Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers of the annual Hank Snow Tribute are calling for help.

For the past 30 years the life and legacy of Liverpool’s favourite son has been celebrated through several nights of concerts, music and memories.

But administrator at the Hank Snow Museum Vina Moses says the annual tribute which acts as their major fundraiser may not be enough to keep the doors open.

Moses who also appears on-air here at QCCR says a three-years long pandemic with little opportunity for fundraising has drained the organization’s accounts.

“The financial situation at the Hank Snow Museum is critical,” says Moses. “We are really looking for sponsors, especially for both of our events but mostly for the Tribute. We really need help this year to get through.”

Moses says the museum has kept the doors open and the lights on over the past few years thanks to the support of several large sponsors including the Region of Queens, Sobeys, Belliveau Veinotte accountants and Heritage Canada.

Hank Snow was Canada’s first major country music star. His career took flight when he moved to Nashville in 1949. Over the next five decades he recorded 140 albums and landed 85 singles on the Billboard Country charts including number one hits “I’m Moving On” and “I’ve Been Everywhere”.

Moses is hoping to see others who are passionate about Snow’s music step forward and support their work.

“There are folks who have already helped, and we are now looking for some more major sponsors as well as folks who will maybe sponsor $50.”

Moses says that $50 will place the sponsors name beside an artist on the festival literature.

Headlining the Hank Snow Tribute this year will be Ruth Manning and the Prospectors on Thursday, a collection of Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees is featured on Friday, the Rhinestone Romeos from the valley and Southern Breeze from New Brunswick will co-headline Saturday and Joyce Seamone will lead the finale Sunday.

Country legend Carroll Baker was scheduled to headline the Tribute, but Moses says due to circumstances beyond their control the Hank Snow Society couldn’t fly her in.

Organizers are working to bring Baker back next year.

The Hank Snow Society is planning several other events this summer including weekly Wednesday barbeques featuring local performers at the Hank Snow Museum.

The Hank Snow Tribute will be held at Queens Place in Liverpool the weekend of Aug 17 and tickets go on sale Wednesday, June 14.

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Hank Snow Administrator Vina Moses with Charlotte White. Photo courtesy Friends of Hank Snow Society

A dedicated Liverpool volunteer was honoured in a surprise ceremony Sunday.

Charlotte White thought she was attending the regular annual general meeting of the Hank Snow society.

As she pulled in the driveway of the Hank Snow Museum, it didn’t take long for her to figure out something was up.

“When I drove in the yard and I saw all the cars and I thought oh isn’t this nice, we have so many to turn out ‘cause it was our annual meeting, right?” said White. “Oh, my heavens, and then I saw girl stand in the driveway that worked with me at the food bank and I thought, and then when I went to park, I saw my son’s car and I thought, what is going on here?”

For her longstanding service, the Friends of Hank Snow Society decided to name the room that showcases the famous singer’s outfits in honour of Charlotte White.

Commemorative sign inside museum. Photo courtesy Friends of Hank Snow Society

The ceremony was marked with messages of appreciation for White from MLA Kim Masland and Mayor Darlene Norman.

Administrator at the Hank Snow Museum Vina Moses says the honour is not only deserved but appropriate.

“We thought that would be a nice way to honour her so that when we do tours, we can say this is the Charlotte White room,” said Moses. “Charlotte White is the lady who did a lot for the museum, for the Friends of Hank Snow Society and a lady who loved Hank Snow and loved his music and wanted to make sure that it was remembered.”

Moses says White has been involved since the early days of the Friends of Hank Snow Society and her fingerprints are all over the organization.

While she isn’t as front and centre in day-to-day activities, White continues to be an honorary director.

Moses says when you mention to White you have a need, she puts her experience and connections to work to make it happen.

Moses says the society also wanted to ensure White was recognized for her work establishing the outside canteen, which will now forever bear her name.

“I thought we needed something inside and outside because there may be people who don’t come inside but who are at the outside activities or vice versa, you know. So, her name is in both areas, and I thought it was a deserving recognition that she would have that,” said Moses.

Charlotte White sign on concessions building outside museum. Photo courtesy Friends of Hank Snow Society

Keeping the ceremony a surprise from someone as plugged into the community as White was no easy feat.

Moses says she needed to use White’s own network against her to keep the event under wraps.

By using the phone list White provided, Moses managed to divvy up the guest list into a phone tree for volunteers to reach out to all invitees.

