SYDNEY – Vicki Gould's big day finally arrived Thursday.
Thursday night was the night the Johnny Reid superfan, who has captured Maritimers' hearts, was set to meet her hero.
The Cape Breton woman spent the day getting the star treatment ahead of Thursday night's concert in Sydney.
After her story aired on CTV News at 5 last month, the country music star reached out to Vicki, promising her a night she would never forget.
"I'm gonna make sure that you're at Centre 200 when I come there," Reid told her in a video message. "You and I are gonna have a chance to say hello and I'm gonna get you backstage, and we're going to have a right good time -- so get your dancing shoes on."
Vicki has Down syndrome and is mostly non-verbal, but singing along to Reid's songs brightens up her days.
Since Reid's promise, Vicki's been counting those days down.
A special ride came to pick her up Thursday afternoon, courtesy of Glace Bay businessmen Kenny McGillivray and Blair Slade, who footed the bill for a limousine and for Vicki to go to the spa before the show.
"It blew my mind," said Vicki's mother Lori. "I couldn't believe it, how the community could come together and just feel the love for somebody else. And care for somebody else."
But the highlight will, without a doubt, be meeting her idol face-to-face.
"She's probably going to want to give him a hug," Lori Gould said. "She's going to give him a hug, I know for sure."
It's something Vicki will always be able to hold dear.
"This is going to mean the world to her," Lori said. "She's going to be flooded with memories for a lifetime. It'll stay with her forever."
