COTTAGE HILLS – After a successful initial event with only a few months' worth of preparation, this year's second annual Trinity River Festival (TRF) will be even bigger and better, organizers say.
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The event is the largest fundraiser for local nonprofit, Trinity's Way, which was named in honor of Trinity Buel. Buel was killed in a car crash in February 2018 at only 17 years old. During their times of grieving, friends and family of Buel worked together to carry on her legacy through efforts in animal rescue, environmental stewardship and litter cleanup. Her mother, April Gray, has been spearheading many of these efforts, including the TRF, which will feature as many as 32 local and regional acts this year, as well as food and several other vendors.
“This year's festival is different, because we are bringing in more regional bands, in addition to a ton of local favorites,” Gray said in a Facebook message. “We have also expanded to two days, Friday night and all day Saturday, to be able to add more bands to the lineup and possibly lengthen the set times a little.”
Funds raised by the event will go to continuing efforts important to Buel in her life. This year, Gray said a lot of the money will go to the dogs.
“Trinity's Way is currently working to complete a puppy house at Hope Animal Rescues,” she said. “We are also hoping to make improvements at the Alton Dog Park, where Trinity spent so much time with her four-legged friends. In addition to those larger projects, we are in the process of reaching out to smaller animal aid organizations in the area. We know that some organizations are fortunate to have a bigger following, which equals a larger donor base. But, we really want to reach out to smaller organizations, too, where we believe the funds we have can do the greatest good.”
To further help the Alton Dog Park, Gray said Trinity's Way will also help with the Pup Crawl, hosted by Alton Main Street on May 18, which is working to help the city get seating at that dog park. They also adopted the highway near Godfrey outside of the Wal-Mart, which they periodically clean as a group.
Gray said she believes her daughter would appreciate the festival, which has been named in her honor. She said Buel would often find herself enjoying live music and furry friends at any chance she could find.
“Music is a huge part of Trinity's soul,” she said. “She loved such a wide variety of music and appreciated everything from a simple, catchy beat to deep lyrics and tantalizing jams. She would be thrilled about TRF! To be able to see so many amazing and talented musicians all in one place, she totally would've skipped prom.”
Music at the event will include both indoor and outdoor stages. Here is the lineup as provided by Gray earlier this week:
Friday, May 10, Inside Stage
5 – Bud Summers
6 – Josh Grassle
7 – Set Brake Sarahs
9 – Autumn Konkol
10:30 – Justus and the Experience
Friday, May 10, Outside Stages
5 – Agents of the Free (Mojo's Music Stage)
5:45 – Unknown Evangelists (Main)
6:30 – Ruby Leigh Pearson (Mojo)
7 – Hideous Gentlemen (Mojo)
7:50 – Mindframes (Main)
8:40 – Moonglasses (Mojo)
9:30 – The Fade (Main)
Saturday, May 11
11:30 a.m. - Wrong Place Wrong Time (Mojo)
12:40 – 33 On the Needle (Main)
1:30 – The Dead Roses (Mojo)
2:20 – Framily Values (Main)
3:10 – Bastards and the Crow (Mojo)
4 – Accidentally on Purpose (Main)
4:50 – Grass and Stone (Mojo)
5:40 – Hookie (Main)
6:30 – Krickett and the Grilled Avocados (Mojo)
7:30 - #4 Combo (Main)
8:30 – Spillie Nelson (Mojo)
9:30 – Red White and Floyd (Main)
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