some guidelines for behavior. With our biggest annual event, "Camping for Cans" kicking off tomorrow (11/22/19) I wanted to lay out the rules:

• Don't ask me, to ask Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, anything on your behalf. The good news is, you can ask him yourself if you attend tomorrow around 9 am. He will be there to cut the ribbon on the marathon broadcast.
• Don't bring turkey's. This one is actually not a joke, this is not a turkey drive, it's a food drive. We have nowhere to store them or bring them. The last thing we want to do is waste food.
• Don't try and show me a picture or video on your phone. Every single time I do a rules list ahead of a radio station event, I put this on the list and every time, someone ignores this. Trust me when I tell you, I am very interested in you, meeting you and talking to you. What I am not interested in, is the funny video your friend Gus sent you. I am not interested in seeing a picture of your old motorcycle, I am not interested in anything on your phone. There will be a sun glare on the screen, you will not have the item in question ready and I will pretend to care, to be polite. If you want to dance with me, I'm down but I do not want to do that dance.
• Don't dress weird or look like a celebrity. This one may seem like an odd request to you but there is a legit reason. If you look weird or like someone famous, my Digital Managing Editor, Joey will make me do a video with you. Basically, you will create a lot of work for me that I do not have time for this weekend.

I know my "don't" list makes me look high maintenance and I have made my peace with it. What are the things we would love to see you do? Please do these:

• Come out, bring family & friends and talk to us about anything unless it conflicts with the list above.
• Bring non-perishable food items, cash and checks made out to the Hillside Food Outreach. There are way more people, right here in our local area that will go without food, than you could ever imagine.
• Take pictures/videos of the event, us and you at the event. Getting the word out is half the battle and while we have a huge megaphone (50,000 watt radio station) every new voice counts. You could be alerting someone to this event that may have no idea it's happening.

Actually, do whatever the hell you want and ignore my rules, this is a people event. This is the event, I'm most proud to be a part of. This event and our partnership with the Hillside Food Outreach has helped so many people and we want to help a record amount of people this year. This is about helping your fellow man and taking part in your community. This event fills me with hope every year because I see how our listeners come through with unbelievable generosity.

Please join us for "Camping For Cans" starting tomorrow at 5:30 am and going until Sunday at 4 pm. We have a new location this year broadcasting live in the BJ's Wholesale Parking lot on Federal Road in Brookfield. We will have someone ready to take your donation, on site, any time day or night. If you can't make it out, you can still donate on Hillside Food Outreach's website.

P.S. Tomorrow you can meet our friends Christine O'Leary and Christopher Robin. Christine is a great friend of I-95 and a hilarious stand-up comedian. Christopher is a world renowned musician and dear friend. Both will be in attendance tomorrow (11/22/19) as will Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.