Ava Ahlander came back to Utah this past weekend to do one of her favorite things in the world: see live music.
Ahlander, a 23-year-old who was born and raised in American Fork, was living in Seattle. She specifically came to the Beehive State to see one of her favorite artists — Noah Kahan — perform at the Utah State Fairpark as part of Redwest, according to her uncle, Bobby Ahlander.
She never got the chance to do so.
Ahlander died Monday night after being struck Saturday by a piece of scaffolding from an apartment building near the state Fairpark, her uncle said. She and her friends had parked their car in the parking lot next to the building, he said.
The country music festival that had thousands of fans in attendance was evacuated on Saturday evening due to severe weather conditions. Fans were asked to leave the open-air venue as conditions worsened, but Bobby Ahlander said Ava and her friends left the grounds before that happened.
(Ahlander family) Ava Ahlander, an American Fork native, died after she was struck by scaffolding during a storm in Salt Lake City. Ahlander was in town to attend the Redwest music festival at the Utah State Fairpark and was struck outside of festival grounds.
“They were just kind of tired of the weather and needed a break, so they left to go basically hang out in their car for a while and then go back into the festival,” he said. “That was the plan.”
Bobby Ahlander said it’s unclear to him if Ava was getting in or out of the car, but one of her friends was holding the door open for her because the wind was so intense.
That’s when a scaffolding plank from the apartment building got loose, came falling down and struck Ava. The impact ultimately crushed her brain stem, her uncle said.
“It just hit her. It could have just as easily missed her [and] hit her friend who was holding the door for her,” Bobby Ahlander said.
It happened all of a sudden, with no rhyme or reason to it, he added.
“What I can say for sure is that what happened with Ava didn’t have anything to do with what happened at the festival,” Bobby Ahlander told The Salt Lake Tribune. “There’s been a little bit of confusion about that.”
(Ahlander family) Ava Ahlander, an American Fork native, died after she was struck by scaffolding during a storm in Salt Lake City. Ahlander was in town to attend the Redwest music festival at the Utah State Fairpark and was struck outside of festival grounds.
On Saturday, Ava was wearing a Post Malone shirt (the country star was due to perform that night before weather canceled his set). Her uncle said she was also looking forward to seeing Jonah Kagen, Sam Barber, Cameron Whitcomb and Ole 60 perform at Redwest. She loved music from groups like The Lumineers, Rex Orange County and Hozier.
But, most of all, Bobby Ahlander said Ava was a Noah Kahan superfan. Ava had seen Kahan perform multiple times in the past, and according to her family, had his track “Stick Season” on repeat since it came out in 2022. Her favorite song from the artist was “You’re Gonna Go Far.”
Ava’s final act — donating her organs — is a testament to the type of person she was, according to her uncle.
“The whole thing is devastating,” he said, “and yet at the same time, if there is a good outcome from this, it’s that lots and lots of people and families all across the country are going to benefit from Ava’s death.”
Bobby Ahlander said he will remember his niece as “a force of nature.” His list of adjectives to describe her is long and enthusiastic: fun, adventurous, vivacious.
“She was just always laughing, joking and smiling,” he said. As the family gathers to remember Ava, they have traded stories about her, talking about her mischievousness, how she was so fun to be around and always up to something.
(Ahlander family) Ava Ahlander, an American Fork native, died after she was struck by scaffolding during a storm in Salt Lake City. Ahlander was in town to attend the Redwest music festival at the Utah State Fairpark and was struck outside of festival grounds
Within the past year or two, Ava had a conversation with her mother about what to do if she ever died, according to her uncle.
“She wanted to be cremated, to have some of her ashes kept here in Utah near her other relatives,” Bobby Ahlander said. “Her mom said she wanted to [also] have her ashes put in the Pacific Northwest ocean so that she could swim with the orcas.”
Despite the sudden and tragic loss, Bobby Ahlander said knowing what Ava would have wanted is “kind of a beautiful thing.”
The Ahlander family started a GoFundMe fundraiser to help with funeral costs. The fundraiser surpassed its $15,000 goal, and as of Wednesday morning, had raised over $25,000.
Bobby Ahlander said the family will use the extra money to help fund mental health services for Ava’s friends who were with her at the time of the accident and to donate to a charity in Ava’s name.
“She leaves a big hole. It’s hard to lose anyone. This is especially hard,” Bobby Ahlander said. “But you know what? We’re planning her memorial for this Saturday, and I just think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is going to be the best gathering ever, because nobody’s going to want to be sad and mopey there because she wouldn’t want [that].’”