Local girls perform in Young Canadians 50th
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
Hailey Blokland and Saige Aleman performed in their second show, while Lane Habing suited up in her third Grandstand Show with The Young Canadians following the chuckwagon races.
Last year was special because it was Canada’s 150th birthday. This year, The Young Canadians are celebrating their 50th birthday at the Stampede.
“I loved my first two times at the Stampede, but this one feels different because we are bringing back memories from all the different shows throughout the years and put it into one show,” said Habing, a student at Crowther Memorial Junior High School.
The show kicked off with all The Young Canadians on stage at once — typically, the juniors don’t participate in the opener, but they did for this occasion.
Starting with a colourful bang, the kids came out dressed in costumes from the past five decades of performances, led by the host of the evening, Rachel Avery.
Avery got her start with The Young Canadians many years ago. She is the granddaughter of Grandstand Show creator Randy Avery and the daughter of Bill Avery, who took over when his father retired.
The hour-and-a-half long production took three months to choreograph to prepare for 11 nights of performances, but having seen it come together a few times already, it was well worth the effort.
“We put a lot of training in, long hours, and have been pretty sore at times, but it’s all worth it because we put on a great show each night and it’s lots of fun,” said Blokland, also a student at Crowther Memorial Junior High School.
After the opener, Habing came out for the cupcake dance and 50th birthday celebration with the rest of the juniors, while Blokland and Aleman performed two more times — in the roller-skating number and Olympic celebration — with the rest of the intermediate dancers.
Aside from dazzling dance routines, the Grandstand Show, produced by Dave Pierce, had many more entertaining performances throughout the evening. America’s Got Talent winner Drew Lynch warmed up the crowd with a quick standup routine; ventriloquist Ronn Lucas and his sidekick Buffalo Billy made their sixth trip to the Stampede; Andy Kim — who wrote the smash hit Sugar, Sugar that came out in 1968 — rocked the crowd with a sing along; illusionist Darcy Oake made doves appear out of thin air and escaped a straitjacket while hanging below a flaming bear trap; Eddie the Eagle made an appearance; and there was a roller skating routine by Alina Leiva and Yunier Morales.
There isn’t too much time for standing around and watching for The Young Canadians in between acts, as they scramble to get ready for the next act deep beneath the stage. But with 11 shows booked, the Strathmore trio has made sure to soak in this significant anniversary and everything that accompanies it.
“There are so many amazing aspects of the show; it’s really great to meet everyone and see other people go out and perform their part,” said Aleman, a 12-year-old student at Sacred Heart Academy.
The message all night is about celebrating the 50 years of The Young Canadians. Towards the end of the performance, the current performers come out on stage while a video montage plays in the background of past members of The Young Canadians all singing along.
“Last year was great, but seeing everyone and all the alumni performers come together made this year’s performance that much better,” said Aleman.
Of course, for the local girls, their favourite part of the show is getting to perform with one another in front of 25,000 fans each night.
“It’s most fun to be out there with my friends and bounce off each other’s energy. We all get a little nervous, but it’s mostly just us having fun out there. It just goes to show all those training hours and long car rides to practice have paid off,” said Habing.
Habing, Blokland and Aleman can all be seen with the rest of The Young Canadians each night of the Stampede following the chuckwagon races. The show starts at around 10 p.m.