A Chatham-Kent country music star is one of the many artists taking part in a virtual concert to recognize National Grief and Bereavement Day.
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Michelle Wright will be joined by a long list of talented artists Sunday night for the Saying Goodbye National Concert.
National Grief and Bereavement Day is recognized on November 16. According to organizers, the concert is meant to provide a time and place for people to grieve for loved ones, especially as the pandemic prevented many from engaging in the usual process of letting go.
Wright said she was inspired to get involved with the project after recently losing her mother.
"I've been experiencing first hand, a bit of loss in the last few years," she said. "In particular, my mother passed away a few months ago. I just really feel this its important that we do talk about the effects of losing loved ones."
As she continues to grieve her mother, Wright said she understands firsthand the wide array of emotions that people feel after someone they love passes away and the life-changing impacts that can come with it.
She said she hopes the concert will help normalize the conservation around the dying process and help people recognize that grief is a natural response to loss.
"It's okay to just even curl up in a ball and let it out or just stay in bed because you're just sad and need to take care of yourself," Wright said. "You need to grieve. I just think these things are important and I was glad they asked me to be a part of it."
In addition to Wright, other performers include Johnny Reid, Gregory Charles, John McDermott, Fred Penner, Jenn Grant, Carolyn Dawn Johnson and Ray Legere.
Tickets to the concert are free but donations will be accepted. Proceeds will be shared between the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and the appropriate provincial palliative care association.
"I lost my manager of 28 years to Lewy body dementia and I lost my business manager to ALS," Wright explained. "Hospice was so important...I really feel like it's a calling and thank God that some people are called to do that because it's so necessary and so needed."
The Saying Goodbye concert takes place from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The live stream can be found at sayinggoodbyeconcert.ca
