It was 3 a.m., nearly silent, as the Amado family arrived at the Dudley Brown VFW in Onset on Saturday morning. By 3 p.m., the pavilion was filled with laughter, music and greetings from old friends in celebration of the first-ever Ashley Faye Family Day.

The event, which featured a barbecue, raffles, DJ and kids activities, was held in memory of Onset's Ashley Faye Amado, who passed away last June at the age of 22.

“The community has been unbelievable in helping us today,” said Ashley’s mother, Myrna Amado. “I love this town so much. We couldn’t have done this without them.”

Amado said her family wanted to remember Ashley by providing an afternoon of food and fun for the community. She said the work started before dawn to start the pig roast - the feast's centerpiece - so it would be ready in time for the party.

Almost everything was donated, which allowed the family to give all proceeds from ticket sales to the Wareham chapter of the New Bedford Boys & Girls Club as well as the Plymouth County Sheriff’s D.A.R.E. program.

“Those are two local programs that helps keeps kids off the street. And we wanted this to be a celebration of happiness for all the families that came out today,” said Amado.

Thirty people, which included Ashely’s father (Chris Mendes), grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins and close friends volunteered to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves.

“Today has been wonderful,” said Amado. “We hope to do this again next year.”