PICKERING-- Rock and roll with Canadian band April Wine July 1 as Pickering celebrates the nation's birthday. The City celebrates Canada Day from noon to 11 p.m. at Kinsmen Park. A free shuttle will run from the Pickering GO station and OPG parking lot on Brock Road south throughout the event. Daytime activities include free family events and fun, plus live entertainment and refreshment area from noon to 5 p.m. The main stage entertainment kicks off with April Wine at 7 p.m. On April 18 of this year, April Wine was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards. In March 2009 the rock group was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week in Toronto, and also received The Lifetime Achievement Award for being part of Canadian music history for 40 years. Currently the band continues its hectic pace, touring both the United States and Canada to acclaimed reviews. They continue to satisfy fans with a live mix of straight ahead rock n' roll and power ballads, an April Wine mainstay. In 2010, April Wine enters into its 40th year as a band. Fifteen studio albums, three live releases, numerous compilations, a boxed set, numerous gold and platinum albums and thousands of concerts later, April Wine has become enormously popular in Canada, the United States and throughout the world. April Wine's performance will be followed by Rick Johnson's County Jamboree and Drew Chester, and the day ends with a giant pyro-musical fireworks show by David Whysall International. Visit City of Pickering Great Events on Facebook and Twitter, and tell the City why you should be the 2010 VIC (Very Important Canadian) for a chance to win stage-side seating for four, reserved parking and a backstage pass to meet April Wine
PICKERING -- A longtime volunteer was recognized at the latest council meeting for nearly two decades of dedication to preserving Pickering's history. The mayor and council presented Laura Drake with an Ontario Heritage Trust Community Recognition Certificate and achievement pin for her long-standing commitment to the Pickering Museum Village advisory committee. The provincial program recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the promotion, preservation and protection of Ontario's heritage. Ms. Drake has been a volunteer member of the committee since 1992. Her work has included restoring four buildings at the Pickering Museum Village, spearheading the Pickering Museum Village Foundation, and she also volunteers for many of the museum's events as a costumed interpreter. Upon Ms. Drake's acceptance of the award, she said she feels privileged to be part of such a great community. A new item on the committee's agenda is to find new members for the Museum Village's foundation, she said.
PICKERING -- Local generosity poured in at a fundraiser Wednesday night to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake. Al Dente Restaurant in Pickering donated its space for the event and provided food and drink to relief supporters throughout the evening. Mayor Dave Ryan, council and community members donated items to a silent auction and residents emptied their wallets to help the Canadian Red Cross provide food, water and other necessities to Haitian residents, and to help start rebuilding the devastated country. “It's good for the collection of money and it's great for awareness too,” said Michael Head, Pickering resident and partner in Walker Head Lawyers, an injury law firm based in Pickering, as he purchased a large block of raffle tickets. His wife Debbie Andersen said the event provided an outlet for people to get together and not only donate, but discuss the tragedy in Haiti, much more meaningful than the solitude of clicking a button online to donate. “It's really nice to have something where people can come together,” she said. The evening saw more than $6,000 from ticket sales and donations, which the federal government will match. That's not including silent auction money and donations promised from corporations. Politicians and community members worked quickly with Al Dente when restaurant owners called to see how they could help Haiti. The Pickering Community for Haitian Relief Effort was then born. The committee's ultimate goal is to raise $100,000, but more so to encourage other community organizations to do their own fundraising for Haiti. “A lot of people get frustrated because they don't know how to (donate),” said mayoral candidate Maurice Brenner, relief effort co-chairman. Ward 1 City Councillor Jennifer O'Connell, also co-chairwoman, said councillors and politicians have a unique opportunity to help raise awareness on the issue through their wide range of contacts. “It's also a challenge to other politicians to help mobilize communities to hold similar functions and raise some money,” she said. The Pickering Carib-Canadian Cultural Association is a community partner in the effort and vice president Fred Gibson noted the quake hasn't only hurt people in Haiti, but many in Pickering's diverse community. “You've got to get up and do something,” he said, adding the PCCCA will do what it can to help. President Susan Maturine, whose friends have lost people in the quake, mentioned the PCCCA sponsors a teenage girl in Haiti and has her fingers crossed she wasn't one of the victims. Mr. Head feels people, including the federal government and admittedly himself, should do more for the relief effort than they are. “I appreciate everybody doesn't make the same amount but there has to be a line to draw to give until they notice,” he said.
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