Fans to pay respects at Gordon Lightfoot public visitation today in Orillia

Fans of late folks singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot could have a possibility to pay their respects in his hometown of Orillia at this time.

A public visitation will likely be held for the musician from 1 p.m. to eight p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church.

Lightfoot died on Monday at age 84 and tributes have been pouring in from world wide ever since.

The performer was recognized for his poetic and poignant lyrics on songs similar to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “If You Could Read My Mind.”

After Lightfoot’s loss of life, Orillia residents started putting flowers on two monuments to the singer within the metropolis.

Lightfoot’s household says messages of condolence may be left at mundellfuneralhome.com, the place service particulars are posted.

A guide of condolences may also be signed at Toronto’s Massey Hall, a venue the place Lightfoot continuously carried out all through his profession. It will likely be accessible from 10 a.m. to three p.m.

Lightfoot’s non-public funeral will happen at a later date in Orillia the place he will likely be buried alongside his mother and father.

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A technology of previous pals, longtime {couples} and households raised on Gordon Lightfoot gathered Saturday evening to mark the passing of the Canadian musician.

By sheer coincidence – or as some instructed, a case of mournful serendipity – a live performance deliberate months in the past as a tribute to Lightfoot as a residing legend wound up being a celebration of a life well-lived.

For Chicago residents Jan Goldsmith and her grown son Rick Goldsmith, saying goodbye was important. The two flew into Canada earlier Saturday and travelled to Orillia for the live performance with plans to attend Lightfoot’s public visitation on Sunday.

“I’ve been listening to Gordon since (my mom) introduced me as a kid … and he’s been a part of my life almost on a daily basis since,” mentioned Rick.

“We had to be here.”

The Goldsmiths described a mix of disappointment and pleasure that ran all through “Early Morning Rain: The Legend of Gordon Lightfoot,” a musical retrospective held on the Orillia Opera House, contained in the 677-seat Gordon Lightfoot Auditorium.

It was a venue the place the musician carried out many occasions earlier than. And workers shared tales of how Lightfoot was recognized to wander to the theatre each time he was on the town.

On stage, Leisa Way & the Wayward Wind Band shared their very own tales of Lightfoot’s legacy by main the viewers by means of a free chronological recounting of his profession, beginning with songs from his time as an Orillia boy.

Their openers included a rendition of “We Come Here to Sing,” recorded when he was within the early Sixties duo the Two Tones adopted by an interpretation of the lyrics to “The Hula Hoop Song,” a business jingle he wrote as a young person.

As the present progressed, extra beloved Lightfoot hits surfaced.

A heat tackle “Steel Rail Blues,” with the total band at centre stage, led to Way’s upbeat solo of “If You Could Read My Mind.” Other favourites “Carefree Highway,” “Sundown” and “Early Morning Rain” closed out the present.

For a room largely comprised of people that grew up on Lightfoot – lots of them little greater than a decade his junior – it was an evening of therapeutic.

Chris Robbins, who got here to the present along with her husband and an entourage of pals, mentioned she was there to rejoice Lightfoot’s work.

“He touched the core of the country from coast-to-coast,” she mentioned exterior the venue.

“It’s a sold-out show, that’s perfect,” she added. “He usually did that.”

Duncan McDonald, an Orillia resident, introduced his spouse alongside in hopes of sharing a room with like-minded music followers.

“I want to be here to honour him; listen to the music; grieve a little bit; and sing a little,” he mentioned.

McDonald anticipated an evening with “a lot of tears, a lot of laughter, a lot of joy and a lot of mourning for a time that’s passed.”

The gathering was additionally one in all kindness, as Lightfoot followers Will and Zenith Andrews found. The couple obtained married within the Philippines seven years in the past, and Will sang Lightfoot’s “Beautiful” to his spouse as she walked down the aisle.

On Saturday afternoon, they made a cut up choice to journey 90 minutes from Whitby, Ont., to Orillia with out live performance tickets, merely to see off Lightfoot in any significant approach they may.

“We came here tonight because we wanted to see the statue,” defined Will, standing exterior the opera home.

A couple of minutes later, the couple discovered themselves on the successful finish of free tickets. Two separate concertgoers heard they had been ticketless and handed them spares. After the present, they had been beaming.

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