Telemiracle 42, the annual Kinsmen fundraiser, gets underway tonight in the Queen City.
The annual telethon is a way to raise money for people in Saskatchewan who require special needs equipment and access to medical treatment.
Last year, Saskatchewan residents raised over $5 million, all of which stayed in the province.
This year’s show will be headlined by Canadian rock trio the Stampeders.
One of the hosts for this year’s Telemiracle is musician Beverley Mahood. This will be her 21st year as a host and she’ll also be performing with her band.
“I still get goosebumps, I just jumped in going ‘alright, I can do this, I want to do this,'” she said.
Mahood plans as much as she can ahead of the weekend. She said that way when it’s go-time she can focus on the show and being there for as long as she can.
“I do a lot of prep with my band so I don’t have to be running around backstage looking for them or thinking about the song we’re going to sing, they pretty much know what’s going to happen so I can kind of focus on everything that happens on air,” Mahood explained.
Her goal is to help raise as much money as possible for the people of Saskatchewan.
“Sometimes it is a last resort, they have nowhere else to go, they don’t have the funds themselves, they can’t get the funding and it is a last resort,” Mahood said.
When the Kinsmen and Kinettes receive applications from people for help, Mahood said they are reading these people’s heartfelt stories and why they need help.
“It could be a wheelchair, a scooter, to have better mobility, to have a better quality of life, to send their child to another province to have heart surgery, who doesn’t want to help. That’s the thing about this telethon, there’s really nothing like it,” she said.
Telemiracle will begin broadcasting live on CTV stations at 9 p.m. tonight from the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.
People are encouraged to drop by with signs and watch the performances and live broadcast anytime.
-With files from Erin McNutt