“Elbow Up” Music Marathon was a Success

On Saturday, April 12 it was the 12th annual Musicathon organized by the Fenelon Falls Grannies for Grannies. We advertised it as bigger and better than ever and it was, with over 65 local musicians. But it it was unique in another way. It evolved into an ”Elbows Up” Music Marathon. How? Why? This year our audience was smaller, perfectly understandable, in view of all the consequences of our terrible ice storm.

Recenty the Town Crier published “feel good” stories of all the kindness and good vibrations that came as a result of this horrible event. Our Musicathon 2025 evolved into another example. We had a smaller audience  but we made almost $2,000 more than the previous year. Why? In response to Trump stopping US Aid to Africa, our audience, in spite of this time of hardship to themselves, in spite of having to restock their freezers with hundreds of dollars of meat, in spite of the out of pocket $1,000 deductible on their insurance, in spite of having to pay to have trees cut down and removed, our audience this year, as admission, gave generously, instead of a $5 or a $10 bill; a $20 or even a $50.

It wasn’t just the admission donations that showed an “Elbows Up” attitude, our performers manifested that attitude as well. The amazing reUnion choir, over twenty voices strong, asked the audience to stand together and sing “O Canada”. That was a special emotional moment. One group, Fiddles and Friends, led by Edith Hawkins, performed a fiddle song from each province of Canada and finished up with a Metis tune from Quebec! You couldn’t get more Canadian than that. The group Providence road, with Gratton Young performed “This Land Is Your Land” and asked the audience to sing along.  “Elbows Up” Fenelon Falls and thank you to our community generosity that even during a crisis for themselves could think of supporting others, in Africa, suffering from HIV/AIDS.