What’s the association between a mammogram and a country singer belting out popular tunes to some 3,000-plus fans during a music festival in a purpose-built western movie set on 100-acres in northeast Langley?
Most would be hard pressed to guess the connection.
But if they have lived in Langley for long, have followed the local country music scene, or contributed to cancer-related charity efforts in town in recent years – it becomes a little easier to connect those dots.
It’s the annual Gone Country one-day fundraiser that has been raising money to fight cancer since philanthropic twins Chris and Jamie Ruscheinski hosted a backyard concert to generate a little coin for their ailing mother.
“It all started with one sentence from our mom that we will never forget… I have cancer,” Chris Ruscheinski said.
The Langley boys lost their mother to breast cancer more than 25 years ago now, but they’ve kept the fundraising efforts going in her name – first in their backyard, then 10 years of music in Cloverdale, before rebranding the event last year and moving it to the MacInnes Farms – an operational farm, the home to Locality Brewing, and a filming set best known as Hope Valley in Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart.”
Through all that, the twins and team at Twins Cancer Fundraising have managed to raise millions for cancer-related research, support, and care – and you guessed it, they’re doing it again in July.
This year, a team of some 300 volunteers, plus dozens of professional entertainers, countless vendors and participants, and thousands of guests will come together on Saturday, July 11, from 4:30 to 11 p.m., to have a party like no other, and to again raise money for cancer.
This year’s goal, Ruscheinski said, is to raise $800,000. He noted last year’s target was half a million, and they surpassed it by raising $654,000. So, he’s optimistic this year’s goal is achievable.
Costs for putting on the show have come way down this year, he explained. Ruscheinski noted the one-time expenses involved with setting up in the new location for 2025 were primarily covered off last year, leaving more of the proceeds to go to the cause. Added to that, he said there are more corporate sponsors coming aboard, ensuring more money goes toward the cancer fight.
Ruscheinski noted that a “massive chunk” of the proceeds from Gone Country: Jamestown Edition 2026 will be going to a help retrofit the breast cancer clinic at Langley’s hospital.
Twin Cancer Fundraising is partnering with the Langley Community Health and Hospital Foundation, having made a three-year commitment to raise $1.2 million of the needed $2.1 million for the project, which will bring better access and best-in-tech care to Langley’s breast health services at the hospital.
There are 9,000 women in the region who will rely on Langley Memorial Hospital for critical screening and diagnosis, said Terra Scheer, the marketing and communications manager for the hospital foundation.
This clinic project, she explained, will feature the replacement of an aging mammography machine with a new state-of-the-art system that integrates tomosynthesis, also known as 3D mammography, for clearer images with lower radiation doses.
“This new equipment allows Langley Memorial to provide both screening and diagnostic mammography in one place for the first time and improve access for more Langley residents,” she elaborated.
She said the project is possible thanks to the “cornerstone support” of Gone Country.
“For women who are anxious about their breast health, that means faster answers, fewer delays and care that stays close to home,” Scheer said.
Scheer noted that all gifts to the foundation or donated in support of Twins Cancer Fundraising and Gone Country will be matched by a $700,000 anonymous matching donor.
In addition to fundraising for the hospital, Gone Country will also be making a few other smaller donations to cancer-related causes, and resurrecting their Raise It For Your Cause program. That’s where friends or family members of those suffering from cancer sell tickets to Gone Country, then donate every penny directly to the person battling the disease.
“Most people probably have no idea that the first cancer fundraiser we ever had was to help out our own mother. We only raised a little over a thousand bucks, but it was enough money that mom could occasionally treat herself to pizza delivery and rent a movie, without having to ask us for the money,” Ruscheinski recounted.
“This is why the Raise It For Your Cause tickets are so important to us. We know firsthand the financial beating that a family can take after that awful diagnosis.”
As of press deadline, tickets for Gone Country were getting close to sold out, but some were still available. Tickets and information are available online at twinscancerfundraising.com.
“Thank you for always supporting us idiots and our fight against cancer,” the twins echoed. “We can’t thank the community enough for all the support over the past 20+ years of fundraising.”
• Stay tuned to www.langleyadvancetimes.com for more about all the entertainment components for this one-day fundraising event.