Opera Mariposa Presents Month-Long Online Charity Benefit Supporting The ME | FM Society Of BC

This May, Canada's first fully disability-run opera company is rallying the community to support people with chronic and post-viral illnesses. From May 1 - June 1, Vancouver's Opera Mariposa is presenting their annual Benefit + Awareness Month: an online charity fundraiser featuring music, videos, art, merch, and prizes benefiting the ME | FM Society of BC.

The month of special programming honours the International Awareness Month for chronic neuro-immune diseases, and supports people and families impacted by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Fibromyalgia (FM) and Long Covid. It comes at a time when rates of these illnesses are skyrocketing due to Covid-19 - and when support is scarce for patients, with multi-year waitlists for assessment and Long Covid clinics closing across BC.

"This is Opera Mariposa's 11th year supporting this cause, it's never been more urgent than it is now," says Mariposa general manager Stephanie Ko, who herself has lived with ME since age eight. "Around 10-20% of Covid infections result in post-viral illnesses, including new diagnoses of ME and FM - and that's on top of over a million Canadians who already have these illnesses. Research has shown time and again that these patients have some of the greatest unmet healthcare needs in Canada, and many people are so sick they can't leave their homes or their beds. It's a massive health crisis - but it's one that seems to be flying under the radar."

Mariposa's Benefit + Awareness Month aims to shine a light on the issue - as well as foster community amongst those impacted. "We're featuring artists from across Canada, many of whom live with these illnesses themselves," says Ko. "People are raising their voices through art, to draw attention to what our community is going through. And with our online format, the goal is to make things accessible to people at home and around the world."

Mariposa's 2023 Benefit + Awareness Month features sopranos Lindsay Gillis and Jacqueline Ko; pianists Angus Kellett, Maria Hwa Yeong Jung and Michael Onwood; and visual and multidisciplinary artists Christina Baltais, Lia Pas and Toni Scott. It also includes a nearly $5k charity prize draw sponsored by beloved local businesses. All contributions will be triple-matched up to $3,500, so every gift has three times the impact.

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