Forever Hip

Fans flock to Wellington park for final concert

People began arriving around 5:30 on Saturday evening. Folding chairs, situated with good sightlines to the screen, dotted the park. Half an hour before the scheduled 7 o’- clock start time, there were an estimated 200 people present. Lineups formed at the various food vendors, and the butterflies inhabiting Mags Kandis’s stomach fluttered away. The people had come, and she was now happy.

Kandis had conceived notion of screening the Tragically Hip’s final concert on their Man Machine Poem tour in the park in Wellington. The cross-country tour was announced after Hip frontman Gord Downie revealed he has incurable brain cancer. Responding to overwhelming sentiment, the CBC indicated it would broadcast and livestream the final concert from the K-Rock Centre in Kingston. Over the weeks, Kandis assembled a team of helpers to make this event happen. She invited food vendors and set up advertising on social media. She persuaded County brother-andsister duo Instant Rivalry and rising star Masha Nazina to perform a live set before the broadcast. She billed the event as a benefit for the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research.

The pieces fell into place and a buzz began to build about the Wellington screening. There were a few hurdles to overcome. Brenda Little dealt with County officials regarding use of the park. Bruce Cronk and Evan Nash set up the screen and sound system. Kandis approached residents adjacent to the park asking if she could use their Internet stream. Karma was on her side—the Bishop House vacation home was unoccupied that one night and owner Kelly Attwells agreed to share the Internet feed. Brad Matthew provided the technical wizardry to set up a local wireless network to get the signal to the projector in the park.

The people coming to the park ranged from ardent Hip fans, to those with a casual acquaintance of their music to some who had never heard of the group before the final tour was announced.

Common to those who knew of the group was the notion that its music had been the soundtrack to Canadian life for the better part of 20 years. Many noted that while they could not count themselves as Hip fans, the recent extended airplay of the group’s music made them realize that it had been a subtle presence in their lives and that many of the songs were instantly recognizable.

After listening to live music by Masha Nazina and Instant Rivalry—with an appearance by Mark Despault—the crowd, now numbering in excess of 500 with more still coming in, erupted in ap-plause as the screen lit up with the video feed from CBC. The atmosphere in the park was festive and celebra-tory—a coming together as a community—rather thansombre, given that this may very well be the last time the Tragically Hip would be performing. A few left after the first encore, but the majority stayed until after the un-precedented third encore, reluctant to say a final farewell.

Kandis was elated at the response and the turnout. “I am so proud of the people of Wellington,” she said. “It wasall the positive attitude of this community that pushed itthrough.” A total of $2,802 was raised for the GordDownie Fund. But important as that money is, the legacyof this event may very well be that it is another thread inthe fabric that binds us together as a community.