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Bev’s really, really big ‘Brainwave’
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Ken Matthews, who is Bev Matthews’s husband, praises the organizers and the community for supporting the event.
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Mac Olsen
South Peace News
With only three weeks of planning, Bev Matthews and her organizers pulled off a really big “brainwave” in the Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre May 1.
Entitled ‘Bev’s Brainwave’, Matthews held the fundraiser for the CT Scan unit and the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, in appreciation for her hospitalization for a cancerous brain tumour.
“It’s because we’re all trying to get our hospital going,” she says, “and the Cross Cancer Institute has been very good to me. I thank everyone for their donations and for coming out.”
Ken Matthews, her husband, praised the organizers for putting on the event.
“It’s been overwhelming,” he says. “At 3 o’clock, people were still bringing items for the silent auction.”
Lori Matthews, his daughter-in-law, also praised the community’s generosity.
“It’s just overwhelming. In three weeks time, we can pull this together,” she says. “That’s what you get living in a small community.”
Hundreds of people packed the live theatre in the centre for a musical performance by Rae Watterworth, whose stage name is Rae Waters, as well as hilarious comedy by “Dr. Shirley Best,” aka Zandra Bell.
Watterworth sang many songs, including ‘All Love is Here,’ about a girl in Ethiopia whose parents died from AIDS. She also sang ‘Oh Lonesome Me’ by Don Gibson and Chet Atkins.
Political correctness went out the window during ‘Dr. Shirley Best’s’ performance. Clad in attire Aunt Abigail would wear, she offered rip-roaring, non-stop laughs with her views about age and geriatrics, weight and weight loss, menopause, male bonding, human anatomy, pregnancy, the petroleum industry and the TV show ‘Baywatch’. She received a standing ovation at the end of her performance.
Brad Corcoran also performed several of his own songs, including ‘What Would They Have Done?’
In the arena, the silent auction featured items such as a pair of hockey sticks, clothing, blankets, a barbecue and an Edmonton Oilers Sheldon Souray jersey. Twelve men and youth had their heads shaved as part of the fundraising.
“Bev Matthews hoped to raise $10,000, which was achieved from the ‘Head Shave’ pledges alone,” says Lori Matthews. “The exact amount raised is yet to be determined as donations are still coming in, but it has far exceeded anyone’s expectations.”
The final total will be announced during the Black and White Gala June 13.
For more photos (printed and unprinted), check out Bev's Brainwave album
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