The Lacombe Legion Branch #79 will be hosting a live play for the 79th Anniversary of D-Day. The award-winning play is called ‘Jake’s Gift’ and it was written and will be performed live by Julia Mackey who is from BC.  

Jake’s Gift follows the story of a Second World War veteran who returns to Normandy for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. 

“His main purpose for going back is to find the grave of his eldest brother, who was killed during the war. He's never been back to Normandy since the D-Day landings. He meets a young French girl there named Isabel and she's very precocious just so excited about the returning soldiers for this big 60th anniversary. She's really the person that helped him deal with the loss of his brother. So, it's really a grandfather granddaughter story,” explained Mackey.  

Mackey plays the role of four different characters on her own in the production.  

“My love for the characters is so strong and really, it's so important to me to be able to tell this story and just to remember all of the sacrifices that were made during that time and that continue to be made by current serving military personnel too. This is really a love letter of thanks to all of our veterans, regardless of what campaign they were involved in,” said Mackey.  

Despite D-Day being a somber topic, Mackey promises a bit of a rollercoaster of an experience for her audience. 

“I think the comedy comes out of these two main characters, Isabel and Jake. He's eighty and she's ten. They're at that point in their life where they just say whatever they think and I think the comedy of that comes out,” she added.  

Originally, Jake’s Gift was supposed to show at the Legion in the Spring of 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the production as well as others.  

“We're so excited to share the story again at the Legion. It's always a special place, and of course, the play is about D-Day and the show is on Tuesday, June 6th. We are just thrilled that we get to have a D-Day show,” explained Mackey.  

Mackey will be performing two legion shows including Lacombe’s and one in Mayerthorpe while she is in Alberta. The Legion shows are also a fundraiser. There will be button packages and prints available for purchase in support of the Lacombe Legion.  

The bar opens at 6:00PM and the play begins at 7:00PM on June 6th. Mackey says there is no intermission because play just runs around 65 minutes.  

“We really hope that the locals will come out and support the legion and come and see the play and help us commemorate the 79th anniversary of D-Day,” added Mackey.  

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased from the Lacombe Legion Lounge from Tuesday to Saturday beginning at 3PM. You can also get tickets by calling Arnie MacAskill at 403-782-7183.