A North Vancouver teenager who has been bringing the noise to his neighbourhood every night in celebration of front-line health-care workers got the chance to take it up a notch last Friday.
Cameron O’Reilly, 14, has been bringing out his bagpipes and performing alongside his father on the drums every night at 7 p.m. in their backyard on East 11th Street.
Their nightly performances are part of the ongoing effort to recognize the important work that health-care workers are doing to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Laura O’Reilly, Cameron’s mother, said her son and husband’s effort have been great for the neighbourhood because they’ve been bringing people together, figuratively speaking, while we’ve been ordered to stay apart.
“So many neighbours will come by and listen and clap,” she said. “When you don’t see anyone, it’s been really nice.”
Cameron O’Reilly, who has performed alongside the North Shore’s JP Fell Pipe Band for almost three years, was recently asked if he wanted to join the North Vancouver City Fire Department in helping to salute health-care workers.
Every Friday at 7 p.m. the fire department has been part of a procession of first responders who are sounding sirens and driving past Lions Gate Hospital in order to showcase their solidarity with those on the front line.
On May 8, O’Reilly, alongside his father and other members of the JP Fell Pipe Band, performed in front of the hospital as emergency first responders commenced their parade route.
“I thought it would be a great addition to our salute to the health-care workers,” said Andrew Payne, assistant fire chief with North Vancouver City Fire Department. “To see kids actually picking up the instrument and doing this sort of thing is just a really cool thing.”
