Though fall is officially upon us, it can be hard to fully let go summer — just ask the committee behind the variety show fundraiser coming to Peterborough’s Market Hall Performing Arts Centre this fall.
A group of local and visiting performers are keeping the summer vibes in full swing as they take to the stage for a night of camp-themed live music, entertainment, and laugh-out-loud hilarity at the Keep’n It Campy variety show fundraiser at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 11th. Funds raised go towards supporting the Lumara Grief & Bereavement Care Society’s Camp Kerry Ontario.
Although tickets for the in-person performance sold out within three days, tickets for a live stream of the production are still available.
“People can have their own trailer park parties,” says comedian and Keep’n It Campy host Andrew Finlan. “We’re basically extending trailer season into November and we’re hoping that’s a way to further support Camp Kerry and Lumara Society.”
Alongside Finlan, Keep’n It Campy includes special guests Kate Brioux, Linda Kash, Danny Bronson, Stephen Cullen, Paul Crough, Lisa Devan, Bridget Foley, dancers of the Next Generation Dance Company, and more.
While the show is all fun and games, it began with a goal of raising funds for the work done at Camp Kerry. Established in 2007 in British Columbia, Camp Kerry is a four-day family bereavement retreat program, wherein qualified counsellors and trained volunteers support families through music and art therapy, activities, nature, sharing circles, games, memory services, and more.
“Camp Kerry Ontario and Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care are truly one-of-a-kind in terms of where whole families can attend,” explains Angela Gaskell, who joins Finlan on the variety show’s committee. “It’s such a huge impact. You see families there that you just know probably haven’t laughed or done something fun together since the loss of the person they’re grieving.”
Gaskell and her family first attended the retreat in 2014 following the passing of her husband. At the time, Camp Kerry was new to Ontario, introduced with the help of Shelley Hermer, a Peterborough social worker who had previously volunteered at the British Columbia program.
“I was so struck by the healing that I witnessed when I was in B.C. and I knew that we didn’t have anything like that in Ontario,” Hermer explains. “I’ve worked in children’s mental health, so I’ve seen the need for family-based treatment right here as well.”
Now Hermer is Camp Kerry’s regional program manager for Ontario and Atlantic Canada and is preparing for the next retreat, which launches on Thursday, October 12th. After a few years attending the retreat, Gaskell and her family have continued to join the program in volunteer and “mentor family” capacity.
“It made a huge difference for us and so I just want it to continue, and I want people to know what it’s about,” Gaskell says. “[Grief] is a part of life and you’re always going to know somebody that can benefit from such an amazing organization, with tons of things even beyond Camp Kerry Ontario.”
To keep Camp Kerry as accessible as possible, the Lumara Society heavily relies on fundraisers and donations. Currently priced at $750 per family, the cost represents only one-third of the actual amount the organization must spend to send a family to camp. Still, the Lumara Society does not want cost to be a barrier for those looking for support.
“Any fundraising we do is really important, or it would otherwise limit the number of families that we could take and the kind of supports that we can use for them and have throughout the year,” explains Hermer, who adds that all of the proceeds raised at the variety show fundraiser will be used towards Camp Kerry families in Ontario.
As for Gaskell, she is very familiar with the importance of fundraisers. The popular Gaskell Cup hockey tournament began in 2012 as a simple fundraiser for her family when her 33-year-old husband Kirk was diagnosed with leukemia. After Kirk passed away that same year, the non-profit organization HOPE (Helping Others Participate Equally) organized and ran the annual event, which raised $75,000 between 2013 and 2015 to sponsor a room in Kirk’s name at Hospice Peterborough’s then-new residential hospice, and subsequently raised funds for the GPHSF Your Family Health Team Foundation and Camp Kerry. After the pandemic put a halt to the event, Gaskell wanted to come up with an all-new fundraiser.
Enter Andrew Finlan, a retired high school principal and old friend and colleague of Gaskell’s who has always harboured the dream of being a stand-up comedian.
After years spent finessing his skill at Toronto’s Second City after retirement, Finlan has done upwards of a hundred shows and been well involved in Peterborough’s theatre scene. He had also been a camp director for Market Hall’s children’s theatre program for 12 years.
Having not performed since 2019, Finlan was eager to get back onstage when Gaskell asked if he would help her arrange a fundraiser for Camp Kerry Ontario.
“I thought, if I’m going to get back on stage knocking on 60 years old, I want there to be a bigger purpose,” he recalls.
As for the show’s theme, that was all inspired by a purchase Finlan made during the pandemic. Calling himself Bubbles from the Canadian mockumentary sitcom Trailer Park Boys, Finlan became the “proud owner” of a trailer at Spring Rock Camp in Young’s Point.
As for Keep’n It Campy, while all the performers will have free range with their skits and performances, including some audience participation, each performer will include camping stories and experiences.
Finlan himself will kick off the show with a stand-up performance, before later returning to the stage for a sketch parodying his experience at his trailer park. His character Earl, along and his wife Madge (played by Kate Brioux), inherit a trailer park called Sandy Shores they then try to pitch to buyers — which proves not to be easy as Earl is a “hypoglycemic mess with asthma and panic attacks,” and Madge is concerned about their diabetic cat.
Finlan assures his many neighbours at Spring Rock Camp who have already purchased their tickets that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
With in-person tickets for the Market Hall show completely sold out, Finlan encourages people to purchase streaming tickets and embrace the trailer park lifestyle right from their own living rooms.
“Get your pyjamas, a six-pack of whatever you like, Miss Vickie’s chips, and get into trailer park mode,” he says.
Gaskell adds she’s grateful the additional streaming option will allow people from across the country to learn about and support Camp Kerry, especially the many supporters in B.C. where the camp first began.
The Keep’n It Campy organizers are still accepting donations for the gift baskets that will be given away as part of the show. Individuals and businesses can donate entire themed baskets from baking and movie nights to self-care, car detailing, or any other creative ideas they may have. Individual item donations will also be accepted, which the committee will then use to make a basket.
“People come up with all kinds of stuff,” explains Gaskell. “There’s really something for everybody.”
On show night, a $20 ticket will give audience members 25 ballots which they can put into any (or all) baskets of their choice, and winners will be drawn throughout the evening. Proceeds from the baskets will help send even more families to Camp Kerry.
“I love promoting good people and Camp Kerry is good people,” says Finlan. “(We’re bringing) some light energy to the topic of grief so I can model what Camp Kerry and the Lumara Society is already doing.”
Keep’n It Campy takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 11th at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough. Streaming access to the show is available for $35 at tickets.markethall.org.
For more information about making a donation for the show’s gift baskets, call Angela Gaskell at 705-768-8252.
This story has been updated with a correction and additional information about the Gaskell Cup.
