Hundreds of local residents and out-of-town visitors attended the third annual Tumour Take Down event in St. George on Friday, May 1, 2026.
The event is designed to raise money for brain cancer research and to recognize those who are living with, or affected by glioblastoma. The event also celebrates the late Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, who died from glioblastoma nearly nine years ago.
Organized by Leslie Hendrickson, Fiona Bell, Stacy Cornale and Trish Adams, the fundraiser concert has helped raise $67,000 for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada since its inception.
Hendrickson said the idea for the fundraiser first came to fruition after she met Cornale at the Royal Canadian Legion, St. George Branch 605, in the summer of 2022 and learned about her husband Mike’s glioblastoma IDH diagnosis.
Glioblastoma is a fast-growing, aggressive brain tumour that invades nearby brain tissue and is the most prevalent high-grade primary brain tumor in adults.
Moved by Mike’s condition, Hendrickson and Bell decided to team up and throw a spring fundraising event in 2023 to help raise awareness about the condition, and to raise much needed funds for research.
“They didn’t even tell me about the event until they had it all planned!” said Cornale with a laugh.
“But, that first year we pulled it off and we raised $36,000, then we did again in 2024 and raised $31,000,” said Hendrickson.
Noting that they took a year off in 2025, the organizers said that this year they were hoping to raise $50,000 .
While the total amount raised is not yet known, the event sold out of its 800 tickets and brought in additional funds through other avenues.
“This year we entered the world of sponsorship,” said Bell. “That made it bigger and better, and helped us raise more awareness.”
The Tumour Take Down also featured a 50/50 draw and several raffle tables with donated prizes including a smoker from Strodes BBQ & Deli, a custom-built guitar signed by the Tragically Hip’s Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Paul Langlois, a signed guitar by the Trews, season tickets to the Brantford Bulldogs, two signed hockey jerseys and much more.
“We probably have 38 ‘smaller’ items that range in value from $50 to $600, and then there are 16 big ticket items, all of which are just amazing,” said Adams.
“Chef D” Darryl Fletcher, of Chef D Catering and Events, was also on-site selling buttermilk chicken sandwiches and tater tot poutine, with all proceeds going towards the big donation.
As the big event officially got underway, Felix Munce, an 11-year-old rapper from St. George who goes by the alias Flikity Split, kicked off the evening’s entertainment with one of his original pieces.
“He writes his own rap music,” said Hendrickson. “He actually wrote a song for the Toronto Blue Jays and was featured on CTV News, and he opened our show tonight. It was super cute, he’s a really talented kid.”
A local band by the name of the Village Joke was then welcomed to the stage to perform in between the youngster and the returning headliner, Grace 2.
A well known Tragically Hip tribute band, Grace 2 performed several iconic songs, opening with the band’s 1989 hit “Blow at High Dough.”
Lead singer Andy Wehrspann said that he and the band members were happy to once again be returning to the event to help raise both funds and awareness for the cause.
“Cheers to everyone who showed up to raise money for such a great cause, and of course, thank you to the organizers who put this together,” he said. “It is an honour to be here. When we formed this band, our first mission was to celebrate the music of the Tragically Hip with other Hip fans all across Canada. Our other mission is to use the power and influence of the Hip’s music to raise money and awareness for great causes like Tumour Take Down and glioblastoma research.”
From “Fully Completely,” to “At the Hundredth Meridian,” “Fifty-Mission Cap,” “Nautical Disaster,” “Bobcaygeon,” “Grace, Too” and more, the band gave an authentic Tragically Hip experience with note-to-note accuracy and Gord Downie style vocals.
“These guys are just extremely philanthropic in what they do. They’ve raised over $80,000 for the The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, and their goal is to get to $100,000 so they’re just incredible,” said Hendrickson. “They’ve played for us every year and they’re amazing to work with, they really help in every shape and form.”
When asked how it felt to throw an event and receive so much support from the community, all four organizers responded with just one word.
“Amazing,” they said in unison.
“Emotional,” added Cornale. “I have goosebumps.”
The four women agreed that they couldn’t have put the event on without their volunteers and all the people who stepped up to make Tumour Take Down a success.
“We have 38 volunteers, and counting, because there were a few people that jumped in at the last minute like Emberley Contracting who brought and built the stage for us,” said Adams. “They’ve all been so great, we couldn’t have done this without our volunteers.”
Hendrickson also gave a special thanks to the St. George Ravens and their various sponsors, as well as Rob Baker from the Tragically Hip who recorded a special shoutout video promoting the event.
“And beyond that, thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting this. It means so much to us,” she added. “We recently lost our friend Ted Caton, who only survived for 11 months with glioblastoma, so it’s just incredible to see the support that we get, the donations we receive and the volunteers who stepped us to make this happen.”
Brantford resident Jamie Carnegie, one of over 700 people who attended the event, said she thought the event was wonderful.
“The opening acts were incredible and Grace 2 is just phenomenal,” she said. “This is such a great cause so it’s really such a pleasure to be here, and it’s wonderful to have this taking place in the community. It’s such a beautiful party and I’m just glad to be here with such wonderful and talented people.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
