Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 02/05) - Take a piano, a violin, some drums and throw in a little bass.

Add in one massive tour bus, some images of tulips (a symbol of friendship), and that set the scene for a couple of outdoor concerts in Fort Liard and Fort Simpson last week.

Luluk Purwanto and the van Helsdingen trio are on a country-wide tour covering approximately 45,000 kilometres. They are giving thanks for Canada's role in freeing Holland in the Second World War. The liberation is far from forgotten overseas, according to pianist Rene van Helsdingen. He said the Dutch stop in the streets every May 5 for two minutes of silence to commemorate the occasion.

"It's part of Europe's history. It's very important," he said.

The entertainers encountered some difficulty getting the 11-ton tour bus on the ferry to cross the Liard River into Fort Simpson.

Bogged down

Once they finally made it to the other side, they hit another snag when attempting to drive the coach into the Fort Simpson drum circle.

As the bus was slowly passing through one of the openings into the arbour, it hit a sinkhole and got bogged down.

Fortunately Sandy Kidd was on the scene with his Suburban to tow them out with assistance from a handful of people pushing.

These were unforeseen hazards but, to keep it in perspective, they were minor compared to the perils faced by Canadian soldiers during the Second World War, van Helsdingen acknowledged.

Unreal country

The challenges notwithstanding, he remarked on the beauty of the Fort Simpson concert location, which was held at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Liard rivers.

"It's just incredible," he said of the view. "It's just an unreal country, Canada."

The music was a hit among the jazz aficionados in the crowd.

"I thought it was nice, something a little different," said Lara Genesis. "It was a nice surprise."

In Fort Liard, Dale Loutit was also complimentary of the musicians and their pleasant demeanor, especially considering they have spent so many days on the road.

"It was a really good show," she said.

From Fort Simpson the troubadours were bound for Yellowknife. They were determined to get their bus to Rankin Inlet as well, van Helsdingen said.

The absence of a road didn't deter them - they wrote to Canada's Minister of Defence requesting an airlift by Hercules.

However, the bus was 10 centimetres too high to make clearance into the belly of the cargo plane, van Helsdingen noted.