Former students of Dr. Ottilia Chareka have brought together top local Cape Breton performers for a concert to honour the memory of the popular Saint Francis Xavier professor and ease the financial difficulties of her five surviving daughters.
Coming together for “Honouring Ottilia Chareka: A Mother’s Day Variety Concert” are fiddlers Howie MacDonald and Margie and Dawn Beaton, singer/songwriters Angelo Spinazzola and Carmel Mikol, along with various local dance troupes and other local musicians.
The event takes place on Sunday, May 8, 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, at Saint Anthony Daniel Parish Hall, Alexandra Street, Sydney.
“We think Mother’s Day would be a fitting day to remember and honour a loving mother,” organizers say in a media release.
Due the circumstances of her sudden passing, Dr. Chareka’s five daughters, Missy [Praymore] (23), Patience (18), Patricia (16), Primrose (14), and Prisca (3), have been left without a mother and a father and are facing certain financial difficulties on top of all other challenges that lie ahead.
At the time of her tragic death on March 16, 2011, Dr. Chareka held the position of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. During her tenure at the university, she taught a variety of courses in the Bachelor of Education and Master of Education programs.
Dr. Chareka was a driving force in the implementation of the part-time Bachelor of Education program for African Nova Scotian learners and the Mi’kmaw Kinamatnewey School Improvement program. She also servered as secretary of the St. Francis Xavier University Senate.
Along with the musical performances, the event features a small silent auction as well as tea and other refreshments.
