Jan Arden co-wrote a 60-second jingle with a friend from Nashville, that begins with a list; “Pandas, hippos, zebras, lions, porcupines with prickly coats, penguins, fruit bats, crocodiles and, of course, a mountain goat.”
You’d have to hear it know you might soon be singing the catchy tune, and that’s the goal. It is intended to help raise the $50 million dollars needed to restore the Calgary Zoo. Over 80% of the zoo, located on an island in Calgary’s Bow River, was devastated by the flooding in June.
Jan Arden, has great memories of going to the zoo as a child when she was growing up in Calgary. She is a strong supporter of the site and in the wake of the devastation was quick to offer to help out with a song.
In an interview with CBC News today, she described the effect of the flooding:
“I’ve lived here all my life, and I have never seen anything like this, ever. Jan Arden said. “Friends in Bragg Creek, which is a community maybe 25 miles west of the city of Calgary, they had a 15-foot wall of water come through that town and basically kind of wipe it out. And they’re just now, kind of getting back on their feet. I had a friend of mine that lost 4 of his 5 acres of land. It literally fell off the side of the bank and of course he’s forced to move so everyone was touched by this.
Lanthier said the zoo had flood emergency plans, but they quickly realized the platforms they had built to protect the lions and tigers for example, would not be high enough to protect the animals. So a massive re-location plan had to be organized. 43 animals from the zoo’s South Amercian building have had to be relocated to other zoos.
Jan Arden is also on the bill for Thursday’s Alberta Flood Aid concert featuring The Sheepdogs, Randy Bachman, Ian Tyson, Corb Lund, Loverboy and Nickleback, to name a few of the musicians contributing. Tickets are C$30, and all proceeds will go to The Calgary Foundation’s Flood Rebuilding Fund.
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