'Beyond the Flood' concert to raise money for Capitola storm recovery
Capitola is hosting a benefit concert this weekend to raise money for the recovery efforts of the coastal Santa Cruz County city, which had millions of dollars in damage from last month's storms.
The "Beyond the Flood" benefit concert is planned for noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Esplanade Park bandstand. The event is free and will include live music and a beer concession trailer donated by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
All proceeds from the beer and t-shirts sold at the event are going to Community Foundation Santa Cruz County (CFSCC), a nonprofit helping to coordinate the rebuilding from the wet and windy weather. City officials say CFSCC has issued $510,000 in disaster grants as of last week.
The damage in Capitola was dramatic enough that it warranted a visit by President Joe Biden, who came to the city on January 19th during his tour of parts of Santa Cruz County most impacted by the winter storms.
City officials say they recently submitted a damage estimate of $2.625 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the storm and have a coordination meeting with FEMA planned for Wednesday.
Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally, who presented the proposal for the benefit concert to the City Council last Thursday, said the idea for it came after a beach cleanup that followed the storm.
"There was just a lot of talk about what's the next thing we can do," Dally told the council. "It was really apparent that a lot of people in the community really wanted to step up and help with this."
The concert will be modeled after the Twilight concert series held at the same location on Wednesday evenings during the summer months, Dally said.
Jive Machine, the Alex Lucero Band, and Joint Chiefs with Tony Lindsay are the musical acts set to perform during the concert.
People are encouraged to find alternatives to driving to get to the event, which will feature a bicycle lot. Following the concert, another beach cleanup is planned for 9 a.m. Sunday, city officials said.