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Fundraising concert for Cape Breton ‘dream field’ set for this weekend

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Fundraising concert for Cape Breton ‘dream field’ set for this weekend

The Hawks Dream Field project in Dominion, N.S. is another step closer to becoming a reality.

While so many other projects and charitable organizations have been thrown curve balls by COVID-19, efforts to refurbish the decades-old Hawks Field and make it fully accessible have continued along nicely.

"We're at $85,000 now, that we've raised ourselves during this pandemic and we want to keep on going because it's a big project, but it's such a worthwhile project," says Hawks Dream Field Society member Toni McNeil.

Sheldon Saccary is co-chair of the Hawks Dream Field Society. He's watched with pride as his daughter Angela, who has Down syndrome, has participated in Special Olympics over the years. But, he says to see her playing on a field he's spent the past year and a half helping fundraise for, would really be a moment to remember.

"It's going to be a dream come true," Saccary tells CTV Atlantic.

This coming weekend will see the field project's biggest annual fundraiser. The second annual Cape Breton Night by the Fire was created last year during the pandemic. It raised more than $11,000. Saturday evening, it's back for an in-person encore at the Branch 78 Legion in Dominion.

"It is livestreamed, and this year, because things have opened up with COVID, we are able to have an audience, which is thrilling," says McNeil.

The $1.3 million project has received funding from all three levels of government. And if the famous saying from another Field of Dreams is 'if you build it, they will come' - that's been the hope here, from Day 1.

"Our goal is to make it the most accessible venue on the Island," Saccary says. "Doesn't matter if you're disabled. Doesn't matter if you're a senior, a child."

Organizers are now swinging for the fences to have the Dream Field completed by fall 2022. Construction is set to start in September. In the meantime, they say there will be a surprise for Saturday's concert-goers. "We will have the 3D rendering of what the actual field is going to look like, save for a few details when it's all finished. And it is absolutely beautiful," McNeil says.

The Society said it would announce Wednesday evening whether Saturday’s concert will be indoors or outdoors.

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