Oh Suzanna to play fundraiser in Sharbot Lake

Sep 20, 2012

Photo: Non-Profit Housing manager Jane Drew with some of the items for auction at the fundraiser.

Central Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing and the Azheimer's Society are putting on a unique event next month.

Where else can you listen to a great Canadian singer-songwriter while placing a bid on a discount load of gravel as you sip Prince Edward County wine?

On October 12 at St. James Catholic Church in Sharbot Lake, the doors will open at 6:30 in the church hall, where wine and cheese will be served and auction items will be on display.

Items include: Golf for four with cart at Rivendell; an intimate dinner for four prepared by bon vivant and chef extra-ordinaire Wayne Robinson; studio time at Waters Edge Pottery on Long Lake; a ½ ton truckload of wood; a load of gravel (the wood and gravel will not be on display but they will be delivered to the home of the highest bidder); original artwork by Kim Ondaatje, Martina Field and others; a Ziebart gift certificate; a WETT certification – TSSA inspection, chimney cleaning package; 9 holes of golf for two with cart at Hunter’s Creek; a Maple Leafs Jersey signed by the 2011 team members; and a number of other items.

Some of the items will be auctioned off at a live auction starting at 7:00 while others will remain open for bids in a silent auction.

Toronto-based Oh Suzanna is much in demand these days. She toured Holland in early September and will be touring Ontario in November, followed by a tour of the United Kingdom in early December, so it is a coup to have been able to book her for Sharbot Lake.

For 15 years Oh Suzanna’s fans have been rewarded with a new collection of songs just about every second year. While each recording marks a certain kind of departure, her voice and some of the themes she explores have remained constant throughout.

The first verse of the title tune to her latest release, “Oh the Birds”, goes “Soon the birds will be flying away, Over hills of snow and grey, they’ve come to carry you away, But they’ll be back for me one day”. It is a fitting example of the fact that joy and loss are never too far from the surface in her music.

That is not to say there is anything depressing about Oh Suzanna’s performances; it’s just that as a songwriter and a performer the truth about life’s fleeting nature is not swept under the carpet.

Her voice and instrumentation will be well served by the acoustics at St. James Catholic Church, which will make this show join with some of the great performances of the past in the church over the years, such as ones by the Barra McNeils and Tafelmusik

Tickets for the concert and auction cost $20, and are available at Gray’s Grocery, Sharbot Lake Pharmacy, Village Hair in Verona or through the Central Frontenac Not-for-Profit Housing Office at 613-279-3322.