Thanks All!

It was another awesome night at Sonny's with Blackboard Nails and The Chixie Dicks and Maria Hawkins did a wonderful job at The Atomic Rooster.

The Chixie Dicks experience presented a few pleasant surprises as we introduced a few numbers that we hadn't fully worked on but they turned out quite well. The whole set felt good.

Blackboard Nails were their usual awesome selves and had the folks on their feet.

Ted and I took a half hour to visit with Maria at the Rooster and express our thanks for all she had done and continues to do.

Another few hundred dollars was raised (rough estimate) at Sonny's to add to the thousands that is earmarked for food to fill the hampers next week. According to Ted, we're still a couple of grand short but will have to make do if we don't get there. More numbers, though, still trickle in.

Here's hopin' and here's thankin' everyone for their support.

Event pictures and updates soon!

w

REMINDER: Tonight's The Final Night

The Chixie Dicks and Blackboard Nails are gearing up for another fun night of fundraising at Sonny's Bar and Grill. Great Music and entertainment will be accompanied by 50-50, turkey and Sens Ticket raffles with the proceeds to In The Spirit Of Christmas.

The Dicks open at 8pm.

When the Nails take the stage, Woody will blast down to The Atomic Rooster and take the stage for a few minutes with Maria Hawkins as she performs and raises money for us as well.

Then it's back to Sonny's to close out.

This has been an incredible campaign of effort on many folks' behalf, not the least of which - the staff and customers at Sonny's who pitched in to help with the bake sale, raffles and Santa's visit to a Christmas party for over 130 sheltered children.

Let's close this out in style tonight.

See y'all soon!

FINAL FUNDRAISER: SATURDAY - BLACKBOARD NAILS & CHIXIE DICKS/MARIA HAWKINS

It's amazing how quickly Christmas is approaching. We're less than two weeks away and it's been a hectic campaign to organize this series of events and coordinate the efforts of others who have generously assisted us, namely Maria Hawkins and BassLine Station.

We have one more weekend of events.

Saturday Night, Blackboard Nails return to Sonny's with the Chixie Dicks and Maria Hawkins performs at the Atomic Rooster, 303 Bank Street.

The Chixie Dicks open up at Sonny's at 8pm. After introducing Blackboard Nails, the Woodman will head over to the Rooster to share a bit of stage time with Maria and then return to host with the Nails.

There'll donations encouraged at both events as well as raffles for prizes.

At Sonny's, a special Sens Ticket raffle will occur - thanks to the generosity of Mark Rushton.
The tickets are for the February 9th game against the Montreal Canadiens.

There will also be Christmas Turkey raffles at both venues, thanks to Brian's Butchery (Cobden and Iris).

We still need two to three thousand dollars more to feel comfortable about furnishing enough substantial hampers for the shelters and families in need.

For all contributions, we remain grateful.

Maria Hawkins Is The BEST!! More proof....

I finally found the time to put together some images to go with Maria Hawkins' "I Want To Believe In Christmas" to make a video. The images speak to what the campaign is all about: People helping people.

If you can believe in community, you can believe in Christmas. Thank you, Maria.


DON'T MISS MARIA HAWKINS this Saturday Night at the Atomic Rooster, 303 Bank Street as she helps us raise funds again.

The Chixie Dicks will be opening for Blackboard Nails again at Sonny's the same night for the same cause but when the Dicks are done, Woody will definitely scoot over to the Rooster to spend some time with Maria.

A fun time and a great cause at both venues.

Santa, Maria, Jammin' with Jenna

Over 130 children from 3 area shelters were treated to a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus yesterday during Sonny's annual Christmas Party for under-privileged kids.

Each child received a present, made possible through generous donations, as well as lunch, refreshments and cake.

After Santa had seen every child, the crowd enjoyed the music of Jenna Taggart, 15, as she sang with the assistance of Dog And Pony Sound, who also donated their services again this year.

It was an extra-special moment when Ottawa's Blues Lady, Maria Hawkins, stopped by and shared her time and talents with Jenna and the rest of the kids.

