The Communithon fundraiser for the Weyburn and District United Way will be breaking with tradition in part with the first-ever Concert Jam event.
United Way president and Communithon chair Sabrina Kraft presented the plans for this year’s Communithon to Rotary members. Communithon is set for Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and 21 at the Cugnet Centre, including the roster of performers who will take the stage for the Concert Jam. The United Way has 13 member agencies this year, and the fundraising goal has been set at $140,000.
Briefly covering the history of the long-time fundraiser, she noted it began as the United Appeal in 1965, with a door-to-door campaign for their member agencies, changing with the introduction of the Communithon on 1982 at the Legion Hall.
“The Communithon was unique to Weyburn, and no other United Way has something like this. We started here at the Legion Hall and with the local cable provider to broadcast the show locally,” said Kraft.
The changes to the Communithon’s format of going 33 hours straight began when the organizers found it increasingly difficult to find performers and volunteers to keep the broadcast going through the wee hours of the night. The fundraiser also ended early last year for the same reason. For this year, former board member Rachael Clarke pitched an idea to change it up by holding a concert jam event with a series of groups, hosted by the United Way.
The long-standing tradition of having local performers, including school groups throughout the day, will continue on the Friday, which will start at 8 a.m. and run to about 11 p.m. For Saturday, there will be separate admission tickets sold at $50 per person and the music will start at 1 p.m. and go to about 9 p.m., with a total of seven bands on the schedule. There will be food and beverages available, and there will be a 50-50 raffle also sold.
For the benefit of the Rotarians, Kraft spoke about each of the seven bands and showed short clips of their music from YouTube, to better show what the range of musical talent will be coming to the Cugnet Centre stage.
The bands include The Sundrops, Grain Report, Andrew Sneedon and Matthew Hornell, In With The Old, Rugged Little Thing, Sweet Saturday and Private Drive.
The Sundrops, from Swift Current, will open the jam event. The group of young performers play family-friendly music from top 40 hits to old-time country favourites mixed with gospel and blues, even some orchestral quartet pieces along with a number of their own compositions.
Grain Report is an acoustic-pop band from Regina, who fuses elements of old-time, swing, jazz, folk and vocal harmonies to create catchy hits for a new generation. Upbeat and pretty sounding, this group consists of all acoustic instruments positioned around one microphone, projecting a real “live” sound.
Matthew Hornell and Andrew Sneddon perform bluegrass, blues and contemporary fold. Both are from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Hornell is a gifted singer and songwriter, and Sneddon is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter.
In With The Old takes an extremely unique approach to memorable old-time music through gifted harmonies and infectious song-writing. From Saskatoon, In With the Old provides a fresh new take on old-time, folk, and bluegrass.
Rugged Little Thing, also from Saskatoon, blends together a perfect cocktail of old time, bluegrass, and folk music. Born out of kitchen jams and late nights by campfires in Canada’s north, Rugged Little Thing have fallen into sweet harmonies and catchy rhythms that are sure to get people’s toes tapping.
Sweet Saturday is a roots and folk band that is constantly surprising and delighting audiences with their riveting three-part vocal arrangements and diverse song-writing. The Moose Jaw-based group blends a wistful, old world sound with hints of pop and other genres that have influenced them.
Weyburn’s own Private Drive is the final group, and they showcase a classic blend of country, blues and rock. With original material and covers, the band is sure to have people dancing in the aisles.
The tickets gives the ticket-buyer the ability to come and go through the afternoon. Tickets can be purchased from the Weyburn Police Service, Prairie Sky Co-op Weyburn food store, the Weyburn Review/ Weyburn This Week office, or online at www.weyburnunitedway.com
