A concert fundraiser is taking place this Friday with the goal of bringing together the community and fundraising for a memorial plaque in remembrance of Ashlie Toews.
Toews died in a tragic vehicular collision earlier this year on New Year’s Day while visiting Thailand on a scuba diving trip.
She was a UVic graduate and her friends know that her love for the ocean knew no bounds. Thus, they have had a plaque made to be dedicated to Toews’ memory, which will be mounted at Saxe Point.
Her friends Kya Fulkco and Luanda Pronovost who had the plaque made say they will be mounting on a rocky surface that will be submerged at high tide and visible at low tide for Toews’ loved ones to keep her in their hearts.
“We just thought it would be a meaningful thing,” said Pronovost.
“We thought it would be a nice place to go and visit, because the incident happened so far away from home.”
Fulkco says that they were short on funds to have this memorial plaque made and mounted, so she enlisted the help of a friend she knew through UVic’s scuba club to organize a fundraiser concert.
“He is amazing and so talented at organizing concerts,” said Fulkco. “He was so incredible and immediately said yes.”
“It was also just a nice way to engage the community and have a sort of event that is a fun event. It’s such a sad thing that happened, but to have a fun event to get together with everyone—people who knew her, but also people who didn’t—to just share her story, have fun, listen to good music and know that every dollar is going to such a good cause,” she added.
The concert
The fundraiser show will be held at Capital Ballroom on Friday, August 29th, and will feature the beloved local bands Neighbourly, Ranger, Earth Freaks, House of Glass as well as DJ Deckard.
“We wanted to keep the music genres represented at the show, what Ashlie would have liked, to kind of create her perfect concert, in a sense,” said James Patterson, who organized the fundraiser concert.
“It’s a bit of a mix of rock and soft-rock. We wanted to make it so the people coming can kind of have a taste of everything, not just one specific genre… we wanted to keep it accessible.”
The bands will all play, then DJ Deckard will be DJing through the rest of the evening.
In addition to live music, Patterson has arranged for a silent auction with donated items from a myriad of local businesses.
All proceeds from the show will go towards the plaque, and anything else that is raised will be going to Surfrider Foundation Canada, who are strong advocates for ocean conservation along BC’s coast.
This event is open to anyone, whether they knew Toews or not.
For those who cannot make it, but want to donate to the memorial plaque, a GoFundMe has been launched in order to help meet their goal.
Endless Summer Concert Fundraiser: In Memory of Ashlie Toews
- When: Friday, August 29th, doors at 7 p.m.
- Where: Capital Ballroom, 858 Yates Street
- Admission: Tickets cost $20