Maria will also be fundraising this weekend for In The Spirit Of Christmas at the Atomic Rooster on Bank Street. More details coming.
With some of the funds raised so far and, with the kindness of strangers, we were able to treat Trinity Duffy, 7, to an evening at the NAC to see The Nutcracker. The story of Trinity and her family is here.

After a hectic but fun afternoon the clean up began to prepare for the evening's Jam Session with some of the Chixie Dicks and members of Circuit and Blackboard Nails.
Jadon Bailey, generously donated his drum kit for the event and Kevin Wright arrived with keyboard in tow.

In all, it was a great day and more money was raised. But there's still a ways to go, friends.

We have a lot of fun with this kind of fundraising but we haven't lost sight of the reason we do this.

The need is real and it seems to growing at an alarming rate. We'll do our best to meet the numbers and, really, it's all we can do.

Details on our final gasp coming soon!

THIS WEEKEND: WISE GUYS AND WOODY'S CHRISTMAS JAM

Friday night at 9pm, the fundraising fun continues with The Wise Guys at Sonny's Bar And Grill.

This is an excellent classic rock party band with an impressive song list that includes music from The Rolling Stones, Doobie Brothers, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and much more.

Then, Saturday Night, it's Woody's Invitational Christmas Jam with members from the Chixie Dicks and some of the other acts that have performed over the past few weeks to help In The Spirit Of Christmas.

It's going to be pretty loose and improv and definitely a good time.

No Cover - Donations ENCOURAGED for both events.

50/50 and Turkey raffles will also help in the fundraising effort.

Thanks To Maria Hawkins And Moonrunners

As I stated in my previous post it was a successful night from both Sonny's and Bass Line Station on Saturday.

Thanks to AJ and Lionel at Bass Line for not only providing the venue and supporting the effort, they also carved a healthy cheque for the cause, which was a complete and quite pleasant surprise (although, when one considers the community spirit and awareness generated from there, it shouldn't really come as a shock).


Such a gracious performer, as well, Maria Hawkins not only shared the stage with the Woodman for a most generous period of time, she was a marvel to watch as she worked the room effortlessly with wireless mic in hand, ad-libbing lyrically to the thought of the moment - always rhyming, always with timing. And the band kept the pace and mood at every turn. They were a treat to witness.

I recommend taking advantage of any and every opportunity to see this marvelous "Blues Lady" perform, especially when she's doing it for a cause (which is quite often). She's most worthy of the support.

The Moonrunners were everything I imagined they'd be from viewing earlier videos. Those videos, which had appeared it an earlier post on this blog, were from over a year ago.

As I suspected, they grew in their repertoire, skills and timing and their stage presence held poise well beyond their years. Fifteen year old kids can, more often than not, exhibit any range of impressions from nervousness to pretentiousness. But not these guys. They were confident, comfortable and legitimately had fun playing. It was very impressive, to say the least.

As for where that came from, it would be no small measure of rationale to suggest their music teacher is the one and only Robert Farrell, one of Ottawa's greatest guitarists and long time friend of the Doc and Woody show, who happened to drop by for the first set.

The crowd was quite strong and it was evident that these talented lads have already cultivated a fan base that has begun to transend the requisite friends and family support posse.

And, while the proud families and neighbors were in attendance, it was the reaction from the Sonny's regulars that was most effective. They could be forgiven for being mildly skeptical as they observed four pre-shavers assembling their gear and drinking coke.

But, with the authoritative strike of the opening chords, The Moonrunners had their attention and didn't release their grip through the entire performance.

I'll tell you, it made this little rookie event planner damned proud of his decision to bring these young men in.

Thanks, gents, for makin' US look good, too.

They'll most certainly be back in the new year.

Feeling Grateful

Dunno where to start. Will decipher the feelings and thoughts by next post.

Suffice it to say that we are in awe of both Maria Hawkins and the wonderful folks at Bass Line Station.

It was a successfull evening there. As it was at Sonny's with Moonrunners. If you missed them, you missed an entertainment bonus in your life. I'm no Nostradamus but I'll state today, these kids are ones to watch.

