Country band River Town Saints were among the headliners to take the stage at Sing Out for CHEO at TD Place Arena on Oct. 21.
Organized by local musician Danny Sylvestre, the event has taken place annually for the last two years as a fundraiser to support the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Foundation.
For Sylvestre, this event is very personal for him and his family, who have greatly benefitted from CHEO’s services. For nearly 17 years, Sylvestre’s daughter, Marychelle, made regular visits to CHEO while undergoing treatment for muscular dystrophy. As of last year, she is no longer going through treatment.
“It was very hard for us to leave CHEO, so I decided it was time to give back,” Sylvestre said. “One of the ways to give back is with my music, so naturally, putting a show like this together.”
The evening also had a very special significance to the performers, who each had their own connection to CHEO and have benefitted from their services.
“If you’re from the Ottawa area, or if you’re from Eastern Ontario, you’ve probably been to CHEO at one point in your life,” said River Town Saints frontman Chris Labelle.
“I had pneumonia when I was younger and I was in CHEO for two weeks,” he said.“CHEO basically saved my life, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even be here today.”
There were many ways to donate throughout the evening. On top of the price of admission, there was a silent auction with lots of prizes, including an Ottawa Senators jersey signed by Erik Karlsson, which sold for $300. In addition, proceeds from the artists’ merchandise sales went to the CHEO Foundation.
The first performer of the night was country singer Sandi Skye, followed by singer-songwriter John Allaire. The two performed a fair mix of originals and covers to start off the evening.
Sylvestre and his band were next. After playing through a set of originals, he rocked through a series of popular covers, concluding with The Tragically Hip’s “New Orleans is Sinking” as a tribute to Gord Downie, who died on Oct. 17.
River Town Saints’ set began shortly after 10:30 p.m. The band played through their entire self-titled debut album and got the crowd singing and dancing to their well-known upbeat songs, such as “Bonfire” and “Cherry Bomb.”
At the end of their set, all five members of the band came out to sign autographs and take pictures with fans who waited to meet them.
While he was unable to provide information regarding attendance and the amount of money raised for the CHEO Foundation, Sylvestre said he was incredibly happy about the turnout and success of the event, especially considering that this was only its second year and last year, it was just small gathering at a bar on Baseline Road.
“I have no words,” Sylvestre said. “I never thought is would get to this point actually, having a good draw like this and having the River Town Saints playing tonight.”
With the boost in popularity this year, Sylvestre said he hopes to build on the success to have an even bigger event next year.
“Next year, I want to make it bigger again,” he said, “always looking forward to each year, making it bigger and bringing more people in and having a bigger cheque for CHEO.”
Photo by Jeff Pelletier
