Yellowknife (Nov 12/04) - Fred Penner is finding that his fans are beginning to age.

Not that his groupies are anywhere near the age range of those of, say, the late Lawrence Welk, but since his TV show Fred Penner's Place went off the air in 1997, the Fredheads have grown up.

Fred Penner visited Yellowknife in 1999 to perform at the Folk on the Rocks festival. He comes back Nov. 19 to host the Celebrity Auction. - NNSL file photo

"The kids only know me through my concerts," said Penner.

The Winnipeg entertainer's TV fan base are now teenagers and young adults in their 20s, some with their own children. They pepper his Web site with fan mail along with the elementary school crowd.

Penner has travelled North of 60 many times and always gets a warm welcome. There's a few reasons why.

"In many of the remote communities, CBC is all they would get," he said.

Plus, there's the attachment kids form for their favourite children's TV star. But Penner is okay with grown-up strangers reacting to him like he's their long-lost father.

"On the show, it wasn't a put-on character," he said. "It was important to me to be very real and very open, and as a result people feel very comfortable with me."

The NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities is gambling that Fredheads or parents of Fredheads will have money to burn at the Celebrity Auction, Nov. 19.

Penner, the guest emcee, will be an item up for bids. Fans can bid for a two-hour brunch with Penner at the Explorer Hotel.

He wasn't aware he was being auctioned off until Yellowknifer told him, but he was fine with it. It won't be the first time he's been auctioned. And at least he won't have to crawl through a log to get to the restaurant.

Penner, whose hits include The Cat Came Back, Happy Feet, and It Ain't Gonna Rain No More, hasn't slowed down since the CBC "pulled the plug" on his show, as he puts it.

He's been touring and recording. Most recently he's been writing the music for the children's show Teepee Tales. He's just back from Africa after travelling to Zambia with his son for World Vision.

Also on his agenda is hosting the opening ceremony of the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

Penner also visits colleges and universities to speak to early childhood education students.

He's very aware of the lasting influence performers have on developing minds and views performing for children as a responsibility that should be taken seriously.

"I have a problem with a lot of stuff that's being fed to kids these days," he said.

"Some of the performers seemingly have no respect for their audiences."

It also doesn't sit well with him that kids increasingly spend their time alone on computers or playing video games. Live performances provide a very different, and perhaps healthier, entertainment experience, he said.

"I'm a real person singing for real people," he said. "How often does that happen these days?"

He adds to his live repertoire with every new CD, but there's one song he will never do without.

"I will always do The Cat Came Back," he said. "There would be a riot if I didn't."

Penner will perform at the Explorer Hotel Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. The concert is free, but tickets are limited to 350 and can be picked up ahead of time at Mini Me and Shopper's Drug Mart.