Remember the Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation? Technically, it’s full name is the Bean Blossom Brown County Jamboree Preservation Foundation, Inc.,

That’s the not-for-profit group, which organized with a goal of purchasing the Bill Monroe Memorial Bluegrass Festival grounds in Bean Blossom, Ind. Members hope to preserve the grounds for the long-standing summer bluegrass festivals that Monroe started,and they have visions of eventually launching a bluegrass education center on the property.

“Our mission is to preserve the music park at Bean Blossom in perpetuity and continue the Brown County Jamborees heritage of musical shows and the bluegrass music festivals established at Bean Blossom by the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe,” the foundation states on its Web site. “The vision of the Foundation is a permanent music park and educational center grounded in the history of the musical events at Bean Blossom.”

Now that you know what we’re talking about, the Bean Blossom Jamboree Foundation is offering some holiday shopping specials to help raise more money to realize its goals. And you don’t even have to fight the crowds at the mall.

For a limited time, the foundation is offering its BBJF brown T-shirts and caps for only $10.

The foundation has also started its Memory Brick Wall Project, which involves bluegrass fans and supporters purchasing engraved bricks that will be used to build a wall near the famous Bean Blossom sign at the fork in the road near the music stage.

“The fully tax deductible price will be $100 a brick this year, and includes custom engraving worded by the brick donor,” according to the foundation. “Each brick will include three lines of text and 12 spaces per line. Once the wall goes up, the price will go up to $125 per brick due to the cost increase of engraving while the bricks are already in place. The bricks will be set in available areas at random.

Bricks are suggested as memorials to departed family members and friends who were long-time supporters of the festival and bluegrass, or as a salute to today’s die-hard Bean Blossom fans.

Rounding out the Bean Blossom gift suggestion list is the purchase of tickets to one of the Bean Blossom festivals next year.

More information is available at bbjfoundation.org.