First Nations concert helps exchange program

Aboriginal Youth Guatemalan Project beneficiary

Mount Currie plays host to First Nations and entertainment from across the Sea to Sky Corridor this month.

The First People’s Concert and Talent Contest will feature more than 10 professional acts as well as an amateur contest – and all for charity.

Blues singer, George Leach, is the highlight of the evening. The young performer was recently recognized at the Aboriginal Music Awards for his strong original songs derived from combining his passion for blues with his native heritage.

Also in the lineup are Electric Warrior, made up of members of First Nations from across Canada; Renegades, from the Chilcotin area; Brenda Hanson Band, from Powell River; Ghost Walker, from Saskatoon; as well as R.E.D., Obsidian, the Savage Rock Band, Manik and the Guatemalan Hip Hop Band.

Guatemalan? The concert is in fact a fund-raiser for the Aboriginal Youth Guatemalan Project, an exchange program that is already hosting eight students from overseas.

"Those students are presently staying in the Squamish Valley and we would like to send our students back with them when they return to Guatemala," explains concert co-ordinator, Norma Guerin. "We’re trying to promote international employment markets because of globalization. We contacted the Guatemalans about a year ago and they’ll be in Canada for three months and then our students will return with them for three months. And we hope to organize future internships."

The afternoon kicks off at 3 p.m. with The Talent Contest, open to everyone with any entertainment to offer. The entry fee is $20 with half the total going to the winner and the other half to the exchange program. Second and third place finishers will receive trophies. You can register right up to the day before the show by calling 604-605-7194.

And for the amount of entertainment packed into the Aug. 18 event, tickets are a steal at just $8, or $25 for a family of four. They can be purchased at the Mount Currie Band office at 604-894-6115.