On the one-year anniversary of his death, Delmar Police Cpl. Keith Heacook will be honored with what Heacook Fest 2022 organizer Doug Marshall calls a celebration of his life.
“I just never want his name to be forgotten,” Marshall said.
Marshall, who owns Heron Amphitheater in Delmar, along with Kyle Hughes, who runs the adjacent Kylan Barn, will host the festival 6-11 p.m. April 28, with help from event coordinator Staci Palmer. Heacook Fest will feature at least two musical acts (Full Disclosure and Steal the Sky), a DJ, a bonfire, fireworks, a Jeep Jamboree and food and alcohol vendors, Marshall said.
There is no cost to attend, but donations are encouraged, which will go toward the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore’s Cpl. Keith Heacook Scholarship Fund, according to Marshall.
The event is being privately funded through donations and sponsorships, Marshall said. He hopes to see about 2,000 people attend.
Marshall plans to host the festival for at least the next three years and wants to attract national music acts. Heron Amphitheater has, in the past, hosted national acts such as Everclear.
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“We’re hoping to have it turn into a pro-first responders event,” Marshall said.
The festival is, first and foremost, about Heacook, Marshall said, but he also intends for it to be a show of support for first responders affected by incidents like Heacook’s. Former Wicomico County Sherriff’s Deputy Mike “Hooch” Houck is a festival sponsor.
Houck was first on the scene the morning Heacook was attacked, he said, and was so traumatized by the incident he retired after 30 years in law enforcement.
“I saw the effect it had on (Houck’s) emotions,” Marshall said, “I want to show him, and others like him, that they wouldn’t be forgotten either.”
Heacook was beaten unconscious after responding to a call for a fight in progress in Delmar’s Yorkshire Estates just after 5 a.m. April 25, 2021. He was declared clinically dead a few days later.
Randon Wilkerson, 30, is charged with first-degree murder, among other offenses, in Heacook’s death. He awaits trial.
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