Last Thursday, September 12th, would have been Rush drummer Neil Peart's 72nd birthday.
To mark the occasion, the Neil Peart Commemorative Task Force -- established in 2020 by the city council of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada where he grew up to create a memorial in his honor in Lakeside Park -- launched a fundraising campaign to pay for it.
The goal is to raise a million dollars that will fund the installation of a memorial alongside the Neil Peart Pavilion at Lakeside Park, which Peart wrote about in the song of the same name on the band's third album, 1975's Caress of Steel.
"In my early teens I achieved every Port kid’s dream: a summer job at Lakeside Park," said Peart. "In those days it was still a thriving and exciting whirl of rides, games, music, and lights. So many ghosts haunt that vanished midway; so many memories bring it back for me. I ran the Bubble Game—calling out ‘Catch a bubble; prize every time’ all day—and sometimes the Ball Toss game. When it wasn’t busy, I would sit at the back door and watch the kids on the trampoline. … I got fired."
St. Catherine's Mayor Mat Siscoe says, “Neil Peart’s impact on music is immeasurable, but it’s his connection to St. Catharines that makes this memorial so meaningful. We are honored to celebrate his legacy right here in the city he called home during his formative years. This project will not only pay tribute to one of the greatest drummers of all time but will also bring people from around the world to Lakeside Park to experience the place that inspired so much of his work.”
Rush singer and bassist Geddy Lee is behind the project, having donated a dollar from every ticket sold during his My Effin’ Life book tour last fall to support the memorial. As well, proceeds from Peart's last book, Silver Surfers, which is being published posthumously by his wife on November 19th, will also be donated to the fund.
If you'd like to help, go to StCatharines.ca/NeilPeart.
You can see the video rendering of the design below courtesy of StCatharines.ca/PeartDesign.