Businesses burned by blaze find new friends
Hanna Rebecca brings her eclectic, acoustic style to Calypsos for a benefit concert to support victims of a Jan. 20 downtown fire. (Courtesy of Hanna Rebecca)
Hanna Rebecca brings her eclectic, acoustic style to Calypsos for a benefit concert to support victims of a Jan. 20 downtown fire. (Courtesy of Hanna Rebecca)
COEUR d’ALENE — After an early-morning fire Jan. 20 burned through the 200 block of Fourth Street, locals banded together with spare rooms and odd tools to help the six businesses impacted by the blaze.
A pickup truck to transport belongings here. An empty space to store artwork and furniture left unscathed there. The occasional trip to Home Depot. Volunteer bake sales.
That generosity congealed with a Facebook page to rally resources, brainstorm recovery ideas and promote new fundraisers. This Saturday’s concert at Calypsos Coffee Roasters, 116 E. Lakeside Ave., leaves organizers hopeful it will inspire more responses from Coeur d’Alene.
“Efforts like these are important for community building,” Calypsos owner RJ Rueber said Wednesday. “I’ve never met the owners of a couple of the businesses that were lost, but I can only imagine what they’re going through.”
Rueber said a Facebook group started in the aftermath of the fire — “Here To Help: CDA Business Fires” — has become a catalyst for events like the Calypsos concert. Saturday’s concert will highlight the jazzy Americana rock talents of the local duo DiGaddie and the indie rock stylings of Hanna Rebecca. The acts hope to raise funds for the businesses shuttered by the fires.
“All in all, [I’m] passionate and excited to be a part of this event,” Hanna Rebecca said. “A lot of those businesses are friends or acquaintances that have hosted me as a musician or have just been friendly in the past.”
The Arizona-born and North Carolina-raised musician has lived in Coeur d’Alene since 2007. She said she draws on a number of different influences, from Modest Mouse to Avril Lavigne to Imogen Heap, though she admits her first influences might not find themselves on a Spotify Top-40 playlist.
“I originally wanted to sing opera,” she said. “My first influences in music were Charlotte Church and Sarah Brightman.”
Her parents were huge influences, too.
“My mother has a beautiful voice and my father plays killer stand-up bass,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be a musician and singer since I was 5.”
DiGaddie, meanwhile, have become regular performers at Honey Eatery and Social Club on Sherman Avenue. They’ve also booked gigs this year at the Symes Hot Springs Hotel and for the upcoming Coeur d’Alene Farmers Market. They’ll also make regular appearances at the Hillyard Farmers Market in Spokane throughout the summer.
Rueber said he’s eager to see the two acts live in Calypsos Saturday.
“I like how you can tell the DiGaddie are having a good time when they play music,” he said.
Calypsos will ask for a $5-to-$10 donation at the door. Taco Works will be on hand with $1 tacos, half of which gets donated. A basket for additional donations will be available.
Saturday’s benefit, which kicks off at 4 p.m., is one of several in a line to help the businesses impacted by the blaze. Honey Eatery will host a dinner and silent auction Sunday. Coeur d’Alene Bike Co. and Post Ride Bar are putting on a Heart City Raffle Feb. 15.
Students at Borah Elementary, Bryan Elementary, Fernan STEM Academy and Sorensen Magnet School are running a coin drive later in February — “Kids, Coins and Quarter’lene” — to collect for the six businesses. Las Chavelas is hosting a taco bar Sunday.
Holding a benefit concert, Rueber said, is the least he can do.
“As a small business owner, Calypsos is my life,” Rueber said. “I spend seven days a week, most of my day, at my shop. If it suddenly went up in flames, my whole world would be gone.
“It’s important to let folks in town know that we’re here to support each other, in good times and bad. These fires hit a little close to home, literally.”