"It honestly is surreal," said Langley mom Kelsey Carignan, a lifelong Swiftie, as she was heading to the concert Sunday night in Vancouver with husband Ryan and sons Noah and Holden.
"I still don't even believe it. I really don't. I'm used to being on the giving end of things, and to be on the receiving end of things is a little bit different for me."
All four of them, she said, are Taylor Swift fans, excited to be able to attend the closing concert of the singer-songwriter's worldwide tour.
"To get to go tonight, of all nights, is pretty spectacular," Carignan told the Langley Advance Times.
Carignan, who has stage 4 breast cancer, had thought about going, back when the Vancouver concert was announced, but originally decided against it.
"I had found out that my cancer came back last year about around the time that the tickets went on sale. And I remember being apprehensive of buying them because I truthfully didn't know if I would be around to go."
That all changed Friday, when Rogers Communications, the presenting sponsor of the Eras Tour in Vancouver, recognized the Langley-based yoga instructor and mom for all she's done for others by gifting her family tickets to the final concert of tour in Vancouver this weekend.
Laura Crochetiere, Rogers' senior communication manager, praised Carignan for living life to the fullest while inspiring her community through her yoga practice, mentorship of cancer patients, and annual holiday toy drives, describing it as an 鈥渆xtraordinary story."
"Her commitment to kindness is a testament to her strength and determination," she said, noting that Rogers is "thrilled" to give the family of four the chance to attend this unique concert.
She received the tickets through Rogers because "we were so inspired by her story," said Crochetiere.
The day before the concert, Carignan was collecting donations for her annual " toy drive at Planet Ice in Coquitlam for kids at BC Children's Hospital, telling the Langley Advance Times she wanted to thank Sea to Sky Couriers for delivering the toys on Monday, Dec. 9.
After the concert, a delighted Carignan said 鈥淲e had the most incredible time!"
For her, the appeal of Taylor Swift is "the fact that she gives so much kindness to the people around her, and she makes everyone else around her feel seen."
"To me, it's kind of the ripple effect of her, where all of the people whose lives she touches go and share kindness, and she makes their world better. So they make the world better around them. And it just, you know, it's this ripple effect that I really try and emulate within my own life."
