2 Big Events!

The past little while has been full of adventure. Magical moments and millions of memories to celebrate my 60th birthday. So, as with each new year around the sun, we try to take on new challenges. For me, there are 2 biggies!

First, it's the new festival that I'm putting together with my Ottawa Street buddy, and owner of Merk Snack Bar, Mark Baker. Mark came to me with this idea a few months ago, and together we've managed to assemble a group of artists that we feel will represent our community, celebrate social diversity and highlight inclusion!

The Folk 'n' Spoken Word Fest will take place on Saturday, June 15 at Merk Snack Bar and will feature both musical and spoken word/poetry guests. Most of the artists come from our neighbourhood, or from the Niagara region. We tried to keep it local. On Friday, June 14, there will be an opening gala featuring Order of Ontario recipient, Dwayne Morgan and Juno Award winning singer/songwriter, Suzie McNeil. This promises to be a night to remember here on Ottawa Street, so you don't want to miss it!

The second big thing I have coming up is a tribute to a songwriter and live performer who has inspired me in so many ways! Bruce Springsteen was one of the first concerts I ever attended and the 2 things that struck me the most was that he didn't have a huge gate and security dividing himself from the crowd, he had stairs!! The other thing was how he could hold the attention of his audience so deliberately while introducing songs that shared stories of his challenges with his father's depression and authority. Not to mention the marathon show and energy level of the band. For a 16 year old, this blew my mind. 'Greeting From Asbury Park - Celebrating Springsteen: Unplugged', is not a tribute show where I'll have a big band playing all the songs like on the records, but instead a tribute to the songwriting and how the music inspired me. I'll be working with Matt Horner and Gene Hardy and we'll be

stripping things down and focusing mostly on the early years, with a few surprises thrown in! The show will take place on Friday, July 5 at The Moonshine Cafe in Oakville, tickets are limited and $15 each. Let me know if you're interested.

That's what 60 looks like, so far! Bring it on.

Peace

2Big Events