After two spectacular comeback shows coming off the Covid-19 restrictions, organizers of the West Island Blues Festival say they are looking forward to building it into a blockbuster event that involved the entire region.
Festival co-founders Errol Johnson and Jim Beis were at the 40th Gala of the West Island Black Community Association (WIBCA) at the Gerry Robertson Cultural Center in Roxboro on September 24, beaming with pride and doling out checks to charities in the area, as they have been doing since the event was launched 18 years ago.
Both were proud to announce to gala guests that the festival was on an upward trajectory following the 2nd edition of the event that staged to massive crowds at the Point Claire Village on September 10. The original 2022 staging of the Blues Fest was at the Dollard Des Ormeaux Park on July 9.
Now, the goal, they say, is to the take the blues and other musical treats to other municipalities to the west of Montreal.
In addition to diehard music lovers, both Johnson and Beis are major political players and well-respected advocates for their communities, serving as deputy mayor of DDO and mayor of Pierrefonds respectively.
This year, after two shows, the festival was able to donate $30,000 to groups across the West Island.
As it has been in the past, WIBCA received the bulk of the proceeds in the amount of $15,000, with the remainder shared among Literacy Unlimited, AJOI, Alzheimer Groupe Inc and The West Island Women Shelter.
This year’s donations pushed the Blues Fest contribution to West Island organization to close to 300,000 since it was launched in 2003.
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