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Friday » May 23 » 2008
Benefit show for a family ousted by fire
Tom Zillich
Surrey Now
Friday, May 09, 2008
CREDIT:
Dancers/musicians Tara Lett (far left) and Barron S (second from right) are helping to stage a benefit show for a Surrey family displaced by a house fire. The show is set for Saturday, May 17 at Surrey Arts Centre.
They're going to sing and dance to help a family cope with losing everything in a house fire.
Dancers/musicians Tara Lett and Barron S, along with their Write This Down production crew, are staging a benefit show for the struggling Surreyites.
The family was forced out of their fire-ravaged home in Fleetwood last February, and now live in a friend's basement suite.
They had no house insurance and the wife, who has a medical condition, barely got out alive. "After the fire, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs," Barron S told the Now.
The family does not want to talk publicly about the fire but, according to show organizer and friend Kara Terry, they appreciate efforts made to help them through tough times.
"It hit close to home, our hearts," said Terry. "Their story made us want to do this for them. This is just part of the fundraising for them. There's a lot of (community) help to get them started again."
The May 17 benefit builds on the Write This Down company's efforts to stage performances as fundraising events for schools and community groups.
The venue at Bear Creek Park has been donated to the cause, and proceeds from the all-ages show will be distributed to both the family and Surrey Firefighters Charitable Society. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children. For more details, click on www.writethisdownproductions.com or phone 1-800-607-2105.
© Surrey Now 2008 - Tom Zillich, The Now Newspaper
Discography
Barron S - Startin' From Scratch (released Sept. 2008)
Tara Lett - Any Other Day (released Sept.2008)
Photos
Bio
Barron S and Tara Lett grew up on opposite sides of the world with a common dream; to build a career within the performing arts that would last a lifetime.
Barron S started her singing career in the kitchen of a basement suite; recording vocals through a cut up pair of panty hose into a $30 dollar microphone. After studying dance for years (BfA from Simon Fraser University, The Young Company, The Nutcracker Ballet) she turned to music when a high velocity car accident caused her to suffer what medical professionals deemed “career ending injuries”. Every day she worked to rehabilitate herself, using music to help her get through once effortless everyday activities that now presented challenges.
Barron S started to write poetry as an outlet for her frustrations and soon after started adding melodies to turn her poetry into songs. She fell in love with singing and song writing and soon became excited to see how she could fuse her love of music with the dance ability she had worked so hard to regain.
Tara Lett was practically born singing. Her humanitarian parents moved her all over the world, however much of her childhood was spent in small, rural villages in Africa (Ethiopia, Cameroon). One thing always remained the same, wherever Tara found herself in the world, she was always singing! Growing up she took advantage of every singing opportunity she could, performing in choirs, churches, restaurants and always around the house!
After high school Tara started working in music within North America. She joined the group "G-Force Girls” and began recording and playing all over Canada and the United States headlining events such as “Indy Week" in Toronto and the Venetian Hotel Club "Venus". Tara then began studying music in the Vancouver Community College Jazz Program and formed the folk duo "Twincity", where she was featured as not only a lead vocalist, but also as a musician; playing guitar and rhythm for the band. Twincity was chosen to open for critically acclaimed Holly McNarland (Universal).
Barron S and Tara Lett met after they were both chosen to join the famed “Felions”, BC Lions CFL dance team. That year they not only danced their way to the Grey Cup sharing the stage with the likes of Nelly Furtado and Tom Cochrane, but they also discovered many similarities in their career goals and their touring and performance company “Write This Down Productions” was born!
Barron S and Tara Lett have been working together ever since. 2008 saw the release of each artist’s debut album, Barron S Startin’ From Scratch and Tara Lett Any Other Day. Together they also created two different performing acts: The “I’ve Been Dreaming…” Show, a full length theatrical production that is currently touring Western Canada, playing school and fundraising shows for audiences of all ages, and “The Bar Top Bump”, a performing series that is tailored for corporate and club scenes. Keep posted for the latest info on music video releases, tour dates, elite events team and more!
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