A wang dang doodle of a good time

Elmwood

City Centre

Wang Dang Doodle is a Chicago blues song written by the legendary Willie Dixon and first recorded by the equally legendary Howlin’ Wolf in 1960. In it, Dixon tells the story of a legendary, house-rocking party, replete with music and dancing.

In the 60 years since, the phrase has come to describe, in rather ‘old tymey’ fashion, an all-around good time.

In that spirit, the Wang Dang Doodle Open-Mic Extravaganza at the Big Red Church (127 Cobourg Ave.) on Thursday, June 19, is meant to uplift local voices while raising money for the House of Hesed, a group home for people living with HIV or AIDS.

House of Hesed, which operates at 45 Edmonton St., provides meals, private bedrooms, and 24/7 staffing for around 10 residents at any given time. It also advocates for those living with the disease, creating an environment based upon love and understanding rather than stigma.

The Wang Dang Doodle open mic, meanwhile, is the annual end-of-year send-off for Gordie’s Coffeehouse, a regular open-mic event which runs at the church every Thursday from September through June (save for a month-long break in December).

While each coffeehouse evening at Gordie’s opens with a highlighted performer, the gatherings always end with an open mic showcase. Wang Dang Doodle, by comparison, is completely open mic and will highlight 20 to 30 different performers, performing both musical and spoken-word pieces. According to Lexiss Jefferson, organizer of Gordie’s Coffeehouse, the Wang Dang Doodle is always an energetic evening.

Jefferson said she considers herself the coffee house’s “dreamer,” and is quick to credit the work of all of the hands it takes to run a weekly music event.

“We took the chapel of the church and ‘de-chapelized’ it,” she said. “(We) took cool pieces of furniture, old bookcases, comfy couches, and tables and chairs, and turned it into a ’60s-style coffee house. There’s art on the walls from local artists. We’re a lending library; we’re a CD lending library. There’s a table at the back that always has a jigsaw puzzle going. There’s crib boards. There’s just a really cool vibe.”

Regular Gordie’s nights take place in the chapel, but Wang Dang Doodle is held in the sanctuary, where, Jefferson said, will be “wonderful” silent auction prizes, as well as desserts, coffee, tea and cold drinks for sale. All monies collected will be donated back to House of Hesed.

“(There’s) lots of opportunity to be entertained, as well as support House of Hesed,” Jefferson said.

“The love and compassion that the people that work there show to the people that live there, it really is inspiring, and it is the truest sense of looking after your neighbour, loving your neighbour …. a true sense of community.”

It only makes sense, then, that the community fostered by Gordie’s supports the House of Hesed.

“The people and the community that’s been built throughout the years, there’s really nothing like it,” Jefferson said. “We’ve had people fall in love and get married at Gordie’s. We’ve had people that we know that have have passed away, that have been members, and they’ve wanted to host their funerals there … it’s just such a supportive community of people, and it’s a listening room.”

House of Hesed has been struggling to stay afloat, as it receives no government funding relies on financial and physical donations year-round. Find out more on its Facebook page – House of Hesed.

Wang Dang Doodle begins at 7 p.m. on June 19, with admission costing $5 at the door. Contact Jefferson at lexissj@shaw.ca for more information.