Music BC Charitable Foundation Gala and Auction Offers up Big-ticket Items for a Musical Cause

Music BC Charitable Foundation auction includes a trip to Cabo for Sammy Hagar’s b-day party, tickets to see Tegan and Sara in concert, a hockey stick signed by the Canucks and much, much more

 

If you’ve ever wanted to party with Sammy Hagar, the Music BC Charitable Foundation Gala and Auction is for you.

 

An all-expenses paid trip to Cabo San Lucas, including tickets to the former Van Halen singer’s birthday party, will be auctioned off at the Foundation’s second annual fundraising gala May 29th at the Westin Bayshore.

 

And that’s not the only prize that will have music fans drooling.

 

 

Artists Tegan and Sara helped to initally fund the Music BC Charitable Foundation. (Image: Flickr / Yeshe)

 

Music BC Charitable Foundation

The Music BC Charitable Foundation, founded in 2006, currently oversees three charities. The Shore 104 FM Adopt-an-Instrument program distributes new and refurbished instruments to school and community music programs, while S.O.N.G. sends music industry mentors into public school and community youth music classes to teach songwriting.

 

The third charity, the Burt Harris Memorial Scholarship, awards funds to youth under 25 for private tuition and post-secondary musical studies.

 

The foundation was founded through initial donations from artists Tegan and Sara. Not coincidentally, the sister duo will also be among the musical stars being auctioned off at the gala.

 

However, the winning bid won’t be swilling tequila with the Quin sisters in Mexico; instead they’ll be treated to a meet-and-greet and tickets to a concert.

 

Similar packages are being offered with country music stars Aaron Pritchett and Terri Clarke; winners of the Pritchett prize will join the singer for dinner at The Keg, while those who win the Clarke auction will have the opportunity to meet and see the artist in concert.

 

The Granville Street nightclub Joe’s Apartment is offering a package that includes keys to its VIP room and table service. The Donnelly Group has contributed a pub crawl package and concert promoter Live Nation is offering three VIP packages.

 

Each includes five tickets, priority entrance, VIP seating and $150 in food and beverage for The Go-Gos, Sloan or Dropkick Murphys concerts. Gala attendees can also bid for 104 minutes of air-time on Shore FM and exclusive invitations to two Peak Performance listening lounge shows.

 

For those with a slant towards sports, a hockey stick autographed by the 2011 Vancouver Canucks will also be up for auction.

 

Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 will host the gala, which will feature performances by some of the talented young musicians that have been helped by Foundation programs over the years. The young performers include two recipients of the Burt Harris Memorial Scholarship (Adrian Bronson and Michael Fabro); one student from the Adopt an Instrument program and one student from the SONG program (Kellan Roman-Barnes). Local artist Kyprios will also be on hand to perform.

 

 

Support for school music programs

The gala is the biggest event of the year for the foundation.

 

“There is a huge shortage of funding for public and school music programs,” says administration assistant Rebecca Apostoli. “The three charities we administer provide resources and funds to music programs.”

 

According to a recent poll, seven out of ten Canadians reported learning an instrument as a child had profound beneficial effects on their later adult lives, including increased confidence, self-sufficiency and success in their academic studies.

 

“We’d like to reach people in different parts of the community, outside of the music industry. There are a lot of philanthropists outside the music industry.” Now, it’s just a matter of reaching the ones who still blast “I Can’t Drive 55” while cruising around town.