Bands raise $2,000 for Siloam

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/12/2018 (2781 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s Christmas Eve tonight, the most exciting night of the year when I was a little girl living in Manitou. That feeling for special, dramatic events, which stuck with me forever, inspires me to tell you about wonderful things happening around us in Winnipeg and surrounding areas in my weekly Scene & Heard column. Thank you so much for your tips every week. I appreciate your email notes, phone calls and invitations. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

MUSICIANS FOR SILOAM MISSION: The Norwood Hotel vibrated with wild music and good cheer on Dec. 20. The popular bar on Marion Street was packed as 10 hot bands of varying genres took the stage — a new one every half-hour.

The event’s goal was to raise as much money for Siloam Mission and the homeless as possible, in just six hours. With $10 tickets and a 50-50 draw, organizer Josh Gray managed to raise $2,235 in cash plus donations of food, clothing and toys that went to Siloam the next morning.

Gray floated the idea to Winnipeg musicians back on Dec. 5.

“I had four or five bands volunteer in the first few minutes, and I could have had 15 or 20 bands if there had been more playing time,” he said.

The final lineup included Ray Martin and Tulsa Time, followed by Dead People’s Puggies, Ash and the Arsonists, the Bivvers, the Nooners, the Holly Davidson Band, Thousand Dollar Truck, the Incredibly Hip, Woodwork and Barb Wyre.

The talent on display was incredible. For instance, the Dead People’s Puggies, a group of four middle-aged rockers — Norm Goodman on guitar, Steve Klotz on bass, Bill Cooke on keyboards and Ken Taylor on drums — all played and sang with gusto. And how did the Dead People’s Puggies get their name? Klotz and his wife foster pugs from folks who have passed away or who have moved into seniors homes that don’t allow pets.

It was fascinating to watch bands trade places so quickly; soundman Vince Taylor pulled off a miracle. Gray and his fiancée Holly Therrien, from the Holly Davidson band, left their own instruments and amps onstage all night to speed things up.

“All I did was start a fire and everybody else fanned the flames,” Gray says. “The music scene in Winnipeg is incredible, and the musicians would give you the shirt off their backs if they thought you needed it.”

PARTY LIKE THE ROYAL FAMILY: It’s not Windsor Castle, but you and your family can enjoy a high tea for Christmas at Desserts Plus, 664 King Edward St., run by the Reiss family: Barbara and her daughters Lisa and Pam.

“We will be open on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., serving our high tea — and it’s going to be quite substantial,” Barbara says.

You should know high tea doesn’t just mean a cup of tea. It’s a lunch or small afternoon meal — a bit of a ritual, really — of delicious treats starting with finger sandwiches and moving on to scones with berries and clotted cream, asparagus cheese rolls, savoury turnovers, dainty squares and cream puffs and fruit cups — and assorted teas, of course.

The staff at Desserts Plus are prepped and ready to do it up royally.

“We did a run-through a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun and good eating.” That’s $25 a person, and $15 for 10 and under. Dress is casual/festive. Call Desserts Plus at 204-339-1957 to make reservations.

FOR ADULTS ONLY: The Dirty Ministers of Cool, which combines Winnipeg’s Dirty Catfish Brass Band and the horn section of the Ministers of Cool, plays the Park Theatre on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The all-star band includes Jeffrey Acosta on trombone, Andrew Littleford on trumpet, Kyle Wedlake on tenor saxophone, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Leonard (Lewsh) Shaw (who also tours with the current version of the Guess Who), vocalist Paul McNair(who’s joined up with new version of Streetheart), music producer Don Benedictson on bass, Ego Spank drummer Daniel Roy, keyboardist Gerry Atwell of Indian City and Eagle and Hawk, and guitarist Larry Roy. Tickets are $20 in advance at the Park Theatre and Ticketfly.com and $25 at the door.

WOMEN IN BLUES SHOW: Feel the heat on Osborne Street! Lady Lee will heat up the Park Theatre stage on Jan. 12 with Women in Blues, backed by harmonica player Tannis Bumbury, blues singer Gwendolyn Smith (Tracy K) Mastaler, Angel Calnek, Debra Lyn Neufeld and Romi Mayes.

THEATRE FOR RESTLESS YOUNG’UNS: Check out Dramatic Theatre Company’s presentation of Anne of Green Gables Live during the holidays. The classic Canadian story comes to life at 585 Ellice Ave., directed by Justin Danyluk. Showtimes are Wednesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., with matinées at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $12 online at dramatictheatre.net or call the box office at 204-691-4182.

Actor Keira Jordan plays Anne Shirley, and the cast includes Kelly Hirst, Hope McBride, Vern Bird, Terry Hamel, Benjamin Judson, Heather Madill, Diana Renee Faucher, Chantelle Dubois, Gwen Bird, Natalie Sulis and Hannah Schaeffer.

99 BOTTLES OF WHAT ON THE WALL? So much for stuffy art shows. Jordan Miller, owner of the Cre8ery Gallery on 125 Adelaide St., is presenting her craziest show of the year. She’s hanging 99 pieces of art on the walls. And “if one of the paintings should happen to sell, there’s 98 pieces of art on the wall,” she says.

Prices for original art range from $25 to $250, in every style imaginable. “It’s a lot of work hanging 99 pieces,” she says, laughing. The opening reception is Friday, Jan. 4, and coincides with the Exchange District’s famous First Friday, when galleries throw open their doors to visitors.

THE MARVELLS: Since her retirement from CBC three years ago, Jan Harding-Jeanson (a.k.a. former band leader Sally Screw of Sally Screw and the Drivers) has a new band called the Marvells. Catch them Jan. 11 and 12 at the St. James Legion at 1755 Portage Ave. The Marvells will perform tunes by the likes of Petula Clark, Farrell, Adele and Annie Lennox.

Got tips? Cool events happening in your world? Been runnign shoulders with the stars? Email Maureen’s Tips at mscurf@shaw.ca.