As you know, I have visited Montréal before, a few times (mostly for scholarly research) and I love it. Montréal is such a hub for the arts, both the fine and the performing ones. The lovely folks of Tourisme Montréal just told me about a contest they’re holding to bring indie bands to centre stage at POP Montréal 2012.
Montréal, an epicenter for expression, creativity and cutting-edge talent, is giving indie-music bands and fans good reason to get amped up and to make some serious noise! Garage bands? Local-joint legends? Sharing your sounds on Soundcloud? Tourisme Montréal wants to hear you play and see you duke it out in the “Battle of the Bands.” Your killer sound could score a killer gig because the winning band will play two sets at POP Montréal International Music Festival, which takes place September 19-23, 2012. Other musicians making their way around Montréal’s Mile End this year for POP 2012 include Grimes, Purity Ring, David Byrne with St Vincent, Gotye, Change of Heart, Cadence Weapon and many more!
The Audition
To enter, visit THE CONTEST PAGE now through August 1 and apply by uploading a live video recording or a produced video of one original song, (written by the band, not a cover). It’s all about the music so entrants should feel free to take video on their mobile devices, tablets or other portable video recording devices! From August 3 – 13, be sure to share on social media to promote your video and get your fans voting! From family and friends to groupies and ex-girlfriends, amp it up! It’ll take their votes to secure a spot in the Top 20, from which eight semi-finalists will be selected and announced on August 16. There’s an interesting twist! Each semi-finalist will submit a cover video of Montréal-native Corey Hart’s 80s classic “Sunglasses at Night” by August 25.
The Battle
Facebook votes will narrow down the competition until only two finalists remain. POP Montréal will then select and announce the winner on Wednesday, September 5. The winning band will play two sets of their own original music during POP Montréal.
The Booking
One winner (up to five band members) will receive artist passes to the festival, round-trip air tickets (within North America) on Air Canada and three free nights accommodation at a four-star hotel in Montréal. POP Montréal International Music Festival, the event partner for “Battle of the Bands,” is an annual not-for-profit curated cultural event that champions independence in the arts by presenting emerging and celebrated artistic talents from around the world.
POP Montréal “Battle of the Bands” contest is open to residents of Canada and the USA.
I love front-line volunteering, and I usually help serve meals for folks in the Downtown East Side in Vancouver, but this year I’m not in Vancouver for the annual Union Gospel Mission and Glowbal Restaurant Group BBQ in Oppenheimer Park. I have volunteered for this event in previous years and it is a lot of fun, and really heart-warming. If you have a chance to participate and volunteer, I strongly recommend that you do. You will come out of it a different person.
Me serving meals at the UGM-GRG BBQ at Oppenheimer Park. Photo by Leah Gregg
The Menu
• 5,000 gourmet hamburgers
• 900 pounds of coleslaw
• 900 pounds of fruit salad
• 5,000 bags of chips
• 5,000 cans of ice tea
BBQ Details Date: Saturday, August 11 Time: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Location: Oppenheimer Park (Cordova Street between Dunlevy and Jackson)
As you can imagine, summer in British Columbia is awesome, and there are a number of great music festival Last year I promoted Center of Gravity Beach Festival 2011 and it proved to be one of the most successful summer beach festivals in British Columbia. I know that there were people in Alberta who entered my giveaway last year because they really wanted to check it out. So it looks like Center of Gravity 2012 Beach Festival in Kelowna, BC will be awesome again and this year, again, I have a prize pack to give away.
Photo credit: Robert Ciavarro
Canada’s Hottest Beach Festival returns to Kelowna this August long weekend (Aug 3-5, 2012). The Wet Ape team is excited for its biggest year yet, with over 19 of the hottest names in electronic dance music, dance, and hip-hop including Lupe Fiasco, Nero, Morgan Page, Bloody Beetroots, Miami Horror, and Yelawolf. The incredible line-up of artists include:
§ Lupe Fiasco – Named GQ Magazine’s “Man of the Year” and Rolling Stone’s “Artist to Watch”, Grammy Award winning Lupe Fiasco has been heralded since his breakout hit Kick Push in 2006 for his philosophical, sharp and dynamic lyrics. Following the success of Lasers, Fiasco is currently working on a sequel album to fan-favourite debut Food & Liquor.
