Love and generosity flowed lavishly from the hearts of about 300 Muskokans who turned up for a night of music dedicated to bringing home one of their beloved own.
Seats were a rare commodity when Juno-winning musician Ian Thomas and Lunch at Allen's bandmate Marc Jordan took the stage at the Bring Gary Froude Home benefit concert on Saturday, Jan. 4. Gary, who was named Muskoka's 2012 Citizen of the Year for his work in promoting the arts, has been hospitalized since May after contracting a mysterious virus which left him paralyzed.
The concert took place at the JW Marriott The Rosseau Resort and Spa.
"People like Gary are really the spine of culture in our community," Thomas said in his pre-performance speech.
Peering out at the sea of concert-goers, Thomas said the success of the event was profound reflection of the positive change that Gary's work has achieved in Muskoka over the years. Scores of supporters and local dignitaries also lent their faces and words of encouragement to a series of video shout-outs for Gary, which Muskoka Chautauqua staff are currently in the process of compiling and editing.
Thomas and Jordan both jumped aboard fundraising efforts as soon as they heard of Gary's condition. Funds raised from ticket sales and a silent auction preceding the concert will be used to help Gary his wife Gayle make modifications to their Port Carling home, in order to accommodate extended apparatus once Gary is healthy enough to return.
Citing Gary's demeanour when he was handed the Citizen of the Year Award, Thomas described the dedicated Rotarian as a man bound by a sense of humility rivaled only by his passion and love for serving the Muskoka community.
But the large turnout on Saturday, Thomas said, was a reflection of just how much Muskoka loves Gary back.
"You realize what a large part of the culture in his area that Gary has played in," he said.
Though Gary was unable to attend the concert, he had reached a remarkable series of milestones in his ongoing recovery over recent months. He gained enough strength to sit up on his own in late November, and was pedaling away on an exercise bike by the end of that month.
After a series of adjustments to his ventilator, Gary spoke clearly for the first time in early December, thanking his friends and supporters for their spiritual support in a cellphone video. By Christmas, he was taking his first sips of coffee with Gayle and eating pureed food for the first time since summer.
Since then, Gary's also beaten a brief spell of pneumonia he contracted shortly before the concert.
All the while, stories about Gary's condition, community contributions, and the benefit concert itself made headlines in local newspapers and radio broadcasts.
Numerous local sponsors came together to make the fundraising event possible, including the JW Marriott The Rosseau Resort and Spa, Hammond Transportation, McLaren Press Graphics, North 45 Communications, PSAV, Muskoka Tourism and Explorers' Edge.
Stay tuned to this blog for updates on Gary's reactions to the evening's events and video shoutouts.
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