Karaoke Competition Raises $10,000 For Cancer Research

The money's still trickling in from Saturday night's Pump Idol fundraiser for the Ottawa Regional Cancer and the results are incredibly positive.

After raising $8,000 in just four hours last year, organizers target ten grand for this years effort and have already counted up $10,200 for cancer care.

Special acknowledgements to organizer Laura Butterworth, Lieutenant's Pump owner John Couse and the great folks at Dog and Pony Sound. Mrs. Woody, Ottawa Citizen reporter and good friend Gary Dimmock, KISS-FM's Jenny From The Block and myself were judges for the night and were well taken care of by the awesome staff at The Pump.

Canadian Idol's Jon Dore, on 0 hours sleep, blasted into town for the event and did an awesome job hosting the show with Ottawa comic Jason Harper.

Through pledge registration, well over $4,000 was raised by Saturday afternoon and the tally hit the $5,000 mark by showtime. The balance of the funds raised came through generous donations from the Pump patrons and passers-by who stopped for a curious peek at the spectacle.

Also stepping up to help the cause was my good friend and mayoral candidate Terry Kilrea, who performed a rousing rendition of New York, New York - prompting a few of us to deliver back a few rounds of chorus line kicks! This guy really is a man of the people.




These are just a few of the shots taken Saturday night. It was not only a "blast", it was a huge success for all involved. Hats off to those that worked so hard to make it bigger and better than last year. I'm already looking forward to the 3rd annual.