The acts are booked, the virtual auction is live, and not one but two stages are being readied as Peterborough Performs V: Musicians United To End Homelessness fast approaches.
On Wednesday morning (March 12) at Showplace Performance Centre, a media event introduced the annual fundraiser’s main players and provided a preview of what ticket holders can expect during the benefit concert at the downtown performance venue on Wednesday, March 26th.
From 7 to 11 p.m., 14 local music acts will perform — six on the David Goyette Stage in the Erica Cherney Theatre and eight in the intimate Cogeco Studio. By the time the last note is played, thousands of dollars will have been raised for local United Way partner agencies providing shelter and relief for those who find themselves, for whatever reason, unhoused.
Coinciding with the media event, an affiliated virtual auction featuring more than 40 items and unique experiences up for grabs went live. The online auction at events.readysetauction.com/unitedwaypeterboroughdistrict/ppv will remain open for bids until 9 p.m. on the night of the event.
As he has done since 2020 when the first Peterborough Performs was held, Paul Rellinger has organized the lineup for both stages, bringing together a variety of music genres.
In the main theatre with emcee Jordan Mercier, Rick ‘n’ Gailie’s Peterborough All-Star Band will kick things off, followed by Kate Suhr and Melissa Payne joined by Nicholas Campbell, Kate Brioux, Paul Crough, and Brandon Monroe. Also performing are Little Fire Collective, a Michael Bublé/Adele tribute featuring Michael Bell and Lizeh Basciano, and, closing things out, The Spades joined by Ryan and Sam Weber.
Meanwhile, in the lower-level Cogeco Studio, Georgia Rose will get things rolling, followed by Dan Hick, Jacques Graveline, Bread & Soul (Ester Mayer and Shelby Crego), Lagan & Derelict (Phil Stephenson, Glen Caradus, and Ron Kervin), Alyssa Morrissey and Kyler Tapscott, The Hippie Chicks (Tami J Wilde, Joslyn Burford, and Katie Bath), and Danny and Joanna Bronson.
“They never mail it in,” said Rellinger of each musical act performing at the benefit concert. “They make the ticket cost one of the best bargains in the kingdom.”
Rellinger noted that 41 local music acts — close to 100 musicians combined — have now gifted their talent and time for the event.
“As much as I’m grateful for that, my deepest gratitude is saved for those that see homelessness for the scourge that it is. They buy a ticket or two in support of United Way partner agencies providing shelter and relief. You are making a difference in the lives of our neighbours who find themselves, for whatever reason, in a challenging situation. Helping to ease their plight is your gift to them.”
Peterborough Performs founder and patron David Goyette, a past United Way campaign chair who developed the concept before bringing Rellinger to the table, spoke specifically to the issue of homelessness, noting some 80,000 people across Ontario had no roof over their head last year.
“That is not only a startling number — it’s an embarrassing number,” he said. “Nearly half of those 80,000 people have been in a shelter or on the streets for at least half a year. That’s when homelessness becomes an address. That’s when people suffer from the understanding that they’re in survival mode, all day and every day. (It’s) a place without hope … a place without security.”
“We hear about solutions, including our own (in the City of Peterborough), like segregating people and warehousing them in a fenced-in (neighbourhood) of shipping containers, and then congratulating ourselves because it’s better than a tent. In my mind, it is not good enough. The answer lies in a substantial increase in money from the province for income support, addiction, and mental health.”
While making it clear that “Peterborough Performs is not going to solve this problem,” Goyette noted it’s “a clarion call to the city and the county and the province to perform better — to do more as they can, and as they should, to support people in our community who are homeless and underhoused.”
As Peterborough Perform’s leading financial donor, Goyette has put his money where his mouth is, as has returning auction sponsor LLF Lawyers LLP, Miskin Law, Dr. Stephen Ragaz, Billyard Insurance Group, Brian Mulligan and Kyle Harrington of Desjardins Insurance, Microage, Sullivan Law, Swish Maintenance, and the Peterborough and District Labour Council.
Meanwhile, providing in-kind assistance since day one to keep costs down and help maximize the return, have been Long & McQuade and digital media sponsor kawarthaNOW.
Hosting the media event was United Way Peterborough & District CEO Jim Russell, who opened the proceedings by announcing that the United Way campaign, which wraps up at the end of March, is just $27,000 shy of its $1.5 million goal, adding “This event could put us over the top.”
As for the event itself, Russell didn’t hold back, terming it “a fantastic tariff-free music event” that has become “the marquee musical event of the year in our community.”
“We’re really proud about how it’s matured, and that it started with a genuine desire to celebrate artists, and focus that artistic integrity and energy on the issue of homelessness.”
Afterwards, Russell emphasized that when all is said and done, it’s the community feel that makes Peterborough Performs a joy to attend.
“There’s a sense of familiarity and connection … a time to remind ourselves that we’re stronger in community when we’re not alone, so savour that while you’re tapping your foot, while you’re having a drink, while you’re humming along, while you’re singing off key. We’re lucky to have community because not everyone does.”
Also speaking addressing the gathering was Joe Grant of LLF Lawyers.
“For the past four years, I’ve had the honour to speak at this event, expressing my concern and concern of the housing crisis as someone who sees it firsthand every day outside my office window,” he said.
“This year feels different. In past years, many of us were hoping the crisis on the other side of the window gets better. Many of us now find (ourselves) fearing that the crisis on the other side of the window may be coming to our side of the window — coming for our neighbours, our family, our friends, for us.”
“At times like these, it’s so essential for the stability of our social fabric to know that we have great organizations like the United Way — to know that we are part of a community that cares, that no matter what side of the window we’re on, we have each other’s backs,” Grant said.
General admission tickets for Peterborough Performs V, which allow holders to seamlessly go between the main theatre and the lower-level studio as they please, cost $50 each, with a two-tickets-for-$80 deal in place.
To order online, visit www.uwpeterborough.ca/peterborough-performs or showplace.org.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be exclusive digital media sponsor for Peterborough Performs V.
