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Rise Up! concert to shed light on a dark issue

Sep 3, 2015 | 6:35 AM

The Rise Up! concert in La Ronge this Saturday is not meant to simply entertain, it’s meant to raise awareness about the issue of abuse.

Conrad Burns is one of the coordinators of the Rise Up! movement. He said abuse tends to go unnoticed, even by victims.

“A lot of people don’t know what abuse is,” said Burns.

He said one in four women and one in six men in Canada have experienced abuse, and it comes in many different forms, such as elder abuse, sexual abuse and bullying.

Burns, too, has found himself in an abusive situation.

“I, myself, went through an abusive relationship and I didn’t know what abuse was until I opened a book and realized, oh! I was being abused.”

Burns will be the master of ceremonies at the concert. He said he wants to draw people in with entertainment but also discuss how to address abuse and where people can turn in order to safely leave abuse behind them.

Burns said the bands are also passionate about the Rise Up! movement.

“They’re standing and raising their voices and using their music to say that we’re against abuse ourselves and we’re here to support this cause.”

The concert was originally supposed to be held on Canada Day, however, due to fires in the area it had to be postponed.

One other Rise Up! concert was held in Prince Albert in May.

Burns is hoping the movement, which started up in February, will continue to gain momentum.

“This was our starting year. We [had] a lot of growing pains this year through the concerts and everything else. We expect to do better and create more awareness for the upcoming year.”

The all-day event begins at 11a.m. and goes to 6p.m. at the JRMCC Arena in La Ronge. There is no general admission.

 

jsperling@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jnsperling