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It’s each musician’s nightmare — packing up after a gig, solely to seek out that your instrument or gear has been stolen. That’s what occurred to Mitch Howanyk in downtown Kelowna final week.
Mitchell performs violin and sings with a well-known B.C. primarily based band referred to as Kentucky Eileen. On the night of August 2, he was wrapping up a gig in Kelowna. His car was parked in a lane, and it’s believed {that a} thief slipped his violin and case out of his automotive unnoticed as he was both loading up or unloading different gear. There was no surveillance footage accessible of the world the place it occurred off Wilson Avenue in Kelowna.
Mitch discovered it lacking, to his horror, the subsequent day whereas preparing for one more gig. The violin is Italian made, and stated so far from the 1840s. It contains a one-piece again, and is outfitted with a pickup jack for a mic and a gold effective tuner. The case additionally contained three bows.
There’s no available info on the maker of the instrument, nonetheless Italian-made violins of that period in good situation routinely promote for upwards of $25,000 CAD. The carbon fibre BAM case he housed it in runs about one other $1K CAD.
However, the instrument’s worth was greater than financial to Mitch, who informed reporters that he had purchased it from a buddy and fellow musician who had since handed away.
He reported the theft to the RCMP, who issued a public discover searching for info.
A Dramatic Rescue
A couple of day after reporting it stolen, Mitch managed to get better the violin, partly by happenstance. The musician and a buddy scoured the neighbourhood, increasing their search to all of Kelowna and Vernon in an effort to retrace Mitch’s steps from that night time, and discover any hint of the beloved violin.
As they searched each on foot and biking by areas of encampments in Kelowna and alongside the Okanagan Path, Mitch says he was approached by a homeless man, who informed him and his companion to go looking the Queensway bus loop in Kelowna’s downtown.
As soon as he received there, Mitch caught sight of a person toting the silver colored violin case. The person positioned it on the bottom, and Mitch and his buddy sprang into motion. As Mitch’s buddy chatted with the person, Mitch grabbed the violin, and the pair hurried away.
The person appeared visibly upset, as Mitch informed reporters, and claimed he’d purchased it for $20.
“I don’t need to be any form of vigilante, however what’s mine is mine,” he informed a CBC Radio host.
He’s used the instrument for each performing throughout the nation in addition to abroad, and for instructing in Kelowna. The neck and strings of the instrument have weathered some harm from the misadventure, however he intends on repairing it to play as soon as once more.
“I can hopefully carry it again to life even higher than it was earlier than. Its voice will stay on.”
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Anya Wassenberg is a Senior Author and Digital Content material Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher with OntarioLearn.
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