Concert to raise funds to battle AIDS

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

The Blues Queen of Montreal is coming to Pointe Claire to help make life better for people who really know what the blues are.

An upcoming concert organized by a local humanitarian organization will raise funds for Malawi natives stricken by HIV/AIDS in Africa, a situation so dire and so desperate, it inspired one Pointe Claire resident to jump into action. Lindsay Place High School Grade 11 student Neil George and fellow members of the Making a Difference team are organizing a benefit concert slated for next Sunday at Bourbon Street West in Pointe Claire featuring, among others, Dawn Tyler Watson — billed as the city’s queen of blues.

George and his band of five other students, along with a rotating cast of three adult members, who offer support and guidance where necessary, have been working since last May on a project that aims to raise $10,000 to relieve the suffering of AIDS victims on that disease-plagued continent. The cash will go to Presbyterian World Service and Development’s ‘Toward a World Without AIDS’ campaign.

“We started (working on the concert) in late November,” George said. “We’ve already held a couple of fundraisers and raised a bit of money, so we thought a benefit concert would be a great way to raise some more funds.”

George said he was immediately impacted when he saw images from St. Columba by-the-Lake minister Ian Fraser’s trip to Malawi last year. “I was terribly inspired by the things I saw and I felt I could help in some way. I wondered what I could do to help, and so we formed the (Making a Difference) committee,” he said. Comprised mainly of other 16- and 17-year-old students, it meets once every couple of weeks, he added. “I wanted to make my Grade 11 year a memorable one with this project.”

Fraser said in his travels, he didn’t see a lot of people dying, but he saw the impact of the deaths on the country. “In a country of 12 million, there are a million orphans. Farming projects couldn’t be supported because of all the deaths. There were so many people trying to deal with the deaths, in a micro way, on a smaller level,” he said. “I spoke to a lot of people after the mission, but it really seemed to have a big impact on Neil. He really took it to heart.”

Headlining the show is Dawn Tyler Watson, but she’s far from the only attraction on tap. Other musicians slated to appear include Paul Deslauriers, Ricky Paquette, Runaway Slide and the Guffman 5.

Tickets are $20, but even with purchase, will they even be allowed in?

“As long as we’re accompanied by adults and we’re not sitting in the bar section, we’re allowed to be there. (Bourbon Street West) also has a restaurant license, so as long as we’re where we’re supposed to be, it’s all been worked out,” he said.

The Making a Difference concert is slated for Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Bourbon Street West in Pointe Claire. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or by calling Neil George at 514-697-3161.