Okotoks musicians are banding together to fundraise in the wake of an announcement the federal government will match donations to registered charities responding to the earthquake in Haiti.

Holy Trinity Academy graduate Caroline "Lady C" Fraser, daughter of Okotoks musician John Fraser, will be performing at the Hope For Haiti benefit concert Feb. 21 at the Foothills Centennial Centre.

The first benefit concert in Okotoks took place on Jan. 30 and raised $1,600 for God’s Littlest Angels – they have applied to the government to be eligible for matching dollars. That night OK Taxi donated a portion of their sales taking concert-goers home, raising another $50.

Two more benefit concerts have since come together and organizers hope to rally people from across the foothills to support the effort and check out the talent from this area.

A rock show takes place at The Willy at the Okotoks Inn on Friday and a concert featuring country, blues, rock and soul acts will be held at the Foothills Centennial Centre in Okotoks on Feb. 21.

Following the efforts of Celtic band Claymore and friends on Jan. 30, more Okotoks musicians are volunteering to play a benefit show at The Willy on Friday.

Dubbed The Haiti Benefit #2 concert, the event includes singer-songwriter Erika Neilson, finger-picking guitar player Jeremy Kraus and rock bands Puttin’ On The Foil, Ten Ton Machine and TrainWreck. Calgary bands BrokenSmoke and Stone Cartel will also perform.

“We want to raise money for Haiti — it’s horrible what went on,” said TrainWreck frontman Kevin Rowland. “It’s also an opportunity to get out there. There’s lots of artists in this area that need exposure, but we’ve got to do our part. We’re over here in this wicked country and we don’t have hurricane and earthquake problems.”

The benefit concert at The Willy takes place on Friday, Feb. 5 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Admission is by donation and all funds raised will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross.

Hope For Haiti

Okotoks resident Linda Macallum wanted to get some of the well-known musicians from the area involved when she hatched the idea for a concert. The Hope For Haiti concert on Feb. 21 will feature Okotoks country musician John Fraser and his daughter, Lady C, a soul and R&B artist, roots musician Darren Johnson and folk singer-songwriter Paul Rumbolt. The show will also feature up-and-comers Calum Graham, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and the band Thank Magnets.

Macallum said she is hoping to secure some sponsorship in order to cover all the costs of the event to ensure the majority of the proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to Canadian Red Cross.

Okotoks Coun. Ed Sands, who is volunteering to help with the concert, said he is pleased to see the multitude of fundraisers being organized for Haiti because the country needs a lot of help.

“You know what tugs on my heart is, as a civic politician, when we watched the response to the earthquake in Italy about a year ago it was fire trucks, ambulances, municipal services happening, helping the rescue. In Haiti it’s nothing. A guy with a shovel. Where is the government? That’s what I feel sorry for,” said Sands. “They have nothing over there. They have no municipal infrastructure. Rebuilding over there will be so difficult because they’re starting from zero.”

The Hope For Haiti concert takes place at the Foothills Centennial Centre on Sunday, Feb. 21. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets are available at the Foothills Centennial Centre, The Hair Studio, Music Centre Canada, Okotoks Chiropractic and Massage and Sobeys.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

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