MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH - An Open Letter & Call to Action
April 29, 2019
Saturday, May 4th
THE THIRD ANNUAL BARETT NELSON MEMORIAL MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH!
STARTS AT 6 PM at the Radisson Arena, Radisson, SK.
Advance tickets are $15.00 for 16 years and older, $20.00 at the door. Under 16 years is free.
MINORS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A LEGAL GUARDIAN.
ALL MONEY RAISED WILL BE DONATED TO MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS IN OUR AREA.
HELP US #GETLOUD FOR MENTAL HEALTH.
CALL FOR TICKETS …MICHELLE (306)827-7535 OR TROY (306)827-7755
SILENT AUCTION, FOOD TRUCK AND MORE!
This music festival was founded by Michelle Nelson, Barret’s wife. Music meant so much to Barret and Michelle has been committed to having that love pull their community together. This past year, another suicide rocked their community. In the letter below, Michelle speaks openly about how this festival came to be, and what it means for her husbands legacy, for her family, for the community, and for the future of mental health. The Do More Agriculture Foundation is proud to support The Third Annual Barret Nelson Memorial Music Festival for Mental Health.
Michelle Nelson and her husband Barett Nelson
Good Day,
My name is Michelle Nelson and I would like to share with you a bit of my story.
On April 30, 2016 my life changed forever when I lost my husband to suicide. At the time our kids were 18, 13 and 6. The next few months are a bit of a blur but I will never forget the confusion and despair of where do we go from here. As we got nearer to the one-year anniversary I was filled with dread. How were we going to get through this day? How was I ever going to make this easier for everyone? I knew we needed to find a way to make something positive out of our terrible loss. My husband Barett was a drummer and music was always a huge part of his life, he played in various bands throughout the years all across the prairies. I began throwing around the idea of a music festival to our friends and I reached out to some of Barett’s past bandmates. We managed to get 8 different groups to agree to donate an hour at a time each and we threw a festival!
hat first year our little group managed to raise 10,000! Along beside that we raised awareness. The Festival had an article in a couple of newspapers, we had speakers throughout the evening, we had people standing around in groups talking and listening to each other. We donated every cent of what we raised to our local fire department and first responders, Canadian Mental Health association Saskatoon and the Crisis nursery. We had done it! Something that started out for us as a way to honor Barett, had brought so much more to us, it brought some healing. The second year we again had an amazing lineup of performers donate their time and we raised 8,000. Again, 100 percent of the proceeds were donated to mental health programming, the bulk of it in the surrounding schools.
This year our community has again been rocked by the suicide of a long time much loved resident. We lost Wendy in November. She was a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, trusted advisor, volunteer and so much more. One of those people who held our community up. Who taught us about the kind of people we aspire to be. She was one of those people that held me up after the loss of Barett. It is more important than ever that we keep working to fund programs, to bring people together and to start getting loud about our mental health. For Wendy and for Barett, for all the other people that have been loved and lost and to try to prevent the loss of anyone else.
This year the festival in Radisson is on Saturday, May 4th. While we have many volunteers at this event including our artists, there are still some substantial expenses to hosting anything of this size. We are asking if you would like to support us in this cause in any way, by joining us at the event, monetary donation, silent auction items or by helping us spread the word.
Together we can make a difference. Together we can keep each other safe.
With gratitude,
Michelle Nelson
Michelle, Barett and their 3 children
Michelle and her 3 children
Please Contact us any time for more details President: Michelle – (306) 827-7535 email: michellebuckham@hotmail.com Vice President: Troy – (306) 827-7755 email: wheatking17@gmail.com Festival Facebook Page – Barett Nelson Memorial Music Festival For Mental Health Awareness Festival Bank Account for tickets and donations: bnelsonmusicfestival@outlook.com