They are Canadian country artists and longtime friends.
George Canyon and Aaron Pritchett are coming to Bancroft this week.
The stop is part of their Coast-to-Coast Cowboy Christmas tour, promoting their new single, Children Believe.
The two recently went on a trip to Ghana with the Canadian charitable organization, also called Children Believe, which works with local partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America to break down barriers to children accessing education.
Canyon said it was really special to be able to tell people about the work being done rather than just what they’d been told about it.
Canyon and Pritchett said they were impressed with Children Believe because they sponsor the whole community rather than individual children, and a high percentage of the funds they raise go directly into those communities.
“Typically, with a lot of charities, from the numbers that I’ve seen over the years, their numbers are fairly low compared to Children Believe, to what actually goes to the communities and to the children,” Pritchett said.
Canyon said with their new song, they’re hoping to inspire in people the spirit of giving during the holiday season.
“Christmas is our favourite time of year and I realized the other day, it took me a long time to realize why. There are many reasons I have, but one of the biggest reasons is, it’s the one time in the world where there’s more love than hate,” Canyon said.
“If everybody just took a second, took a breath, and were empathetic with those that they don’t know on the other side of the world – just looking at what they’ve been blessed with and then looking at what other people don’t have, what we’re hoping to inspire is that just fills them with empathy.”
Canyon and Pritchett are performing two shows at the Bancroft Village Playhouse on Thursday and their limited-edition holiday EP will be for sale.
Pritchett said they’re looking forward to playing for a smaller crowd and closely connecting with people.
“It’s important for us to reach as many people as we can in the country, not only with our message from our music and Children Believe, but us personally as well, for them to realize that we are your everyday Canadian.”
