Huskie Healing

by Benji Feldheim

Jessica Quinn and Willy Adkins were on the same page. Quinn, general manager and advertising manager at Otto's Niteclub in DeKalb, was about to call Adkins, promoter with Twisted Wish Productions, on Feb. 16 about putting together a benefit show after the Feb. 14 shootings at Northern Illinois University. But before she could dial his number, Adkins called her with the same idea. Adkins and Quinn decided to start with the concept of a benefit concert and take it further. After they enlisted the help of DeKalb resident Allison Trebe in planning the event, the three came up with Huskie Healing. Otto's and Twisted Wish will host a live music show with an art auction and a date auction Saturday. “We knew we wouldn't do it right after the shootings,” Trebe said. “We wanted to take time and get this together, so people could come back from spring break and have a good time for a cause.” Following the shootings, a greater sense of community between the university and the city of DeKalb emerged. Huskie Healing was designed to further encourage that feeling of togetherness, Trebe said. The event was made to attract college students, the post-college crowd that often frequents Otto's and other DeKalb residents who may not attend performances at the venue as frequently. “Otto's has a certain reputation of being extreme on something, and someone has to be,” Trebe said. “But we wanted it to relate to everybody. We decided to go in a direction that has a little more mass appeal.” Numerous musical acts contacted the event organizers shortly after word got out about the benefit. Local performers offered to play, while out-of-town bands, such as Bon Jovi tribute band Bad Medicine, opted to pay their own transportation costs and bring their own sound equipment, Trebe said. “It got to the point where we had to turn people away when all the time slots were filled,” Trebe said. “We tried to make it unique, while at the same time, we didn't want to step on the toes of other benefits going on.” Local businesses donated merchandise to be auctioned off during the event, including artwork worth a couple of thousand dollars, Trebe said. A date auction will also take place during the evening. “There have been many unconventional ways people have contributed,” Trebe said. One challenge in planning the event was the desire not to focus on the Feb. 14 tragedy the entire evening while still paying respects to those who died, Trebe said. “The goal is to have it be a memorial, but not a situation where that is the only reason we are there,” Trebe said. “People are well aware of what happened, so rather than focus on that, let's keep holding that community bond.” --- If you go Huskie Healing, a benefit concert for Northern Illinois University, will start at 6 p.m. Saturday at Otto's Niteclub, 118 E. Lincoln Highway.

A silent auction will be held in the main room. Items will include artwork, beauty products, gift certificates and merchandise donated by local businesses. A live date auction also will be held in the main room.

Event T-shirts will be available for $15. Admission is $10, and only those 21 or older will be admitted.

All profits from admission, shirts and the auctions will go to NIU's February 14 Student Scholarship Fund.

The following is a schedule for performers throughout the night, although times are subject to change. A schedule will be made available to attendees the night of the event.

Main room 6-6:45 p.m. Seaworthy 7-7:45 p.m. The Biltmores 8-8:30 p.m. Blue Fish Fellows 8:45-9:30 p.m. Cold Water Mystic 9:45-10:45 p.m. Seven Day Sonnet 10:45-11:15 p.m. Date Auction 11:15 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Broken Vegas 12:45-2 a.m. Bad Medicine

Underground 6:30-7:15 p.m. Demetra Dokos 7:30-9 p.m. Matthew Hayes 9:15-11 p.m. MER

______________________________________________

Original Article Link: Daily Chronicle