Canadian country star Duane Steele will be coming to Athabasca to raise awareness for Down Syndrome.
Athabasca’s Blue Gene Foundation will be holding the concert on Friday to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Week.
“He is coming out to support our celebration and we’re just so excited. He’s won a lot of CCMA (Canadian Country Music Association) awards. He’s won the Humanitarian Award and he’s an Alberta boy. He’s been so generous and so kind-hearted to come out,” said Darlene Bertin, Blue Gene Foundation founder.
Steele will also be walking in a pair of school Buddy Walks on Friday Whispering Hills Primary and Landing Trail Intermediate at 10:15 a.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. Since it’s not likely that the children will know who he is, he has also agreed to play a few songs at each school.
“We’re inviting parents and community members to come to those schools so they can see and hear who Duane Steel is and that night, we’re going to have an awesome, fun celebration night,” Bertin added.
The evening celebration will start at 6:30 p.m. with a cowboy supper catered by Yvonne Doroshenko. There’ll be different types of chili, salad and desserts. Afterwards, there will be a silent auction and a short program.
The final part of the evening will be Steele’s performance.
“We just encourage everybody to come out. Find out more who we’re about. Come and listen to a great artist and celebrate the lives of people with Down Syndrome,” she said.
“They bring so much to our lives as families and to their schools and to the community. We just want to bring more awareness to that. It’s going ot be such an amazing, fun night.”
Tickets for the dinner and concert are $40 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $100 for a family of two adults and two kids.