§ Nero – Currently touring their highly successful debut album Welcome Reality, and just announced to open for Madonna on the North American leg of her MDNA tour. Nero combines heavy bass and house rhythms with a lighter pop sound; as Billboard noted, Nero “comes off like a dubstep-powered pop band.”
§ Morgan Page – Over 130 remixes to his name, Page has earned a solid reputation for transferring insatiable pop energy to the dance floor in the form of banging, progressive house tracks. His latest release, Body Works, features Canadian duo Tegan & Sara and currently ranks as the #7 dance track on iTunes Canada.
§ Bloody Beetroots – Italian electro house & dance-punk music project is known world over for dropping very dirty dance beats and a penchant for masks. Having remixed everyone from Crookers to Britney Spears and collaborations with fellow electro house musician Steve Aoki, Bloody Beetroots is currently touring Europe before heading to North America this summer.
§ Sweatshop Union – This Vancouver group is one of the hardest working collective in North Western hip-hop. URB Magazine recently featured them in their next top 100. Following the success of their 2011 Bill Murray EP, which won Western Canadian Music Awards’ “Hip Hop Album of the Year,” the group is releasing two albums in 2012 starting with The Leisure Gang EP (single released March 2012).
§ Anjulie – 2012 Juno nominee, Anjulie has been writing and composing her own music since she was a teenager. In 2011 her single Brand New Bitch was certified as a platinum digital download in Canada.
§ Miami Horror – Melbourne’s favourite psychedelic indie-electronic adventurers have followed up the release of their highly anticipated album Illumination with two years of touring and synth-heavy live shows. They are currently working on their next album, which they promise to be “dancy…with more rhythm than ever.”
§ Yelawolf – Hailed as one of Esquire Magazine’s Best New Rappers of 2011, Yelawolf is taking the rap world by storm. The southern rapper released his debut studio album in November of last year to positive reviews, and is currently working on a second album.
I have a prize pack that includes a pair of VIP Passes to Center of Gravity 2012 Beach Festival and a meet-and-greet with Morgan Page (check out a video of music on this link).
More about Center of Gravity: Center of Gravity 3-day sport and music passes are SOLD OUT; Friday and Sunday single day sport and music passes are available for $79.50; and Sport Passes are available for $19.50 – $29.50 / day. Kids 12 and under are FREE with paying adult. To view complete line-up times, accommodations and to purchase tickets, visit Center of Gravity‘s website.
To enter my giveaway, we have 4 modes of entry:
1) Comment on this blog telling me which artist you’re most excited to check out at Center of Gravity 2012 Beach Festival in Kelowna, BC.
2) Post the following on Twitter:
Told @hummingbird604 which artist I’m most keen to see at @cog_kelowna http://is.gd/j1Tw0Y to enter to win a Center of Gravity prize pack
If you do all 4, obviously, I’ll count 4 entries to my contest. Because of the fact that the contest is coming up, I’ll run it until Monday July 30th at 8pm. Check often here, as I’ll be announcing my contest winner on here. If you have Twitter, leave it on the comment that you post here!
Somebody created a lovely video mashup of all artists featured at Center of Gravity. Check it out below.
I admit that I thought to myself, “”Can there possibly be anything new to say, sing, or dance re the Titanic?”. And, having seen this well-done production, I can emphatically say, “Yes!”.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson
Throughout the show, as appropriate, details such as the ship’s engineering blueprints, the luxurious salons, the boiler room, and the starry nights are projected at the back of the stage. The actors worked well with the projections, and the effect was very natural.
Being a geek, I appreciated that they started off with technical details of the ship and discussed intricate navigational details. In the past few decades, after several aviation disasters that featured an imperious captain, the concept of Crew Resource Management (CRM) has been adopted in aviation in an effort to give a voice to junior crew members who are afraid to challenge the captain’s mistakes. This production makes clear how the hierarchical structure of seafaring, circa 1912, helped bring about the Titanic disaster. But no worries if you aren’t geeky in this way – the human interest angle is very well-done too.
Titanic reflects a world of strictly segregated classes, as represented by the First Class, Second Class, and Third Class levels. Yet, given the era of the Titanic, on the eve of World War I, this strict hierarchy is under attack. The lower classes can and do make moves to mix with the upper classes.
