Published:
By Anne Marie Taylor Powney, Special to Community Press
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 1:50:08 EST PM
CAMPBELLFORD - The Aron Theatre was a colourful array of pink and purple as children and their parents dressed up in support of Andrew Queen’s Family Day concert.
The sold-out show was a huge success.
Eight-year-old, Isaac McFayden from Campbellford and his father Andrew welcomed everyone to the show and thanked them for coming. Isaac suffers from a rare enzyme deficiency disease called MPs VI (Maroteaux Lamy Syndrome) and requires weekly trips to Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital for Enzyme Replacement Therapy. The family is hoping to bring public awareness, raise funds and support research into groundbreaking treatments.
Children of all ages enjoyed singing and dancing to the high energy songs like Gator Hunt and Stone Soup but some of the songs had a more serious message about bullying. Queen told the crowd that when he was growing up he was teased for being tall and thin. The song It Just Takes One was written by Queen and his wife Karen Stille. It was based on the book All it Takes is One Friend written by teacher / author Heather Rankin. The song features lyrics like “One kind word makes that stone feel smaller, One outstretched hand makes us all feel taller, One true friend makes us feel like we belong, We all have power, it just takes one.”
Queen and Stille plan to release the single on April 10 to coincide with the International Day of Pink.
Rankin took the opportunity to read her book directly after the musical portion of the show. The story was about a boy named Todd who was bullied. Everything changed for Todd though when he helps a new student to feel better. Todd realizes all it takes is one friend to change everything.
“Friends, be like a tree, grow strong, stand tall and be the one,” said Rankin after her reading.
Following the story, children were invited to decorate a ‘Be the One’ pendant to take home.
Queen and Stille thanked the audience and said they feel the McFaydens are an inspiration to our community.
“They remind us to celebrate the joy in our lives and to fight with love for our children.”
Last year’s concert raised $1,000 that was surpassed this year with a total of $1,200. For more information about Project One Million please visit www.projectonemillion.ca. Queen can be found at www.andrewqueen.ca .