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Aspen Acres Fire Benefit · Four bands · One night
With Lavant · Four bands from 2 PMThe Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival was canceled by the fire. We are bringing that Saturday home, and 100% of every ticket goes to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals displaced by the fire.
Hosted atPick any amount and 100% goes straight to the fund for the animals.
The Lineup
2 PM
Opens the Day
Lavant
A local band kicking off the afternoon. Playing for the cause.
4 PM
Afternoon
Cañon City's classic rock band. Playing for the cause.
Follow Frady Catz6 PM
Evening
Cañon City's own, booked on the festival Main Stage before the fire canceled it. Playing for the cause.
Follow Binding Isaac8 PM
Headliner
Jan 2026
Westword 10 Best
Named one of Westword’s 10 Best Colorado Country Musicians.
2019
Hall of Fame
Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame Band of the Year.
Set times may shift on the day
Tip buckets at the stage go straight to the local bands.
Partners & Support
Your Hosts
White Water Bar & Grill is putting on the whole night: professional festival sound and a fully staffed, well-paid crew, with SoCo Security donating on-site security for the night. We cover the costs so every ticket dollar goes straight to the cause.
In Partnership With
The Fremont Community Foundation, the original producers of the Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival, are helping put this night on, covering the headliner, and organizing the auctions, rallying the community to donate items and services for the cause.
Sponsors
Security
SoCo Security is a proud sponsor of the night, on-site all night keeping everyone safe and helping bring the whole benefit together.
Live Auction
Woolsey Auction Company donated the auctioneer for the live auction.
Lodging
Royal Gorge Vacation Rentals donated lodging for the headliner.
Photo + Video
Gloria A Dios Productions, donating photo and video of the night.
Web + Social
Epic AI built and is donating the website, socials, and the live fund board for the night.
Schuster's Printing, family owned in Canon City since 1979, is providing the posters, table tents, and signage.
The Rough Cuts
Live on the patio
Saturday, July 18
The Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival was set for that weekend. Then the Aspen Acres Fire, now the seventh-largest wildfire in Colorado history, forced the festival to cancel. Fire crews spent days holding the line while our neighbors lost homes.
This night is for them. On Saturday, July 18, White Water Bar & Grill turns the festival's Saturday into a fire-relief night on our patio, and 100 percent of every ticket and VIP table goes to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals displaced by the fire, supporting the Humane Society of Fremont County and Fremont County 4-H. Food and drink are not part of the pledge. The Fremont Community Foundation covers the headliner and the local bands play for the cause, so the relief is the point.
The music is how we fill the room, and it just got bigger: four bands, and the music runs from 2 PM. Lavant opens at 2, Frady Catz, Cañon City's classic rock band, plays at 4, and Cañon City's own Binding Isaac, booked for the festival's Main Stage before it was canceled, plays at 6. All of them are playing for the cause. Then Denver's Ryan Chrys and The Rough Cuts headline at 8. The full bar runs all night and the kitchen serves until 9 PM.
Where the money goes
100% of ticket and VIP table proceeds go to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals.
Every dollar from tickets, VIP tables, and all-day $10 axe throwing goes straight to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals displaced by the Aspen Acres Fire, supporting the Humane Society of Fremont County and Fremont County 4-H, which are together caring for hundreds of displaced animals at Pathfinder Park. Not a cut. Not after costs. All of it.
Food and drink are regular menu purchases. They are not part of the pledge.
Here is how 100 percent works. The local bands, Lavant, Frady Catz, and Cañon City's own Binding Isaac, are playing for the cause; the bar feeds them and that is the whole deal. The headliner, Ryan Chrys and The Rough Cuts, is covered by the Fremont Community Foundation, and White Water Bar & Grill covers the professional festival sound, so none of it comes out of your ticket. Every ticket, VIP-table, and axe-throwing dollar goes straight to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals, and food and drink cover the bar's own costs for the night.
The Foundation decides how the funds are distributed to help the animals displaced by the fire, and we are working with our local community to get every dollar directly to the animals in their care.
More ways to give
Prefer to give cash? The Fremont Community Foundation will have donation jars on-site all night. You can also add a donation to your tab through any server or at the bar. Every bit goes to the same place, the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals.
