Juno-winning R&B singer Jully Black is a keynote speaker for a Collingwood International Women's Day event next month.
Black made national headlines over the weekend for her singing of O Canada at the NBA All-Star game. She sang "our home on native land," instead of the traditional anthem line "our home and native land."
The singer told CBC news she "sang the facts," adding we are experiencing life on Indigenous land.
Black is the keynote speaker for the Town of Collingwood's Spectacular Social Soirée, which takes place March 8 at 7 p.m., at the Simcoe Street Theatre as part of the town's International Women's Day events.
According to the town's promotional materials for the event, Black will be sharing examples of challenges or opportunities faced by women. She will be joined by other women sharing their stories, including Jessie Eldridge and Erin Ambrose (professional women's hockey), Sara Selesnic (high school math/science teacher), Michelle Bourgeois (elementary ASL teacher), and Kicha Holden (founder of Carnival North).
Black will also perform during the March 8 event.
Tickets are available online for $25, and the event will include fundraising for My Friend's House and the Jully Black Family Foundation.
Also in Collingwood for International Women's Day, the women behind the business campaign will return with posters hung in storefront windows throughout downtown highlighting local women in business. The posters will be displayed March 3-12.
The Collingwood Museum is bringing back its women in local history project, which is a sidewalk exhibition on display from March 3-20 on Hurontario Street. There will be 12 signs featuring business owners, war workers, medical professionals, artists and sports heroes. The signs will also be on display indoors at the museum for the month of March. The project is a collaboration between the Collingwood Museum and the Sheffield Park Black History and Cultural Museum.
There will also be a flag raising ceremony on March 7 at 4:30 p.m. at the Collingwood Public Library on 55 Ste. Marie Street with My Friend's House.
