Rock the Range brings Newfoundland fun in support of MRI campaign
- 48 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Dan Rolph
Rock the Range is returning to the White Squirrel Golf Club in Zurich on June 20, but this year’s event will come with a unique taste of Newfoundland culture.
The fundraiser, which is being dubbed the “Newfoundland Kitchen Party Edition” of Rock the Range, will be presented by the White Squirrel Cares Foundation and Team Reid McDonald’s in support of the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Foundation’s Magnetic Moments MRI campaign.
Rock the Range will feature Great Big Sea tribute band Off the Rock, as well as Newfoundland comedian Colin Hollett.
“East coasters, they love to have a good party and support their communities,” said Goderich McDonald’s owner Justin Reid. “It’s going to be a great time. There will be really good entertainment, good food and good people.”
The White Squirrel Cares Foundation, the charity arm of the White Squirrel Golf Club, first introduced Rock the Range in 2025 with two concert fundraisers.
White Squirrel executive director Dan McLaughlin said this year will be different as they focus their efforts on a single, larger event.
With the previous concerts focusing on classic rock performances, the Newfoundland theme was attached to Rock the Range from the connection with Team Reid McDonald’s.
Reid said his family had already been considering organizing a traditional Jiggs dinner fundraiser in Exeter to support the MRI campaign, but they saw an opportunity to bring something bigger to the community through Rock the Range.
McLaughlin said the potential of a collaboration quickly became obvious once they’d connected.
“We thought, ‘Why don’t we team up here?’” McLaughlin said.
The entertainment lineup isn’t the only Newfoundland-inspired offering for the evening.
Live screech-ins will be held throughout the evening, bringing the famous ceremony that is performed on non-Newfoundlanders to the event. Screech-ins traditionally involve drinking Newfoundland Screech rum and kissing a cod to make an individual an honorary Newfoundlander.
As well, McLaughlin said they have created ugly sticks, a Newfoundland instrument often made from broom handles or hockey sticks that is played as a percussion instrument, which will be auctioned off through a silent auction.
Though the evening aims to be filled with lighthearted fun, the cause it supports is one Reid said will bring a vital piece of equipment to the region.
Over the next two years, the Magnetic Moments MRI campaign aims to raise $6.5 million for the purchase of an MRI to be installed at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital in Goderich to serve residents throughout the county and beyond.
Currently, residents who need access to an MRI are sent to larger centres such as London for imaging.
“All communities of Huron County are going to benefit from this,” said Reid, who also serves as a cabinet member for the campaign.
Since the campaign started in late 2025, communities in Huron County have rallied to contribute $2.5 million so far and are continuing to push closer to the halfway mark.
“It’s been amazing,” said Reid. “Not just in Goderich, but all over Huron County.”
With Rock the Range on the horizon, McLaughlin said they are looking to do their part in moving closer to that fundraising goal.
“We’re going to really try as hard as we can to put as much money in that pot as possible,” he said.
For more information about Rock the Range, or to purchase tickets, visit whitesquirrelgolfclub.com.