A ship containing over 2000 souls aboard inevitably contains a large collection of personal stories. These vignettes are artfully woven and developed through the evening. Each level has its own romances and heartaches. Both the young and the old experience heartbreak, true love, and loss. There are continuous whiffs of exciting scandal and intrigue.
I have seen several Theatre Under the Stars productions, and I am inevitably impressed by the costume and set details. Titanic is no exception. The actors represent a wide range of ages, as befits the different stories being told. The music skilfully brings out the menace and inevitability of the iceberg.
So, even if you know the ending, Titanic is well worth seeing. It is playing alternate nights until August 17. See the Theatre Under the Stars information page.
Disclaimer Lois Patterson reviewed both Theatre Under The Stars plays in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com. There was no expectation of a review, nor in the case of a review being written, was there any expectation that it would be positive. Raul always has editorial control on the blog’s content. Read more about Lois below.
About Lois Patterson: Lois Patterson enjoys travel, theatre, arts, and literature. She favours integration of science and humanities, and has a special weakness for mathematical interpretations of artistic phenomena. Her work in technical writing, software testing, and UI design is informed by this philosophy. She writes a blog and can be followed on Twitter at @loisrp
Perhaps you haven’t seen the movie or Broadway musical before, but you are likely familiar with many songs and motifs from The Music Man. The catchy tune “76 Trombones”, the rhyme “Marian the Librarian” – I never knew both of these were from The Music Man.
Photo by Tim Matheson
The rustic, naive charm of the Midwest is captured well in this depiction of River City, Iowa (based on the author’s home town of Mason City, Iowa). To modern viewers, the story is likely a bit thin. A swindler, who holds himself out as a professor of music, wheedles parents to buy band instruments and uniforms on the promise of a band being formed and led by himself. Self-proclaimed Professor Harold Hill is a consummate conman, who artfully evades every demand to verify his credentials. Love, in the form of the town librarian Marian Paroo, gets in the way of his con.
The theme of a trickster who somehow brings enlightenment and personal growth to his victims is a frequent theme in theatre – think of The Rainmaker (with Katharine Hepburn) and Shirley Valentine. Hill brings out the latent talents of the townspeople, and leads them to forge new bonds amongst themselves. They benefit from his presence, despite his efforts to rip them off. The town has been stuck in a rut. The delight of excitement and newness comes through in songs like “Wells Fargo Wagon”. Anything might be arriving on that wagon, including new, shiny band instruments.
Interestingly, both The Music Man and Titanic are set in 1912, on the eve of World War I. The theme of trampled class differences pervades both productions. The mayor’s authority is disrespected, a couple from different sides of the tracks gets together, and Professor Hill navigates across all the town’s social classes to make connections.
Theatre Under the Stars does not skimp on the delightful costumes and period details. The actors are skilled singers and dancers as required, and they interact well together. Having a live orchestra under the stage is always a treat.
If you crave a bit of well-done, old-timey nostalgia, you will enjoy The Music Man. It is playing alternate nights until August 18. See the Theatre Under the Stars information page.
Disclaimer Lois Patterson reviewed both Theatre Under The Stars plays in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com. There was no expectation of a review, nor in the case of a review being written, was there any expectation that it would be positive. Raul always has editorial control on the blog’s content. Read more about Lois below.
About Lois Patterson: Lois Patterson enjoys travel, theatre, arts, and literature. She favours integration of science and humanities, and has a special weakness for mathematical interpretations of artistic phenomena. Her work in technical writing, software testing, and UI design is informed by this philosophy. She writes a blog and can be followed on Twitter at @loisrp
As you may have realized after a few years of reading my blog post, I both love brunch (the meal) AND Q4 Restaurant by Quattro (the group of restaurants). I have had the pleasure of dining at Gusto Di Quattro (in North Vancouver), Q4 (in Kitsilano) and Q4 al Centro (in downtown Vancouver).
I was thrilled to find out that Q4 now will offer brunch (check out their delicious menu!) While I have not had a chance to check out the new Q4 Restaurant on Broadway (where the former Lumiere was), a lucky reader of mine will have a chance to enjoy brunch for two, courtesy of Q4 Restaurant Group and Hummingbird604.com.
To enter, I have (as usual) several modes of entry. The first (comment on this blog), I’d love you to tell me what item would you like to try from Q4 Restaurant’s menu (be it brunch or dinner, although this giveaway is for brunch). The following ones include Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Entry # 1) Comment on this blog.
