Full voiced fundraiser shines a light on Macmillan
An amazing night in the King Street Halls brought the work of Macmillan Orkney into focus, as local musicians and singers raised the roof for a sellout crowd.
A total of £4040.20 has been raised for a charity which supports local families facing cancer — boosted by a £500 donation from The Orcadian.
Editor of the Orcadian Mark Harcus said: “At the heart of a community is its local newspaper — and for this reason, in February, The Orcadian was named Highlands and Islands newspaper of the year.
With that award came the princely sum of £500, to be awarded to a worthy charity — and, we have decided that to boost funds raised this evening; Macmillan Orkney should be the recipient of this prize winning money.
“Macmillan Orkney offers hope, light, and stellar care to people in our community, helping them learn to live with illness, and sometimes harsh treatment plans which change their lives beyond recognition.
“Their day to day work for patients, and also families affected, is so very valuable to this community, and The Orcadian seeks to recognise this important contribution to Orkney life tonight.
“If staff present here tonight would be so kind as to join us on stage for a photograph, perhaps the audience here would be so kind to give them a rapturous round of applause for the amazing work that they do.”
Organiser Jenny Keldie added: “An amazing amount of money raised for ‘MacMillan Orkney’ by a very warm & generous audience who were entertained by an awesome line up of generous folk. We can’t thank everybody enough.
“We ran out of raffle tickets when only one third of the queue were inside and seated so at that point we knew everybody had arrived with the intention to support Macmillan Orkney as much as they could. And luckily more raffle books were sourced!
“The audience were so appreciative of the incredible musicians that joined forces for the event. At the end, the stage filled with everyone for the finale, Hey Jude. And with the audience also singing along so heartily, it was braally special.
“Heartfelt thank-yous to The Pop Tarts, Haverin, Reay Seatter, Ellen Henry, Isla & Elizabeth Duncan, Eric Linklater, Stewart Shearer, Leah Seator with Lola & Amber, Wayward, Eileen Linklater, Graham Rorie, Brian Cromarty, our fabulous compere Alice Tait, Marie, Lily, Magnus,Tom, and last but definitely not least Douglas Montgomery!
“Performers on the night ranged from choral offerings from The Pop Tarts, to fiddle solos from Eric Linklater, full band sets from Saltfishforty and Wayward, and The Orcadian’s own Leah Seator with her daughters Lola and Amber.
“A stand-out moment saw attending staff from the Macmillan Ward receive a cheque from The Orcadian — prompting the 200-strong audience into rapturous applause for their contribution to Orkney life.”