A local band

After brunch today I went to a fundraiser. The owner of one of the pubs we go to has cancer. Colleen has been a waitress at various bars in Dartmouth for many years. A few years ago the pub she was working for decided to close. Some of the regulars at that pub decided to get together and put some money together so Colleen could open her own place. Just over a year ago, she found out that her lease was not going to be renewed, so she found another location, but it needed renovations. After 9 long months and many delays due to inspections and permits, she finally reopened. During that 9 months, Colleen received a cancer diagnosis. She has gone thru chemo, but unfortunately it did not kill all of the cancer cells. Now she is undergoing another treatment, once a month for a year. Of course  this has been a huge financial burden. Some of her friends got together and decided to organize a fundraiser for her. It grew out of the space they had originally booked for it. They were able to secure a second and larger location. Local bands were booked for half hour time slots, and they all donated their time. For 8 hours, if you chose to stay that long, that is a lot of music.

For $20 you could get a bracelet so you could get in at both locations, so that was a good deal. They also had door prizes, a silent auction and a 50/50 draw. All of the money raised is going directly to Colleen.

The Legion can likely hold 150 people plus the bar downstairs had an open mike and you could go in there to listen to the music. So there would have been 200 people at the Legion and there was a lineup to get in when I left at 3 pm. I didn't even try to get into the other location as it was announced it was already at capacity and people were lined up to get in there too.

It was such an amazing response to support Colleen. When we go there to brunch, she calls everyone by name. She has an amazing memory for names and faces. I imagine she shed a few tears today to see the number of people who came out to support her today.

I enjoyed the concert last night. Karen is the only one who has really gotten my message that I am tired of always being the one to plan things. She is suggesting more concerts that we could attend together.

It is a rainy, windy night here tonight. I am glad I came home before the storm started.