“We knew if we put it out there, numerous, I’m sure hundreds and hundreds of people would have come,” said Moses. “But as I said, we kind of wanted her to know that all those volunteers that she’s called over the years did it because they, you know loved her and loved helping out at Hank Snow and they did it because of Charlotte, I’ll tell you for sure.”

When asked how she felt about having her name emblazoned across the museum White was both excited, and humbled.

“I never got to sleep ‘til about 1:30 this morning ’cause I kept thinking who was that who was that?” said White. “It was wonderful but not necessary, but wonderful.”

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South Shore Drive-in screen. Photo credit: Catherine Croft

A popular way to spend a night out in Queens is over – at least for now.

The group behind the South Shore Drive-In announced they would not be operating this year because members are stretched too thin by work and other time commitments.

The South Shore Drive-In was embraced by the community as a fun, family-focused event that was nostalgic for older patrons who remember seeing movies from their cars years ago and exciting for younger audiences who experienced the drive-in for the first time.

Because family groups could stay isolated within the bubble of their own vehicle it was also one of the few places large numbers of people could gather during the height of the COVID pandemic.

The South Shore Drive-in operated as a pop-up event in locations across Queens but eventually found a home on the grounds of the Hanks Snow Museum in Liverpool.

The community rallied to provide labour and materials to erect a permanent screen on the site.

Because of that kind of support, the drive-in may enjoy new life.

The Hank Snow Society wants to make use of the existing infrastructure and begin showing movies again.

Vina Moses, administrator at the Hank Snow Museum expects staffing the event won’t be a problem.

“We have tons of volunteers. One of the things that Hank Snow has is a wonderful, dedicated group of volunteers,” said Moses.

She says they’re looking for a projector and have already begun the process of getting permits to operate the Drive-In.

Moses says the fire marshal indicated a third exit is needed but that could be easily made by removing a couple of large boulders.

The site has seen several recent upgrades including improved access to washrooms and a new concessions building where patrons can enjoy anything from popcorn and candy bars to hot dogs.

Moses says a drive-in is a wonderful way to bring families and the community together.

“It was so exciting when we had the drive-in here because families were here, people were here from all over. You could see people talking to one another,” said Moses. “The fellowship was nice.”

Moses says if they can line up the permits and source a projector the Hank Snow Museum could be opening the drive-in starting weekends in July.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Tribute show scheduled for August has been cancelled.

This marks the third year in a row the annual tribute has been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vina Moses* with the Hank Snow Museum says uncertainty around what restrictions will be in place this summer have forced organizers to call it off.

“We are already preparing for the Hank Snow Tribute. We started around December,” said Moses. “We have money that we have to outlay beforehand. The board was worried that perhaps anything that they deposited might not be returned.”

Those include deposits paid to artists, the venue, equipment, and souvenir suppliers.

The tribute show normally attracts around 2,000 people to the Liverpool area and is the main source of income for the museum.

Moses says private donors and all three levels of government have stepped in to keep the museum operating during the pandemic.

But she says it’s the fans of the Country Music Hall of Famer that drive the event.

“People don’t realize that the Friends of Hank Snow Society is not limited to Nova Scotia,” said Moses. “It’s not limited to Queens, to Nova Scotia, it’s not limited to Canada. We have people from all over the world.”

Despite a passion for the man who wrote iconic hits such as “I’m Moving On” and “I’ve Been Everywhere”, Moses says many people are still wary of gathering indoors at a large event.

Last year, the Friends of Hank Snow Society held an outdoor mini tribute at the Hank Snow Museum and plans are in place to do that once again on the third weekend in August, in place of the annual tribute show.

Moses says the group is planning to add another small country-music festival to be held on the grounds the weekend of July 23.

Anyone wishing to attend either of those events can book ahead by contacting the Hank Snow Museum.

*Vina Moses is also general manager of QCCR

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Hank Snow mini-tribute will go ahead this weekend. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Museum in Liverpool is welcoming visitors to enjoy a taste of the Annual Hank Snow Tribute show.

The big event has been cancelled the past two years due to COVID so the folks at the Hank Snow Museum have decided to host a mini-tribute this weekend.

Acting administrator of the Hank Snow Museum Vina Moses says people understand why the tribute was called off in 2020, when everything was cancelled, but wonder why it couldn’t go ahead this year.

She says it comes down to people not being able to come over the US border.

