Decades of Disney with Arne Sahlen will take place again at Cranbrook United Church on Friday Sept 14, 7:30 pm; also twice at Kimberley United Church, Saturday the 15th at 7:30 pm and Sunday the 16th at 3 pm. Admission is by donation; Food Bank items are also welcome.
People who missed Sahlen’s summer Disney shows expressed regret to him.
“Thanks to great support of the two churches, I can repeat this program during the regular season.”
Music from Disney classics, an ever-changing selection, will mix with stories of their background and cultural significance.
“For instance, Snow White changed film history,” he says. “Who’d have thought that moviegoers by the thousands would cry at cartoon figures, the weeping dwarves around her seemingly-dead body? Even mega-stars Clark Gable and Carol Lombard were seen and heard sniffling.” Known as Disney’s Folly during its four Depression-ravaged development years, Snow White soon earned a billion dollars in 2018 equivalence.
These Disney shows are again to aid a young girl in need. “Marina, from an ESL new-Canadian family, endured a horrid ‘professional assessment’; she was told nothing of the machines and tests or how to respond, not even greeted on entering. Tagged as Learning Disabled, she spent years in Special Needs placement - derided by other kids as “in the Dumb Class.” Long humiliation started to show in behaviour issues; then her Dad finally persuaded the school to give her a chance in normal classes. “Well! She earns 80-90% regularly in Math and Science!” exclaims Sahlen.
That sense of Implanted Disability could have tainted her entire life, and self-image is still a concern. Now a Grade 12 student in Alberta, Marina also excels at gymnastics - a visible public forum likely to boost her spirits - and is keen on math and science, not low-demand courses like Fashion that had been urged on her. Sahlen is raising funds for gymnastics costs and supplies needed in her intensive Science courses. For more details or to help out, please contact arnesahlen@hotmail.com, 250-427-2159, or cell-text 250-540-4242.