Second Wind Community Band wants to “raise up” music lovers spirits’ with their 7th annual “Spirit of Friendship” Concert in support of l’Arche Cape Breton on Sunday, June 12, at 2pm at the Cape Breton University Boardmore Playhouse.
The concert, themed “You Raise Me Up”, features an eclectic selection of music from classical composer Gustav Holst to the swinging sounds of Glenn Miller, the Beatles to Chicago, a movie chart or two, a TV fanfare for the 2010 Olympics, and tunes from the early 1900’s through the decades to present day.
Steve Sutherland, the host of CBC Radio One’s Information Morning will host the event featuring the 45 piece band, under the direction of Sean McLennon and Laura Mercer. Vocalists Linda Muise and David Kimbley will also sing along with the band on a couple of their numbers.
After the concert, the band will host a little reception with tea, coffee and other refreshments including a “build your own” Sundae Bar with a variety of toppings. The handiwork from the members of l’Arche Cape Breton will be featured to help raise additional funds for l’Arche.
This past February, the Jeremy Harris Living Library was officially opened and is operational at l’Arche Cape Breton in Iron Mines and the fundraising efforts of the Second Wind Community Band were a big part of achieving that enhancement of the l’Arche community.
At the yearly Second Wind concert, concert-goers purchased books from a display provided by Coles Bookstore to help build this library. This year, the band has decided that they will have a l’Arche wish list of things they need for the library where patrons can contribute or help purchase those items.
Some of the items on the wish list for the Jeremy Harris Living Library are artwork for the library walls, three ottomans, four side tables and potted plants, varieties of books such as Christian spirituality books, World Faiths, Canadian Fiction, Disability issues, Children’s books, Coffee Table Books, Nature and Geography Books.
L’Arche is an international federation of communities where men and women with developmental disabilities, and those who choose to share life with them, live and work together.
L’Arche Cape Breton, located near Whycocomagh, was founded in 1983 as an ecumenical, Christian community. Today, it is a community of approximately 50 people sharing six houses, an apartment, a chapel, a hermitage, a house of welcome and retreat, a small garden, with a full work program called L’Arche Works (including a used clothing store, a workshop, a day program, and an integrated work placement program with the local businesses).
There are a limited number of tickets for the concert and they are available from any band member or from l’Arche Cape Breton or by contacting Laura Mercer at info@secondwindcommunityband.ca (Organizers also remind concertgoers parking at CBU costs a dollar so bring a loonie for a parking pass and some extra cash for the fundraisers.)
