Tickets to Okotoks’ most festive fundraiser concert are selling fast.
The Okotoks Food Bank Benefit Concert will fill the Evangelical Free Church with holiday cheer Dec. 12 and 13.
“We've called the concert Soul Food, because it’s food for the body and music for the soul,” said concert committee member Dacy Zacharias.
“This is the largest food bank fundraiser for the year, and the largest Okotoks music event – we're pretty proud of that.”
Headlining the Tuesday performance is Haggis, and Wednesday will see a visit from George Canyon.
“We have Callum Graham playing both nights this year – we are extremely excited about that,” said Zacharias. “Callum, his calibre and level on an international scale is huge.
“We’re proud of our musicians and proud of our business partners and proud of all the attendees – times are tough out there, but people still step up and want to be together."
Reprising their role as MCs, Okotoks-area musicians Jim McLennan and Dwight Forseth will punctuate the evening with their back-and-forth banter.
“They are going to be weaving their musical talents throughout – we asked them to come back again and they were gracious enough to grant our wishes,” Zacharias said. “It was really fun to have the two of them, they put in a lot of hard work together.”
The concert proceeds go to the Okotoks Food Bank (OFB), which has been seeing massive increases in demand as the cost-of-living crisis wears on.
“It’s extremely important. There’s just such a great need in our community for it – especially since COVID,” Zacharias said.
“The food bank has really grown in the last few years: we went from the old space to the new space, moved into the new building, went from one employee to six, and the need has just grown so much.
“When COVID hit, the food bank became the central hub for southern Alberta and the Foothills, so we’re the distribution hub for the smaller communities around us.”
The OFB doesn’t just put the funds into food, but also into being able to operate on such a large scale to meet the current need.
In past years, funds have gone to expansion into the larger space, a delivery van for inter-facility transfers and the forklift used to shuffle food around.
“You need the equipment, you need to really scale up – and the need has really scaled up,” Zacharias explained.
“What might have been on a five-year plan pre-COVID, things had to go really fast and get accomplished in about two years, so the support of the community has been outstanding.
“The compassion that runs through the community, we have such a community spirit."
Tickets are selling fast, said Zacharias, but she hopes folks will still find a way to help fill the food bank shelves.
“If you can’t see us at the concert, please drop off your donations at the Okotoks Food Bank or go to okotoksfoodbank.ca and sponsor a hamper,” she said.
“The concert, for me, it’s a labour of love; a lot of hard work goes into it, a lot of volunteers and sponsors, and especially on the part of the musicians.
“And Christmas music is is not entirely easy to play, they don't spend all year playing it, so we're very blessed to have them honour us with their talents and artistry, for sure.”
All this under the roof of the Evangelical Free Church, where the concert has taken place since 2016.
“The sound in the church is just incredible in there and it's got such a warm, inviting feel to it and it's just such a great way to kick off the season,” Zacharias said.
“And we're just so happy that it gets to benefit and support the food bank in such a big way. It makes me feel extremely proud of our community.”
Tickets can be found at EventBrite.ca under 'Okotoks Food Bank Christmas Concert 2023'.
