November 19, 2004 OTTAWA, ON -- Canadian country, pop and rock singers are equipped to bring a piece of home to troops in Afghanistan and the Arabian Gulf region. Julian Austin, Amanda Stott, Lisa Cameron and Annette Ducharme team up to play for Canadian troops on the Op Athena Canadian Forces Show Tour scheduled for November 17 th to December 2 nd in Kabul, Afghanistan and Camp Mirage located in the Arabian Gulf region. Produced by Horizon International Talent out of Calgary, three shows will take place for Canadian Forces (CF) members serving in Kabul and two shows will take place for CF members stationed at Camp Mirage. The Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency (CFPSA), in Ottawa, is organizing the event. Julian Austin , a New Brunswick native, is known for his East Coast country music talents. He has been nominated for many awards and was the 2003 ECMA Country Artist of the Year. As a singer and songwriter he is considered a veteran of the CF Show Tour after having already performed this year for Canadian troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Along with Austin, Amanda Stott started her concert tour schedule this year with a trip to Bosnia-Herzegovina to entertain the troops on the Op Palladium Show Tour. Ms. Stott, a Canadian pop sensation, has released a self-titled hit CD and is known for her performance during the Queen's Jubilee Gala in Winnipeg in 2002. As a young writer and singer, Stott brings energy to her live performances. Lisa Cameron , an Ottawa native, has opened for the likes of Prairie Oyster, Tommy Cash, Duane Steele and Mac Wiseman. As a country music singer and guitar player, she is familiar with the CF Show Tour schedule having performed, in May 2002, on the Op Apollo Show Tour in Afghanistan. Writer and performer Annette Ducharme has written hit songs and opened for Tom Cochrane, and demonstrated her pop talents in performances on Canada AM, the Mike Bullard Show and Breakfast Television. Mr. Ted Moseman, President of Horizon International Talent has seen Ducharme perform overseas in 2000 during Op Eclipse in Ethiopia. He says “she has been there and done everything; she has been in the business for a lot of years.” Ducharme will be doing the French content for the Op Athena tour stops and Moseman says, “she is a very dynamic performer, its rock, (and) it's a little bit harder.” The Master of Ceremony extraordinaire will be Canada's own Sheldon Bergstrom who does his own company routine, acts and sings opera during the show. To round out the cast, the Julian Austin band will provide the music for all singers and the Groove Street Dancers from Vancouver will dazzle the troops with their fancy footwork. The Royal Canadian Legion is the presenting sponsor of the CF Show Tour, which will perform five shows for the nearly 1,000 CF members deployed on Op Athena. Mr. John Frost, First Vice-President of Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion and Legion representative on the tour, says, “it's quite an opportunity to be able to attend the Canadian Forces bases and be part of the show that is going to be put on” and he explains the importance for Legion representatives “to see first hand some of the conditions and be able to talk to some of them (the troops) that are there.” Mr. Frost says that in addition to the membership of Canada's Veterans, the Legion “consider the serving member today as an extended member.” CFPSA has a long tradition of providing shows tours to CF members serving overseas and in isolated locations. Over the course of a six-month rotation, a CF Show Tour plays an important part in major operations and is always a big morale booster, bringing a small piece of Canada to deployed members. -30- Contact: Stephanie Webster, Media Relations Coordinator, CFPSA, (613) 996-6204 webster.stephanie@cfpsa.com Ted Moseman, President, Horizon International Talent, (403) 730-0141 horizontalent@shaw.ca
