Chemainus is fortunate to have a talent the likes of Ken Lavigne in its midst and he always makes a regular concert at the Chemainus United Church among his priorities.
“Chemainus is my adopted hometown,” he said while on the road in Ontario this week. “I’ve been living there a number of years.”
Giving back is very important to Lavigne and he’ll be doing another concert at the Chemainus United Church, 9814 Willow St., on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
“This is a fundraiser for them,” Lavigne explained. “We’ve been really fortunate there’s a good team on the ground. The church does a really good job of promoting the show and making it the success it is.”
He’s obviously become well-known far afield, but people in the Chemainus area are proud to call him their own and have looked forward to this event the last several years.
“I get to have a good hometown crowd,” enthused Lavigne.
It should be noted this is not a Christmas concert. Lavigne’s Christmas performance is at the Royal Theatre in Victoria on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
But he’ll be playing every other type of music starting with C at this event.
“We’re going to be doing a mixed bag of tunes - Celtic, Canadian and Classical,” Lavigne pointed out.
He’s a classically-trained musician, but offers so much more than his specialty and will have bass guitar, violin and piano accompaniments.
Tickets for the show are $30 for adults if purchased in advance or $35 at the door. Students are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
Tickets are available at the 49th Parallel Grocery Stores in Chemainus, Ladysmith and Duncan.
Patrons are also asked to bring a non-perishable item for the food bank located in the church basement.
A list of priority items that people can bring includes: coffee, tea, ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, jams, pancake mix, syrup, broths, jello, dog and cat food, razors, deodorant, toothbrushes, tins of salmon, chicken, ham and turkey. Special diet items such as gluten free pasta, natural peanut butter, fruit in water and no salt or additives-soups are also always in high demand.
Lavigne is currently wrapping up a series of four concerts in the Toronto area with a group of five musicians, playing the Great Canadian Songbook, “which is a collection of classic Canadian songs all in celebration of Canada’s 150th,” he pointed out.
“It’s a show we’re having a lot of fun doing.”