Fairvern jumps on board final Billy Bishop fly-by

Main photo: Dana Murdy (left), Chair of Board of Directors for Fairvern Nursing Home with Jan Jacklin, Artistic Director/Producer of Dot The T Productions (Photo: Steven Jacklin)

Fairvern Nursing Home is the final home for many. It offers 24-hour nursing, personal and palliative care to many local residents and veterans of Huntsville, Muskoka and Parry Sound. However, this aging building and new requirements for long-term care in Ontario means that Fairvern must be rebuilt. So the board of directors of Fairvern have been organizing and planning many fundraisers in order to raise the remainder of capital not provided by the Province and District.

“When Heather Hunter, VP of Fairvern, contacted me to see how we could tie in our upcoming Billy Bishop Goes To War show with a fundraising initiative for Fairvern, it became very clear how we could be part of this vital resource of Muskoka,” says producer Jan Jacklin. “Let’s make our performance at The Algonquin Theatre on November 6 a fundraiser for Fairvern!”

Due to demand and the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 this November, Dot The T Productions has resurrected their production of the award-winning musical Billy Bishop Goes To War for a five-stop final tour. “We never did perform our show in Huntsville, so we felt it was now time to bring it to the Algonquin Theatre for one performance only,” says Jacklin. Along with stops in Dorset, Bracebridge, Deep River and Toronto, this will be the final fly-by for William Colgate and Cameron Gibson to perform their iconic roles.

Billy Bishop Goes To War, written by John MacLachlan Gray in collaboration with Eric Peterson, is a tribute to all those who fought in a war. To those who never saw the age of 21. To those seriously wounded or maimed. And to
those who were and are haunted by the ravages of war for all their remaining days.

As Fairvern is a peaceful haven for those who are privileged to live to an older age, it is a building and resource that requires our attention and generosity. And Dot The T is proud to provide a platform to help raise some serious funds for them with their performance of Billy Bishop Goes To War at the Algonquin Theatre on Nov. 6 at 7pm.

The ticket price has been offered at an amazing $20, but only until October 20. This is a quarter the price of a show of this calibre in Toronto, but this affordable price allows the audience to make an additional donation to Fairvern at the theatre prior and after the show or during the 15-minute intermission. Whatever the audience can contribute will be greatly appreciated, so bring your cash or cheque books. Tickets can be purchased at the Algonquin Theatre box office.

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