The Bright Lights Book Project: All Aboard the Concert Caboose
Contributed by Alys Culhane
On Sunday, April 19, at 3:00 p.m., the Mat-Su Orchestra has agreed to do a free benefit concert for the Bright Lights Book Project. I’m looking forward to this; however, I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over because there has been a lot of behind the scenes work.
The planning for this event began in late January, shortly after BLBP Board President Pete Praetorius approached Ronna Williams and asked if the orchestra would to do a benefit concert on behalf of the BLBP. Ronna said yes. The BLBP board agreed that this would be a wonderful idea.
A long-range plan, which centered around this event evolved during the course of our meeting. The BLBP board decided that a March 13 fundraiser at Bleeding Heart Brewery would precede the concert and the BLBP summer-long Summer in the Park(s) program will follow it.
The work began. We decided to have a raffle. In order to have a raffle, you need to a gaming permit. We had one. FYI, getting a permit takes considerable time and energy. Two applicants need to take an online test. Additionally, the gaming application needs to be submitted with a list of 25 supporters.
BLBP Board Member Kaitlyn Klippert made the raffle ticket contacts. Pete drove to Anchorage and picked up the tickets. I procured raffle items, which include two round-trip tickets to Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad, a wooden box donated by Matanuska Woodworks owner Bill Schmidtkunz, a pastoral scene painted by Betty Hansen, a signed copy of The Alaska Train illustrated by Brooke Hartman, and dinner for two at Turkey Red. I agreed with Pete that we should have door prizes, which will take the form of you guessed it, books.
In early March, local artist Lynsey Dillinger agreed to draw up an event poster. Shortly thereafter we met in the former banquet room of the historic Eagle Hotel and talked at length about a possible illustration.
I said that I wanted to go with our train theme, explaining that this coincided with our 2025 stint at the Alaska State Fair. For the past two years Alaska State Gardener Becky Myrold constructed train topiaries in the center area. The 2024 theme was Enjoy the Ride and the 2025 theme was Reach for the Stars. The 2024 topiary, one in which Alaskan animals were passengers and onlookers, resonated with me.
I added that Anchorage Artist Brooke Hartman’s children’s book entitled The Alaska Train was replete with Alaskan wildlife. We laminated individual pages and hung them on the Wineck Barn handrails. Brooke also read her book during one of our afternoon fair story times. We also have a donation of Alaska Railroad Tickets for our raffle.
Lynsey and I continued our conversation the following evening. I drew a blank when she asked for a poster theme particular. I finally said that I’d get back to her after I cleaned the horse pen – that most likely something would undoubtedly materialize. I went outside. As I scooped poop, the word caboose came to mind. I then made a comparison. A caboose is at the rear of the train. The BLBP chugs along, making sure that appreciative readers get books and literacy resource materials that otherwise might have an altogether too short shelf life.
The phrase “All Aboard the Concert Caboose,” follows suit. I ran back up to our cabin, called Lynsey and told her my idea. She liked my idea as much as I did.
Logan Dillinger appeared with the poster in hand an hour before the 5:00 p.m. Bleeding Heart Brewery fundraiser and laid the poster on a BLBP table. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at Lynsey’s artwork. A caboose was dead center. A horse wearing a train conductor was conducting the musicians -- chickens and goats.
We sold raffle tickets and T-shirts with our Mr. Sun logo on it at the Bleeding Heart Brewery fundraiser. Zack had also made a special IPA called Bright Lights, Big Heart. A portion of the beer sales went to the BLBP.
After this event we began approaching sponsors, telling them that their names would be in the concert program. Folks, fundraising is hard work. Pete and I provided potential donors with letters and followed up with phone calls. The most gratifying response came from the father of our two Saturday teenage volunteers, both of whom were instrumental in our getting books to Kenya. (As an aside, the two pallets of books are now in Carrollton, Texas and soon will be shipped overseas.) He wrote us a check, which we included in our sponsorship coffer.
The question you might ask after reading the above is, would I do this again? Although I likened fundraising to turning myself inside out, my answer is yes. It’s the cause that motivates me to keep chugging along.