By Trevor Greenway
Hundreds of mostly women – with a few men scattered about – packed the Wakefield community centre March 8 for International Women’s Day for what turned out to be a heartwarming, poignant celebration of women in the Hills.
Ilse Turnsen of the Wakefield Grannies started the night out with an homage to the OG Granny, Norma Geggie, who 20 years ago asked the question, “What if?” – What if a group of Wakefield grannies began a relationship with grandmothers (gogos) in Alexandra Township in South Africa who were caring for children orphaned by AIDS?
Geggie had the idea in 2004. Fast-forward 20 years, and the Grannies and the gogos are still forging their relationship ahead. Friday’s International Women’s Day raised over $6,000 for the gogos through donations and sales from the Grannies’ jewelry and scarf sale.
But it was the performances that made this night so beautiful. Chris MacLean sang two moving originals that had the crowd at a standstill. She stood in the spotlight, crooning, just her, her guitar and her angelic voice weaving through the crowd.
Turnsen performed spoken word poetry, confidently pumping up the crowd with her “This is your soul” performance, encouraging everyone in attendance to live in the moment.
Christina Stobert had the entire community centre singing along with her when she sang out a gorgeous rendition of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery”.
Wakefield creative queen Jill Rick, as usual, took the cake. Dressed as both Brad and Janet from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, Rick had the crowd bursting at the seams as she took turns singing both male and female parts. She dedicated the show to her sister Janet, who is in end-of-life care for leukemia.
“I was her stem cell donor but it didn’t take, so I was glad to honour or maybe mortify or humiliate her,” said Rick after the performance. “She doesn’t have long, so I was glad to add some levity to the Granny show as well as for my sister.”
It was also announced that Rick is the newest Wakefield Granny – a welcome addition to an already stellar roster of Grannies.
All the money raised will go towards supporting the South African gogos in Alexandra Township.