In honour of late Canadian artist Gord Downie, a music festival made its way to Regina this past weekend while raising money for cancer research. GEDfest performed at The Exchange on Saturday with a full crowd. The music festival pays tribute to Gordon Edgar Downie who died after a battle with brain cancer in 2017. Since then, GEDfest has been keeping his legacy alive. “I describe him as a Canadian legend, similar to Terry Fox, similar to Louis Riel,” said GEDfest’s founder Keith Dyck. “[He was] a person that contributed a ton to Canadian culture and obviously through his band The Tragically Hip to the Canadian music scene.” The event also serves as a fundraiser for cancer research. Dyck said it provides the band a chance to give back to communities while also celebrating the significance of Canadian music. “I was born and raised in Regina and was raised by charitable people. I’m just following the good mentors that I had to find ways that are fun and that resonate with me to give back to the community,” Dyck said, referring to his personal connection to the festival. “I’m a music fan. I play drums in the band as well so it allows me to get my rockstar on a little bit too, but really it’s about bringing fun, like minded, community oriented, generous people together and letting them out on the world through a fun event like GEDfest.” This year, the band has toured 11 major cities across Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon, Vancouver, Cochrane, Toronto, Ottawa, St. John’s, along with Buffalo, NY in the States. GEDfest has raised $1 million since the festival began nine years ago. “This is just a way of getting involved in the community and a way that’s authentic and fun,” Dyck said. “That’s what it’s about, so I encourage everyone else to do the same.” He added the festival will be back in the Queen City around this time next year.
