Trevstock hopes to bring autism awareness and local tunes to the Queen’s community.

On Friday Jan. 31, Clark Hall Pub will serve as host to Autism Partnership’s long running concert in support of Autism Ontario.

Featuring a lineup of local artists, this event is the club’s biggest yearly fundraiser. As part of the Arts and Science Undergraduate Society’s Community Outreach portfolio, Autism Partnership works primarily with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the community through a one-on-one buddy program and weekly drop in programming. Trevstock is a departure from their regular programming, and is the Partnership’s main outreach into the Queen’s community.

“On Queen’s campus, I think people don’t think that [Autism Spectrum Disorder] is prevalent in the student body, but it very much is,” Autism Partnership Co-Chair Marnie Bird said in an interview with The Journal.

“I think Trevstock is an important part of this because this is a perfect way to connect with the Queen’s campus community. Everyone likes music, and it’s just nice that we get to [promote] that aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness.”

Alongside Co-Chair Brandey Schulhof, the pair are maintaining the tradition of Trevstock, which has a legacy which is over 20 years old. The concert has been occurring for so long, the organizers no longer know what the name Trevstock actually means.

This year, the concert will feature four artists from the Kingston area, including Nick Babcock, Mint, The Meringues, and the Placeholders.

Babcock, once the keyboardist for Kingston band Kasador, found fame when he was featured on CTV’s reality TV music competition The Launch, singing pop-country ballads like his debut single High on Heartbreak. 

The Meringues are fresh off their 2018 debut self-titled album, and will be bringing a heavier punk sound to the concert. The remainder of the night will turn to funk, with a performance by Mint, a newly-formed local band who played their first show at this year’s fall’s climate strike. Their funk-pop sound is exemplified by their favourite song to cover live, “Uptown Funk”by Bruno Mars. The Placeholders’ nine-piece funk-soul ensemble will round off the night.

All of the proceeds will go toward Autism Ontario, one of the province’s largest and oldest organizations dedicated to supporting individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. The group provides a wide-reaching range of services across the province to children and adults on the autism spectrum, and works to increase education and awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder in Ontario communities.

The Ontario Autism community faced challenges in early 2019 after cuts to the Ontario Autism Program were made under Doug Ford’s government. Despite the government retreating from their controversial plan following public backlash, the changes to programming and funding delayed access to services for users, and dealt a heavy blow to service providers.

Increasing awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder is crucial step for changing the stereotypes associated with autism, a widely varying neurological disorder that is often misunderstood and mischaracterized by society at large. 

“I feel like there can be a big stigma surrounding [Autism Spectrum Disorder],” said Bird.

“[Trevstock] is a great way to reach out into the Queen’s community and get people involved.”