Entry # 2) Post the following on Twitter:
Shared w/ @hummingbird604 which @q4restaurant item I’d like to try to enter to win #SummerBrunchHB604 for 2 people http://is.gd/pdUhKU
Entry # 4) Post an Instagram photo of any Q4 restaurant, tag me (@hummingbird604) and Q4 (@q4restaurant). You could cross-post to Twitter, but not necessary since I check my Instagram stream every day.
As always, I’ll draw a winner from the randomized pool of entries on August 6th, at 2pm. (if you do all 5 you have 5 entries into my contest), and each mode of entry you use I will include in my contest (up to 5).
My love for the province of British Columbia can’t be denied (if anybody wants to, just read through my Travel, Dance, Theatre or British Columbia categories to see how much I have written about my home province). And I always love taking any opportunity I have to celebrate BC. Be it by travelling within the province, eating BC-grown fruits and vegetables, or witnessing BC-created art, I love celebrating BC. White Spot wants you to join them and Celebrate BC and I have a couple of gift cards ($25 each one) plus a bottle of BC wine to give away in a promotion so that you, too, can Celebrate BC with White Spot and Hummingbird604.com.
Photo credit: Ken Mist on Flickr
To create White Spot’s Legendary Burgers, fresh-cut fries and famous blueberry pies, more than 675,000 pounds of tomatoes, almost 5,000,000 pounds of Kennebec potatoes and 73,000 pounds of blueberries are used each year – all supplied by B.C. producers. This year the restaurant is deepening its commitment to local food and drink with its 100 per cent B.C. wine list. From now until early September, White Spot guests are invited to enjoy delicious new Celebrate BC menu items, including signature creations, like Truffled Mushroom Flatbread, Candied Salmon Cavatappi and Candied Salmon Spinach Salad.
I should also point out that White Spot is pairing their Celebrate BC items with BC VQA Wine. Check out their wine list!
All you need to do to enter my giveaway is to check out White Spot’s Celebrate BC menu and tell me in a comment on this post which item you would like to try (have you checked the Candied Salmon Spinach Salad? YUM!). I have 2 prize packs to give away ($25 gift certificate and a bottle of BC wine), so there will be 2 lucky winners this time!
Additional modes of entry include, of course, Pinterest and Instagram. And obviously, if you do all modes of entry, I’ll accumulate them all (e.g. if you do Twitter, comment and Pinterest, you have 3 entries, and so on and so forth). Total maximum entries is 5 (five), and if you win through one of them, your other entries will be void so that somebody else can win (this is just to ensure 2 different readers can enjoy the Celebrate BC prize pack).
Entry # 1: Comment on this post on which White Spot Celebrate BC menu item you’d like to try.
Entry # 2: Post the following on Twitter:
Told @hummingbird604 which @White_Spot item I want to try http://is.gd/BD8NkR 2 enter 2 win a #HCelebrateBC $25 GC + 1 bottle #BCWine
Entry # 4: Post an Instagram photo of something that, to you, showcases BC (e.g. photo of BC-grown strawberries, peaches, or maybe a photo that you took on a trip within British Columbia). Tag me (@hummingbird604) and White Spot (@White_Spot). I check my Instagram stream every day so I’ll know that you posted it, regardless of whether you cross-post to Twitter or not, so don’t worry about that.
Entry # 5: Comment on my Pin of this post telling me which White Spot Celebrate BC menu item you would like to check out.
I will draw 2 winners from all randomized entries on August 3rd, 2pm.
My Mom has always been my best friend. Ever since I was a child, I had a great affinity for her personality, and as my Dad has said multiple times, I’m exactly 50% my Mom and 50% my Dad. My Mom (who did a PhD in Government and Public Administration when she already had 4 children doing their Masters or PhDs) has been a professor for decades, and as I told her yesterday as I was driving her to one of many birthday celebrations, if I were to be born again, I would definitely choose to be born to my Mom.
Madre, hoy y siempre sabes lo mucho que te quiero, que te respeto y que te admiro. Yo soy exitoso en gran parte gracias a tu tenacidad, tu capacidad de trabajo, tu ejemplo, tu constancia y tus valores. Espero que hoy y siempre disfrutes de tu cumpleaños. Y obviamente, no omito recordarte que te quiero mucho, hoy y siempre.
