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A long-standing music benefit helps keep Sault Ste. Marie residents were fed during the cold winter months.

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The 14th^th The annual Blues for Food returns December 6-7 from 8-11 p.m. at Soo Blaster. The event is sponsored by the Sault Blues Society.

Donations of cash and non-perishable food items benefit St. Vincent Place and the Soup Kitchen Community Center. Last year, about $3,800 in cash and food worth about $2,900 was donated, society president Johnnie Tibbles told the Sault Star.

“It’s a very popular event,” he said. His group has been helping since 2010, when the Dirty River Blues Band, Algoma’s Water Tower Inn and the Sault Blues Society teamed up to launch Blues for Food. Musician Rusty McCarthy led the event, with the blues group taking over his organization after McCarthy moved to St. Catharines, Ontario. Tibbles hopes another $7,000 can be raised next week. Anyone wanting a tax receipt for their cash donation can leave their contact details with the organizers at the event.

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Jay Case Blues Band hosts the first evening of Blues for Food. Case, Frank Deresti, Josh Norling and Chris Johns will be joined by Val Powley, Shirley Kominos, Lindsay Pugh, Brandon Ruch and Josh ‘The Preacher’ McNally.

Sheila Dollimont, Paul Dell, Stuart Bolduc, Al Davis, Mike McDonald and Pete Cooper join Smokehouse’s Mike Yurich, Jeff Pennett, Keith Conway and Doug Cousineau on December 7.

Each guest joins the house band for three or four songs.

“It’s like a structured jam,” Tibbles said.

Demand for help at the Soup Kitchen community center has increased since last fall, when the James Street location helped service organizations including the Canadian Mental Health Association and Phoenix Rising feed 230 to 250 families per month. That number is now between 300 and 375, which represents approximately 600 to 700 residents of Sault Ste. Marie, said Ron Sim, financial and food services coordinator. Cereal, canned milk, crackers, peanut butter, canned meat, toiletries and toilet paper are particularly sought after.

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Blues for Food has helped raise community awareness about SKCC and poverty in the city, Sim said. Profits from the event come just ahead of ‘the busiest time of the year’, from Christmas to mid-March, following Christmas spending and rising home heating costs for cash-strapped residents limited.

Hats and Sault Blues Society memberships will be sold at Blues for Food. Each costs $25. Buy both for $40. The company’s events planned for 2025 include a concert during the Bon Soo Ontario Winter Carnival and the fourth annual Blues, Brews and BBQ.

Tibbles describes a “positive and upbeat” atmosphere among Blues for Food audience members.

“They are there to donate to charity,” he said. “They’re there to listen to some of their favorite local blues musicians. They are there to dance. They’re there to socialize… It’s a really cool thing to be a part of.

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The event was expanded to two nights in 2018. Blues for Food then moved to the Soo Blaster from Algoma’s Water Tower Inn pub to accommodate larger crowds.

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November 29

Steeltown Silver Brass Band Christmas Concert at Hillside Free Methodist. 7:30 p.m. Suggested admission donation $10.

November 29-30

The Algoma Festival Choir presents Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. 7:30 p.m. $30 adults, $10 children 12 and under.

November 29-Dec. 1

Sault Film Festival in Sault Ste. Marie Museum.

December 1

Steeltown Silver Brass Band Christmas Concert at St. Joseph Island Free Methodist. 3 p.m. Suggested admission donation $10.

December 3

Pianist Marianna Shirinyan at the Loft. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $25 and $40. Buy on algomaconservatory.com

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December 4-7

Musical Comedy Guild presents White Christmas: The Musical at the Sault Community Theater Centre. 7:30 p.m. $42 adults, $32 students and seniors, $20 children plus fees. Tickets on sale at the Station Mall Community Theater box office or online at saultctc.ca.

December 5

The Barrel Boys at the Loft. 7:30 p.m. Fully booked.

December 6-7

The Sault Blues Society presents Blues for Food at Soo Blaster.

December 7

Champions of Magic at GFL Memorial Gardens. 7:30 p.m. Tickets $59.50 and up;

The Reel Film Forum presents Misery at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre. 8 p.m. $15.

December 8

Steeltown Silver Brass Band Christmas Concert at the Sault Ste. United Methodist Church Marie, Michigan 7:30 p.m. Suggested admission donation: $10;

Hotel California at the Sault Community Theater Centre. 8 p.m. $56.50. Tickets on sale at the Station Mall Community Theater box office or online at saultctc.ca.

A child was born to us at Saint-Luc Cathedral. 4 p.m. Request tickets at saultctc.ca.

December 11

A Drag Queen Christmas at the Sault Community Theater Centre. 8 p.m. $92.98. Tickets on sale at the Community Theater box office or online at saultctc.ca.

December 11-15

The Sault Theater Workshop presents A Snow White Christmas at the Studio Theatre. 7:30 p.m. except 2 p.m. on December 15. $34 adults, $24 students, $19 children. Tickets on sale at the Community Theater box office or online at saultctc.ca.

December 12

An evening with Charlotte Moore at the Loft. 7:30 p.m. $60.

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