In September of 2024, we tragically lost our very dear friend and family member Dave Perreault. Dave was a musician and skilled carpenter who had just gone back to school at Queen’s University to become a teacher, hoping to share his love of music, making, building, and learning with young people. Although he did not get the chance to begin his teaching career, we want to carry that part of his legacy forward.

So, we are fundraising to establish The Dave Perreault Memorial Scholarship Awards for music & shop/tech students in Kingston. Our goal is to raise enough to set up a fund so that the awards can be given out year after year in Dave’s memory. Help us honour Dave and support future generations of students. Any amount, big or small, will help!

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About Dave & About Our Plan

Last summer, in Dave's honour, we held the first annual “Perreault-Fest” at Lake Ontario Park in Kingston. It was a wonderful, warm, sunny day where we all had the chance to come together as a community to celebrate Dave’s life and how much we all loved him. We had a great turnout and a joyful time, with music and merriment all around!

Dave wore so many hats in his life – he was a talented musician, playing the piano, saxophone, clarinet, flutes, whistles and the fife, electronic instruments, the banjo, and more. He sang jazz, popular tunes, ska, funk and calypso, and wrote his own original compositions and songs. He even invented his very own instrument that he called the “tappy stick”! He studied photojournalism at school and was an accomplished photographer, a Fort Henry Guardsman, and did many gigs doing sound design, mixing and audio work. Last but certainly not least, Dave was also a skilled carpenter and professional tradesperson, with many years of experience doing everything from construction, plumbing, repairs and renovations to woodworking and fine crafts.

In the last years of his life, drawing on his job experience as a tradesperson, Dave had gone back to school to go to teacher’s college at Queen’s University. As a lifelong learner with a deep curiosity and imagination that just came naturally to him, he really took to his new path of study and was highly motivated, learning as much as he could about pedagogy and the art of education - he just couldn’t wait to become a teacher! Dave was so looking forward to getting the chance to help train and guide young students to develop new skills, and to help kids nurture their own abilities.

While sadly Dave didn’t get his chance to begin his teaching career, this year we wanted to find a way to carry on this work somehow, in his memory - to help build a legacy in his honour to support future generations of both music and shop class students. So as Dave’s family and friends, we are fundraising for this new initiative – the creation of two academic awards in his honour:

The Dave Perreault Memorial Scholarship Awards

Our plan is to create and present two new scholarship awards, that will be given out to one music student and one shop/tech student at Regiopolis Notre Dame High School, one of the schools that Dave worked at in Kingston. Dave was really hoping to do one of his student teacher placements at Regi, and the school’s staff are helping us to make these awards possible. The awards will be presented to students who deserve special recognition for their excellence, effort, or creativity in their classwork.

Our Goal & How The Fund Works

Our aim is to make it possible for these awards to be presented every year, sustainably and hopefully in perpetuity! In order to make this possible, this means that we need to raise enough money to be able to set up an endowment fund.

We have set our fundraising goal to $35,000.00, to give us enough to meet the required amount to set up this type of fund through a local community foundation in Kingston. This way, it will be possible for each year's awards to be paid through an annual grant from the fund’s investment income. The endowment fund will be managed on an ongoing basis by the community foundation, meaning both that our fund will be secure and responsibly managed, and also that future donations to the fund will be possible, with tax receipts issued to anyone who contributes.

A portion of the initial sum that we raise here will be put towards the 2026 awards directly, which will give us the time that we need to set up the fund. And if we are able to raise enough, we will set aside another portion to go towards the expenses of hosting "Perreault-Fest" annually. Doing this will help us to keep it a free and welcoming community gathering offering music, entertainment and refreshment for all who are able to attend.

So we are asking for your support in making this possible, to help continue Dave’s work and legacy.

Your contributions are so appreciated. Each and every amount, big or small will really help!

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You’re invited to Perreault-Fest 2026!

Finally, mark your calendars for Saturday, June 27, 2026 for the 2nd Annual "Perreault-Fest" celebration at Lake Ontario Park in Kingston. We will be unveiling these awards officially, and we will announce this year’s recipients. We would love you to join us for another afternoon of music and fellowship – hope to see you all there!

Help us carry on Dave’s legacy and support the next generation.

As Captain Jean-Luc Picard would say: “Make it so!”