You’ll see some pictures of the 4 Wing Band’s Bonnyville concert in our performing arts collage on pages 12 and 13, but none were taken during the concert itself. I had to grab some images while the players were setting up and doing their sound checks.
Your faithful scribe was busy during the show—playing.
I’ve been associated with the band for many years, and played all kinds of venues. Parade squares, to be sure, and also street parades at town fairs and rodeos. We’ve played at ball diamonds and hockey rinks, school gyms, parks, even once at a gas station in the Yukon.
Speaking of the Yukon, the band has performed in the amazing and historic Palace Grand Theatre in Dawson City. That was special—a purpose-built facility for the presentation of live arts performances.
The Palace Grand was built in 1899, when a concert hall was considered a necessity in the booming gold rush town.
You won’t find a performance hall in every Canadian community. That’s why it was such a thrill for the band to play on the beautiful stage of the Bonnyville Strathcona Performing Arts Centre on Sunday.
Proper facilities like “The Strath” are not just important for performers. More importantly, they show that a community has respect for its citizens and their needs as audience members.
In the Dawson City of the Klondike gold rush, the Palace Grand showed the confidence of a young community eager to show itself to the world. In Bonnyville, the new venue shows some of the same swagger, but also that the community is mature enough to provide a suitable venue for presenting high-calibre performers for local audiences to enjoy.
I can’t speak for the whole band, I’m just one of 40-some volunteers who were on stage Sunday. But I can say we loved playing there. And I can offer my own gratitude to the Clayton Bellamy Foundation and all of the builders and supporters who gave Bonnyville such a beautiful place to play—and especially to hear—good music.
I hope to play there again!