Local fans of musical legend Prince and Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) Senior Band supporters may wish to take in a special matinee showing of Purple Rain at the South Cariboo Theatre.
Organizers Mikara and Chris Pettman are hosting the movie matinee to help raise funds for the spring 2017 Senior Band trip, but were inspired with the idea as big fans of Prince, who recently passed away.
The matinee begins at 2 p.m. on June 12 with admission by donation.
“In his lifetime, Prince promoted a lot of schools and a lot of art, and, of course, his passion was music, so that’s what we’re doing – we’re taking his passion, and our passion for his music, and infusing that into today’s kids.”
While he says Mikara spearheaded the movie idea, Chris, who is School District #27 Zone 3 trustee, says he knows local students need to have support for the arts in school, such as through extracurricular activities.
“We don’t, as a school district, now have proper funding for our arts so they can go on field trips, etc. It’s all the responsibility of the parents and the kids now.
“We’ve already received some donations … so if people can’t come, they can contact us and we can actually collect donations and present them to the PSO Senior Band.”
Chris says the senior band’s destination for next year’s trip isn’t yet decided, but he believes it will be somewhere within the province.
“Last year, the band went to Whistler, and in the past, they’ve gone to Experience Music Project in Seattle [and other places].”
The matinee is also a good chance for Prince fans to get together as a community to remember the hugely popular singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor, he adds.
“We are really encouraging people to wear purple for the event.”
More information can be found on Facebook by searching “Purple Rain Celebration 100 Mile House.”
For more information or to make a donation, call Chris or Mikara at 250-706-9913.