Pics and Vid material coming soon.

... And onward we move...

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TONIGHT: MOONRUNNERS AND MARIA

MOONRUNNERS tonight at Sonny's Bar and Grill, 1119 Baxter Road. 8pm show! These kids are good. They won't be playing all night so be on time for it. A map to Sonny's can be found down the right column of this blog.

We'll also have a turkey raffle and 50/50 draw.

MARIA HAWKINS at Bass Line Station after 9:30. The "Blues Lady" is gonna tear it up for the cause tonight. Bass Line Station is located at 2557 Baseline Road.
CLICK HERE FOR MAP

Once again, we thank them all for their help.

Maria, I just heard a great song, Maria.......

Awrite. Awrite. No more WSS refs from me, EVER.

But, Maria Hawkins was on the Doc and Woody Show today with an original Christmas song for this very spirit we share. It was cool because it was bluesy and passionate.

I have a vision of producing it as a YouTube video, incorporating some of the images I've captured during this campaign and previous ones to not only express tribute to those that have helped in the past and continue to make a difference BUT to underscore the need that we all desperately want to erradicate.

Watch this blog next week. The audio file is still at the shop. I'll commence work on it Monday. Should be up mid-week after post-production.

Thanks, Maria. Thanks, Doc. And THANK YOU for logging in and checking us out.

Every bit helps and, with needs like this around us you CAN help - not only at Christmas (but that's for another post)

The work continues.....

Btw - of you'd like to help or donate, info is in the right column and contact coords at the bottom.

Cheers,
W



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REMINDER: SATURDAY DOUBLE VENUE-DOUBLE FEATURE

Tomorrow night, we have two fine musical experiences from great acts who are donating their time and talents for "In The Spirit Of Christmas".

Starting at 8pm at Sonny's, a great young group of high school musicians with a s#*t load of talent - Moonrunners. Check out their vids posted here.

A special thanks to Bass Line Station and Maria Hawkins.

Maria will be performing at 9:30 at Bass Line Station tomorrow night, raising money as well.

We're grateful for her involvement.

50/50's and other raffles will be featured at both venues as well.

Maria will be a guest on the Doc and Woody show on CHEZ 106 this morning at 8:40 to help promote this great effort.

THANK YOU, CIRCUIT!

It was a great night, last Saturday, as Circuit Rocked the house at Sonny's.

It was a smaller crowd but a spirited one, raising over $300 for the night.

And thank you Circuit for donating your merch proceeds to "In The Spirit Of Christmas".

Looking forward to the jam on December the 8th. Various members of the acts that are performing during this campaign will be getting together.

Below is a video sample; a very cool and unique run of Zep's Whole Lotta Love. Keep in mind that, as with some other vids on this blog, it was shot with an ordinary digital camera - so audio and video quality is somewhat pedestrian. Still, it's worth a view.



UP NEXT: MOONRUNNERS at Sonny's and MARIA HAWKINS at BASS LINE STATION this Saturday. Details soon!

Reminder: Circuit Rocks Sonny's Tomorrow!!

We're lucky to have a great bunch of guys with a great sound, Circuit, donating their time to help the cause.

Again, as with other events, No Cover tomorrow night at Sonny's but donations are always encouraged and we'll stage another 50/50 raffle.

Check the video below. It's a great sample of Circuit's original material.

Maria Hawkins Gets "In The Spirit"....

We're very pleased that Maria Hawkins and Bass Line Station are offering their help to "In The Spirit Of Christmas".

Speaking with Maria last week, she's more than pleased to be sharing the evening with us, Saturday, December 1st at Bassline Station as we split the proceeds with her chosen project - the music program at St. Paul's high school through Maria's ACE (Arts in Community Everywhere) program.

She has been bringing musicians in to St. Paul's for over 3 years, to provide workshops for students who are musicians. Over 100 students participate in these valuable workshop presentations every year.

Her assistance to our cause should come as no surprise to anyone who know this Blues Lady. She has been greatly involved in the community for a good many years. The list of just some of her accolades for her efforts can be found here.

