Calgary concert raises $1.4 million for flood relief
Friday, August 16, 2013, 3:13 PM -
Calgarians boogied in a different kind of boots Thursday night at a sellout concert in Calgary for Alberta flood relief.
In honour of the work of volunteers and those who were forced to clean out mud and garbage from water-soaked homes in the severe flooding that devastated southern Alberta eight weeks ago, many of the 32,000 people on hand were wearing rubber boots. Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a surprise guest at the event and spent the evening in the stands along with Alberta Premier Alison Redford.
Despite a star-studded lineup that included Loverboy, Nickelback, Jann Arden, Randy Bachman, the Sheepdogs and Ian Tyson, some of the biggest applause was for Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who acted out a lifelong dream of introducing a band at a rock concert.
"I've always wanted to be a rock and roll announcer. Some people want to be on stage and I wanted to be an announcer," Nenshi told master of ceremonies Brent Butt.
"Here we go — ladies and gentlemen, give it up — for Tom Cochrane!"
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Butt, star of TV's "Corner Gas," kept the show moving along and told the crowd they were part of history.
"We're going live all over the planet. This is going out on the internet, which I don't know if you've heard — it's worldwide."
Calgary songstress Jann Arden paid tribute to those people who worked together during the floods. "You know what this show is about to me?" said Arden. "It's about good neighbours. I've got good neighbours and I've met tens of thousands of neighbours I didn't even know I had. I think we all gained from the experience this summer ... you guys were amazing."
