The Owen Hart Foundation is celebrating 27 years by reuniting with one of its beloved performing guests. The foundation is tagging in Elvis Costello for a second time, for what it’s billing as “an intimate solo acoustic performance.” Tickets for the Nov. 21 show at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium go on sale Thursday through Ticketmaster. Costello’s previous show for the foundation was in 2016. In a release issued Tuesday, director Martha Hart said the foundation is “exceptionally ecstatic to be hosting the iconic Elvis Costello for a second time.” Hart noted Costello’s “numerous enduring hits that showcase both his melodic gift and lyrical bite.” Hart told CTV News Costello’s become a fan of the foundation’s work. “He’s such a lovely person,” she said. “We requested that he come back for us, and he was very gracious and accepted. “We couldn’t be happier about it, honestly.” Special meet-and-greet packages for Costello’s show are available through the online Hart Auction. The packages, which include a pair of VIP show tickets, VIP reception access and a meet-and-greet with a photo, are among some $80,000 worth of prizes up for auction. 27 years of giving The foundation puts on a high-profile entertainment event every year as its major fundraiser. Money raised goes in the pot to support the foundation’s several signature events, and many community initiatives throughout the year. The foundation has helped in the areas of education, affordable housing and international aid for vulnerable people. “There are lots of different arms now,” Hart said. She said the foundation has “become such a staple charity in our city, supporting so many people in need, not just locally but beyond.” She said it continues to run on the belief helping one helps all. “It’s very Canadian of us,” she said. Meaning in loss Owen Hart died May 23, 1999, at the age of 34, in a stunt gone horribly wrong during a WWE (then WWF) show in Kansas City, Mo. The foundation was created the following year in his honour. Martha Hart has said when she started the foundation, she was trying to find meaning in the loss of her husband. She’s said she didn’t realize it would become a life’s work. “But it’s really contagious when you start helping people—you really want to continue with that,” she told CTV News. “It’s so rewarding and so humbling.”