My sister-in-law just introduced me to These Kids Wear Crowns, and I am a little bit embarrassed I didn’t know them. Did you know they are not only a Canadian band, but they are from the Lower Mainland? Originally from Chilliwack, These Kids Wear Crowns are a Canadian youth band who sing very sweet and clean songs. Given how some young Hollywood-ized singers now sing pretty dumb songs, I am thrilled to find a band whose music I can play for my nephews (L loves them).
This video shows These Kids Wear Crowns singing Whitney Houston’s “I Want To Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” with Mexican singer Eiza Gonzalez. I love these English-Spanish duets (probably because I speak both fluently and I understand the lyrics really well). For your listening pleasure, These Kids Wear Crowns and Eiza Gonzalez’s “I Want To Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
As you know, I’m an adoring fan of all things DTES and East Vancouver. I am, after all, a Main Street boy. I recently found out about Homesteader’s Emporium, a store that just opened up in East Vancouver that carries supplies and puts on workshops which encourage sustainable and self-sufficient living. Rick Havlak, the owner, sells everything from canning supplies, to bee keeping kits, and gardening tools and products. What’s neat though, is he is going to join forces with local groups like Victory Gardens and put on workshops, teaching people how to make soap, build chicken coops and other wonderful things. I think that’s awesome and I hope people can enjoy it. More information below.
A garden on East Hastings. Photo credit: EBJ on Flickr
Join us for an educational & exciting opening weekend of Homesteader’s Emporium! Activities, workshops & demonstrations guarantee a good time. Come by to join us for a workshop or two (come early to guarantee a spot) or just say hi! Please check out full schedule details below:
*Friday, July 27*
2 pm – Chickens 101 with Duncan Martin; the Vancooper
Tour of a chicken coop with discussions of chicken behavior and City of Vancouver regulations. Q&A to follow.
3 pm – Growing Mushrooms at Home and in your garden with Scott Henderson, the Mushroom Man. Scott will show how to grow specialty mushrooms on grain mix or coffee grounds, and discuss ways to establish sustainable, self-perpetuating mushroom patches in your home or garden.
4 pm – Keeping and Baking with Sourdough Starter with Rick Havlak of Homesteader’s Emporium. Rick will demonstrate two styles of sourdough starter and give introductory level suggestions for baking sourdough bread.
*Saturday, July 28*
11 am – Cheese and Yogurt 101 with Rick Havlak of Homesteader’s Emporium. Rick will demonstrate various techniques for making soft cheeses and yogurts at home, with a discussion of how to extend the process for hard cheeses.
12 pm – Canning Safety 101 with Asia Warner of Homesteader’s Emporium. Asia will discuss key measures to ensure the safety of canned produce through a ‘dry run’ of the basic canning process. A hands-on demonstration of herb and fruit infusions will follow.
1 pm – Upcycling Planters with Victory Gardens. Victory Gardens is excited to host a workshop for the DIY grower who wants to upcycle while growing. There will be a live construction demo and some current gardening tips provided. Come down and learn how to reuse for growing! $5 suggested donation for materials.
2 pm – Growing Mushrooms on coffee grounds with Mushboo.
Matt Unger of Mushboo will demonstrate how to farm oyster mushrooms on spent coffee grounds.
3 pm – Rainwater Harvesting with Adam Scheuer of Water Tiger. Adam will demonstrate connecting rain collectors to existing gutter systems and show us how to reduce contaminants.
4pm – Composting in Small Spaces with Rick Havlak of Homesteader’s Emporium. Rick will demonstrate two styles of worm composters and discuss alternative methods for composting indoors or in small spaces: bokashi, and automated.
*Sunday, July 29*
12 pm – DIY Stamp Crafts with Asia Warner of Homesteader’s Emporium. Asia will lead participants in stamping fabric with attractive patters using repurposed household items.
*NEW TIME* 1 pm – Soil Nutrients 101 with Emi Do of Yummy Yards.
Emi will tell us about her experiences with soil management and give some pointers for getting the most out of your soil.
2 pm – Beehive Anatomy with Lianne Shyry of Two Bees Apiary. Lianne will take apart a (beeless) beehive with participants, explaining along the way how each part of the hive supports bee ecology.
