Dueling Piano Kings to debut in Strathmore
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Victim services is hosting the first dueling piano event to play in Strathmore through their Denim and Diamonds fundraiser.
The aim of the fundraiser is to gather the resources necessary to train both staff and volunteers, as Victim Services largely does not receive government grant funding.
“We have not been able to fundraise in the last three years, so that is why we are holding this fundraiser. This is the first time that Dueling Piano Kings have been to Strathmore, so we are really looking forward to this event,” said Marilyn Roughley, program manager with Victim Services. “I was recently at a dueling pianos event not too long ago and saw how much fun it was and thought, Strathmore has never had anything like this come to the town, so we thought it would be terrific to do.”
The Dueling Piano Kings are Patrick McGannon and Jesse Peters, who have both performed extensively all over the world.
Their show is somewhat unique amongst musical performances as there is no setlist or plan. McGannon and Peters take live requests from the audience to play on the spot, letting attendees have a say in their show.
“In the past, we have done a fundraiser for Victim Services, but it was a golf tournament and we just thought it would be kind of neat to switch it up and get people dancing and singing and having a great old time,” said Roughley.
Victim Services operates in Strathmore, Gleichen, Langdon and Chestermere, and according to Roughley, the team is very excited to finally be able to host an event again after their hiatus.
Over the course of the show, there will be a dinner, silent auction, cash bar and 50/50 draw, with the proceeds being utilized for volunteer training.
“(Fundraising) has a huge impact on training our volunteers. Our volunteers give up a lot of their time and effort to help the community, so we are really hoping that we get quite a few people out to enjoy the evening,” said Roughley. “The government does not pay us a lot of money to run our detachments. In fact, we are run out of four communities, so we are stretched pretty thin.”
The Dueling Piano Kings will be performing at the Strathmore Civic Centre on Saturday, June 3. Cocktails will begin to be served at 5 p.m. with food being served around 6. Tickets for the event are available through the Victim Services website for $75 per person.
For those who intend to be drinking, the team is partnering up with Wheatland Taxi to make sure everyone gets home safely at the end of the night. Taxi services will be charged separately per person.