This holiday season Tom Jackson isnB次元官网网址檛 touring The Huron Carole the way he normally would, which is a drag for him and his band, not to mention fans of those Christmas songs and stories, but heB次元官网网址檚 excited by at least one aspect of the virtual performances being rolled out in November and December.

The online benefit concert was recorded last summer at White RockB次元官网网址檚 Blue Frog Studios for broadcast in areas of Canada on select dates, as part of a 33rd-annual effort to raise money to feed people in need.

B次元官网网址淚 think it will raise more awareness and more funds for people who need it, more than we ever have,B次元官网网址� Jackson said.

For Victoria, the all-ages Huron Carole shows Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. using Zoom.

The schedule of virtual tour dates is posted to huroncarole.ca, with additional B.C. events.

Jackson, a musician, actor and activist, has helped raise close to $230 million with his charitable initiatives over the years, leading to humanitarian awards, Red Cross ambassadorship and an Order of Canada induction.

The Huron Carole benefit, which has a goal of B次元官网网址渄efeating hunger, feeding the soulB次元官网网址� based on JacksonB次元官网网址檚 signature song, was first performed at TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Silver Dollar bar in the late-1980s.

B次元官网网址淪eems like a long time ago,B次元官网网址� Jackson said with a laugh from his Calgary-area home. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been a wonderful journey and it all continues to change, with new challenges and other things in the mix that have to be overcome, and every time you do that you learn something. This year weB次元官网网址檙e all in that program of reinventing ourselves to some degree, and this is no exception.B次元官网网址�

That first benefit event in Toronto didnB次元官网网址檛 generate truckloads of cash, with only 200 people in the place, but it raised awareness of a need in the city, and helped set in motion the touring production and national TV special to come. The following year, Jackson saw a need for a show in Winnipeg, and it all grew from there.

B次元官网网址淚t didnB次元官网网址檛 start touring until I got to Calgary, because it was about figuring out how to do it both Winnipeg and Calgary, because I was living here in Calgary,B次元官网网址� Jackson recalled. B次元官网网址淚 rallied a bunch of folks here and now all of a sudden we had two shows, and the next year we had four shows, and it became a tour that eventually morphed into a national television special for 10 years, and a tour.

B次元官网网址淎t some point we had a request, a lot of requests, to bring the show into smaller communities, so we relaunched it and renamed it Singing for Supper,B次元官网网址� Jackson continued.

Eventually, The Huron Carole tour returned to CanadaB次元官网网址檚 bigger cities.

B次元官网网址淭he model for so many years was the travelling cast and having guests on the show from the local communities, but at some point we decided we needed to ground the show so it would be the same show in every city, a traveling cast, within the last decade.B次元官网网址�

This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was recorded by Jackson and his band of Vancouver-area musicians, including music director Tom McKillip, Darryl Havers, John MacArthur Ellis, Kirby Barber and Chris Nordquist. McKillip suggested Blue Frog Studios, and Jackson and his wife, project manager Alison Jackson, made their way west for the session.

B次元官网网址淚t was great, a great facility,B次元官网网址� Jackson said. B次元官网网址淚t was a wonderful surprise, because originally we had planned to bring the band out to Calgary and set up a soundstage, so to speak. B次元官网网址淏ut Tom said he did a thing out at Blue Frog where they have cameras and a nice stage, and thatB次元官网网址檚 how it came to happen.B次元官网网址�

Blue Frog operator Kelly Breaks was glad to host the band at a time when the studio was pretty much shut down.

B次元官网网址淲e used a bit of the audience floor as well, not only the stage,B次元官网网址� Breaks recalled.

B次元官网网址淚t was surreal almost, because it was during a warm spell in the summer, beautiful weather, and here it was all decked out for Christmas. We had our patio doors opened, so people are walking by hearing some Christmas stuff going on, and some of them recognized Tom Jackson.B次元官网网址�

The Canada Life-sponsored online show, produced by Tomali Pictures Ltd. and Joe Media Group, is billed as B次元官网网址渁 world-class concert experience intended to leverage fundraising opportunities for varied hosts.B次元官网网址�

For Jackson and company, the work now involves spreading word about the online edition of The Huron Carole.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 always been a gap, and itB次元官网网址檚 greater this year than itB次元官网网址檚 ever been, that gap between the haves and the have-nots, and thatB次元官网网址檚 why the food bank is there,B次元官网网址� Jackson said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not skilled enough to solve the big picture, but I am a band-aid. The clich茅 is, if thereB次元官网网址檚 no band-aid, how do you stop the bleeding? But IB次元官网网址檓 very happy to be that B次元官网网址� donB次元官网网址檛 get me wrong. Yes, itB次元官网网址檚 working but we wish we didnB次元官网网址檛 have that issue. IB次元官网网址檓 glad to help.B次元官网网址�

There may never be another Christmas quite like this Christmas, he noted.

B次元官网网址淭he need is never greater, as weB次元官网网址檙e in a battle with this virus and also with mental health,B次元官网网址� he added.

B次元官网网址淭his year we can help people at a time when theyB次元官网网址檙e at home, to be happy at home and rekindle that Christmas spirit, the spirit that I remember when I was a kid. Yeah, I get it every year, but probably not like this year.B次元官网网址�

tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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