Article and videos by contributor Ella Warren
Fueled by local musicians, people from across the area raised more than $13,000 during last weekend’s Townie Together event, which this year supported a Harrisonburg resident diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
In the second annual “Townie Together” event, eleven bands and musicians played across eleven hours on the stage of Restless Moons Brewing Co. Most of the money raised will go to Joey Huffman of Harrisonburg, who is battling ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s disease, while Huffman also requested some go to the ALS Association.
This was the second year for the event, which supports a member of the community facing a devastating and costly health issue.
At Saturday’s event, friends and strangers alike greeted Huffman and signed a poster for him.
“I’m glad to be here because there’s so many friends and family,” Huffman said. “Community is everything. You can live anywhere in the world as long as you have community.”
Townie Together began last year after Erika Furrow was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic autoimmune disease. Her medical bills quickly became debilitating.
“I didn’t know what to do other than call my community,” Furrow said. “I had to take a deep breath… and be like ‘I need help.’”
Her friends in the band The Amateur Rodeo and Friends of Cub Run began fundraiser preparations. As Furrow’s “home away from home,” local brewery Restless Moons was a natural choice for the venue.
Jeffrey Moon, owner of Restless Moons, offered to donate 50% of the day’s sales to the cause.
“I’m pretty honored that they reached out to me, asking if we could host it… we’re always happy to do community events,” Moon said. “I think it’s really helpful for these individuals that are being diagnosed with these diseases and ailments to come out and see how much support there is for them.”
The Harrisonburg community showed up for a day of nature and music, raising more than $12,000 for Furrow. The next day, Furrow and event organizer John Yoder Gullman booked Restless Moons for the next year, turning Townie Together into an annual tradition.
“I knew in my heart that I wanted to pass this on,” Furrow said. “I thought that if this is what we can do for one person, imagine what we can do for someone else.”
In addition to Restless Moons, the Friends of Cub Run and The Amateur Rodeo, other groups and businesses that collaborated to put on the event included: Tuning Fork Repair, which supplied sound equipment; The Mark-It, which designed shirts to sell; and Shenandoah Valley Ukulele Players, who volunteered at the event.
Huffman’s journey with ALS
It was a friend of Furrow’s who suggested Joey Huffman as the beneficiary of the 2026 Townie Together. After hearing his story, Furrow and Gullman thought Huffman was the perfect fit.
“We’ve lived here our whole lives, but there’s still more people to get to know,” Gullman said. “[We] wish we would’ve known him before because he’s amazing, inspiring, and friendly.”
“He always makes you laugh,” Furrow added.
Huffman dedicated his life to volunteering and special education work. He moved from New York to Harrisonburg to be with family after his ALS diagnosis.
Beginning with his arms, Huffman’s condition slowly stole his ability to work and walk.
ALS is “a progressive disease in which a person’s brain loses connection with the muscles, slowly taking away their ability to walk, talk, eat and eventually breathe,” as the ALS Association’s website describes it. ALS typically develops between ages 40 and 70, and 90% of cases occur without family history or genetic cause. Notable figures with ALS include theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, baseball player Lou Gehrig, and “Sesame Street” creator Jon Stone.
Huffman said he was surprised and grateful that Furrow suggested dedicating the fundraiser to him.
After going from donation recipient to event organizer, Furrow said she was proud to create a space for community members to support each other.
“It’s OK to not be OK, and asking for help is really scary,” Furrow said. “It can be gut-wrenching, but it’s also so important to reach out to people, whether that be friends or family or your community… So many of us need that lesson that we’re not alone in this.”
A day of music
From noon to 11 p.m., those in attendance experienced an 11-band music festival. The bands that performed on the outdoor stage included the Shenandoah Valley Ukulele Players, featuring Furrow; The Amateur Rodeo, with Gullman playing the banjo; and Triangle Noses, Huffman’s old band. From acoustic rock to folk to synthpop, a diverse medley rang across Restless Moon’s sunny backyard.
“It’s so cool how musicians specifically are coming together,” said Ray Enke, one of the musicians. “Community service through music is… something that really resonates.”
Attendees donned white and green t-shirts stamped with the event sponsors and a quote from Gehrig’s famous speech in 1939 after retiring from baseball: “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
Next to the t-shirt stand was Huffman, watching the music performances with a smile. At 3:45 p.m., Huffman took to the stage to sing alongside his old bandmates – though he joked that he wasn’t singing so much as he was making noise. Huffman’s positive energy had the crowd laughing and dancing.
While listening to music, attendees could purchase stickers, caricatures and balloon art. Sam’s Hot Dog Stand provided food out back, while Pizza Louise set up in the front parking lot. Alcohol was available from both the bar and an outdoor stand.
Attendees could contribute through GoFundMe QR codes, beer purchases, or cash donations. The final donation total was $13,232 as of May 31. Of that, $6,685 came from the GoFundMe, $3,824 came from the proceeds of Restless Moons’ sales, and $2,723 came from cash donations. At Huffman’s request, 20%, which worked out to be $1,312, will be donated to the ALS Association, leaving him with $11,920.
The event organizers stressed the importance of local gatherings during times of hopelessness.
“When you see social media… you feel like there’s a lot that’s outside of your control. I think it’s really refreshing and healthy to be like, ‘What can I do? What can I control?’ And that’s taking care of yourself, taking care of your friends, taking care of your neighbors, the community,” Gullman said.
“I think that’s a message we can all get behind too, being humans,” Furrow added. “You find that you want to help people. I think that’s human nature.”
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