KEEP THE BEAT CONCERT SET FOR LAKESIDE PARK ON JULY 30th

A group of Nelson youth will present ten hours of live music at Lakeside Park on Wednesday, July 30th. The fundraising concert for War Child Canada kicks off at noon and continues non-stop until 10:00 p.m. This is the third annual community based event, and is entirely organized by youth. Almost $20,000 was raised for the work of War Child in the past two years.

There is no admission fee for the concert and all ages are welcome. Funds are raised through pledges collected, through an on-site silent auction and donations are welcome during the event.

According to Laura Metcalfe, one of the event organizers “We have three goals for Keep the Beat. The first is to raise money and help war-affected children. We also want to provide an annual community event that brings people together in Lakeside Park for a fun day together and our final goal is to give young people the experience of working together to organize a major event. So far, we’re pleased with what we’ve accomplished with all three.”

While some acts are yet to be confirmed, this year’s line up includes favourites such as Gemma Luna, James Lamb & Emily, the Nelson Marimba band, Lazy Poker Blues, Alex Scott , Booke, Zoey Ockenden and Laura Metcalfe. Aspen Switzer and Thistledown, fresh from a second CD release will perform as will up and coming Vancouver-based Mother Mother, who will headline the program. The Globe and Mail recently awarded their album Touch Up with four stars. Reviewer Chart Attack remarked that listening to Mother Mother is like reading Hunter S. Thompson – you end up in a place where reality has been delightfully skewed. The band is exciting and eccentric and will close the show.

War Child Canada implements humanitarian programs in war-torn communities around the world providing education, livelihoods training, legal, and psychosocial support to vulnerable children and their families in both emergency and post-conflict settings. War Child Canada currently provides humanitarian support to communities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan (including Darfur and southern Sudan), Uganda, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Georgia. War Child Canada also generates awareness, support and action for children’s rights everywhere and has domestic outreach programs in schools and among youth across Canada. For more information about War Child Canada visit www.warchild.ca.

Lori Johnston, Manager of Youth Programs for War Child Canada, will arrive in Nelson from Toronto several days before the concert, to promote the organization, to support the local volunteers and to offer a workshop for educators on Global Classrooms.

Supporters of this year’s Keep the Beat include the Columbia Basin Trust, the Osprey Foundation, the Nelson IODE and Quiznos.

For more information on Keep the Beat or the educator’s workshop please contact: Zoey or Gary at 352-0188 or ockenden@netidea.com