Avi-Fest is Saturday at East Troy’s LDs BBQ
By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The number of the day in East Troy Saturday will be 26 in memory of those who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December in Newtown, Ct.
LDs BBQ, located at the East Troy BP gas station on the corner of highway ES and 20, is hosting Avi-Fest starting at 4 p.m. on Oct. 26 to raise money for the Avielle Foundation, which was founded by the parents of Avielle Rose Richman, one of the 20 school children who was killed in the school shooting.
According to LDs BBQ owner Leon Davis, 48, of South Beloit, that number has taken on special meaning in his life.
“When I opened the BBQ truck, my first sale was for $1.26; $1 for my first dollar and 26 cents in memory of the ones who died,” he said. “And Saturday, that number is the focus – $26 to enter the rib-eating contest, 26 minutes to eat the most ribs, it’s on the 26th.”
Davis, who met Avielle’s parents through his wife Liz, said his life was changed after the shooting.
“We went out to Connecticut, my wife and I, the very next day, all the friends in that group agreed to spend the weekends with them (Avielle’s parents) after the shooting,” he recalled. “We divided up the weekends between the friends; Liz and I went out in January to spend a few days with them and really opened my eyes to a lot of stuff. It was heartbreaking.”
“We spent the evenings going through mail with them cause they got so much mail from around the world,” he continued. “I mean all around the world, it was incredible. So, we would go though it with them in the evenings and then it went into boxes after it was read and taken to a place they called Sacred Ground to be buried. All the mail from all the families is buried there.”
Davis said everything changed for him after that. He felt more connected to his family and the community and knew he had to do more.
“I was a nurse for 20 some years before the restaurant and you get jaded with that,” he said. “In some respects it made me human again, made me closer to my 8-year-old son made me realize there’s a lot more in life than work and I could do more for my family and the community.”
It was that desire which led him to organize what he hopes will become an annual event – Avi-Fest.
“The whole focus of this is a celebration of community and life, if nothing else happens from this, I hope people can look at their lives and family a little differently and show each other a little more love and kindness,” he said.
The event will feature music from Hardwater Blues and maybe a few surprise acts, along with a live auction and, of course, great food.
“We’ve got some amazing items for the auction,” he said. “A hand-painted Scottish highland skull from a man at the East Troy Highlands Ranch and a beautiful wooden wolf sculpture.”
About the Avielle Foundation
According to the website, the mission of The Avielle Foundation is to prevent violence by fostering brain health research, education, and policy; and community development, engagement, and responsibility. The foundation will do so by directing resources to support.
For more information, visit aviellefoundation.org.
