Telemiracle 42 will be broadcast from Conexus Arts Centre in Regina on Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, beginning at 9 p.m., with local performers taking the stage along with the national cast to help raise funds for the Kinsmen Foundation.
Doors will open at the Conexus at 8 p.m. and admission is free of charge. Theatre doors open at 8:30 p.m.
The local performers from Weyburn and area include Spirit of Grace, a girls choir from Grace United Church led by Kendra Gonczy; singer Maraya Parisien; magician and entertainer Richy Roy; singer Bradie Bourassa of Radville, and Magic by Jamie from Bengough.
The national cast includes Don Amero, Chris Henderson, the Hunter Brothers, Brad Johner and the Johner Boys, Beverley Mahood, Jess Moskaluke, Sask Express, Stampeders, Jeffery Straker, Jill Straker, TSN broadcaster and former Rider Glen Suitor and Big Daddy Tazz.
This year’s fundraiser will have something new, the pre-broadcast concert which can only be viewed online, from 6:30 to shortly before 9 p.m. on March 3. This performance will feature 11 Saskatchewan performers who were not able to be selected for the main broadcast that will run from 9 p.m. Saturday until 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Susan Colbow, chair of Telemiracle 42, explained that the audition judges had 130 people attend, and this concert was drawn up as a way to feature more Saskatchewan performers, and to generate more interest in Telemiracle. Those who come to Conexus to watch the telecast won’t be able to see this pre-broadcast concert, as it will only be streamed on-line.
There are three Weyburn Kinsmen members who play key roles on the Telemiracle committee, including Jake Porter, the finance chair, Sean Olson, who is the facility chair, and Brittany Huber, the corporate chair.
One of the Weyburn performers is Maraya Parisien, an eight-year-old singer who attends Grade 3 at Haig School, and who will be singing on Sunday, March 4 at 3:20 p.m.
A student of music teacher Alfredo Aguiar, she auditioned with the Alicia Keys song, “Girl on Fire”, and was surprised when a few days later she was called to be a performer at Telemiracle.
“It was neat when she went to the audition, she just belted out the words,” said her mom, Ammie, noting when she hit the high notes of that song, the judges heads came up in amazement. “I didn’t think she would be so powerful a singer.”
The brown-eyed girl smiled shyly when asked what she likes to sing, and said, “I like ‘Praying’, ‘Dusk til Dawn’,” adding she likes singers like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.
Maraya has been raising money for Telemiracle, raising about $660 on her own, plus her dad, Ernie, has raised some money through his work at TS&M. Her dad is also a musician, as he plays lead guitar in the local band, “Switch”, which will be playing at a fundraiser in Regina, the “Bash for Babies”, the night before she appears on Telemiracle.
As one of Alfredo’s students, she will be singing some of her songs with him at a concert at the Weyburn Public Library shortly after Telemiracle, on Wednesday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m., along with some of the other music students.
Entertainer Richy Roy will also be performing at Telemiracle, as he is slated to go on stage shortly after the opening ceremonies, which are at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
“I’m pretty excited about it. It’ll be a blast, and it’s for a great cause,” said Roy, who noted this will be his first time on the provincial telecast.
He will be on at 9:30 p.m. to do a five-minute comedy balloon animal routine.
“I’m glad to take part, just because it’s such a historic event that happens in Saskatchewan every year. It’s great to be part of that cast,” said Roy. “I’m looking forward to it. It’s one of the better fundraisers in the province.”
The Kinsmen Foundation is known as a funding source of “last resort”, said Colbow, as people who need funding make an application and it goes to the foundation board for a decision.
The funds raised at Telemiracle go to those with special needs who apply to the Kinsmen Foundation for assistance. The goal of the foundation is to have a direct, positive effect on each recipient’s quality of life.
Examples of medical assistance and equipment that the foundation has provided include specialty wheelchairs, wheelchair lifts, scooters, long-distance trips to obtain medical treatment, ‘talking machines’, which enable people who are non-verbal to communicate with words, and ceiling tracks, to help make a person with a disability more mobile in their home.
The foundation has also helped care homes that provide care for those with special needs, and health care facilities.
