Peterborough shows its love for Lydia

Judging by the resounding success of Sunday’s “Love for Lydia” benefit at Showplace Performance Centre, there’s no doubt that Peterborough is a loving community that comes together to help its own.

Hundreds of people attended the event, enjoying food, drink, and live music while raising money for the family of 11-year-old Lydia Black, the granddaughter of the much-loved and respected local musician Al Black.

Along with being a supportive community, Peterborough also confirmed its reputation as a “last-minute ticket sales” city.

While 200 advance tickets were sold for the event, an additional 300 tickets were sold during the day of the event through walk-up sales at the Showplace box office. Organizers believe this is a record for Showplace, if not for Peterborough.

Many local musicians, performers, businesses, media, and volunteers worked tirelessly to organize, promote, and carry out the event.

Sunday’s benefit was the largest show of its kind ever held at Showplace Performance Centre, with more than 25 local musicians and performers volunteering their time and talents to provide seven hours of continuous live music and performance.

The concert ended with a moving group performance of, appropriately enough, The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends”.

The performances went off without a hitch and on schedule — no small feat when coordinating more than 25 acts and stage changes in a seven-hour period.

This was due mainly to the efforts of the core group of organizers, “The Friends of Al Black” (Tom Veitch, Gailie Young, Yvonne Quackenbush, Tiff Dej, Jeannine Taylor, and Gord Quackenbush) and Showplace staff.

The entire show was anchored by the entertaining antics of emcee Paul Rellinger, who was joined by the lovely Michelle Ferreri for the final three hours.

Attendees enjoyed an abundance of food in the gourmet food court in the Nexicom Studio, generously donated by local businesses that contributed the food, chefs, and kitchen facilities.

All proceeds from the event will go to support the family of Lydia, was recently diagnosed with a blood disease rarely found in children and is undergoing intensive treatment at SickKids in Toronto.

The funds, which will help offset costs incurred by Lydia’s family while she receives treatment in Toronto, will be deposited to the “In Trust” account established for Lydia at the Peterborough Community Credit Union (Account #15672).

If you missed the benefit but still want to donate, you can deposit funds directly to the trust fund account through your bank, or you can donate online at www.gofundme.com/loveforlydia (set up by Lydia’s aunt).

In addition to the proceeds from ticket sales, there were many bids on the donated items at the silent auction — nothing was left without at least one bid.

Peterborough Fire Services dropped off a collection of $330 for the Lydia fund.

Many local musicians who participated in the “24 Hour Music Project” held the previous night at the Historic Red Dog donated their portion of proceeds from that show to the fund for Lydia.

In addition, many people made donations to the fund through the day.

At the risk of omitting someone, special thanks go to:

• the major sponsors for the event: Showplace, Nexicom, and Kawartha Downs and Speedway
• local media: Magic 96.7, Peterborough This Week, STAR 93.3, The Breeze, Extra 90.5, CHEX Television, Fresh Radio 100.5, and The Wolf 101.5
• food and drink sponsors: Dolce Vita, Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews, The Venue, Publican House Brewery, Steam Whistle Brewery
• the many local businesses that donated items: Cosmetic Transformations, King Street Market Butcher Shop, Lansdowne Place, No Frills, Monaghan Cafe, Chasing the Cheese, Dreams of Beans, Electric City Gardens, Rexall, D&R Enterprises Bookkeeping, Black Honey, The Favourite Greek, RJ’s Fresh Produce, St. Veronus, Jim’s Pizza & Pasta, Whiskey Club, Canoe and Paddle, EC Catering, Turnbull, Olde Stone Brewery, Hot Belly Mama’s, Boston Pizza, Kawartha Dairy, Apollo Grill, and more
• individuals and organizations, too numerous to name, that donated items to the silent auction
• and — last but certainly not least — all the performers: Tiny Davis, Wes Ryan, Dave Mowat, 4 Front, Gospel Girls, Bobby Watson, Three Martinis, Tom Eastland, Latchford & Greig, The Citiots, Rick & Gailie Band, Kevin Siena, Terry Blankley, Grainne Ryan, Scarlett Grace, Fabulous Tonemasters, Kim Doolittle, The Lohrwoods with special guest Melissa Payne, Pat Temple, Wylie Harold & Out on Bail, Mayhemingways, Balls & Jane, The Crux, Alan Black, Rickie Young, JP Hovercraft, and Rico Fama.

Check out these photos of the event by kawarthaNOW photographer Linda McIlwain