WNC businesses collaborate to raise money for Colorado flood recovery

Toast to ReCOvery Fundraiser to be held October 10 at the 

Prestige Subaru Adventure Center

In response to the massive flooding that hit Colorado last month, local Western NC businesses including members of the Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC, Darby Communications, Oskar Blues Brewery, and Prestige Subaru are hosting an evening of fundraising and fellowship for those affected by the Colorado floods. Toast for ReCOvery will be held on October 10^th from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. at the Prestige Subaru Adventure Center at 585 Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC.

One of the worst natural disasters that Colorado has seen this century, the floods that occurred last month left thousands of people displaced and caused President Obama to declare the area a major disaster. Officials have said that Boulder County alone will need an estimated $150 million to rebuild major roadways and bridges.

“Asheville is often referred to as the ‘Boulder of the East’ and our team felt compelled to pull the Asheville and WNC outdoor community together to support those in the Boulder area when they need it the most,” states Darby Communications founder, Coral Darby.

“The ‘Toast to ReCOvery’ fundraiser is an opportunity for friends to enjoy good music, food and beer while also raising money for the Oskar Blues’ CAN’d Aid Foundation,” notes Oskar Blues Marketing Assistant, Aaron Baker. “The CAN’d Aid Foundation provides support to the communities of Lyons and Longmont, CO; two areas that experienced massive devastation during the flooding. We're so grateful that our new neighbors here in Western North Carolina have banded together to support our colleagues in Colorado.”

For $20 suggested donation, attendees can enjoy music from local bluegrass band, Old North State, beer from Oskar Blues Brewery and food from local restaurants. There will be a silent auction with many items from local companies including The Adventure Center at Biltmore Estates, Asheville Outdoor Center, Asheville Treetops Adventure Park, Black Dome Mountain Sports, Camp Carolina, Eagles Nest Outfitters, KEEN, Mast General Store, Watershed Drybags, Wildwater Zipline Canopy Tours and a raffle for a liquidlogic Stinger creek boat. All proceeds from tickets, the silent auction and raffle will go to the Oskar Blues CAN’d Aid Foundation.

Toast to ReCOvery is made possible through the support of these local companies: American Backcountry, Astral, Blue Moon Water, Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, Legacy Paddlesports, Recover, SylvanSport, and Swaygo Gear.

The event is also supported by AdvantageWest, the regional economic development partnership, through funding from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). AdvantageWest helped spearhead the creation of the Outdoor Gear Builders of WNC as part of the EDA-funded WNC AgriVentures grant.

For more information please contact Mandy Gresham at mandy@darbycommunications.com or Kathi Petersen at kpetersen@awnc.org .