Blues Band Film To Raise Funds For Scholarships

BRANDON, MB — A documentary about an iconic Canadian blues band entitled Flip Flop and Fly: 40 Years of The Downchild Blues will be premiered on December 4 at 6:30 p.m. EST on TMN and Movie Central. However, before that, a special screening will take place at the Royal Theatre in Toronto, tomorrow. During that evening, funds will be accepted for the Jane Vasey Memorial Scholarship.

This scholarship was spearheaded by Brandon University alumnus Ross Vasey and his wife Dorothy in memory of their daughter Jane Elizabeth Vasey (1949-1982), an accomplished and well-respected pianist and composer. She was a member of The Downchild Blues Band from 1973 until her death, from leukemia. The scholarship has been supported by the generosity of family, her former band mates and friends in Canada and the United States.

Annually, two scholarships of $2,400 are awarded in her memory to full-time students in the Bachelor of Music program — from first through fifth year — whose major instrument is piano. Applicants must undergo an audition process to be considered.

Along with the band, the talents collaborating on this film project include Dan Akroyd, who narrates the film, as well as blues legend James Cotton, with Colin James and Wayne Jackson. It was produced by Laszlo Barna (Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story), Loren Mawhinney (Ready or Not), Steven Silver (Shake Hands With the Devil), and producer/writer/director Joel Goldberg (Dreamcatcher: The 10th Annual Aboriginal Music Awards.)
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For more information, please contact:

Joanne F. Villeneuve
Communication Officer
Brandon University
P: (204) 727-9762
communications@brandonu.ca

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