The Telegram (St. John's)

‘Everybody is glued to the TV'

Christmas telethon longstandi­ng holiday tradition in Eskasoni

- BY ERIN POTTIE

ESKASONI — A Cape Breton tradition of gathering around the television to watch local performers sing songs of the holiday is upheld in the island’s largest Mi’kmaw community.

Eskasoni First Nation residents are not solely glued to a Maritimes’ broadcast, but instead their own community station where for more than 20 years a Christmas telethon has been staged.

Robert Stevens said back in 1997, he and fellow band members of The Relatives decided it was time for a telethon similar to others that were happening on the island. The bass player and singer said their first broadcast was held on a community station known as Goly Vision and included prerecorde­d entertainm­ent, a live auction and televised numbers for phone-in donations. What began as a one-time event has become an annual tradition that helps deliver toys, gifts and other items through Eskasoni’s welfare services leading up to Christmas. Last year alone, the telethon raised nearly $19,600.

“The five of us actually decided that we should try because we have all the equipment that we need, the sound system and everything,” Stevens said.

“We all went around, me and the boys in the band, to places in Sydney to get some stuff for the auction — anything at all we were getting, really. We were stopping at any stores in town, not just in Sydney but in Eskasoni too and other reserves.” Among the early telethon performers were renowned Mi’kmaw fiddlers, the late Lee Cremo and the late Wilfred Prosper Sr. The inaugural telethon also featured The Relatives which includes Stevens and his brother Darren (the group’s lead vocalist) and their cousin Tom Sylliboy, along with siblings Tom and Stan Johnson. The Johnsons’ cousin Derek Johnson joined the group a little while later.

“We recorded bands and we had some fiddlers and karaoke too,” said Stevens. “We did about four or five years of recordings and then we stopped, and we’ve done it live ever since.”

Stevens said it was purely the success of the program led to its continuanc­e. “That’s how it started, and it’s been growing ever since,” he said.

“After that we had more people, more community members joining us and we had chiefs too. Our current chief, Leroy Denny, he was one who really started helping us out with more volunteers and all that stuff.” This year’s telethon will be taking place the Sarah Denny Cultural Centre and will see the return of some pre-recorded performanc­es along with an auction.

The programmin­g begins Sunday at 1 p.m. and usually runs into the evening. Stevens’ band has also inspired another musical group that performs in the telethon known as 2nd Generation. The band features Steven’s son, Allan, and two of Tom Sylliboy’s children. Liberal MP for Sydneyvict­oria Jaime Battiste lends guitar and vocals to the group.

“They enjoy it,” said Stevens. “Everybody is looking forward to it. Everybody is glued to the TV. We have people calling in from like New Brunswick, Quebec and all parts of Nova Scotia.

“People come from other communitie­s to show their support and do a little singing and all that stuff. Not just the native communitie­s, but communitie­s outside Eskasoni in general."

This year’s telethon was held Dec. 8. It raised more than $14,000.

 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? Andrew (Mooney) Francis, a Mi'kmaq fiddler and East Coast Music Awards nominee, performs during one of the earliest Eskasoni Christmas Telethons.
CONTRIBUTE­D Andrew (Mooney) Francis, a Mi'kmaq fiddler and East Coast Music Awards nominee, performs during one of the earliest Eskasoni Christmas Telethons.
 ??  ?? CONTRIBUTE­D Destiny Sylliboy and Alexander Denny are shown performing as children with the help of the organizer of the Eskasoni Christmas Telethon organizer, Robert Stevens.
CONTRIBUTE­D Destiny Sylliboy and Alexander Denny are shown performing as children with the help of the organizer of the Eskasoni Christmas Telethon organizer, Robert Stevens.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? Multiple award-winning fiddler Lee Cremo is shown during a performanc­e at the Eskasoni Christmas Telethon in the late 1990s.
CONTRIBUTE­D Multiple award-winning fiddler Lee Cremo is shown during a performanc­e at the Eskasoni Christmas Telethon in the late 1990s.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? A group is gathered at the Eskasoni community hall in 1999 for its annual Christmas telethon.
CONTRIBUTE­D A group is gathered at the Eskasoni community hall in 1999 for its annual Christmas telethon.

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