As well, it's not the first time Bass Line Station has helped out. Last year we received proceeds from a rollicking cajun night featuring Zydeco Loco and we also had help from their management and staff when it came to deliver the hampers on December 23rd. Friends like that are wonderful to have.

December 1st at Bass Line Station promises to be a great evening. Show time 9:30pm.

$5.00 Cover - Proceeds to two great charities.

Bass Line Station - 2557 Baseline Road at Greenbank - 613-721-7771

Of Dicks, Nails, Gifts and Bake Sales

It was another good night for "In The Spirit Of Christmas" last night at Sonny's. The evening got underway slowly as there seemed to be a little competition for people's time and money in Ottawa. Still, the evening ended powerfully.The Chixie Dicks opened up the evening with a shortened but rollicking set, with Blackboard Nails closing us out.

These guys are not only an uber-talented group and tight with their music, I can't say enough about their charitable spirit, volunteering their time and talents for, now, the third year in a row.

They are back with the Chixie Dicks on Saturday, December 15th at Sonny's. So, if you missed 'em this time around, circle the next appearance on your calendar. It'll be bigger and better as we sprint toward our goals.

The music was just one portion of this signature weekend to raise money for Christmas hampers for shelters and families in need.

Along with the evening's entertainment, the annual bake sale kicked off during the breakfast run and continued through out the day, closing off around supper time.

The sale continues again, today until about the same time.

Nearly $1200 was raised from Saturday's sales alone.

As well, their was musical entertainment through the day as the sale went forward.

Auction item tickets were sold for hand-crafted items like stained glass snow shoes and 50/50 raffles added to the take.

In all, a good blitz in this campaign but there's still much to raise and not a lot of time.


Next big event:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24th. Ottawa's indy recording artists, Circuit will be volunteering their gift at Sonny's Bar and Grill.

Again, are they not only talented but they're a great bunch of guys who love to have a good time and do something for a good cause.

Check 'em out at: http://www.circuitrocks.com

And on we go..............

Food and toy hampers herald In The Spirit of Christmas

Ted Long had his share of bleak holidays. Now, he's working so others don't.
Roger Collier, The Ottawa Citizen
Saturday, November 17, 2007

Outside Tony Nicolitsis' tidy Kanata townhouse, the temperature has dipped to the single digits. Inside, it's warmer, but still cool.

"The heat's not on right now," says Mr. Nicolitsis, 31. "We can't really afford it."

He's always cold. It doesn't help that he can't keep any food down and is losing weight daily. When healthy, Mr. Nicolitsis weighs about 175 pounds. He was at 132 last week. And today, his scale tells him, he's down to 127.

In March, Mr. Nicolitsis left his job as a customer service representative at Algonquin College after a donated kidney he received in 2002 failed. His own kidneys failed years ago.

He's on disability leave, taking home 60 per cent of his pay. His partner of 14 years, April Duffy, works in administration at the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute. Their daughter, Trinity, is in Grade 2.

Mr. Nicolitsis is on home dialysis. He suffers from stomach ulcers, takes six medications to control his high blood pressure, and is on another for migraines. He's tired, always.

And there are financial struggles, too. After paying rent and buying groceries, there's not much left. Bills are going unpaid.

"It's been like this for 10 years," says Ms. Duffy. "We never can catch up."

Christmas last year was tough. Mr. Nicolitsis' body was rejecting the donated kidney and he often missed work. But he and Ms. Duffy earned enough to cobble together a decent holiday for their daughter. This year it didn't look good.

Then Ted Long called.

For the past 16 years, Mr. Long, a 65-year-old painter, has run the In The Spirit of Christmas food hamper and toy program. He also hosts a Christmas party each year for about 100 children from local shelters.

Mr. Long heard about Mr. Nicolitsis and his family from a friend. Touched by their story, he called soon after.

Mr. Long knows a thing or two about going without at Christmas. He grew up in Regent Park, a hardscrabble area in downtown Toronto. His father wasn't around much. His mother did her best to provide for her four sons, but it wasn't easy. Sometimes the family's only income was a bi-weekly $40 cheque from a nearby Catholic church.

