What began as a one-off in 2020 to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) has blossomed into a much-anticipated annual live music event on the shores of Stoney Lake in Peterborough County.
Much anticipated, that is, by those fortunate enough to be invited to Bruce and Susan Hodges’ island property, the main feature of which is their cottage, Wanakuen, which was built in 1901.
Headlining this year’s Wanakuen Concert, which brought together some 300 people on July 13th, was the Canadian rock band 54-40, with Newcastle’s Chalk Circle opening.
With the help of not one but two anonymous $10,000 donations, the intimate music festival brought in close to $40,000 for RMHC Toronto — more than the $38,000 raised via the first four events.
Established in 1974 as a means of supporting families with a child receiving critical hospital care, RMHC is now at work in 62 countries, providing accommodations, meals, and mental health support free of charge.
RMHC Toronto operates Ronald McDonald House at 240 McCaul Street in downtown Toronto, just minutes from SickKids and Mt. Sinai Hospital, which accommodates 81 families, as well as seven family rooms in five hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area and in Sudbury.
VIDEO: “April Fool” by Chalk Circle – 2024 (video by Brent Nykoliation)
As for the annual Wanakuen Concert on Stoney Lake, it all began when Bruce Hodges “dragged” his wife Susan to a concert headlined by the Canadian new wave band Spoons.
“For some reason, Spoons were on my Facebook feed and I saw that they do a concert every year (McBowl for RMHC) with a guy named Ed Sousa,” recalls Hodges. “They couldn’t do it (in 2020) because of COVID.”
“I always had this sort of crazy idea to do a private concert. We’re on an island, and we another little island nearby. I thought it’d be cool to do it out onto the lake. I saw this (Facebook) post and I thought ‘What the hell? Why don’t we do this.’ In four weeks, we went from zero to full concert.”
“There were (gathering restriction) rules and we stuck very closely to those. You were allowed 100 people outside at an event. We raised $600 or $700, something like that. It rained, so it was quite an event.”
Undaunted, the Hodges again hosted another summer concert in 2021, with Spoons returning, this time joined by new wave band Images in Vogue.
“We sold 100 tickets and had a wait list of 100 more,” he says. “The (gathering restriction) rules were supposed to change but they didn’t, so we put 100 (people) on our island, 100 on the island across from us, and we put the stage on a barge, provided by Kawartha Lakes Construction, in between.”
In 2022, Honeymoon Suite and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Leah Marlene — the daughter of Honeymoon Suite lead guitarist Derry Grehan — entertained some 250 guests. Last summer saw Glass Tiger headline.
With this year’s concert in the rearview mirror, “now we begin to plan for next year,” says Hodges, who can’t say enough good things about Sousa’s ongoing involvement and support.
“It (the connection to RMHC) started because that was the charity of choice of Spoons,” he says. “Credit to them and Ed Sousa, who helps me every year, coaching me on what to do. We had someone here this year from Ronald McDonald House. We had (former MuchMusic veejay) Erica Ehm here this year as well, and (Peterborough Musicfest executive director) Tracey Randall. She came last year and loved it, she came this year and loved it, and now we’re looking to partner on the bands we bring in so we can get economies of scale.”
“I had some challenges on the sound front, so we switched up and got Bill Porter (Porter Sound that oversees Musicfest sound and lighting).”
Sousa, who as a Toronto-based promoter has worked with most all of Canada’s premier music acts, says the Hodges are “the real deal.”
“Bruce has been attending our Toronto shows for quite a number of years. During COVID, we couldn’t do our indoor shows, so he reached out and said ‘Ed, is it possible that you can do a show at my cottage?’ I said ‘Well, it’s an outdoor thing, so anything is possible.’ We booked Spoons for the first show in 2020 and it went off incredibly well.”
Each band brought to the Hodges’ cottage since expressed some trepidation when first approached, says Sousa. That was his cue to kick into promoter mode.
“I kind of had to give them a sales pitch,” he says. “I said ‘Listen, trust me when I tell you that you’ve going to enjoy this. It’ll probably be one of the best shows you’ll ever do.’ We’ve been fortunate that that has held true. Previous bands are part of our sales team. That’s how we’ve been able to get other bands involved.”
“Artists are very finicky. They don’t like unknowns. They want to show up, plug in and play.”
VIDEO: “Someday” – Glass Tiger – 2023 (video by Brent Nykoliation)
Sousa estimates that since 2016, shows that he’s been involved with and promoted have brought in some $500,000 for RMHC, with which he has had a personal experience.
In October 1992, his nephew, who was diagnosed with leukemia five years earlier, passed away at age 17. During that time, his sister stayed at Ronald McDonald House in Toronto off and on while her son received treatment at SickKids.
“I told myself if there’s ever an organization that I’m going to assist, that would be the one because we’ve benefited from it firsthand. That’s part of the agreement with Bruce. I told him I’d assist him, start to finish, but he has to make a substantial donation to them (RMHC). He has kept to his word on that.”
“They’re phenomenal hosts and their hearts are in the right place. I can’t say enough good things about them.”
Reflecting on that first concert in 2020, Hodges admits there was trepidation in terms of bringing it back in 2021.
“Susan was like ‘You really want to do it again?'” he laughs.
“We had Michael Williams host the second one. He asked that question and I said ‘We do it because we can.’ It’s a fun day. It’s a bunch of work but it’s a phenomenal cause. I’ve been to Ronald McDonald House. You watch the (RMHC promotional) videos and you can’t not shed a tear.”
“Maybe I’m a little bit nuts,” Hodges reflects. “I’m building a start-up as well. If you and I had a beer, or even before we could drink, and you said ‘Spoons are going to play on your porch,’ I would have been like ‘Yeah, sure.'”
“We go to great lengths to make sure the bands love it because they all talk. I think any band that was here would say to another band ‘Absolutely. You should do it.’ We just make sure they’re happy and have fun. The Honeymoon Suite guys were fishing here, for crying out loud.”
When it’s suggested that the only way to secure an invite is become his friend, Hodges laughs, adding “Or a friend of any of our guests. Guests can bring guests; friends can bring friends.”
“We are immensely grateful to Bruce and Susan for hosting and presenting the Wanakuen Concert for the past five years,” says RMHC Toronto vice-president of development and marketing Allison Urowitz, who attended the July 13th concert. “The day was infused with a spirit of community and generosity with hundreds of caring people coming to enjoy the magic of music together.”
“As a charitable non-profit organization that is community funded, we rely on the generous support of community members and events like these to provide support to families dealing with the realities of caring for a child who is seriously ill,” Urowitz adds. “Thanks to the continuous generosity of the Hodges and friends, parents can stay close to their child’s side in the hospital knowing they can sleep and restore steps away at the House.”
Although this year’s Wanakuen Concert is over, you can make a donation to RMHC on behalf of the event at any time by visiting 2024-wanakuen.raiselysite.com. Tax receipts are issued for donations.
This story has been updated. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Leah Marlene only performed at the Wanakuen Concert in 2022.