*NEW TIME* 3 pm – The Science of Fermentation with Rick Havlak of Homesteader’s Emporium. Rick will discuss the role of fermentation in many of the foods we love: beer, cheese, sausage, sauerkraut, kombucha, and more.
4 pm – Basic Soap Making with Asia Warner of Homesteader’s Emporium. Asia will lead participants in making customized homemade bar soap. $5 Suggested donation.
Donations accepted.
Facebook page for the event. Phone: 604-568-7675 Website Twitter: @homesteadersemp
How good can a Shakespearean comedy set in 1968 Windsor, Ontario really be? If the comedy in question is The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Johnna Wright and presented on Bard on the Beach‘s Douglas Campbell Studio Stage, the answer is this: pretty damn good.
photo credit: David Blue
Bard’s production of Merry Wives is ensemble theatre at its finest: every cog in the machine (from the costumes to the performances to the superb musical direction of Benjamin Elliot) just works, and the results are so much fun. Merry Wives is also a great example of directors and designers successfully using a specific time period and location (in this case, Windsor, Ontario, 1968) as a lens through which to present Shakespeare and really hitting upon something that not only entertains us, but also serves the piece. Somehow, the small-town Canadiana on display in the production (complete with Shriners, curling, and a bartender with a Newfie accent) brings Shakespeare’s comedy colourfully to life, making the inherent farce in the play both instantly recognizable and also refreshingly funny and new.
The strong cast (who also perform Bard’s King John) really gel in this production, with most of them singing or playing instruments at some point during the show (I never would have thought adding 60s-era country songs to a Shakespeare play would work, but amazingly it does, and well!). Katey Wright and Amber Lewis (as Mistress Page and Mistress Ford) do a tiptop job of carrying the plot (helped along by the machinations of Ashley Wright as Sir John Falstaff and Scott Bellis as Ford), but I must say that found a lot to like in every performance (whether the role was large or small), notably Patti Allan in the role of Mistress Quickly (who doesn’t seem to know sometimes what is going on but wants to be in the thick of everything), Todd Thomson as the (Newfie accented) Host of the Garter Inn, and Alex Rose, playing Bardolph but also supporting and underscoring the action with his impressive playing on the fiddle.
I’m not surprised the Saturday night performance I attended was sold out–I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who was in the audience that night who didn’t enjoy themselves, and I’m certain word of mouth from happy Bard patrons has been primarily responsible for the packed Studio seating. The directing and design teams took a leap presenting The Merry Wives of Windsor, and their gamble paid off. Exciting and risk-taking productions like this one, that successfully draw on unexpected elements to augment Shakespeare’s work, will ensure that both Bard on the Beach and the Bard himself will remain relevant into the festival’s future.
The Merry Wives of Windsorwill be playing on the BMO Mainstage in Vanier Park, Tuesdays to Sundays, until September 20. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 604-739-0559 or by visiting Bard’s website at www.bardonthebeach.org. For a complete schedule of performances, please visit Bard’s Schedule page.
Disclosure: Lauren Kresowaty is reviewing this 2012 summer’s Bard on the Beach season in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com, and as such, she attended this performance (and will attend the rest of the season) on media tickets kindly provided by Bard on the Beach. No review is requested from either of us, nor a favorable one is expected either (in the case of a review actually being written). As always I (Raul) retain full editorial control on anything published on my site.
Lauren Kresowaty (NiftyNotCool) is a writer, theatre artist, and blogger based in East Vancouver. She posts weekly on her personal blog, NiftyNotCool.com, and tweets from @niftynotcool. Lauren is currently working on an adaptation of the Greek tragedy “The Libation Bearers” for her friends in Rice & Beans Theatre and following her imagination wherever it leads. You can get in touch with Lauren by commenting on a post on her site or following her on twitter.
As a Mexican national, I feel incredibly proud of Tequila, the throat-burning, heart-warming spirit that has become pretty much the national drink of Mexico. Most people I know seem to think that tequila and mezcal are about the same thing (they are not). You can only manufacture tequila either in the city of Tequila (in the Mexican state of Jalisco) or in other regions that have the denomination of origin. Apparently, today (July 24th) is National Tequila Day, and I am definitely going to celebrate it! (I am in Mexico right now). I also have to admit I’m a bit of a tequila snob. I don’t like just *any* tequila.
