Alt-country hitmakers the Strumbellas will be on the bill at a free concert in Kitchener next month as part of a week-long series of free events put on by Grand River Hospital.
The events, which are part of GRH’s Care Never Stops Campaign, are to recognize the community for donations to the fundraising effort and to thank hospital staff for their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You know, COVID sucked and we need to have some fun. And so that’s one of our primary drivers,” said Paul McIntyre Royston, who chairs the Grand River Hospital Foundation.
Grand River’s DJ Shub, and the Ian Richards Project from Toronto are among the other acts that will appear at May 27 concert, which will be held in the Sunlife parking lot next to the hospital. The event will also feature a drone show.
“Two hundred drones are going to launch from there,” McIntyre Royston said. “Each care area is going to be represented in the sky, and I’ve seen the mock-ups and it’s going to be pretty fun.”
McIntyre Royston says the celebration is also another sign of a return to normalcy after COVID-19.
“You know how before COVID things used to happen more? I guess it’s this idea of a rally,” McIntyre Royston said.
“It is about engaging people to think about giving to the hospital. But ultimately it’s about celebrating that we do live in an incredible community and we have these tailgate spots.”
The rally will be the culmination of a week of events the hospital has planned between May 22 and May 28.
“We’re doing two murals. We’re doing one for health-care workers at the KW Campus on King Street and one at the Freeport campus and just going to be inviting the public out to see them,” he said.
“It’s just basically an appreciation for both caregivers and the COVID experience.”
There will also be an event celebrating those who work the graveyard shift at the hospital. McIntyre Royston also dropped hints about the hospital receiving its biggest donation ever.
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“I can’t tell you more about that but it will happen during that week,” he promised.
The week is also the culmination of the Care Never Stops campaign, which has raised $232 million of a $258-million goal since it launched in April 2020.
The money has gone towards a number of initiatives at the hospital.
“It’s funded tons and tons of COVID expenses but some of the other big ones are our new MRI,” McIntyre Royston said.
“We are fundraising for a new PAT CT… sort of a $10-million subgoal of that overall project.” McIntyre Royston added the new scanner will be the only one of its kind in the regional health network.
Correction: This story initial reported that the parking lot next to the hospital is adjacent to the Manulife building when in fact it is next to the Sunlife building. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
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