Wayne Kaulbach, 64, plays in a Tragically Hip cover band in Vancouver and has embarked on a cross-country, one-man tribute show to raise money for the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund.Supplied
The organizer: Wayne Kaulbach
The pitch: Raising $10,000
The cause: The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund
Wayne Kaulbach is a such big fan of the Tragically Hip that he’s seen the band perform 10 times and sings in a tribute act called Bobcaygeon.
He’s been hooked on the Hip since the group’s first album, Up to Here, came out in 1989. “I think Gord was just the best front man of all time,” he said. “They are the ultimate Canadian rock band.”
Mr. Kaulbach was also touched by Mr. Downie’s Indigenous activism and his call for reconciliation. “He wanted a better Canada for all of us and it really inspired me,” he said.
Last year Mr. Kaulbach, a 64-year-old retired photographer from Vancouver, started thinking about taking a trip across Canada. He also wanted to do something to honour Mr. Downie, who died in 2017. He came up with the idea of performing a one-man Tragically Hip show in bars and clubs along the way.
He set out in his 24-year-old Volkswagen Eurovan last April and played his first gigs in B.C., Yukon and the Northwest Territories. He then headed east and plans to visit each province and Nunavut before returning to Vancouver in October. He’s played 15 shows so far and has several more booked.
He’s donating half of whatever he’s paid, plus tips, to the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which promotes cultural understanding. He’s raised around $5,000 so far and hopes to hit $10,000 by October. He’s also asking people, “What does reconciliation mean to you?” and compiling responses on a Google doc.
The trip hasn’t been without a few hitches, including a van breakdown that cost $5,500 to repair. But Mr. Kaulbach has been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people he has met, including the family in Smithers, B.C., who put him up for a few nights while the van was being fixed.
“It’s just been an amazing trip,” he said during a stop in Ontario. “It’s kind of blown my mind how kind and wonderful people have been.”