The Bonnyville Country Opry kicked off its 23rd season with a Sept. 11 show featuring local talent.
Thirteen performers entertained the crowd with mostly country tunes, keeping true to the Opry's roots.
“Twenty-three years ago when this thing started, it was country, country. We didn't allow any rock 'n' roll,” said Glen Hrycauk, the Opry's president. “But we've evolved from then. We pretty well allow anything on stage right now.”
As the performers' skill levels vary, the Opry doesn't turn anyone away, he said. And they're always looking for new performers.
Performer Doug Tremblay is no stranger to the Opry's stage. He sang four country songs at the show, including “Okie from Muskogee,” with his own special twist. He changed the lyrics at one point from “Muskogee” to “Bonnyville.”
“I do it ‘cause I love it,” he said. “I was raised on Hank Williams.”
Tremblay explained how when he was five or six years old he would listen to The Health and Happiness Show starring Williams for half an hour on his father's battery radio.
“Bonnyville is rich with talented people,” said Hrycauk. “There are a ton of people that don't come to the Opry that can sing and play, and not everybody, even though they sing and play, has the ambitions to be on stage. The ones you see here are people that are brave enough to come on stage.”
Art Larmand, someone Hrycauk describes as a “very good entertainer,” performed right before the group finale. A crowd-favourite, he played the guitar and sang a few tunes, including a Gordon Lightfoot song where he had the audience guess the artist.
The Opry's next show is Oct. 9. Hrycauk already has about half the program booked, and it will feature a few bands. Throughout the year, the Opry will have themed shows, such as Christmas in December and love songs for Valentine's in February.
A not-for-profit organization, the Opry traditionally gives away anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 to charity at its final show in April. In the past, it has donated money to the United Church for the Haitian Relief Fund and to Haying in the ‘30s.
“Twenty-three years ago, we filled the auditorium. There would be people waiting at line at the music store where the tickets were sold the day the tickets come out,” Hrycauk laughed. “[There are many] competing activities in town right now for peoples' interest. And as a result we've lost some crowd, and we'd love to get them back.”
