Forever Sudbury Saturday Night: Stompin' Tom's statue up (video)

When Canadian musician Stompin' Tom Connors passed away in March 2013, he left behind a letter to his fans.

The letter reads as follows: “I want all my fans, past, present, or future, to know that without you, there would have not been any Stompin' Tom.

“It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world.

“I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future.

“I humbly thank you all, one last time, for allowing me in your homes, I hope I continue to bring a little bit of cheer into your lives from the work I have done.”

It was these words that acted as inspiration to local sculptor Tyler Fauvelle in creating the life-sized, 600-pound statue of Stompin' Tom unveiled outside of the Sudbury Arena Nov. 5.

“That's why we're honouring Stompin' Tom Connors, to say thanks for the music, and thanks for being Canada's friend,” Fauvelle said.

Stompin' Tom wrote what's arguably his most famous song — Sudbury Saturday Night — in 1965 after a three-week gig at the Townehouse Tavern, located just down the road from where his statue is now erected.

“He put a face on the history of Sudbury — a history we should really be proud of — that hardworking, hard-partying piece that made Sudbury a great place to live,” said Downtown Sudbury chair Jeff MacIntyre.

“We've grown past that, but it's still part of what built us.”

That's why a group of Sudburians worked to raise $50,000 to cover the statue's cost. MacIntyre said the statue adds to the public art that's been popping up around the downtown lately.

Fauvelle said the committee hasn't quite reached its fundraising goal, but he wanted the statue up anyway. “It was important for me to get the project done, regardless of the level of fundraising,” he said.

He said he wanted the statue to be “instantly recognizable” as Stompin' Tom to anybody passing it.

“I chose to create a young Tom Connors as he was in the 1970s, travelling the land, singing his way into the heart of Canada,” Fauvelle said.

Because Canadian communities and culture were the inspiration for so many of Connors' songs, the stomping board on the statue features a relief of Canada's landscape.

The statue's fingers are even positioned on the guitar as they would be if Connors were playing Sudbury Saturday Night. “I was a musician for a long time, so it was important I got the guitar right,” Fauvelle said.