Sherwood Park News has reported:

Edmonton singer Timothy Noel will return to Festival Place in Sherwood Park on Nov. 6 with The Way We Were II: Full Circle, a concert raising money for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. The show will feature a 22-piece orchestra performing Motown, soul and R&B favourites, backed by strings and horns, along with guest vocalists. Five dollars from each ticket sold will be donated to the foundation.

Noel said the fundraiser is connected to his family’s experience with the Stollery. He prefers to keep details private, but said the care his family received stayed with him. “What really got me was the love, the care and the reassurance,” Noel said. “At the time, as a young parent, I felt like they knew what to say to me. I will always remember that.”

That experience prompted Noel to organize a fundraiser for the hospital in 2010. More than a decade later, he felt drawn back to the cause and named the new production Full Circle. “All of these little things from that 2010 show kind of led to why I call this show Full Circle,” said Noel. “I put something together so when somebody’s reflecting on their week, or they’re having a bad day, they can look back and be like, we were there together sharing that moment, and sharing a well deserved good time.”

Noel said the concert is about more than its musical programme, describing the connection between performer and audience as central to the event. “The stage is the only place I ever felt understood,” he said.

“It’s a privilege to be up there. It’s not just a gig,” he said. “You give back where you can. I’m really grateful to be able to do this. To be able to give back in this way means a lot. Plus, I get to have some fun.”