Benefit concert for Highland Park massacre victims brings neighbors together at 28 Mile Distilling Co.
HIGHWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- As a community tries to heal following the Highland Park July 4th parade massacre, a benefit concert as held at a distillery in the neighboring town of Highwood Friday evening.
As CBS 2's Jackie Kostek reported, the concert brought together people around music to raise money for shooting victims and their families. And those people grieved together.
"It's devastating – just devastating," said 28 Mile Distilling Co. owner and Highwood alderman Eric Falberg, "and in order to recover, the way to recover is to be with others."
Falberg believes music is a great healer of wounds. And after the 4th of July parade shooting broke the heart of the community Monday, Falberg says it was imperative to take action...in whatever way they could.
"Nic from the band – the Nic Barnum Band – said – he saw it and he called, he's like, 'Listen, I want to donate my time,' I said: 'That's fantastic. 'We're going to be donating as 28 Mile,'" Falberg said. "So we decided to just pull it together."
Pull together a last-minute benefit concert in order to pull together as a community.
"This is the point where people are kind of like, 'Is it bad to go out?' But we kind of need to go out," Falberg said. "So it's where people can go out, and yet they feel like they're still doing some good."
The purpose of the benefit concert is front and center along the main bar at 28 Miles. They've set up vases in which people can drop cash, and flyers with QR codes that people can scan to make a quick and easy donation.
All the money raised will go directly to the Highland Park Community Foundation, which will go toward shooting victims and their families.
Highland Park resident Bayleigh Hoyt says while there's no creating a sense of normalcy right now, what is perfectly normal for the close-knit communities of Highland Park and Highwood is being together.
"That's the most important thing is knowing that we're all here, we're all together, and we're going to get through this and come out stronger," Hoyt said.
To come out stronger, Falberg says they first have to heal.
"This is the first of many deep breaths that people need," Falberg said, "and time with others that people need."