Musician Colin Taylor wondered who already had utensils as he handed washboards to spoon-laden audience members. A restaurant became Taylor’s stage as he continued to distribute instruments including bongo drums and an out-of-tune guitar. Other guests simply clapped along to join in on the high-energy version of “Wading in the Water.”
Taylor was among over 100 community members attending a benefit festival Friday at V. Picasso Tapas Bar and Lounge, 214 W. Main St., to support Urbana resident Ashley Ames.
Ames received second- and third-degree burns on more than 80 percent of her body during an early May 28 fire at 814 W. Stoughton St., dubbed “the Bunny Ranch” by Ames’ friends, and has since been recovering. The Ashley Ames Fund was created to help pay for her medical expenses for Ames, who does not have health insurance, and to assist with her family’s cost of living. Over $18,000 had been collected as of June 7.
Front of house manager of V. Picasso, Daniel Godoy, said he insisted the restaurant hold an event for Ames after he spoke with Urbana resident and friend of Ames, Alice Cronenberg, a few weeks ago.
“Alice was in here eating a few days after the fire, and we were talking about what happened, and I told her, ‘Let’s do an event,’” Godoy said.
V. Picasso pledged to donate 10 percent of all restaurant sales during the benefit concert and charged a $5 cover fee, all of which went to Ames.
Approximately $1,000 was collected from the cover charge, and an additional $300 was contributed from the restaurant’s sales.
Godoy said Cronenberg made all the preparations for the event, including contacting bands to play at the concert.
“We were asked to perform and said, ‘Of course,’” said Bradley Bergstrand, of the band The Palace Flophouse.
Another Palace Flophouse band member, Gretchen Shaw, lived across from the Bunny Ranch in the past.
“I couldn’t believe what happened to the house that I had looked at out of my window for two years,“ Shaw said.
Urbana resident Briana Lusk summed it up as a “devastating, sick surprise.”
Parkland College student Whitney Vaught of Champaign was also shocked by the fire.
“It was weird — I saw (Bunny Ranch resident) Sarah the night before,” Vaught said. “I heard the next day that the house had burned down. It was really sad. Everyone was there for her.”
The Bunny Ranch was well-known for having bands perform regularly.
“We had gone to shows at the Bunny Ranch before and it was always a good time. Everyone was always welcome to come — no one was rejected. And the atmosphere was always comfortable,” Shaw said.
The social connections developed by Ames through shows at the Bunny Ranch are evident in the rapid development of support.
“Now all of the community is helping. This is amazing,” Godoy said.
Lusk added, “The community is small enough so that everybody knows someone who knows Ashley.”
In addition to organizing the festival, Cronenberg handles the contact for the Ashley Ames Fund and generating local support through businesses. Anyone who would like to help can donate through ashleyamesfund.wordpress.com.