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The Hip on Mill celebrates Iconic Canadian Music

August 18, 2016   ·   0 Comments

This Saturday will make its mark on music history, as the Tragically Hip, one of Canada’s most famous bands, performs their final concert in Kingston.

Fans across the continent were shocked and saddened when news broke in May that lead singer Gord Downie has terminal cancer. 

Downie, 52, announced the diagnosis on May 24th, following surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. While he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive, incurable cancer last December, the news was kept quiet until this spring.

In a letter to fans, the band wrote, “Since then, obviously, he’s endured a lot of difficult times, and he has been fighting hard. In privacy, along with his family, and through all of this, we’ve been standing by him.”

While initially, people wondered whether or not the Hip’s tour for this year would go on as planned, Downie and the rest of the band announced shortly after this revelation they would not be cancelling.

What started out as another tour shaped into the tour to end all tours, at least for the Tragically Hip, as tour dates were announced for Downie’s farewell shows. Their final concert will be held in Kingston this Saturday, and aired live across the country on CBC.

While tickets to the final legs of the tour were nearly impossible to come by, there’s still plenty of opportunity to witness the band’s grand finale performance while celebrating with food, drinks and more.

Brews and Entertainment, the Orangeville group responsible for events such as Brewzapalooza and the beer tent at the Urban Slide, will be airing the live broadcast on Mill Street Saturday night, in partnership with several local pubs and restaurants.

The free event, which be run in support of the Headwaters Health Care Foundation (HHCF), will feature a live broadcast of the concert on two 16-by-10 foot outdoor screens. The concert begins at 8:30 p.m., but doors will open at 6:00, when attendees are encouraged to donate to HHCF.

According to a press release sent out late last week, the event will also include licensed areas at the north end of Mill Street, in the Soulyve parking lot, as well as in the VIP viewing area set up on the Mill Creek Pub patio.

The evening promises to be a historic celebration of iconic Canadian Music, and provides a way for fans to unite with this incredible band during one of their most important moments.

Fans in the Kingston area, as well as those who will be attending the concert, and more, have been discussing ways to make the moment something Gord Downie will remember.

On 102.1 The Edge’s morning show on Monday, Alan Cross, an iconic Canadian broadcaster and writer most known for his show ‘The Ongoing History of New Music” shared some of the things he’s come across from fans.

For those planning on attending the final concert, the idea has been brought up and spurred into action that everyone have a white handkerchief, so that when Gord Downie pulls out his own white-hankie to wipe his forehead (a move he has become known for on stage), the fans will do the same.

In Kingston, there has been talk of businesses posting a single line of lyrics in the windows of their offices and storefronts, so that as The Tragically Hip roll into town, they will be greeted by the power of their own lyrics, and welcomed by the whole community.

And fans in Orangeville? Well, they’ll be bidding the band farewell in true Orangeville fashion, with a huge community event.

Along with the live broadcast and licensed areas during The Hip on Mill, food and merchandise will also be available for sale under the tent.

The organizers are still looking for corporate sponsors for this fundraising event, and in return, sponsors receive a VIP seat. To become a corporate sponsor, visit www.facebook.com/brewsandentertainment for more information.

Those wishing to make a donation to the hospital in advance of the concert can do so through a GoFundMe account set up by Brews and Entertainment in support of the Headwaters Healthcare Foundation. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/thehiponmill.

The Hip on Mill will run from 6:00-11:00 p.m. this Saturday, August 20th, on Mill Street.

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