The highlight of TROOPFEST 2008 is the concert with five hours of classic rock music on the hangar deck featuring the Greg Kihn Band, Midlife Vices, Cocktail Monkeys, and Evolution: A tribute to Journey. Guest star Chris Jackson of 98.5 KFOX and Grammy-winning artist Tony Lindsay will also perform.

The event is hosted by Operation: Care and Comfort program, unique to the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

”With this election cycle so much in the forefront, our troops are not the main story in the news. We want to let them know that we have not forgotten them, and we are rocking and rolling in the San Francisco Bay Area to continue to show our support," said Julie DeMaria, co-founder of Operation: Care and Comfort.

TROOPFEST 2008 activities include live music, ship tours, exhibit and sponsorship tables, and raffle. The raffle grand prize is a 12-day cruise for two from Holland America Line. Other raffle prizes include an original 80's Kramer Pacer American (Strat shape) all-stock guitar signed by classic rock artists including Joe Satriani, Greg Kihn, Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons of The Doobie Brothers; Pat Travers, Dave Meniketti of Y&T, and others, donated by Chris Jackson. -- www.uss-hornet.org