Curtain call for the 10th Owenpalooza
A large Owenpalooza banner was raised over the stage at Auberge Richelieu in memory of Owen Patrick Harold for the 10th, and final, time Saturday.
Owen was 22 when he died in a car crash in September 2008.
Although filled with grief, his family and friends wanted to do something special in his honour and, at the same time, give back to the community he grew up in. By combining two of Owen’s passions in life — music and environmentalism — they planned Owenpalooza, an annual concert with a minimal environmental impact.
Gord Harold, Owen’s father, said the decision to end the event this year was not easy.
“It feels bittersweet. It was a hard decision to come to.”
He said Owenpalooza has been a “great success” and because of that the organizers have been able to help causes locally and internationally.
“We’ve had good successes here in the fundraising department. We’ve got the scholarship in Owen’s name (the Owen Harold Me-
morial Scholarship is awarded to a graduating Notre Dame College School student each year) funded for the next 15 years.
“We’re probably going to approach $50,000 raised since the beginning and 100 per cent of it goes back to the community in one way or another.”
He said originally, he “had a three-year vision and that was it” for Owenpalooza, but it kept growing year after year.
“We were still dealing with the immediate grief of losing Owen in the first year, and we were in a haze and robotic-like going through those motions,” he said. “(But we) felt so good about it. And you knew in your heart Owen would approve.”
The second year became a lot easier, and Owenpalooza “started to take roots.”
“This is a positive thing. We’re better off as a family. We’re better off as a friend. And, I’ll humbly say, we’re better off as a community to have something like this that brings people together under the guise of love and friendship and celebration and remembering a young man that was taken too soon.”
Gord said the community embraced the fundraiser.
“Welland is a great community and Niagara is a great region and we’ve had wonderful support and it’s touching and very much appreciated … all I can do is sincerely thank everyone who has supported Owenpalooza. The list (of people) is endless.”
He said the experience has been “healing and wonderful” and the family has been “grateful for all the friendship and love.
“We feel very good about what we’ve done and it just seemed like the right time … I get emotional when I think about the people who have stepped up and supported Owenpalooza.
“It’s phenomenal. And it’s time to step back and say thank you to those people and just leave on a high note.
“And also, maybe make room for somebody else who may be in a similar situation to where we were a few years ago.”