CFUW Owen Sound will host A Sentimental Journey: A Tribute to Canadian Wartime Service and Their Music on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion in Owen Sound.
The event features the stories of Ted Barris – a journalist, broadcaster, best-selling author and Member of the Order of Canada – with live performances by the Harbourfront Alley Cats.
Barris has spent more than four decades telling the stories of Canadians in uniform. The author of more than a dozen books of Canadian military history, including The Great Escape: A Canadian Story, Juno: Canadians at D-Day, Dam Busters and Battle of the Atlantic, he is a Libris Award winner, a long-time contributor to CBC Radio, The Globe and Mail and the National Post, and a retired journalism professor. In 2022, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian military history and remembrance. His presentations draw on hundreds of first-hand interviews with veterans, bringing ordinary Canadians’ extraordinary service vividly to life.
“So many of us grew up with relatives who served, or who waited at home, and who rarely spoke about it,” says Donna Gordon of CFUW Owen Sound. “Ted Barris gives those experiences a voice, and the music gives them a heartbeat. People will really enjoy this evening.”
Between and around the stories, the Harbourfront Alley Cats will perform beloved standards of the era. These tunes lifted spirits, marked farewells and welcomed troops home. Together, the words and music offer a moving portrait of a generation and a fitting prelude to the Remembrance season in Grey-Bruce.