Giving online? The “Give to the animals” button takes you straight to our Toast give page. Choose any amount and 100% goes straight to the fund for the animals.
Raised for the Animals
$8,160
and climbing all night
Next milestone
$10,000 · $1,840 to go
More than a number. This is our whole town showing up for each other, four bands sharing one stage, and a hard week turned into one good night for the animals the fire displaced and the neighbors who love them.
Every dollar goes straight to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals, and we are updating this as the night goes. Buy a ticket, grab a VIP table, throw an axe, or bid in the auction, and watch it climb.
And giving is not only about money. Plenty of folks are pitching in what this number cannot count: their time, their gear, a service, a helping hand. Our photographer donating photo and video, the bands playing for the cause, Woolsey calling the auction, it all adds up to a better night for our neighbors.
All Day · $10 · 100% to the Fund
One more way to give: axe throwing is open all day for $10, and every dollar goes straight to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals. Never thrown an axe before? Now is your chance. Come early, take your shot, and add a little more for the animals and livestock the fire displaced.
Bid for the Animals
Two ways to bid through the evening, with every auction dollar going straight to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals.
Bid all evening
Items and services donated by the community, organized by the Fremont Community Foundation. Browse the tables, write your bid, and check back before it closes.
Around 7:30 PM
A live auction around 7:30 PM, during a short break between bands, for a few standout items. Paddle up, have some fun, and drive the fund higher.
Every auction dollar goes to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals
Donate an auction item or serviceCannot Make It? Still Give.
You do not have to be here to help. Give another way, sponsor the night, or donate an item or service for the auction. Have a physical item to donate? Drop it off at Brothers Bar in Cañon City. Leave your info and we will connect you with the Fremont Community Foundation. Thank you to everyone donating to the auctions.
Item drop-off: Brothers Bar in Cañon City
Help Us Pack the Patio
The more people who see this, the more we raise for our neighbors. Share it in one tap, RSVP on Facebook, or send the link to someone who needs a night out for a good cause.
Know someone who might donate an auction item or a service, or sponsor the night?
After the Show
Saturday · DJ 9 PM to Midnight
When the band wraps, head downtown to our sister bar, Whitewater Rooftop Social. A DJ spins on the rooftop Saturday, July 18, from 9 PM to midnight, no cover. The perfect nightcap to a night out for a good cause.
Secure Your Spot
General Admission
$15 at the door
VIP Table
One table per booking
Example: 8 people plus a table = 8 x $10 + $400 = $480.
This reserves your table only - the $10 admission tickets are separate. Buy both in one checkout: add your admission tickets first, then add the VIP Table. Your spot is locked in, and 100% goes to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals.
Reserves your table only - $10 admission tickets are separate.
Know Before You Go
It is a big crowd for a good cause, so here is exactly how seating works for the night.
The $400 VIP Table is the only way to reserve a table
One guaranteed, locked-in table for your group all night. There is no other way to hold a table. Everything else is open seating. The VIP Table reserves the table only; admission tickets are separate, so buy both together in one checkout (for example, 8 people plus a table is 8 x $10 + $400 = $480).
General Admission
First come, first served. Open seating wherever a spot is available. No GA seats are held or reserved.
Bringing Your Own Chair
You can bring your own chair, but only to the volleyball court area, nowhere else on the patio.
Standing Room
Once the open seating fills up, it is standing room only. Come early if you want to grab a seat.
Before You Come
No outside food, drinks, or coolers. Full bar all night, kitchen serving until 9 PM.
All ages welcome. Bring the whole family out for the animals.
Outdoor show, rain or shine. Dress for the weather and come ready for a night.
Refund Policy
Show Up For Your Neighbors
The festival was canceled, the music is not. Four bands, one Saturday for the animals. Grab a $10 wristband or lock in the $400 VIP Table. 100% of ticket and VIP table proceeds go to the Fremont Community Foundation for the animals displaced by the fire, supporting the Humane Society of Fremont County and Fremont County 4-H.
Thank you to everyone who worked around the clock to bring this night together after the fire canceled the festival. Special thanks to the local bands playing for free, and to our partners at the Fremont Community Foundation and every sponsor pitching in for the cause.
White Water Bar & Grill · 45045 Hwy 50 West, Cañon City, CO 81212