“Both performers and visitors. We have performers from Nashville come up. We have performers from all over the United States and all over Canada. We have performers who come to the tribute, some of them, every year,” said Moses.

Vina Moses stands alongside a statue of country music legend Hank Snow. Photo Ed Halverson

The mini-tribute will feature performers who had been scheduled to appear at the Hank Snow tribute show.

The annual event normally requires eight to ten months of preparation.

Moses is awed by the efforts of so many to get the mini-tribute up and running in such a short period of time.

“We did it in less than five weeks. Don’t ask us how we did it, we just, everyday we worked day and night,’ said Moses. “I mean, we were working here for five weeks straight and we’ve got everything under control and everything organized and we’re really excited about it.”

Because of public health restrictions, capacity at the mini-tribute will be limited to 250 people.

Already, close to 50 RVs have booked their spaces and Moses expects turnout could be at or above capacity both days.

“We’re hoping that people will call and book so that we have their bookings made and we know for sure that we have those. But we are still looking for walk-ins because we have enough room, I think, for them,” said Moses.

The money raised at this weekend’s mini-tribute will be added to the donations collected from a weekly barbeque and live music fundraiser held every Wednesday this summer to cover some of the museum’s operating costs throughout the year.

The Hank Snow Mini-Tribute begins at 6:00pm Friday evening and runs until Saturday night.

For tickets or more information contact the Hank Snow Museum on their website or by calling 902-354-4675.

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South Shore Drive-In screen. Photo Catherine Croft

It took longer than expected but a drive-in is returning to Queens.

Co-founder of the South Shore Drive-In Catherine Croft had hoped to be showing films again this spring.

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions and some technical issues postponed the reopening of the drive-in at the Hank Snow Museum.

“Towards when we were opening and then my tech guy said, oh by the way, we need a new bulb,” said Croft. “I didn’t know about it. I was waiting for our sizes to open to at least 50, that’s done now.”

Croft was referring to the COVID restrictions lifting to allow at least 50 people to gather outdoors.

In fact, 150 people are now permitted to gather outside which means the drive-in can open to its normal capacity of 300 cars.

“Because we are a drive-in, we keep everyone social distanced by being in their own vehicles,” said Croft. “The only time you’re not in your vehicle is when you are going to the washroom and or concessions and there you’ll find that we are fully masked and hand sanitizers. Washrooms are cleaned upon use.”

Croft says the plan is open August 6 with a double feature but then there will be a short hiatus for films at the Hank Snow site over the next couple of weeks.

The following weekend the drive-in will be closed due to the Hank Snow mini tribute and the weekend of August 27, Croft and her crew will be taking the show on the road to Gateway Campground in Caledonia.

The pop-up show called a Field Good Time will feature a couple of movies, monster truck rides and live music.

The South Shore Drive-In will return to its home at the Hank Snow Museum in September.

Croft hopes to run shows into late October or until the evenings become too cool to operate the equipment.

She says by bringing back the drive-in, she and the rest of the organizers want to provide people an experience they will cherish.

“That’s what we want to bring to the table this year is more of the retro, more of the fun,” said Croft. “We want to create memories as much as you can enjoy remembering your own from years ago.”

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Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

The Hank Snow Museum staff is looking ahead to a better summer this year.

Despite having to call off the annual tribute show for the second year in a row due to COVID restrictions, the museum’s doors will be open and music will be played.

Acting administrator Vina Moses says they’re accepting visitors by appointment and Wednesday will mark the start of a weekly concert and BBQ series she’s calling the ‘Hank Snow Chuckwagon BBQ & Wednesday Entertainment”

“We are doing everything outdoors because that’s the only way that we can do [the event] with spacing,” said Moses. “It’s very hard to do it indoors and try and clean and all that kind of stuff.”

Moses says they will be following all COVID protocols from social distancing and cleaning to hand sanitizing and masks.

Because the events will be held outdoors there will also be some new steps taken to make visitors comfortable.

“We realize that we can’t let people sit out there in the sun so we’ve got sun shelters this year which is really a big and a wonderful addition,” said Moses.

While the shows are free, Moses says the museum will gladly accept do nations.

“Because we don’t have the tribute we need this money to augment our lights, our electricity, our fuel,” said Moses. “So it’s actually to keep the museum going during the whole year.”

Moses says the museum relies on events such as this, their monthly online 50/50 draw operated in partnership with QCCR and the $10,000 the Region of Queens provides each year to keep the operation running.

