Peggy Revell
The public is invited to support aboriginal youth by attending a wild game benefit dinner tomorrow night at the Nanicost complex here.
“It’s going to be a wonderful evening, delicious gourmet food, [and] a nice evening out,” enthused Al Hunter, founder and president of the Good Life for Young People Foundation (Oshki-Aa-yaa’aag Mino Bimaadiziiwin Foundation), which is organizing the event.
Funds raised from the dinner will go towards the foundation, whose goal is to support aboriginal youth.
“[We are] the only aboriginal foundation in Ontario that specifically will fund support initiatives of aboriginal youth,” noted Hunter.
“We’re going to work in areas of education, culture, employment, entrepreneurship, and other areas, so that’s basically what our work is going to entail,” he explained.
“The whole meal is being prepared by the culinary arts students who are students at the Seven Generations Education Institute,” added Hunter.
“It’s going to be a gourmet meal,” he promised. “I mean they’re going to be getting all decked out.
“It’s going to be white-glove service. It’s going to be very nice, very classy.”
The dinner, which gets underway at 6 p.m., will feature three sister soup with partridge as an appetizer, followed by a main course of filet mignon of venison with wild mushroom reduction, paupiettes of walleye and wild rice stuffing, sturgeon cakes, and sweet potato duchess.
A dessert of four-colour panna cotta will complete the meal.
Entertainment, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., will include local musicians Angus Jourdain and Larissa Desrosiers.
“Angus Jourdain is a very talented up and coming young man,” said Hunter. “He’s originally from Lac La Croix, and he’s going places and we’re there to support him.
“Larissa Desrosiers is a local girl from Fort Frances,” he added. “[She’s an] extremely talented and gifted musician.
“And this is what we’re about,” Hunter stressed. “We want to showcase aboriginal young people and their talents and their gifts and genius, and support them in that.”
Besides the entertainment, there also will be a media presentation which will “highlight and showcase some of the work that we’ve done and work that we want to do in the future,” Hunter noted.
As well, with a representative from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to be present, Hunter said there also will be a “major funding announcement” during the evening.
Tickets for the evening cost $50 each, with tables of 10 available to sponsor for $500.
Tickets will be available at the door, or by contacting Hunter at 482-1687 or via e-mail at alhunter58@gmail.com
“We’ve gotten a terrific response so far, but we could always use some more,” said Hunter.
“We invite people to come out and support the efforts of the foundation, and support the work that we want to do with aboriginal people, throughout Treaty #3 [and] throughout Ontario.”
Last summer, Hunter and other supporters participated in a walk throughout Treaty #3 territory to raise awareness about the foundation.
The foundation also has held annual benefit concerts at the Assabaska Ojibway Heritage Park in Morson.
