Student-Led Rainy Day Concert to Buy Slippers, Umbrellas for Hilo Shelter

Samantha Fortney staged the student-led “Rainy Day” benefit concert on March 5 at the Blue Dragon Tavern Cosmic Musiquarium, 61-3616 Kawaihae Road, with doors at 5 p.m. and the show starting at 6 p.m., aiming to purchase slippers and umbrellas for guests of The Salvation Army Hilo Overnight Safe Space. The event, presented as Fortney’s senior capstone project at Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy, scheduled two hours of live music followed by an hour of dancing from 8 to 9 p.m.

Fortney said she organized the concert after visiting the shelter: “Having grown up in Hilo, I wanted my capstone project to respond to a real need right here.” She added that her meetings with shelter staff shaped the fundraiser’s focus: “I met with shelter staff to ask what items were most urgently requested. Learning that many individuals walk around town barefoot and frequently endure heavy rains, I focused a fundraiser on providing slippers and umbrellas.”

Advance tickets were priced at $20 with $25 on-site and children 12 and under admitted free, with tickets sold through the Blue Dragon Tavern website. Sources list the venue address as 61-3616 Kawaihae Road but alternately append Waimea or Kawaihae to that address; event listings and promotional materials used the Blue Dragon Tavern name and the full Blue Dragon Tavern Cosmic Musiquarium variant.

Guitarists Farzad Azard and Yoshua DiCaprio were featured performers; sources say Azard, known locally for blending flamenco, jazz and global influences, offered to perform at no cost and was joined onstage by DiCaprio. Fortney recruited classmates and other volunteer performers and community musicians to fill the program.

The concert’s beneficiary, identified in event materials as The Salvation Army Hilo Overnight Safe Space, opened in 2024 and provides 50 evening beds along with hot meals, showers and on-site case manager support for people experiencing homelessness. Fortney’s description of meeting kupuna and other community members at the shelter motivated her fundraising emphasis on basic protective items that shelter staff said were urgently needed.

Public health and equity implications underpinned the event: Fortney’s account that many unhoused people in Hilo walk barefoot and face frequent heavy rains informed a targeted effort to reduce exposure to the elements through slippers and umbrellas. Organizers framed the concert as a way for community members to directly supply items that complement the shelter’s services, while highlighting gaps in day-to-day necessities for vulnerable kupuna and neighbors.

Fortney presented the Rainy Day concert as her senior capstone turned into community action, with all proceeds directed to purchasing useful items for the Hilo Overnight Safe Space and supporting the shelter’s mission to bring warmth and care to Hawaii Island residents experiencing homelessness.