Danielle Pritchett is asking people to rise up with those impacted by the Kelowna crane collapse and dance to a little country music as they push for the money needed to break ground on The Rise memorial at Knowles Heritage Park.
Pritchett’s son Cailen Vilness was one of five men killed when a construction crane fell at a downtown Kelowna site on July 12, 2021. Pritchette said more funds are needed to construct a memorial for the five crane collapse victims, Jared Zook, Eric Stemmer, Patrick Stemmer, Brad Zawislak, and Vilness.
On May 19, Pritchett’s cousin and country music star Aaron Pritchett is holding a concert at the Revelry to fundraise.
“We played together a lot in Kitimat on our street,” Pritchett said of Aaron, adding that despite being cousins all her kids call him Uncle Aaron. “Just down the road from us was another boy from Kitimat Jason Parkes.”
Pritchett said the concert will be like a Kitimat reunion as Parkes helped secure the venue at no cost to host and will open for Aaron with his local band.
The concert has the potential to raise more than $40,000 for the memorial. There will also be a silent auction with the big prize of a backyard barbecue with Aaron Pritchett himself.
Tickets are available online. The May 19, Rise Memorial concert starts at 7 p.m.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Rise Memorial designs unveiled 2 years after fatal Kelowna crane collapse