And yes, I will fully admit that I look down on people who *think* they know tequila, when obviously they don’t! You know who you are… The one thing I recommend when tasting tequila is – make sure you drink tequila WITHOUT any mix BEFORE you make a Margarita or a Paloma.
While it looks like Julember is back in Vancouver, it won’t be long before the nice weather comes back. I wrote a few months back a list of some of my favorite patios in British Columbia, and truth be told, I totally forgot that Earls Restaurants have some pretty nice patios. This summer, I’m travelling so I won’t get to enjoy a taste of summer on an Earls patio, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. AND I have a $50 gift card for a lucky reader of mine to enjoy a couple of drinks and maybe an appetizer or two, on an Earls patio. All you need to do to enter my giveaway is to check out Earls’ drinks menu and tell me which one of their drinks is your favorite.
If you haven’t actually had drinks before at Earls Restaurant, you can tell me which one you would like to try. For an additional few entries (one per each entry method) you can do the following:
Entry #1 Comment on this blog with the name of your favorite drink from the Earls menu
Entry # 2 Post an Instagram photo of your favorite drink/cocktail, tagging me (@hummingbird604) and Earls Restaurant (@earlsrestaurant) and using the hashtag #TasteOfSummer
Entry # 4 Comment on my Pin of this post on Pinterest, telling me your favorite drink from the Earls drinks menu, or a cocktail you want to try perhaps.
Entry # 5 Post the following text on your Twitter stream:
Shared my favorite drink w/ @hummingbird604 http://is.gd/ugqkX0 to enter to win a $50 GC for a #TasteOfSummerHB604 w/ @earlsrestaurant
Quite obviously if you do all 5, I will enter you with a total of 5 entries. I will draw winners from all cumulative entries (randomized) on Thursday August 2nd, 2012 at 2pm. Some more information on Earls Restaurants’ patios:
– With over 80 seats, Earls has the largest patio in Yaletown. The street level patio, on the corner of Mainland & Helmcken, is the perfect spot to soak up the sun and people watch while taking in a freshly grilled fish taco and an ice cold margarita.
– Robson Street’s two roof-top patios are among the most beautiful patios in the city, a bit of shade out front, full sun out back, and the Broadway bound Fir Street location has a removable roof for year round patio dining.
– In Burnaby at their Bridge Park location, brand new outdoor furniture, added this year, includes full sized booths as well as heat lamps and evening lighting.
– In Kelowna, where the patio season is long and hot, people just move outdoors and the Earls rooftop patio, overlooking the lake, not only offers up the best view in town, it’s a living space filled with edible plants, herb gardens and a movable sunshade awning that can block the heat on the hottest days – There, a chilled glass of Okanagan white wine is a perfect accompaniment for a crisp Dungeness Crab and Prawn Salad.
– The Whistler Earls patio, which opens late into the night, overlooks the heart of Whistler Village under the light of the moon.
– In Langley the patio and lounge become one, thanks to large sliding doors, while in Victoria French doors are thrown open to connect the dining room to the patio on one side and out onto people-watching Government Street on the other. Full dining seating, including booths, makes the patio a perfect spot to enjoy a fresh made Prawn and Asparagus Linguini or hand rolled Gnocchi with a bottle of Cedar Creek BC VQA wine.
I have to say, despite what my blog post on El Mural de los Poblanos may indicate, I did love their food, and in general, I loved every single restaurant we visited on the We Visit Mexico Puebla Tweetup. That said, I think the restaurant whose first meal was fantastic and ended with a second meal on the rank of incredible was the Restaurant La Compañía (Mesones Sacristía). We had lunch there (in the Talavera Room, if I recall correctly) on our first full day in Puebla, and it was pretty fantastic, but the closing dinner was simply out-of-this-world, in my view. This post focuses on our lunch as that’s the one I took photos of (we also attended a cooking class also offered by Mesones Sacristía, which also merits a separate blog post).
As expected with such an elite boutique hotel, the restaurant’s menu is pretty impressive. We were seated around a square table that enabled us all to chat (something I love about Mexican restaurants – the focus is not so much the food but the conversation around it).
Our appetizer included 4 chalupas (served with shredded pork and chicken breast). Each chalupa had a variety of mole (red, green, pipian, and traditional). While some people may think that the chalupa is heavy and hard to digest (because it’s made with thicker tortilla dough), it’s actually surprisingly light. Flavours of course range from the spicy (red mole) to the sweet (traditional chocolate-based mole). Delicious.
