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Block Party postponed again

Sarnia will have to wait another year for its Block Party on the waterfront.

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Sarnia will have to wait another year for its Block Party on the waterfront.

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The Bluewater Health Foundation fundraising concerts featuring the Trews and Walk off the Earth were postponed from last June amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rescheduled June 11-12 shows are now being pushed to 2022 as Ontario deals with the disease’s third wave, foundation executive director Kathy Alexander said.

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“We’re just confirming the new dates with the bands, but it will move to 2022,” she said.

Details are expected next week.

Foundation golf tournament Golf Fore Health was also recently postponed to September from June, Alexander said.

Year two of event postponements amid COVID-19 is expected to hit harder for the local fundraising community, she said.

“It’s that double-whammy of you’re now going on another year of significant cancellations and … recognizing that people, your donors and sponsors and attendees are now also maybe coming into another year where they’ve experienced job loss, loss of revenue, unknowns in their own personal and family lives,” she said.

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“That definitely, I think, will impact many charities, not just our(s).”

A 2019 Block Party featuring The Trews raised $60,000 for mental health and addictions initiatives at Sarnia-Lambton hospitals.

The foundation pre-pandemic raised about $2 million per year for various programs at Bluewater Health.

Some events have been able to adapt and continue, Alexander said, such as the foundation’s dream home lottery that this year sold a record 16,000 tickets.

People have also been generous with online giving amid the pandemic, but nationally donations and philanthropy are down substantially, Alexander said.

“The trends are not in our favour sadly, but there’s a lot of really great work happening, so I’m cautiously optimistic,” she said.

“We have to go forward. We need great health care and we need technology and we need equipment and we just have to strategize and look at things from a very different angle and perspective to be competitive and innovative.”

tkula@postmedia.com

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