The Rock for Kids benefit show took place at MWCC on Saturday November 17th. It started as a random idea last summer, and then quickly snowballed into an exciting and unique fundraiser for Kurling for Kids! The goal was to raise at least $700 by having attendees pay low price of $10 to be entertained by local bands for a few hours. I’m so proud to say that through the cover charge, donations, bake sale and raffle, we raised a total of $1200!
A huge part of the evening’s success is owed to the perfect match of the three sets of performers; there was so much talent on that stage! Our very own Tyler Watson opened the evening with an acoustic set, where he performed heart-felt original songs. He was even featured on the Global News Morning Show the day before, where he promoted himself and the event! The second act of the night was brother-sister duo from NDG, Juliana & Jesse, who recently came off a successful tour in Italy. They mostly played originals, but also got the crowd singing along to their covers of Uptown Funk and Shape of You. Temporary Flings closed the event with an energetic set, featuring well-known Tragically Hip and CCR tunes mixed in with their original songs. This was their first gig since winning the MMA Ray of Light Montreal Battle of the Bands! Fun fact: lead singer, Shawn Thicke, also curled out of MWCC for a number of years! Montreal writer and storyteller, Jerome Ramcharitar, introduced the acts in style and kept everyone entertained with his comedic flare.
The raffle and bake sale would not have been successful without all of the amazing donated prizes and home-made baked goods! Thank you to Maureen Roach and Gail Spence for coordinating the bake sale, and to all of the curlers, parents and attendees who took time out of their busy schedules to bake for the event! I never thought it could happen, but we actually had TOO many delicious treats!! A special thank you also goes out to everyone who helped with the set up and take down of the hall, particularly Daniel Philion and Chris Byrne who ran around with me all evening and took great care of the raffle and entry table! Representatives from Kurling for Kids (Stan Fong, Mark Watson and Nacy Gallant) were also present to provide more details on why fundraisers such as these are so important for the children’s hospitals.
Overall, it was a fantastic evening and nothing short of a great success! Half-way through the evening, people were already asking when the next “Rock for Kids” event will be… so, it just may flourish into an annual fundraiser! Stay tuned for the next one!
The professional photos and videos were taking by former MWCC junior curler, Kyran Thicke! For more photos check out the Facebook page HERE.
