It’s the year 2009 and I am 5 years old. I wake up at 9am on a Saturday morning and my Mom has just gotten home. She’s sweaty with her hair tied up in a messy ponytail, and she has the biggest grin on her face. I yawn and ask her where she was, and she tells me she got up early to go run a race to help raise money for people with cystic fibrosis - like me. I tell her that next time I want to run with her, because I want to help raise money too. I’m very confused and disappointed when she tells me the races are only for adults. My 5 year old self looks up at my Mom and says, “Well how about I start my own kids running team?” My Mom responds without hesitation, “Let’s do it!” That’s where my passion for advocacy was born. In 2009 I founded a kids running team, called Rosebuds. The team my Mom ran with was called 65 Roses, and it got its name from a young child with CF mispronouncing cystic fibrosis. So I chose the name Rosebuds, for all the budding advocates that wanted to support the CF community too. My Mom helped me with Rosebuds for the next 7 years or so. We hosted about 2 races a year, I would be in charge of a lot of the event planning. A lot of people didn’t take me seriously because of my age, but I had the confidence and the intelligence to host these events and I proved that time and time again. There came a time where I wanted Rosebuds to grow, I was ready to expand into more than just races. I wanted to do dance parties, obstacle courses, and more. The organization we were working with wanted everything to stay the same, so I decided it was time to say goodbye to Rosebuds and find a place with more growing room. 

All of the sudden, I had all the freedom in the world. The possibilities were endless! I realized I wanted to combine my passion for advocacy with my passion for music, so after many brainstorming sessions my Mom and I came up with the idea to host a music festival. I called it Salt Fest, an ode to the struggles that many people with CF have regarding salt absorption/transportation. I hosted Salt Fest for the first time in 2019, and that was a huge turning point in my life. I had never felt more fulfilled and happy to be anywhere but in the moment of hosting this amazing event. I got to give musicians a platform to share their work, all while supporting the CF community that means so much to me. Last Friday on June 16th, 2023 I got to do it all again! Due to the pandemic and then my family spending a lot of time traveling, I haven’t had the opportunity to host Salt Fest again until this year. I have changed a lot over the past 4 years, and I felt confident in my ability to put together an event by myself. It was certainly lots of hard work, but I loved every moment of it. I spent 6 months event planning and making sure every last detail was taken care of. Salt Fest 2023 was a major success in my book! We raised $3,800 and donated it to Breathe Bravely! About 100 people attended the event and had the opportunity to purchase t-shirts, stickers, food/drinks, and dinner from the taco truck we had. People danced, sang, made new friends, and learned all about CF and Breathe Bravely. We had three performers: a techno artist called Scarfy, a rock band called Intension, and I played my original music. Getting to perform was one of my favorite parts of the event. I had an outfit change before my performance, swapping my t-shirt and jeans for a floral dress. It made it feel even more magical than it did before. Having a crowd of people looking up at you and taking in every last note is the most majestic experience. As amazing as performing was, there was a lot more going on. The night seemed to fly by so quickly, yet I still got to enjoy each moment. I loved greeting all my friends and family as they came through the doors, and I loved introducing myself to strangers. I taught all the attendees about what CF is so that they all understood the cause they were supporting. Educating people about CF is crucial to raising awareness and funds for our community, and I’m so thankful I have been able to create a space to do so. Speaking of being thankful, I could not be more thankful for all the donors and volunteers that helped me make Salt Fest a success! Even though I planned it on my own, people really came together last Friday to support me. It was also very special to watch Intension perform, I grew up with some of the guys in that band. We have been friends since kindergarten, and we have watched each other grow and fall in love with music. One of my main goals when I host Salt Fest is to create a space for people to connect through music. I want to encourage people to appreciate one another and be vulnerable through their work. Watching the crowd talk amongst themselves while watching a performance, take videos, dance, laugh, cry, and hold one another during a sad song - that’s why I host Salt Fest. Those deep moments of connection are what I want to bring to people's lives. That is exactly what I have done and continue to do, and I’m so proud of myself. I’m so grateful for my support system, and I hope that everyone walked away from Salt Fest feeling like they just witnessed something extremely special. I hope you walk away from reading this feeling like you just read something heartwarming and inspiring, because that is the feeling I want to give people. 

I can’t wait to do this again next year for Salt Fest 2024! In the meantime, I have some Salt Fest stickers leftover from this year. If anyone is interested in getting one, email me at elena.breathebravely@gmail.com   and I can mail it to you! There is a photo of the design below.  You can also keep up with Salt Fest on social media by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/saltfest