Following the generous example of nine-year-old Kamloops local Christian Beatty, Tourism Sun Peaks is collecting donations for the Kamloops Food Bank during this weekend’s third annual Retro Concert Weekend.
Beatty and his family, who organized food drives after a devastating fire at the Kamloops Food Bank this month, will be on hand enjoying the tribute band festival and helping the collection team.
“When we heard how much Christian had done to help the Food Bank we were really impressed and inspired,” says Christopher Nicolson, president of Tourism Sun Peaks. “We’re expecting over 1,000 people at the festival and thought it was a great opportunity to collect donations. In addition, we wanted to show our appreciation to this conscientious young man by inviting the family up to have a great weekend at Sun Peaks.”
Beatty has already helped to collect 1,127 pounds of food and $1,100 in cash to help restock the Kamloops Food Bank.
“Christian is an incredible nine-year-old with a big heart,” says Bernadette Siracky, executive director of the Kamloops Food Bank. “We’re truly grateful for his generosity and spirit.”
Non-perishable food and cash donations will be collected near the stage on Saturday from noon until 7 p.m.
While the food bank has received many donations since the fire, the most needed items include:
- canned soup
- canned spaghetti sauce
- canned fish and poultry
- dry pasta
- rice
- canned vegetables and fruit
- peanut butter
- canned stew
- chili
- brown beans
- cereal and baby formula
“Kamloops is an incredibly supportive community,” says Siracky. “This situation has shown us yet again that Kamloopsians are generous, compassionate and will always ensure we can feed each person who comes to our door.”
Festival goers can expect to hear their favourite classic songs performed by some of Canada’s top tribute bands. Fab Forever, performing Beatles songs will take the stage on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s performances begin at noon and will feature music by Neil Young, Guns n’ Roses, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. Tribute band ABBA Again will wrap up the festival on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.
Guests can also watch Sun Peaks’ first longboard event, the 5Forty Longboard Challenge on Valley Drive Road at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Help us bring you more local news
SPIN has been able to serve Sun Peaks as its sole news source for over 20 years thanks to the overwhelming support of our community. Join over 126 of your neighbours and become a monthly or yearly member so that we can continue to regularly publish the digital newsletters and stories our readers rely on.
