By Diane Gilhula
ItÂ?s time again to hear some of the best blues this summer, and help the needy in Greater Sudbury.
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The 12th annual Blues For Food will be held downtown 8 am to 6 pm in Memorial Park on Saturday, June 15.
The headliner this year will be Juno Award-winning artist Rita Chiarelli, known as CanadaÂ?s finest female blues vocalist. Her performance was made possible by a $1,000 donation from Inco.
Other performances include Sunny Fournier, The Broadcasters, Whiskey River Blues Band, The Affordables, and Freedom Jam. There also will be a special appearance by SudburyÂ?s own Â?Blues BrothersÂ?- Jake and Elwood. These music starts at 11 am and continues until 6 pm.
Blues for Food is an all-day event the whole family can enjoy. The fun begins at 8 am with a pancake breakfast sponsored by Investors Group. There also will be a barbecue, beer tent, childrenÂ?s area, wagon and pony rides, and performances by Patches The Clown, a favourite childrenÂ?s entertainer.
Although there is no charge to attend the event people are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or a cash donation.
Over the last 11 years, Blues for Food collected 60 tons of food and raised over $60,000 for the community.
Â?ItÂ?s an incredible amount of food collected at Blues For FoodÂ? according to Maureen Luoma of the Sudbury Metro Centre, one of the organizing partners of the event.
Luoma said the event has been well received by the community with over 65,000 people attending over the years.
Â?There is an unbelievable number of people in Greater Sudbury who need to be fed,Â? added Clement Lafreniere, treasurer of the Sudbury Food Bank.
Lafreniere said the event allows the food bank to help needy families in our community through the food it distributes to over 30 food banks in the city.
Â?Sixty more tons of food that otherwise would be unavailable, was distributed to people in Greater Sudbury because of this one event.Â?
The Rotary Club of Sudbury is involved this year, as it has been the last eleven years, in organizing and staffing the event, said Lise Dutrisac who is the new president of Rotary for 2002-03.
Other sponsors of the event are the Sudbury Metro Centre, the City of Greater, Sudbury, INCO, Coca-Cola, Labatt Breweries, Rent nÂ? Party, Journal Printing, and Visual Works.
