September 14, 2012

Publication title: The Globe and Mail, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Jennifer Van Evra

This weekend: Canadian artists perform at Stanley Park, the 32nd annual Terry Fox Run and more

Hot Ticket: Voices in the Park

Catch one of Stanley Park’s biggest-ever concerts as music megastars including Sarah McLachlan, Bryan Adams, Stevie Nicks and Jann Arden take to the seaside stage to help raise funds for music education at Voices in the Park.

The concert is aiming to raise hundreds of thousands for the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, which provides free after-school music education to children facing tough social and economic circumstances.

“It’s the thing that saved me when I was growing up,” Ms. McLachlan says. “It was the one thing I knew I was good at, it gave me a sense of self worth and direction, and it really made me who I am today. And it’s my hope that every child has that same opportunity.”

Also on the bill for the Brockton Fields show are favourite locals including Hedley, Hey Ocean!, the Boom Booms and the Vancouver Men’s Chorus, as well as Bass is Base’s Chin Injeti and the Luke Doucet-Melissa McClelland duo Whitehorse.

But perhaps the most surprising guest is former U.S. president and saxophonist Bill Clinton, who offered to help out after Ms. McLachlan told him about the concert and the cause at a charity dinner – and shares the famed Canadian musician’s belief in the importance of music and art education.

“If the world continues to be all about greed and me-me-me, then we’re hooped,” Ms. McLachlan says. “But if we can raise our children to be aware of what we can do to make the world a better place – and I really believe music has a hand in that – then I think there is hope for us all.”

Voices in the Park happens in Stanley Park Saturday (voicesinthepark.com).