For the fourth time, Thompson musicians are putting together a free concert at the Juniper Centre in order to lend a hand to those in need.
While organizer Josh Deschambeault said the line-up for the upcoming Jamming for Jackets event on Jan. 19 will be slightly different from the previous iteration, the underlying goal will be the same: to collect food and gently used winter clothing for the Thompson homeless shelter, the YWCA and the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Family and Community Wellness Centre.
Despite the popularity of these past concerts, which collectively raised close to $3,000 in cash donations and 2,000 pounds of clothes, this year’s event wasn’t originally going to happen.
“I’m actually located in Winnipeg right now, so I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to organize the whole event while living here,” he said. “But when I made the [Facebook] post saying that I wasn’t going to do the event I had so many people from the community message me, urging me to get it alive.”
Following this outpouring of support, Deschambeault and his fellow organizers decided that they needed to buckle down and put this concert together, despite the logistical issues.
“I didn’t realize that it was that impactful for the city until I decided that I wasn’t going to do it,” he said. “I’m hoping that this year’s concert is going to be our biggest and best one yet.”
This year’s event, which runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., will feature local musical talent such as Between the Ditches, Amy Caldwell and Josh Cain, Brendan Rhodes, Jasyn Lucas and CJ the Grey.
For more information about Jamming for Jackets, please visit their Facebook page.
