CONIFER, Colo. — In a place where holiday and stage lights blend together, The Venue Theatre in Conifer gets ready to put on it’s annual holiday show. But organizers and members can’t ignore a member of this family who can’t be there. 

In every corner of this space, you can see pictures of Maggie Long. The teen died more than a year ago after her home was set on fire. Authorities still haven’t found the person responsible. 

“She had this natural stage presence,” said her friend Hannah Osincup.

“Maggie and I were really close and something I think she taught me was compassion, being really kind to everybody,” said Emily Canfield.

In that spirit, her friends are trying to share that compassion with the less fortunate by collecting socks to give to the homeless on Long’s birthday. She would have turned 19 on Sunday.

“I don’t know if we would have done this if it wasn’t because of her,” Canfield said.

The proceeds for the annual holiday show go toward a scholarship in Long’s name for tuition at The Venue. Tickets more than sold out, raising about $1,000.

“The response is overwhelming,” said Executive Director Lauren Hunt. “There’s also a lot of community members that bought tickets for tonight, which we don’t usually have.”