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Bringing the community together.
Just like its vaccination drive, that’s the goal of the first concert to be held at Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre since the pandemic hit. This concert is being facilitated by the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) and its partners, all to celebrate the now federally-recognized statutory holiday on Sept. 30 for National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
The aforementioned vaccination drive was also facilitated by STC. It brought more than 28,000 people in for their COVID vaccinations, a figure released by Tribal Chief Mark Arcand during Tuesday’s press conference at SaskTel Centre.
He said the event, titled “Every Child Matters,” will be an uplifting event after the struggles that arose following the findings of mass grave sites at Canadian residential schools.
“We’re trying to bring some laughter back, some joy back so people can have a (good) quality of life,” Arcand explained.
“We all know that music brings people together. It’s a joy, it’s calming, it’s (soothing).”
The acts headlining the concert are Canadian country artists Gord Bamford, George Canyon and Charlie Major. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday.
Arcand said a successful event would mean breaking even. The SaskTel Centre has agreed to rent out the facility free of charge for STC.
This will be the first concert held at SaskTel Centre since the COVID shut down in March 2020. The Junos were to be held at SaskTel Centre the following weekend.
The Sept. 30 event will also feature speakers, dancers and Indigenous programming for those in attendance.
“It’s about bringing people together. Trying to bring some spirits back, and happiness. Really do the right thing. We want to open this to the general public, sales are open to anybody and everybody and we just want people to come out and have a good time,” Arcand continued.
He said this is an opportunity to get back to normal, with all public health orders being adhered to. This includes sanitization, with an attendance of up to around 13,000 people.
“It’s about bringing people together in a safe manner,” Arcand said. “Residential schools, it’s like a second pandemic for us. Right? As Indigenous people. We went through a worldwide pandemic as everyone. Now, the unmarked graves … it’s more trauma.”
Arcand said he hopes to speak to the three musical acts beforehand, explaining to them the significance of the date and what this event means to Indigenous attendees. He added that more programming for the Sept. 30 date will be released in the near future.