Executive director Gord Hunter had been looking for a way to celebrate the Kingston Humane Society’s 140th anniversary and say thank you to the Kingston community for its ongoing support when he heard that the Limestone City Blues Festival had been cancelled. “I knew that the stage would be available, so I jumped at the first opportunity to talk to Downtown Kingston (Business Improvement Area) and say, ‘Here’s my idea. It’s our 140th anniversary.
I want to do something kind of special. If the stage is available, I can find some performers, and we can do a big 140th-anniversary concert,’ ” Hunter recalled of the start of “Tunes 4 Tails,” which takes place Friday evening in Market Square. Not only did the DBIA give KHS use of the stage, they also offered to produce “Tunes 4 Tails” on KHS’ behalf.
They also suggested making it about more than just music, with pet-centred events and vendors in the square starting at 4 p.m. Friday.
“We couldn’t have done this without their help,” said Hunter, who noted that DocuPet stepped in to cover the rest of the related costs. Friday’s free concert will be headlined by Kingston’s own Miss Emily. The Juno award nominee and multiple Maple Blues Award winner has been doing “Adopt a Pet with Miss Emily” segments for KHS for a while now and is a “huge supporter” of their work, said Hunter, who is also her manager.
Also on the bill is Kingston’s the Wilderness, who are home from touring the release of the.