A Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer, a well-known voice from a popular kids' TV show, and a local radio pioneer are headlining a list of twelve individuals who will be entering this year's Chatham Kent Arts & Culture Network "Heroes Wall of Fame".
The induction ceremony is set to take place at the Chatham Armoury (44 William Street North) on October 11 at 7 p.m. The event recognizes outstanding contributions to the local arts and culture landscape.
Launched just last year, the Heroes Wall of Fame initiative has become a focal point for celebrating local cultural heroes.
The program is managed by the Chatham Kent Arts & Culture Network (CKACN), whose stated mission is to champion and support the arts and cultural sector within the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, ensuring that those aspects of the community continue to flourish.
"The Wall honours those individuals or groups, present and past, who have distinguished themselves in their chosen field or artistic practice both within and beyond Chatham-Kent," said Dan White, CKACN chair. "These inductees deserve our recognition for the passion they've shown, the attention they've received, and the pride of community they've fostered in all of us."
This year's inductees include Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer Michelle Wright, who grew up in Merlin, Pardoville's Ron Pardo, who provides the voices for Cap'n Turbot and Mayor Humdinger on the popular kids' TV series Paw Patrol, and the late John "Jack" Beardall, who founded the first privately owned radio station in Ontario -- 630 AM, which was later coined CFCO (an acronym for "Coming from Chatham Ontario).
The 2023 Class of Inductees is as follows:
Visual Arts
Alexander M. Fleming – Painter (Chatham)
Larry Towell – Photographer and Photojournalist (Wallaceburg)
Performing Arts
Ron Pardo – Comic-Impressionist and Voice Actor (Pardoville)
David Farquhar – Audio Producer and Entrepreneur (Chatham)
Music
Michelle Wright – Singer and Songwriter (Merlin)
Chatham Concert Band – Orchestra (Chatham-Kent)
Dance
Lisa Lester – Dancer, Choreographer and Cultural Entrepreneur (Chatham)
Eelünaapéewi Lahkéewiit Pow-Wow – Indigenous Dance (Delaware on the
Thames First Nation at Moraviantown)
Literary Arts
Archibald Lampman – Poet (Morpeth)
Lori Lansens – Author and Screenwriter (Chatham)
Cultural Builders
John Beardall – Broadcaster and Entrepreneur (Chatham)
Kiwanis Music Festival – Youth Music Development (Chatham-Kent)
Members of the public are welcome to attend but must RSVP in advance to ckartsandculturenetwork@gmail.com.