Spotlight on Kris Raftis, Moisture Festival Board Member and Fundraiser Extraordinaire

Kris Raftis was all smiles last night, and for good reason: opening night sold out and the post-show gala she organized was packed with exhilarated volunteers, artists, and patrons.

Kris is on the festival’s 12-person Board of Directors, and she’s forthright about her role in the organization: “I’m a fundraiser,” she said. “I ask people for money.”

But for her, soliciting donations means more than filling up an organization’s coffers.

“I joke about it, but fundraising is really a matter of connecting people who want to give back with their passion. It’s really rewarding.”

Kris was recruited for the board by Deborah Person, another Moisture Festival board member. “I hadn’t heard of the Moisture Festival until Deborah told me about it,” she said. “The first show I saw, I was so impressed, and I thought, “How is that I haven’t heard of these people before?’”

Kris, who works at United Way, said that the festival is the perfect counterbalance to her day job. “My tagline is ‘Serving the community by day and playing with the circus at night.’”