BLACK Powder Toys, (BPT) have been invited to play the 20th Anniversary Grand Finale Concert for The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity in Poland on Jan. 8, 2012.
The North Vancouver band will open the event on the main stage in downtown Warsaw at 3 p.m. The event, which last year had an attendance of 80,000 people, will be streamed live on both national channels of Polish TV (TVP1, TVP2) and various other media networks.
"Our flights and hotels are booked," sayss Pete Ryznar, the band's keyboardist/songwriter. "The Jan. 8 Grand Finale concert will kick off a Polish tour. We have seven shows plus a number of radio interviews scheduled in Warsaw, Zakopane and Krakow."
BPT's debut CD, Made in China, has earned airplay on a number of stations in Poland including Radio 3 in Warsaw and Radio Gdansk. The album was recorded by North Vancouver producer Paul Baker of Bakerstreet Studios who passed away from cancer last year. It was the last album ever recorded in his studio.
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (GOCC, Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy, WOSP) is one of the largest, nongovernmental, non-profit, charity organizations in Poland. Founded in 1993 by Jurek Owsiak, their main objective is, "protecting health and saving children's lives by providing medical equipment to public hospitals."
The Charity's Grand Finale Concert takes place on the first or second Sunday of every New Year. Sponsored by many Polish and worldwide companies, it is a one-day long, nationwide, fundraiser. Over 1,500 campaign centres and 120,000 volunteers participate in this annual event. See attached link: http: //www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gVAfBSvpNcY
Throughout the nineteen Grand Finales, the Foundation collected over $110 million for cardio-surgery, neonatology, pediatric oncology, kidney diseases, congenital defects in newborns and children under 5 years of age.
Apart from the Grand Finale, the Foundation also organizes one of the biggest outdoor rock concerts in the world, Woodstock Festival Poland. The attendance at the August 2011 show surpassed 750,000.
For more info visit www.blackpowdertoys.com.
