Music in MacNaughton is coming back to Exeter this summer.
On Thursday, August 15, the Cultural Collective and the Huron Honour Band are hosting the return of Music in MacNaughton at Exeter’s MacNaughton Park Pavillion from 7-8:30 PM.
The concert will feature the Huron Honour Band, a concert band made up of youth from across Huron County.
Admission to the concert is by donation and all funds raised will go towards the Tanner Steffler Foundation, a Huron-County based organization that provides navigation and peer support to youth between the ages of 12-29 struggling with mental health and/or addiction in Huron and Perth Counties.
“We are really excited for the return of the Honour Band to Exeter,” said organizer and Cultural Collective Chair, Bailey Shakyaver. “We wanted to feature young musicians from the area and also support a charitable organization too.”
The Huron Honour Band, which formed in June, operates out of Clinton and is directed by Central Huron music teacher and Cultural Collective member Aaron Neeb.
“This year, we were able to form three separate bands with youth from across Huron County: an Intermediate Concert Band; a Senior Concert Band and a Jazz Band,” Neeb stated. “We have alot of diversity of ages, and so we created ensembles that match skill level of our youth with music selected by these young musicians. This year we had over 55 youth registrants which is exciting.”
“This collaboration between our organizations is perfect,” added Olivia Allen, Fund Development and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Tanner Steffler Foundation. “At TSF, we work to support youth mental health and substance use, so giving youth a platform to showcase their talents while also supporting community organizations is pretty special.”
“It is also a great way to bring awareness to the services we provide for youth and their families living in Huron and Perth Counties, which includes peer support, counselling, system navigation, community education and awareness, youth programming, the Youth Advisory Council, and more,” Allen continued. “We hope that by sharing about our organization, we can encourage youth to reach out for support and to know they are not alone. If youth are dealing with any kind of mental health or substance use problem, we can be reached confidentially through our social media accounts, our website TannerStefflerFoundation.com, or by texting or calling 519-604-HOPE (4673).”