The talent coming to the Hoadley Community Hall next month is an impressive mix of seasoned entertainers and young rising stars.
And while they all bring their own special brand of music, poetry and storytelling to the stage, they all have one thing in common. They are as Albertan as the wild rose.
Alberta’s Men & Women of Country Music show will be at the Hoadley Community Hall on May 11 from noon to 9 p.m. This is the 13th year the show has been in existence and the sixth year it has been held at Hoadley.
This year’s lineup is to include many of the well-known names from Alberta, all of whom promise to keep the day’s entertainment at a lively pace.
“Every year when the show comes together the talent that walks on that stage is amazing and wonderful,” said co-ordinator Shirley Hartman.
She said lifetime awards will be handed out to ‘Papa’ Joe Kozak, who toured coast to coast with the Wilf Carter Show, and to Fran Sinclair, a self-taught singer and musician.
These awards are presented to entertainers who have been in the music industry for 30 years or more.
Other musicians who have received this award include Dick Damron, Tom Jackson, Pete Hicks, Joyce Smith, Laura Vinson and Joanne Myrol.
A rising star award, given to young people 16 and under, will be presented to the Cassidy Zahar, who has recently returned from Nashville.
The award is presented in memory of Diane Brandson who began the show several years ago.
“This was her passion, to get Alberta talent together, to showcase experienced artists and give younger talent a stage to perform on,” said Hartman.
This year’s lineup will include Fred and Shirley Dobirstein from Lacombe and Mervin and Joanne Lietz from Redwater.
Hartman said Fred Dobirstein, a former Lacombe police chief, plays the part of an old type cowboy when on stage. The unusual component of the Lietz’s presentation is that with a stick and five-gallon pail, Mervin accompanies his wife, who plays guitar and sings,.
Judy Mazurek from Gull Lake, who is a farmer’s daughter and learned to sing with her dad and her uncles, is also in this year’s lineup.
Becky Winchester from Rocky Mountain House will sing about the queens of country music and Bryn Thiessen, the cowboy poet, will be on hand to provide his own special brand of entertainment.
A concession will be available throughout the day and reservations may be made for supper.
For tickets, information and performance times contact Shirley at 403-843-6004. Tickets may be purchased at Stationery, Stories and Sounds Rimbey, Big West Farm & Ranch Drayton Valley.
The Hoadley Community Association presents the Alberta’s Men & Women of Country Music and the major sponsor is Big West Country 92.9 FM Drayton Valley.
More information is also available at http://remembermyshow.com