Denver’s only New Orleans funk -inspired band, Gumbo le Funque, will be collecting donations of materials needed to fight the Black Forest fire outside Colorado Springs, Colorado, at their show at the Main Street Grill in Edwards on Friday evening.
The band also requests donations of materials to support Twisted Trail Stables in Castle Rock, which is taking in various types of livestock now left without care.
This donation campaign is in conjunction with the independent work of Denver’s Hurricane Katrina diaspora community. “The response is becoming awesome,” says Caren Barrere, metro Denver’s Cajun maven. “We know what it’s like to instantly lose everything you have.”
Bandleader Jason Justice, originally of Oklahoma, knows about natural disasters too. “My own family barely sidestepped the recent Moore, OK tornadoes, and it’s times like these that friends you never even met before come out to lend a hand. Colorado has been a loving home to all us bad-weather refugees, and we want to give back.”
The list of requested donations are as follow:
For firefighters:
- C and AA batteries
- Drinks (32oz or smaller, to fit in their packs)
- Ready-to-eat foods, like hard fruit, nuts, power bars, granola bars, etc.
- Sunscreen
- Lip Balm
- Eye Drops
- Cotton t-shirts washed WITHOUT fabric softener
Supplies for the stable:
- Bird feed for ducks, etc.
- stall shavings
- hand sanitizer
- plastic swim pool for ducks or pigs
The Main Street Grill is located at 97 Main St # W-101 Edwards, CO 81632, and the Gumbo le Funque show starts at 10 p.m. However, bandleader Jason Justice will be at the venue starting at 8 p.m. to collect any donations.
For more information about Gumbo le Funque, visit www.gumbolefunque.com.