The Windsor Tavern hosted a benefit concert to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). The CHEO Foundation Jamboree featured several local musicians, and Vankleek Hill’s classic rock band 50 PROOF headlined the event.
The event was hosted by Gord Nixon, who kicked off the jamboree with an intimate acoustic show. After him, entertainer Gary Carpenter performed standards by classic artists like Elvis and Dean Martin, and then Jeff Holtby from the Windsor’s Strings ‘n Wings Facebook page played an acoustic performance. Finally, the Lemieux Brothers played pop, rock, and country classics, and then 50 PROOF hit the stage and played for the rest of the night before closing out the show.
The jamboree is the latest in a long line of fundraising events. The Windsor holds an annual jamboree each July to raise money for the Vankleek Hill Food Bank, although the event was cancelled the past two years because of COVID-19. They’ve been doing other smaller events throughout the summer, and they decided to put on this smaller jamboree both to help the hospital and give local families a chance to enjoy the festivities once again.
“We really wanted to have a family jamboree again,” said Windsor Tavern co-owner Mike St-Denis. “This is going to be an opportunity for people to get outside on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and evening and just have a beautiful day, while supporting a worthwhile cause.”
The CHEO Foundation Jamboree was a roaring success. “Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday afternoon and evening to The Windsor Tavern’s CHEO Jamboree,” they posted on their Facebook page. “Thanks to your support we raised more than $1,200 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario!”
