Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers are calling this year’s Hank Snow Tribute a resounding success.

More than 1,600 people showed up for the annual event which returned to Queens Place after a four-year hiatus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over $25,000 was raised at this year’s tribute which will go directly to supporting operations at the Hank Snow Museum.

Administrator with the Friends of Hank Snow Society (and longtime QCCR announcer) Vina Moses says the organizing committee knew after a four-year break they would need to change tactics to raise as much as they could to support the museum.

This year the group got the community to sponsor the names of performers, past and present who have appeared on the Hank Snow Tribute stage and included them in the program.

That sponsorship drive along with some government grants allowed organizers to cover all the concert expenses, leaving the money raised at the event to go directly to the Hank Snow Museum.

Moses says the Friends of Hank Snow Society had to be creative in finding ways to cover their costs through the pandemic. She says they hit upon the idea of hosting weekly barbeques at the museum site to help keep the doors of the museum open.

“That was money that we were able to use to keep the museum going for the last few months. That’s because of those diligent people who worked so hard on the Wednesday shows and the wonderful people who came to the Wednesday shows,” said Moses. “We had folks who came every week and we really appreciate them.”

Moses says the community has come to enjoy the barbeques and the society decided they will continue.

Even though the tribute has just ended, organizers are forging ahead to provide more music.

The group is now preparing for their annual Gavin Whynot memorial event Saturday Sep 9 from noon until 6pm at the Gaven Whynot Gazebo Park. Then they’ll set their sights on another event in December to recognize the many volunteers who help keep the memory of Hank Snow and his influence alive.

To hear the full interview with Vina Moses click play below.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

Hank Snow Museum. Photo Ed Halverson

Organizers of the annual Hank Snow Tribute are calling this year’s event a rebuilding.

Aside from a mini tribute that was held in 2022 to mark the 30^th anniversary of the show the COVID 19 pandemic kept the event off the schedule for the past three years.

That was bad news for the Hank Snow Hometown Museum which relies on the proceeds of the Tribute to fund its year-round operations.

Museum administrator and Chair of the Hank Snow Tribute Vina Moses says the Friends of Hank Snow Society are determined to get things back on track.

“COVID devastated us financially, it devastated us, of course, you know, we were down, our feelings were down but we all kept saying we are going to make it,” said Moses. “So, this particular tribute is a rebuild. And it’s a rebuilding for all of the things that we have to do. Rebuilding with the musicians, rebuilding of a new type of tribute.”

Organizers are shaking up the event this year by expanding from one headlining act for the festival to four days of headliners. Included in the list are Ruth Manning and the Prospectors, the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Famers, Southern Breeze, the Rhinestone Romeos and Joyce Seamone.

Moses who is also a long-time host and former General Manager at QCCR says keeping the legacy of Hank Snow alive is important.

She says the Liverpool native opened the door to the Nashville Music scene for generations of Canadians to follow. The former train station that houses the Hank Snow Hometown Museum was significant to Snow during a rough childhood.

“Well, it’s very interesting that Hank Snow called this particular train station his safe place when he was a child. He was an abused child and whenever he thought he was going to be abused, he came in here and laid down and slept here,” said Moses. “So, when they called him and told him they were going to have the train station as a museum he was so excited.”

Moses says roughly 3,000 people from around the world, including some prominent Canadian country musicians make the pilgrimage to the museum each year. She is excited to see the RVs rolling in across from the museum to set up base camp for the four-day tribute.

Tickets for the event being held at Queens Place are still available at Ticketpro.ca. More information on the Hank Snow Tribute can be found on the museum website and Facebook page.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

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.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

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

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

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.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

To listen to the broadcast of this story, press play below.

The latest casualty of the COVID-19 virus is the Annual Hank Snow Tribute.

The event celebrating the life of Queens County’s hometown country legend, scheduled to run August 20 to 23^rd has been called off due to the corona virus pandemic.

Jessica Smith, administrator at the Hank Snow Home Town Museum and Co-chair of the organizing committee says the event relies heavily on sponsors.

“And when we kinda thought about it, a lot of our sponsors are just not open for business right now and are really feeling the economic impacts of COVID-19. So with that being said, we kind of realized we’d lose a lot of our sponsors. We already have lost quite a few.”

While she couldn’t provide numbers, Smith says the roughly 2,500 visitors drawn to Liverpool by the event each year are a boon to the local economy.

She says the Hank Snow Museum site and Queens Place Emera Centre provide camping for up to 150 RVs, and hotels for miles around are booked almost a year in advance for the event.

But Smith is quick to point out, the economics of the situation are not as important as the people involved.

“We have a lot of volunteers that are in an older demographic and they’re the ones who are most at risk for the pandemic right now. When we realized that things are looking more likely to be July, August – it’s more about keeping our volunteers safe.”

Smith says people have become less available due to social distancing and more and more suppliers have been shutting down making planning the event almost impossible.

She says she has spent most of the last week informing everyone involved of the decision to postpone until next year.

The thirtieth installment of the festival was set to open at Queens Place Emera Centre on Thursday August 20 with a performance by country music legend and native of Port Mouton, Carroll Baker.

On Friday, several Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame members were scheduled to perform, including Chet Brown, Don Haggart, Joanne Newman, Jamey Cotter, Sheila Newman and Matt Balsor.

Saturday would have seen inductee Dale Verge of Port Mouton as the honoured guest while Sunday, fellow inductee Joyce Seamone, a Recording Artist who had a number one hit in 1972 with “Testing 1,2,3” was set to host the Grand Finale and Songwriter’s Circle.

Baker has agreed to return when the thirtieth anniversary tribute is held in 2021 and the rest of the performers have been invited as well.

The Region of Queens has agreed to provide funding to keep the Hank Snow Museum operational; something Smith says is key to ensuring the tribute can go ahead next year.

“That is one of our main funding sources for the year. It’s definitely a big impact to us, something we rely on. So their assistance through this time has definitely been overwhelming and it’s going to get us through the next few months for sure.”

Because this year would’ve been the thirtieth anniversary of the event, the decision to postpone was not easy.

But Smith is rolling with the punches.

“So we’re essentially just taking everything from this year and just pretending 2020 didn’t happen and we’re just going to go to 2021 as the 30th.”

While regular attendees to the Hank Snow Tribute may not have the opportunity to gather together this summer, they can look forward to picking up where they left off when the thirtieth anniversary tribute takes place during the third week of August next year.

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