The Citizen, 2015-02-19, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015. PAGE 23.
The Blackwood name has been
one of the most important in the
world of Gospel music over the last
80 years, and now the tradition is
continuing in Blyth next month.
The Blackwood Quartet will be
performing at Blyth’s Memorial Hall
on Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m.
Formed in 2012, the Blackwood
Quartet continues the musical
tradition that began in 1934 with the
Blackwood Brothers Quartet.
The Blackwood Brothers Quartet
featured brothers Roy, Doyle and
James Blackwood, along with Roy’s
oldest son R.W. The group would go
on to eventually add Bill Shaw and
Bill Lyles and become one of the
most beloved Gospel groups of all
time.
In the 1950s, however, tragedy
struck and R.W. Blackwood and Bill
Lyles were killed in a plane crash.
While many feared this would be
the end of the group, R.W.’s
youngest brother Cecil joined the
group alongside J.D. Sumner.
Cecil’s son Mark would eventually
join the group in the 1980s, singing
alongside his father for a number of
years.
Cecil passed away in 2000 and
then in 2002, James Blackwood, the
only surviving member of the
original group passed away.
It was now up to Mark to continue
the family’s musical tradition,
forming the Blackwood Quartet in
2012.
The group has achieved great
success and tens of thousands of fans
in just a few short years and now, in
March, the group will be touring
Canada, making eight stops in
Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta.
For its Canadian tour, the group
will be performing the Gospel songs
of Elvis Presley.
The Blackwood family’s history
with Presley also runs deep, Mark
said in an interview with The
Citizen, saying that Presley and
Mark’s father Cecil attended Sunday
school together in Memphis,
Tennessee, discussing their dreams
of performing Gospel music in the
coming years.
The bond continued when James
Blackwood performed at Presley’s
funeral.
Mark says the group aims to sing
its audiences happy, bringing Gospel
music to the masses on both big and
small stages.
The group has also joined a
number of high profile musicians
over the years, performing alongside
Willie Nelson for a number of years
at Farm Aid concerts.
Earlier this month, Bob Dylan was
named the 2015 MusiCares Person
of the Year and during his speech he
spoke of a desire to work with the
Blackwood Quartet. Mark says that
his band is currently in negotiations
to make that happen.
Being entrusted with the
Blackwood family history, Mark
says, is not something he and his
bandmates take lightly. He says it’s a
huge responsibility, but one that he
has great fun carrying out.
He says that while he enjoys
performing in halls both big and
small, performing alongside legends
like Nelson and Dylan gives them
the opportunity to reach hundreds of
thousands of people with just one
performance.
The Blackwood Quartet is
performing at Blyth Memorial Hall
on Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased by phone
at the Blyth Festival box office at 1-
877-862-5984 or online at
www.blythfestival.com.
With the new year comes a new
calendar, and that means it’s time
once again for Farm & Food Care
Ontario’s annual Faces of Farming
calendar contest.
Each year, Farm & Food Care
opens the contest to Ontario farmers
and farm families who want to tell
their story, and see their faces in
homes and workplaces across the
province. One winner in total will be
chosen from among the applicants.
Applications will be accepted until
March 16.
The winning family, pairing or
individual will participate in either a
spring or summer photo shoot, and
will receive complimentary copies
of the calendar plus two tickets and
accommodation for the 2015
Ontario Harvest Gala and calendar
launch later this fall.
Last year’s winning entry came
from the Howe family of Aylmer
who grow strawberries, cantaloupe,
watermelons, squash, pumpkins,
beans and other vegetables. Their
three-generation family photo
appears in the 2015 edition of the
calendar.
Since it was first published in
2005, the project has featured the
faces and stories of almost 140
Ontario farmers and farm families.
Each year, the calendar is distributed
to thousands of Ontario media,
grocery retail outlets and politicians
and is sold through the Farm & Food
Care office. The project’s overall
goal is to connect the public with the
true faces of Ontario agriculture,
while introducing consumers to the
farmers who work 365 days each
year to provide quality, local Ontario
products for the homes of Ontarians.
Farmers or farm families are
encouraged to enter the contest by
submitting both an informal family
photo and short essay (400 words or
less) describing their family.
Candidates must make their primary
income from agriculture. Their
essays must include the following to
be considered:
• Names and ages of all family
members
• Address including county or
region of residency
• A description of the farming
operation including types of crops
grown and/or livestock raised
• History of the farm – number of
generations farming, etc.
• Any other details that make their
story unique including community
involvement, environmental initia-
tives, unusual hobbies, etc.
• Why they’d like to appear in the
Faces of Farming calendar.
Entries can be e-mailed to
contests@farmfoodcare.org or
mailed to 100 Stone Road West,
Suite 106, Guelph, Ontario,
N1G 5L3.
Continued from page 15
and don’t come anywhere close to
God’s holiness. God graciously
made a way for us to be holy, and
that way is through Jesus Christ. By
faith in Jesus our sin is given to Him.
He pays for it on the cross and His
holiness is given to us by which we
become His children.
God’s word addresses all of
His people as saints. They are saints
not because they are so good in
and of themselves, but because
they stand in Jesus and are holy in
Him. In heaven, God’s people
will realize their complete
holiness as part of the experience
and will never sin again.
Historic quartet to perform at Memorial Hall
A new look
There was plenty to do and see on the Family Day long weekend in North Huron, with events
going on at community centres in Blyth, Begrave and Wingham on both Sunday and Monday
to keep everyone happy and spending time with their family members. Here, Denaye Wattam
decided on a new, significantly white look courtesy of Jennifer Black at the Blyth and District
Community Centre on Monday. Along with face-painting, there was public skating and family
broomball to keep people busy in Blyth on the province’s newest holiday. (Jasmine deBoer photo)After sin, God gives
holiness to his people
Faces of Farming
calendar seeks entries
for 2016 contest
Tickets available at the Blyth Festival Box Office or by calling 1-877-862-5984.
Also available online at www.blythfestival.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 - 7 PM - BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL
Entertainment StopsStopsStopsStopsStops
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430 Queen Street, Blyth, Ontario
226-523-9720
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Live Entertainment
Saturday, February 28, 2015
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8:00 pm ~ $10. admission at door
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
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