Take a walk or go for a bike ride around Stittsville on Thursday, July 7th at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy free live music. Back for its 3rd year, the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts event promises a night filled with life and song.
Thirty-two performance locations are already lined up across Stittsville, as well as one in Kanata. New this year, performance locations have been mapped out on Google Maps to make it easier for attendees to find the various performers. (Note: not all performances are included in this map. All performance locations can be found on the map image on the event site.) Musicians interested in signing up for the event can do so by visiting the website. There is no deadline for signing up. Additionally, there are some locations willing to host performances, so if you are a band without a place to play, contact event organizer Sarah Blakely to set things up.
As in the past, the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts will raise money to donate to a worthy local cause. This year, Sarah has chosen to raise funds in support of the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre (WOCRC), “we selected WOCRC because of the work they do that is intended for residents of Goulbourn, Kanata and West Carleton. The Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre is a not-for-profit organization that provides health and social services to communities in far west Ottawa. The funds raised from the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts will be directed towards their counseling, crisis walk-in and phone support mental health services.”
Each year, the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts raises money to support Ottawa area mental health services – from pay-what-you-can corporate sponsorships as well as donations made either online or in-person at performance locations. In the event’s first year, $5,983.90 was donated to the Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre. And in its second year, the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts raised $10,033.46 for the Youth Services Bureau program for youth mental health – far surpassing Sarah’s goal of $8,000.
The goal this year is to raise $10,000 for WOCRC, with $1,100 already raised. The 3rd Annual Stittsville Front Porch Concerts event sponsors include:
- Mjolnir Construction
- Kiwanis Club of Kanata-Stittsville
- Jojo’s Pizzeria and Creameria
- Sarah Kaplan, Real Estate Agent, MacDonald Webster Group – Real Estate
Donations can be made online or at performance locations and sponsorship is pay-what-you-can. “There is still time to donate!” says Sarah. 100% of the proceeds will be donated on behalf of the residents of Stittsville.
Sarah looks forward to once again filling the streets with life and song, “It is amazing to see the community come together. Seeing how excited everyone is to participate, whether that be the performers, the attendees, the sponsors. It’s so lovely to see the community come together on such a large scale with a common interest in mind. I may be the one who initiated the event, but it’s the community that drives it and makes it successful and every year, they leave me in awe.”
Visit the Stittsville Front Porch Concerts website or check out the event’s Facebook page for more information. The event’s rain date is Thursday, July 14th. Sarah is “expecting another great year where neighbours can spend time together and enjoy our beautiful community.” Stittsville Central also looks forward to another successful evening of music and togetherness.
