Five hundred toys for hospitalized children is music to Tim Buie’s ears.
Buie, a full-time piano player at Rockeys Dueling Piano Bar in downtown Gainesville, will be one of six musicians who will play piano for 24 hours total for the bar’s second-annual toy drive Tuesday.
The event will be from 5 p.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Wednesday. The bar is open, but alcohol won’t be served after 2 a.m., Buie said. A toy donation isn’t required to get into the bar, but it’s encouraged.
“Can you imagine being a child in the hospital and not having a thing to open on Christmas?” Buie said.
Last year, Rockeys collected 300 toys for the Starke Fire Department to be donated to children at Shands at UF. This year, the bar will work with Gainesville Fire Rescue to reach a goal of 500 unwrapped toys.
Rockey’s has six piano players committed to playing four-hour shifts for the all-request show. One is flying from Colorado, and a few are coming from Orlando.
Representatives from Gainesville Fire Rescue will be at Rockeys at all hours to collect the toys.
“We want to make this something that we are not only proud of, but Gainesville is proud of,” Buie said.
Buie and the bar’s owner, Brad Heron, came up with the idea when they tried to outdo last year’s event. Heron is one of the six musicians who will play at the toy drive.
“Something more extreme will get attention,” Heron said. “It’s gonna be a challenge.”
Buie, who holds two Guinness world records for marathon piano, is no stranger to playing for charity events. He said he helped a young girl find a kidney donor and sent 20 blind children to camp.
“You have to do something to catch the community’s attention,” Buie said. “We want people to know Rockey’s is good for the community.”
