‘My Shining Hour with Vivien Kershaw, Love Songs of WW2’ coming to Port Elgin Legion to celebrate Canadian Legion’s 100th anniversary

For Stevie Vallance, Saugeen Shores has been a surprising but joyful destination. Though she never imagined herself retiring in her cottage-town of Southampton, life led her back to the community where she spent summers as a child.

“Never in a million years did I see myself moving here,” she admits. “Whether it’s hiking the Bruce Trail with my dog Gino, rollerblading along the shoreline path, kayaking the Saugeen River, renovating my heritage home (built by Eliza Knowles), singing Jazz at Rosina’s and the Southampton Inn, performing my latest musical revue at all the local Legions, or singing the national anthem at Winterhawks games and Marine Heritage’s annual weekend Festival, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life and all because I live in this awesome community with wonderful people and beautiful nature all around.”

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By the time she was 11, Vallance was performing with the Charlottetown Festival and starring in productions such as Jane Eyre at Toronto’s O’Keefe Centre. By high school, she was appearing on shows like the Tommy Hunter Show and King of Kensington. Vallance followed her heart to New York City, where she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and her training led her to Los Angeles where she landed recurring roles on primetime shows such as  Knots Landing and The Ropers.  Her Canadian roots brought her back to Toronto to star in many Canadian/US co-productions such Detective Stevie Brody in Night Heat and Amanda Stone opposite Christopher Reeve in Road to Avonlea. 

But it was her musical comedy background that opened doors to roles such as Whazzat Kangaroo in the Hallmark series, Zoobilee Zoo and to her extensive voice over work in animation where she brought thousands of characters to life such as Proudheart Cat and Sharebear in Care Bears, Alice Mitchell in Dennis the Menace, Mouse in Reboot, Tigrerra in Bakugan, and Miss Clavel and Genevive in Madeline, the show that earned her an Emmy Award in 2001 for voice-directing 70 episodes of the beloved Disney series.

Her passion for the Art of animation lead her to create Tooned In Animation Voice-over Workshops, where she taught thousands of actors and animators across Canada and the U.S., from Comic Con in NY to the Ottawa International Festival.

But Vallance always kept singing at the heart of her career and toured western Canada for ten years, as Patsy Cline, opening for the Calgary Stampede in 1998, and recorded several albums along the way. Today, she continues to produce jazz concerts and is working on her 6th CD, recorded live at the Southampton Inn, in 2023. Locals might also catch her performing with her Jazz duo every 2nd Friday at RISTORANTE ROSINA in Port Elgin.

Though officially retired from “hitting the pavement”, Vallance is more creative than ever and her current projects reflect a love of history and community, particularly the stories of WW1 and WW2. She writes, directs, and stars in musicals that weave together period music and storytelling.

In her first musical at the Southampton Town Hall in 2023, she played a true-life character, Eliza Knowles, and recreated the ‘Night Guy Lombardo came to Town’ (Southampton) during the Great Depression.

Her second show ‘MY SHINING HOUR with Vivien Kershaw’ celebrates her late Aunt Viv, an RCAF veteran and accomplished Painter. “I promised her on her deathbed that I would get her magnificent paintings into people’s homes”, so she is now blending Viv’s story into a musical that honours both Art and Service for Canada’s Legion’s 100th Anniversary Year in 2026, where she is performing her show at Legion branches in Southampton, Port Elgin, Tara, and Owen Sound.

Following her recent performance at Southampton Legion Branch 155, Vallance says, “I want to give a big thank you to the Southampton Legion for hosting “My Shining Hour with Vivien Kershaw, Love Songs of WW2” on May 8th for Victory Day. Chef Paul Johnston also prepared an outrageously delicious Roast Beef buffet as an add-on, and the room was packed!”

Next up, she is performing her show in celebration of the Royal Canadian Legion’s 100th Anniversary Day, on July 17th at the Port Elgin Legion Branch 340.

The show takes place on the day the war ended in 1945, with Vallance singing the popular Love Songs from the then Hit Parade.  “I play my Aunt Viv dressed in an RCAF uniform, and John McLelland accompanies me on piano as “Harry”, while historic images of Port Elgin are projected (courtesy Bill Streeter and the Bruce County Museum),” says Vallance. “Songs include wartime music such as: 

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and most of all you’ll leave with a positive feeling of looking forward to better times. Be sure to bring/wear your memorabilia!” says Vallance.

Tickets: 
$20 in advance, $25 on the night of performance (Proceeds go to Animal care)
Available in person at Port Elgin Legion Lounge OR 
Online at Eventbrite (https://tinyurl.com/pvbbz45s)
Snacks & Drink available to purchase from Legion

Then, during the summer of 2027, the Southampton Art Gallery will be presenting Vivien Kershaw’s Art for three weeks with a performance of MY SHINING HOUR with Vivien Kershaw (presented by the Bruce Playhouse in the Town Hall), kicking off the very special Art Opening of Vivien’s paintings. The Southampton Art Gallery is thrilled to be featuring her Art on their walls in 2027, twenty years after she was the “featured artist” for Southampton’s 150th Anniversary, in 2008. 

Vallance is hoping to garner repeat fans who return every year on important military dates, and that they “… bring their mum, dad, and grandparents with them (in person or in their hearts) to sing along with ‘Viv'”, as she performs the well-known popular wartime love songs from the Hit Parade!