Andy "A_Dog" Williams died of leukemia in 2013, but the Burlington DJ and turntablist left an indelible legacy in the community, one that's stewarded by the Friends for A_Dog Foundation. Over the past decade, the nonprofit has hosted bone marrow drives, music and skateboarding programs and scholarships, and often free programming for local kids. And every year on the last Saturday in August, it celebrates Williams with the citywide A_Dog Day. Some of Williams' closest friends and collaborators are planning their own party this year by commemorating the day he died, December 26. Local hip-hop leading lights Nastee and Konflik are throwing the AfterLyfe Bornday Celebration at the Alchemist brewery in Stowe, which features performances from both rappers and some special guests, as well as cake and balloons. "Konflik and I have wanted to put together a remembrance of A_Dog's passing for the past two years," Nastee wrote in an email. "This year we've finally put some things together to memorialize his life by recognizing the day he passed away, or as they say where we come from, 'the day he went back to the essence.'" They've also prepared two special releases specifically for the event. First up is Tribute Volume 1, a scratch DJ compilation featuring locals such as Big Dog, Kanganade and Cre8, as well as New Jersey's Just Blaze and Texas producer Statik Selektah. The album features a remix of "This Is Me" by VT Union, Williams' old hip-hop unit. The final piece of the tribute is the music video premiere of "Itchy & Statiky," a track off Tribute that features samples of A_Dog scratching over a beat provided by Statik Selektah. According to Nastee, the video includes never-before-seen footage of A_Dog. Editing it was an emotional experience for Nastee — a true labor of love. "Some say it's weird to have a party for somebody's death day," Nastee wrote. "But A_Dog and I always saluted people publicly on their death day, so it only seems fitting I do the same for him ... We truly want to raise awareness of who Andy was/is and his importance to the Burlington music scene." I posted an online story last week about Hartford High School senior Macy Bettwieser competing in Next On Stage, Broadway's biggest national competition for high school and college students who dream of becoming professional performers. At the time, she had advanced from a…