The 鈥淣ight at the Drive-in for Ensley鈥� benefit concert was a sold-out success on Friday evening, with all 200 tickets sold for the outdoor physically-distant event to help Ensley Akins and her family as she battles cancer for a second round.
A committee organized the fundraiser in three weeks, and lined up singer Onello Bahingawan and three bands, Switch, Dead Levee and The 7th Avenue to perform on the outdoor stage, set up adjacent to the Tom Zandee Sports Arena on the exhibition grounds.
As crews set up for the final act, Dane Von Hagen, lead singer for Dead Levee, came out to present a commemorative guitar to Ensley on behalf of the performers, with the names of all the groups embossed on it by Pro-Touch Signs.
聽鈥淭his is really wonderful, and you don鈥檛 know how grateful we are. We just really want to say thank you,鈥� Ensley told the crowd, her voice breaking from emotion. 鈥淪aying thank you doesn鈥檛 seem to cover really how we feel.鈥�
Emcee Debra Button wiped her eyes after the presentation and said, 鈥淒ane, that was really sweet. I know that you started that and it was really sweet that everyone else chipped in on that, and I hope one day we鈥檒l see you grace us with your singing with your mom and sister.鈥�
Ensley was joined by her parents, Shenan and Luanne, in front of the stage as she shared her gratitude with the crowd.
鈥淲e know that God healed me once before and He鈥檒l do it again. We believe He鈥檚 faithful and will see us through this, but we definitely could not do this without the support of the community as well 鈥� so thank you so much. We are having so much fun tonight, and I hope you guys are too,鈥� she said.
鈥淭his is amazing, thank you so much,鈥� added Luanne. 鈥淲e love this, it鈥檚 been a great great evening with lots of loving. It鈥檚 fantastic.鈥�
As she went on, she noted that the 鈥淔-word鈥� has been used a lot in regard to cancer, and said they had three more F-words to add in regard to their situation: faith, fight, and friends and family.
鈥淎ll of us up here could not do this without our faith. We rely heavily on God. We know when we cry out that He cares, He hears every prayer and He sees every tear that we cry, and there鈥檚 been a few. We are never alone in this struggle, because He is with us,鈥� she said.
With the word 鈥渇ight鈥�, she said, 鈥淭his battle is not won by laying down and submitting. You have to fight.鈥�
She shared a quote, saying, 鈥溾�橸ou don鈥檛 drown in a river by falling in it, but by staying submerged in it.鈥� We are not staying submerged, we are fighting.鈥�
Luanne added that friends and family are also very important in battling cancer: 鈥淵ou need people standing with you. In this battle, we re not meant to go it alone, and your presence here tonight, your texts, your gifts, your listening ears and your generosity, they not only just blow our minds, but they are literally helping us get through this really bad life patch, so thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope these 鈥楩-words鈥� help you get through your next battle. We really wish we could help repay each and every one of you, and I hope we can do that some day. Thank you for a wonderful, wonderful evening.鈥�
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 have said it better,鈥� said Button. 鈥淪henan said to me one day at work, he said you know, Deb, the money is wonderful, but it鈥檚 just the gravy. What we feel from this community is really what makes the difference for us in this fight.鈥�
Later in the evening, as she introduced The 7th Avenue, she noted that lead singer Brayden King joined the organizing committee after finding out about the event. The group had already been planning to put on a fundraiser, and as soon as they found out what was being planned he was on board, bringing his experience.
She also noted that the two vendors who set up for the evening, an Elephant Ears vendor and the Kona Ice vendor, indicated their profits would be shared with the concert event.
A 50-50 raffle was held throughout the evening, earning $535, and this amount was donated back to the Akins family as well.
A team of 40 volunteers were on hand to make sure everything ran smoothly, including taking tickets at the gate, and helping people to park spaced apart properly to be physically distanced from each other.
There were also volunteers who took wagons with popcorn and water throughout the crowd, and there were volunteers who looked after the washrooms in the Curling Rink, checking on them every 15 minutes and cleaning and sanitizing them every half-hour to make sure the event was kept safe for everyone.
