HUMBOLDT — Acrobatics, duos and solo singers will all represent Humboldt at the 2020 TeleMiracle.
These performers include Megan Brooks, Hana Grace, Lady Friday, and A-List Dance & Acrobatics who will be joining the list of 75 performers.
In addition to performing, each individual and group is committed to fundraising for the charity.
The TeleMiracle Foundation provides specialized mobility and medical equipment to people and organizations throughout the province, as well as travel assistance for residents in need of medical treatment outside their community.
The 20-hour telethon will be broadcast live on CTV throughout Saskatchewan and livestreamed on telemiracle.com starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27, and concluding at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28.
The show’s countdown, “Countdown to TeleMiracle”, will be livestreamed at www.telemiracle.com and on TeleMiracle’s YouTube channel from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. on February 27.
“The performers chosen represent the depth and breadth of talent that this province has to offer,” said Brian Angstadt, the TeleMiracle 45’s chair in a statement.
This year’s fundraiser will have Nutrien, to match all donations raised by performers up to a maximum of $100,000.
Megan Brooks
Megan Brooks, a Grade 12 student Humboldt Collegiate Institute, will be singing and playing on the ukulele Would You Be So Kind by Dodie Clark in this year’s countdown show.
“I like the song Would You Be So Kind because it’s uplifting and stays upbeat as opposed to a super sad slower song. It’s just super fun to get into, and I like the artist,” Brooks said.
Those who listen to 107.5 CHBO-FM radio, may be familiar with her song Peace of Mind.
This is Brooks’ second year performing in the show, after singing Beautiful Things in the 2019 TeleMiracle.
“I love supporting TeleMiracle because it goes for a really great cause and everyone involved is just so kind and so nice, and raising money to go to something bigger than ourselves is just really, really cool to be a part of.”
Brooks said before she sang the first time at TeleMiracle, her family talked about it being a good exposure opportunity for her for a great cause.
“Last year I thought, ‘What the heck, I’ll audition.’ Then I got on, and it was such a good experience, so this year I wanted to do it again.”
Brooks said she was nervous at first, but once she started singing her hesitation “washed away”.
“I could just perform and be myself.”
Hana Grace
Hana Grace will be singing Riptide by Vance Joy.
“I’ve known every word to that song since I was a little kid and it’s one of my favourite songs to sing with my friends in choir,” Grace said.
Now in Grade 11, Grace started choir in Grade 9. This led her to joining the provincial honour choir in 2019 and 2020.
Grace said she wanted to audition for TeleMiracle in 2019, but time commitments with the honour choir prevented her.
“They help so many people, and I remember fundraising as a little kid, the cheesy little dances we used to have at the school,” she said. “It’s a good organization, and it helps people in the province that I’ve lived in since I was three.”
Grace found applying for it this year to be easier, with the virtual auditioning format being designed so participants can submit a video from home.
“I practiced and just sent my video in and hoped for the best.”
She said she is planning on figuring out a good strategy for COVID-19 safe fundraising over winter break.
Lady Friday
The band Lady Friday is a local band made up of Jodie Hergott and Katie Nichol.
“Katie and I have known each other for a few years, but I guess we started getting together and jamming for the past two years,” Hergott said. “We both seem to have similar tastes in music.”
Both of the duo sings, while Nichol plays piano and Hergott adds the guitar. They cover what Hergott refers to as “coffee house” music, easy listening tunes from genres including country, rock, pop and spiritual.
“We like to play a little bit with the arrangement and make the songs our own,” she said. “Some we venture far away from the original as people know them and sometimes they’re just perfect the way they are so we just enjoy them in their natural state.”
The pair will be playing a Fleetwood Mac cover for the TeleMiracle performance.
Hergott said while they’ve done some small venues around town, this will only be the band’s fourth performance.
“When the pandemic hit it kind of stalled everything we were planning, but we’re very excited to be part of TeleMiracle this year,” she said.
“We both really value what TeleMiracle brings to the province, they are irreplaceable when it comes to supporting families in need and we of course love to play music and thought we could help.”
For fundraising, Hergott said anyone who wishes to donate can get in touch with them through Facebook.
“We do have a few ideas for fundraisers in the new year, but of course it all depends on the protocols with the pandemic.”
A-List Dance & Acrobatics
A-List Dance & Acrobatics’ advanced acrobatics group will have a performance, making it the second year a team from the studio will perform at the event.
The team includes Mackenzie Bentley, Hailey Brown, Denae Dieno, Shae Duffley, Isabelle Ebert, Ava Emms, Alexis Gebauer, Elyse Hayward, Kelsey Hinz, Avery Julé, Bronwyn Lueke, Madelyn Lueke, Cassidy Lummerding, Jordan Zazula and Teagan Zazula.
Alyssa Hinz, A-List’s owner and instructor, said that due to the pandemic, this year’s routine won’t be like other years, as the dancers have to perform as a group without getting too close to one another.
“Our acrobats usually have a partner and group work, so it’s going to look quite different without being able to do anything like that,” Hinz said. “It will be more individual skills instead of anything with a partner.”
To fundraise, Hinz said they’re likely going to continue last year’s tradition of selling Sobeys gift cards, where Sobeys gives them a percentage of the funds back.
