Katherine Lee would have loved to have her father see her graduate from high school this year. Unfortunately, he died years ago after a battle with lung cancer.
Lee, a Grade 12 student at Parkland Secondary School in North Saanich, said her graduation would have been very important to her dad. Now, she’s trying to honour him with a special musical event that will raise money to help fight lung cancer.
She said as she learned more about lung cancer, she found that it makes up around 26 per cent of all cancer deaths in Canada but only receives approximately 0.1 per cent of funding to support research and patients fighting the disease.
“That needs to be helped,” she said, adding that’s another reason why she’s organizing a Panthers for Patients benefit concert on Friday, June 8.
And what she has organized promises to be an evening of great music by Parkland Secondary music stars Nelson Bankes, Ryan Kelly and Alexis Van Den Bulk.
A special guest has also been confirmed: Sidney piano prodigy Sheryas Balaiah. He’s a Grade 7 student at North Saanich Middle School who’s made his mark performing the lat few years with Bill and the Kids at the Thursday night summer market on Beacon Avenue. Sheryas has also performed as a guest soloist with the Parkland Jazz Band and will bring his keyboard magic to the stage alongside the other performers.
And as another special treat, the Sidney Concert Band will be there for a guest performance.
Tickets for Panthers for Patients are $10 at the door at the Parkland Theatre or at the box office at 250-655-2736. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the music starts at 7 p.m.
All proceeds from the show will go to Lung Cancer Canada.
