The long-awaited Hell or High Water concert and telethon is set to take place on between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. this Sunday, Mar. 13.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Rockin’ River Festival President Kenny Hess says over 50 musicians from across North America will be helping to raise money for people affected by fires and floods in British Columbia last year.

“You can watch ten hours of entertainment of pre-recorded entertainment with acts like Loverboy and all kind of great Canadian artists, Duane Steele, Patricia Conroy, and others,” he said. “Then there are two hours of live music at 7 o’clock from the Clarke Theatre in Mission and we have artists like Aaron Pritchett, George Canyon, Tom Jackson, Lisa Brokop.”

“So as far as live entertainment goes, you could not get a better bang for you buck.”

The idea for the telethon was initially to benefit the Merritt area, which was first impacted by fires in the summer and then flooding on the Coldwater and Nicola rivers in November, but it will now benefit other communities like Lytton, Princeton, and Abbotsford as well.

At least 570 people died across B.C. during the summer heat wave, while nearly nine months after it was burned down, Lytton still hasn’t been rebuilt. Meanwhile, damage from the November atmospheric river storms is pegged at $7.5-billion-and-counting.

Hess tells NL News the Rotary Club will help distribute all of the money that is raised during this Sunday’s event.

“If you wanted to donate it to Lytton, you can head to our website and press the Lytton button. If you want it to go to Princeton, you can do that. If you want it to go to Merritt or if you want it to go to the Lower Mainland, you can choose where you want that money to go,” Hess said.

“If you don’t have a preference, Rotary will absolutely distribute it according to where the greatest need is.”

Hess says all of the artists involved are donating their time, noting “not one cent raised” will go towards putting on the event. But he notes there are costs involved with putting on a event of this scale.

“Richard and Hazel out at Farmcrest Foods in Salmon Arm made a donation that will cover the cost of having the musicians. The artists aren’t getting paid, but there are flights involved and little things like that, so we are looking at about $10,000 to $12,000 in total, but that was covered by one family,” Hess said.

“God love them for that. They are fantastic people. They covered it so that all so that the money that we raise will go to other people.”

In addition to Hess and the Rotary Club in Merritt, the telethon and fundraiser is being organized by the EH Canada Travel Marketing Group; the Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly (Nooaitch, Coldwater, Shackan, and Cook’s Ferry Indian bands), Tourism Nicola Valley, and Experience Nicola Valley.

“We got it down now where we got the team put together to run the show here, the live show, and it is coming together beautifully,” Hess added.

“You know, of course, we are running like crazy and as far as the online telethon, they’ve put a wonderful show together and I think it is going to be fantastic. Lots of work, but well worth it. We’re helping people and it makes you feel good.”

For the latest on the Hell or High Water telethon, go here.