Some much welcome relief in Slave Lake
Posted Jul 3, 2011 9:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
For a town of 7,000, a third of it wiped out by a massive wildfire back in May and hit with flooding problems last month, the Canada Day long weekend is proving to be a welcome relief.
Country star Dwight Yoakam, Canadian music star Ashley MacIsaac and The Stampeders — a blast from the Canadian classic rock past — are in the Northern Alberta community this weekend for a three-day, benefit concert.
Many of the musicians are playing for free, and according to the Calgary Herald, nearly everyone in the small Northern Alberta town pitched in to make the event happen. Cooperators Insurance contributed financially with a $62,000 donation.
Despite the town’s small population of 7,000, the first two days of the weekend event brought in crowds of three to five thousand each day.
For Fred Karpa and Michelle Millett, the shows have been a welcome diversion. For the last four weeks, they have been living in a cramped hotel room along with their children, ages 1 and 4.
Karpa tells the Calgary Herald the family has been going stir crazy in their living quarters.
The Slave Lake shows are likely to be the first of at least two annual benefit shows.
Organizer Jodi Broadhead points out the town will still need money next year in its rebuilding program. Plans are already in the works for a 2012 show.
