Connie Smith, the “Always Good News” girl has a dance card and a date with a couple of thousand Burlingtonians.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON. July 26, 2013.  She was paid fifty cents an hour to baby sit and didn’t like wearing the crinoline she had because it scratched her legs.

She was just a beat or two behind the drum when it came to fashion and wore stitched moccasins when others were wearing saddle shoes.

She went to Pineland elementary school and is looking forward to being one of the MC’s at the This Magic Moment event that will be held at Nelson Park September 14^th.

Will Connie Smith go with her Vavavavoom look at the Magic Moment event or will go the pony tail look and still wow the crowd?

We are of course talking about Connie Smith, that 39-year-old woman with the smile that lights up a room.  When she takes to the stage at the This Magic Moment event she expects to wear the pony tail she still has.  As for the rest of her costume – she is deciding on either the Olivia Newton John (1) look or the Olivia Newton John (2) look – but being a woman she automatically gets the right to change her mind at the very last-minute.

Now a “39-year-old” seasoned broadcaster Connie Smith learned her trade at Mohawk and has been taking the “good news” to Burlington ever since. She will MC the This Magic Moment event at Nelson Park September 14th.

Connie got her first transistor radio while at elementary school and thought she was the coolest kid on the street; she remembers watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.  The crowd that the organizers of the event expect to draw will know exactly what Connie was talking about

The This Magic Moment event is all about those days and those memories – which may not mean a thing to you if you don’t recall the Ed Sullivan Show but Wayne Brown, chair of the event being held to raise funds for an endowment that will support police officers should they die or be injured while on duty, will tell you that there are thousands of people in Burlington who want to spend an evening at Nelson Park listening to the music of the Beach Boys, The Drifters and the Jersey Boys.

The Drifters will be on the stage in person – charming the audience with their signature tune as well as many other pieces of music that you will want to walk out to the dancefloor the minute you hear the first couple of beats and show the kids that you can still strut your stuff.

The Drifters – live at Nelson Park on September 14th and up close and personal at the Waterfront Hotel on the 13th for an exclusive audience.

Getting the Drifters to take part in this event is another story we will tell you about later.  What you will want to know is – well the Drifters were a vital part of that 50’s and 60’s era and they don’t like to  rush around.  So they decided to arrive in Burlington a day early and Wayne Brown knew right away that he had another element to his program.  Why not have the Drifters do an exclusive, limited engagement Soiree at the Waterfront Hotel the day before?  Great idea and so if you want you can get a tickets for both events.

Wayne Brown pulled together one of the most impressive committees this city has seen and called in every favour he could; that’s what got him into a coffee shop with Connie Smith where he asked her to MC the event – she agreed and then Wayne called her back and asked if she would handle publicity as well.

I am told that the “Always Good News” girl has a dance card – and I think my name is on it.

September the 14^th – expect it to be a great event.  Tickets are available on-line .