Giving back is something The Great Plains (better known as Saskia Overbeek and Darrel Delaronde) have been doing for pretty much their entire musical career. At each performance, the musical duo donates a portion of their proceeds to the local food bank in that community.
“It’s [our] way of paying back. We leave what we can,” said Overbeek, who recalled how supportive the community of Revelstoke was in starting their musical career.
“We started in Revelstoke years ago. The chamber of commerce and some others found some funding. We had a lot of success,” she said. And while the pair no longer call Revelstoke home (they recently moved from Saskatchewan to Vancouver Island), they still enjoy coming back to visit. In fact, Overbeek says they plan to spend a few extra days in Revelstoke.
The Great Plains are currently on a three-month CD release tour promoting their lastest release, Bluebird Trail.
“There’s a real variety,” said Overbeek. “It’s a truly Canadian feel.”
Asked about changing their name to The Great Plains, Overbeek admits that while the change was made a year and a half ago, it still hasn’t launched with people.
“It will take time,” she said. The decision behind the name change came about because both she and Delaronde come from the prairies – she from Holland, he from Saskatchewan.
“A lot of our music is inspired by life in the prairies,” said Overbeek.
The tradition of giving back will continue as The Great Plains plan to donate some of the proceeds from their performance in Revelstoke this Thursday to the Community Connections Food Bank. Patti Larson, Community Connections director of outreach services, says the concert is taking place at an opportune time.
“It’s a good time of year for the food bank because it brings back awareness for Christmas after the food drive,” said Larson. “It’s a nice tie-in because the food drive brought in a lot of non-perishable items, and the cash will allow us to buy things like food for the kids snack program and fresh foods like milk and dairy.”
Saskia and Darrel, aka The Great Plains, perform this Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The concert takes place at the Revelstoke Seniors Centre. For tickets and information, drop by Community Connections, 314-2nd Street East, or call 250-837-2920 ext. 28. Partial concert proceeds will go to the Revelstoke Community Connections Food Bank.