So it's not surprising that, now that he can, Mr. Long wants to help others avoid bleak holidays.

In 1990, not long after moving to Ottawa, Mr. Long organized a Christmas party -- complete with food, presents and Santa himself -- and ventured into Ottawa's poorer neighbourhoods with other volunteers to see if anybody wanted to come. About 100 did.

Eventually, he began bringing Christmas right to people's doors. His Christmas hampers contain a week's worth of groceries including turkey.

"And presents, too," said Mr. Long. "If we have them."

Last year, Mr. Long and his helpers raised $12,000 and brought more than 300 hampers to families. This year, he figures there will be closer to 500 families in need. He wants to raise between $15,000 and $20,000.

A recent Elvis tribute night at Sonny's Bar & Grill on Baxter Road brought in $450. Mr. Long is hoping to bring in much more this weekend at a two-day bake sale featuring live entertainment. It starts today and runs into the evening at Sonny's, which is across from the Pinecrest Shopping Centre. There will be other fundraisers at the restaurant every weekend until Christmas.

The food hampers will go out on Dec. 23 and 24. The annual children's Christmas party will take place at Sonny's on Dec. 8.

The Nicolitsis family has been receiving some help from friends -- a former boss and a former colleague occasionally swing by with groceries -- but mostly they're on their own.

"It's nice to know somebody cares," said Mr. Nicolitsis.

In Today's Ottawa Citizen....

Page E4 (City Section) of Today's Ottawa Citizen presents another example of the need for your support. People like Tony Nicolitsis represent the very need we're trying to address.

Mr. Nicolitsis is on home dialysis. He suffers from stomach ulcers, takes six medications to control his high blood pressure, and is on another for migraines. He's tired, always.

And there are financial struggles, too. After paying rent and buying groceries, there's not much left. Bills are going unpaid.

"It's been like this for 10 years," says Ms. Duffy. "We never can catch up."

Christmas last year was tough. Mr. Nicolitsis' body was rejecting the donated kidney and he often missed work. But he and Ms. Duffy earned enough to cobble together a decent holiday for their daughter. This year it didn't look good.

Our thanks to the Citizen for helping raise the awareness.

And, when you get to the part about the Elvis Tribute night, remember our thanks to Randy Collins and Dan Burgess for donating their time and talents for the cause.

One Down, Good To Go

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to have fun with the Chixie Dicks.

Especially, a thanks to Bob Kearns. He won the 50/50 draw and donated his winnings back to the cause. High praise, my friend! Thank you!

Tonight, the Dicks will kick off the event before Blackboard Nails, a band not to miss. They have a great repertoire and a gifted group of multi-talented guys.

Keep an eye on Tim Ladd. He'll magically flip his guitar and play left-handed without missing a single note.

Coming soon... A breaking devolpment involving Ottawa's premier Blues Lady.

Thumbed via Blackberry

The Weekend's Here!!

Tonight, The Chixie Dicks take the stage at Sonny's at nine.

The bake sale runs all day tomorrow and Sunday. (Mrs Woody's cookies, Kevin's Ribs, Joe's jams among the many delicious donations on the table to help us raise money.)

Tomorrow Night, Chixie Dicks will run earlier and shorter to open for Blackboard Nails.

Reminder: No Cover - Donations ENCOURAGED!!!

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NEXT UP @ SONNY'S: CHIXIE DICKS FRIDAY

Getting musicians together is "kinda like herding cats" a friend once said. I can believe him. But we're pretty certain that we have everyone nailed in the box for Friday at Sonny's.

Saturday could be a challenge. I'm hoping enough of the guys at the core are into it so that we can fashion a scaled back opening set for our
good friends, Blackboard Nails. Regardless, the shows DO go on and BBN are pumped for the weekend.

We're feeling good about our new drummer, Mark and we miss Rick on guitar for a few tunes which we'll leave out. But Steve's on game for the majority of the list.

One thing for sure. It'll be a blast.

More developments in the works. Stay tuned.