Connect with us

Entertainment

Bobcaygeon honours late Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie with candlelight vigil

Published

on

Photo: Gord Downie/Facebook

Downie, the Hip’s lead singer, died Tuesday at age 53. (Photo: Gord Downie/Facebook)

BOBCAYGEON, Ont. — When Dave Bailey first heard last year that Gord Downie had terminal brain cancer, he knew he needed to head to Bobcaygeon, Ont., after the Tragically Hip frontman died.

The Pickering, Ont., native wasn’t sure if anyone would be gathered, but he figured he would head straight to the source of one of band’s hit singles.

“I thought, ‘What can I do?”’ Bailey said. “I could donate to cancer society, and I have, but I got to do something to memorialize him so I figured drive to Bobcaygeon and watch the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time.”

Downie, the Hip’s lead singer, died Tuesday at age 53.

The song “Bobcaygeon” is from the Hip’s 1998 album “Phantom Power” and earned a Juno Award for best single in 2000.

Bailey was one of around 50 people who gathered near the water Wednesday night in the town in eastern Ontario’s cottage country to commemorate Downie.

Candles were placed on the ground and illuminated local musician Richard Kyle, who strummed along to famous Hip songs “Wheat Kings,” “Ahead by a Century,” and of course, “Bobcaygeon,” on his black acoustic guitar.

Kyle planned on playing a few Hip songs in dedication to Downie regardless of whether anyone would show up.

“I’ve been a fan of the band since ’89, when I really started getting into them,” Kyle said. “I’ve met everybody in the band a bunch of times. They’re a big influence musically and how you should treat people and how you should relate to other people and get along.”

Residents of Bobcaygeon remembered Downie for putting them on the map by writing the hit song about their town.

“He’s mythologised our town in a way that is incomparable,” local business owner Sacha Douglas said. “We feel a great connection to him, always have.

“There’s not a whole lot of towns in Canada of this size that you can ask anybody in Canada, ‘Have you heard of Bobcaygeon?’ And everyone will have heard of it. It’s quite remarkable, actually.”

The community, which has a population of just over 3,500, hosted a viewing party in August 2016 for the Hip’s final stop of the “Man Machine Poem” tour. Bobcaygeon shut down its main street and residents set up lawn chairs and sat on rooftops to watch the Kingston, Ont., show on three jumbo screens set up throughout the community’s main stretch.

Over 6,000 people brought out their cameras or cell phones to sing along with Downie as the band started to play “Bobcaygeon.”

Kawartha Lakes city councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan says she was shocked at the amount of people that showed up for the viewing.

“I think it brought the town together,” Seymour-Fagan said. “It’s always been quite a strong community but when that song is being played, you can feel a sense of pride and hear a sense of pride. People come in from other areas and want to come to Bobcaygeon because it has been encapsulated by The Tragically Hip as the Canadian cottage town.”

Added Taylor Poole: “It showed a town that really rallied behind their support of this band and this man who is a great Canadian. We were fortunate to have the tie of this man to our town. It feels special that way.”

The community used the opportunity to raise funds for brain cancer research, at the viewing with collection boxes and later through merchandise.

Douglas and her husband designed a shirt which they sold at their business that said “Courage” in red lettering and underneath “Thanks man, Bobcaygeon.” That design sold out on multiple occasions.

Another T-shirt design by the Poole family had “Bobcaygeon, Hip Town.”

The sales of shirts, hats and hoodies in 2016 raised $23,000, which was donated to Sunnybrook Hospital.

“He’s really impacted us and I think he’s a national hero,” Douglas said. “I think the example he’s set for the good that you can do is something that we should all strive to do and you can make a difference.”

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

Man in White Dress Shirt Standing Beside Woman in Pink Long Sleeve Shirt Man in White Dress Shirt Standing Beside Woman in Pink Long Sleeve Shirt
Instagram24 hours ago

What kind of diner are you? 6 types of diners who avoid plant-based meat dishes

Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat...

Art and Culture1 day ago

Coast Salish Canoe Culture comes to the Vancouver Maritime Museum

The Vancouver Maritime Museum is delighted to announce their latest exhibition from local səlil ̕wətaʔɬ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh artist, Zoe George....

Education1 day ago

TD and ApplyBoard Collaborate to Support Filipino Students Pursuing Studies in Canada

New relationship to help students planning on studying in Canada prepare their finances and expedite their study permits TD and...

Community News1 day ago

Filipino Community Leaders Celebrate the Federal Funding Commitment for a Filipino Community Cultural Centre in BC

Vancouver, BC — Filipino community leaders and New Democrat Finance Critic MP Don Davies celebrated together the historic inclusion of...

Community News1 day ago

Emaciated dachshund found trapped in carrier down embankment getting the care he desperately needs

The starved dachshund was found by a Good Samaritan who was driving his truck to get to mountain bike trails...

Entertainment1 day ago

“Summer For Reel” brings JoshLia’s “Love You to the Stars and Back” in Boracay

With acoustic performances from Maki, Angela Ken, and Bugoy Drillon Beat the heat with this summer’s must-see outdoor screening event,...

Entertainment1 day ago

Star Cinema and The IdeaFirst Company announce Vice Ganda’s movie comeback in “And The Breadwinner Is”

Asia’s Unkabogable Phenomenal Superstar Vice Ganda is set to return to the big screen once again after a two-year hiatus,...

Entertainment1 day ago

Joshua and Julia reunite for new movie “Un/happy for you”

Directed by Petersen Vargas, slated for release this 2024 It is the reunion that is not on anybody’s bingo cards...

Canada News1 day ago

U.S. gov’t paying to upgrade section of Alaska Highway in the Yukon

By Gabrielle Plonka, CBC News $42.6M has been pledged for the project The Alaskan government has pledged $42.6 million for...

A medical worker examines an X-ray of a patient’s lungs. A medical worker examines an X-ray of a patient’s lungs.
Canada News1 day ago

Inuit leaders disappointed with budget’s lack of money for tuberculosis elimination

By Brett Forester · CBC News Budget pledges $1.1B for First Nations and Inuit health but offers nothing on TB elimination specifically...

WordPress Ads