A Place Where Sand, Surf & Song Bring Healing

In 1996, when Sarah McLachlan was organizing her festival of all-female artists, she needed a name. A friend told her the story from Hebrew mythology of Adam’s first wife before Eve. Her name was Lilith. Known as a cautionary tale because she had insisted on equality and then left the Garden, McLachlan found Lilith to be the perfect protagonist. Lilith Fair was born.

In 2009, when co-founders Michele Gannon and Maria McKeon first started their non-profit, they rented two rooms at a bed and breakfast in Ocean Grove. The idea for the retreat had come to Gannon one night after she had been sick in bed with the flu. A mother of three, she experienced how challenging it was on the household for the ‘mom’ to be sick. She realized how much harder that struggle must be for women with an on-going illness like cancer. When Gannon shared her idea with her friend Maria McKeon, she found not only a sympathetic ear but a willing partner. Being prayerful women, Gannon and McKeon welcomed their first guests by asking themselves what Mary, the Mother of Jesus, would do. They looked to Mary as a symbol of faith, hope, kindness, humility, and most of all unconditional love. These were the virtues that would shape their organization. Mary’s Place by the Sea was born.

In the 1990s women musicians found it challenging to get air time on the radio, and touring slots were nearly impossible to find. Young female music stars like Jewel, Tracy Chapman, Sarah McLachlan, and Sheryl Crow had to fight for their spots, as unspoken quotas would not allow too many female singers in a row. In 1996, McLachlan organized a mini festival that would ultimately turn into Lilith Fair, the exclusively female festival of singers that would revolutionize music for female artists and raise millions of dollars for charity. For every ticket sold, $1 was donated to a women’s shelter. McLachlan was 28 at the time.

McLachlan is a celebrated singer and songwriter with more than 40 million albums sold worldwide. She has received three Grammy Awards and twelve Juno Awards over her career and was recently inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. McLachlan is known for her philanthropic efforts and has raised millions of dollars for women’s charities. In 2002 she opened The Sarah McLachlan School of Music, providing top quality music instruction to at-risk and underserved children at no cost. When announcing the benefit concert, McLachlan said of Mary’s Place by the Sea, “It’s a wonderful place for women to go when they’re healing from cancer. I hope you can join us!”

For more on McLachlan, visit SarahMcLachlan.com