It turns out closing the doors for an extended period of time has allowed museum staff to dive deep into their collection to put more memorabilia on display.

Moses says they’ve dug into filings cabinets and examined close to 40 boxes that have been in storage.

“It’s been wonderful because we’ve had the time to peruse them all, to find letters from Hank Snow himself. We’ve been able to find memorabilia that we would not have known about,” said Moses.

As far as when the annual tribute show will resume, Moses says that is up to public health officials.

“If you saw the line up of people who come here, they’re from all over. They’re from all over the United States, they’re from all over Canada,” said Moses. “ So we could never have the tribute without having the borders open.”

Moses says whenever the tribute does happen again they have already confirmed Carroll Baker will be headlining.

Until then the “Hank Snow Chuckwagon BBQ & Wednesday Entertainment” will run each Wednesday until mid-September.

The series kicks off Wednesday with Autumn Carver at noon followed by Bob Russell and the Salt Water Cowboys at 1:00pm.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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South Shore Drive-In screen. Photo Catherine Croft

Organizers of the South Shore Drive-In say this season will be worth the wait.

Catherine Croft, one of the principal organizers says people are asking when the local drive in will begin operations, pointing out other drive-ins in Nova Scotia have been operating for a few weeks.

Croft says the season will get underway soon and she’s asking patrons to be patient just a little while longer.

“Our drive-in is a bit different,” said Croft. “We’re run by volunteers and unlike some drive-ins that are able to do no-person contact essentially. You can buy your ticket online and you park yourselves.”

Croft says their operation is based on in-person interaction.

Her team of volunteers, including members of the Queens County Ground Search and Rescue, are responsible for everything from selling tickets, directing where to park, selling concessions and cleaning washrooms.

That support team alone, can include up to 30 people which could see the operation run afoul of public gathering limits set by public health.

Croft says their group had hoped to start showing films June 5, but now expects they will have to wait until sometime this summer when restrictions ease.

When the facility is up and running, Croft says they have plans to offer more than movies to their audience.

She is working to showcase local live music. Performers will play on a stage in front of the big screen while their image is shown behind them.

Croft also wants to expand their offerings into the community by bringing their smaller screen to private events.

That would allow people to watch movies, or play video games as part of their gatherings.

The screen is being installed this week at the South Shore Drive-In home on the Hank Snow Museum property.

Croft says she and her team are as anxious as everyone else to get the season underway.

“I’m ready. I’ve been all winter ready. I am ready to go with concessions, our screen is ready and cleaned this year and we’ll be ready to rock and roll whenever the government says or Dr. Strang can say that we can do it.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

It’s Groundhog day for the Hank Snow Tribute show.

Organizers of the annual event, normally held each year in April, have announced the 2021 edition has once again, been postponed.

The 2020 edition would have been the 30^th anniversary of the event but was called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-chair of the organizing committee Jessica Smith says they couldn’t go ahead with the capacity limits required to meet social distancing rules and the uncertainty around the vaccine rollout.

“We need to have as many people as we usually have in an arena,” said Smith. “There’s just no safe way for us to have that many people together, especially if the vaccine still isn’t done.”

Smith says they’ve already informed the musical acts and suppliers of the postponement.

She says everyone is very understanding and headliner Carroll Baker has already committed to performing next year.

The cancellation is the latest in a string of festival that have announced they will be postponing their events until 2022, including the Apple Blossom Festival in the valley and Liverpool’s Privateer Days.

Money raised from the tribute show accounts for the lion’s share of funding to keep the Hank Snow museum operating year-round.

Smith says the museum has been closed through the pandemic but is aiming to reopen in the coming weeks.

Going without their largest source of revenue has meant the museum has had to come up with other ways to raise money.

“We did a couple of different things. We partnered with South Shore Drive In. We started building the drive-in theatre and we opened in September. We were, kind of, thinking to the future because we knew that COVID wasn’t going to be something that came and went quickly,” said Smith.

Along with opening their parking lot for the drive-in, the Hank Snow Society also offered barbeques each Wednesday and partnered with QCCR in a 50/50 draw.

Smith expects to continue those projects and hopes to see the drive-in open as early in the season as possible.

She’s optimistic the 2022 edition of the Hank Snow Tribute Show will go ahead.

“Obviously people are disappointed. There’s a lot of people that enjoy going to the tribute every year and seeing old friends and camping and just having a good weekend in general. We’re hoping we can continue on with that and 2022 will be better.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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