Our main dish was a very traditional mole con pollo y arroz (chicken with mole and rice). Against my prediction, this was also a very light dish (I think that’s because Mesones Sacristia makes less heavy moles than I have sampled elsewhere). My dish was served with traditional, chocolate-based mole which left me wanting more and more. The rice was fluffy and flavourful.
As with most Mexican moles, this mole con pollo y arroz is served with a full chicken breast (which makes for a pretty large meal).
My favorite (and I think every single one of my fellow international travel writers) dessert was the “cremita”. A light, cold, not-extremely-sweet custard, “cremita” is a very traditional dessert in Puebla. Despite having lived in Mexico for so many years, I actually never had had cremita before I went on the Puebla Tweetup press trip. Seeing as crème brûlée (which is actually my absolute favorite dessert) is so similar in many ways to cremita, I think I can safely say I’m a fan of custards. Overall, Mesones Sacristia knows very well how to treat a guest, from comfortable and gorgeous accommodations to delicious cuisine. Definitely recommended and worth the trip. They have some really affordable packages.
Disclosure: My trip to Puebla, sponsored by the Mexico Tourism Board, includes transportation, activities and meals. However, my posts are written in my own words and everything I write is entirely my own opinions. Any out-of-pocket expenses are paid out of my own dime. As always, anything that I post on my site is entirely my responsibility and I retain full editorial control.
I remember the very first time I listened to this song (Esa Niña, sung by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, obviously in Spanish): I was going on holidays with my parents to the beach (most likely Mazatlan) and the radio began playing this song. Literally, the song’s title translated to English is “That Little Girl”. This song reminds me of my childhood so much. The song pays homage to young women (Luis Miguel sings how much he likes his girlfriend, who is gifted with a tremendous zest of life. At the time, his girlfriend supposedly is 20 years old). Whatever the lyrics say (I’m not precisely crazy about them), the music itself reminds me of good times in my life. I listened to it last night as I was driving back from the hospital from visiting my friend, so it was a little glimmer of happiness in what would have been otherwise a pretty dark night. For your listening pleasure.
Personally, I have never used a tanning bed nor have I had any interest in tanning (and yes, despite my fair skin color, I do know that I can get quite sunburnt!). But what you do know if you have spent any length of time on my blog is that I love supporting charitable causes, and even more so, causes that are associated with fighting cancer (a disease that has taken way too many of my family members). And with the summer finally hitting Vancouver, there are even more reasons to take proper precautions and avoid tanning and burning (skin cancer beckons!). According to 2012 statistics, melanoma skin cancer, the most severe form of skin cancer, is on the rise.
Photo credit: Maria Khan, Canadian Cancer Society
The Canadian Cancer Society (whom I have supported for years) recently launched their 2012 Tanning Is Out campaign at Kitsilano Beach. While I was unable to attend, I was informed that at the event on Sunday, the Burnadettes roamed the beach spreading the message that TANNING IS OUT. They also hit the volleyball court to play a mock match with a few of the audience members. You can check some of the event photos on my Flickr stream.
Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer for people between the ages of 15-29, and is mostly preventable. In order to support people enjoy the sun safely, we’re sharing the following messages:
Be smart in your sun exposure. If you can, plan your outdoor activities before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m., when the sun is not at its strongest, or any time of the day when the UV Index is 3 or less.
Seek shade. If you’re stationary, seek out a space that’s shaded, or create your own by packing a beach umbrella.
Cover up. Hat’s (a wide brim is best), long sleeve shirts, sunglasses etc.
Wear sunscreen. Sunscreen can’t block all the suns rays so use it as your back up plan. Look for a “broad spectrum sunscreen” (which means it offers protection from UVA and UVB rays) of at least SPF 15 or SPF 30 if you are planning to be outside most of the day. Apply it generously at least 20 minutes before you head out and follow the instructions per reapplying.
You can find out more about Tanning is Out at Cancer GamePlan. Check out this fun video about the Burnardettes.
Thursday evening (July 5th), right as the beautiful day was beginning to cool off and the beaches were beginning to slowly empty, a bus full of elementary school-aged kids pulled into the Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium. This being the first week out of school, the kids were so excited for their first game of the summer season.
Photo credit: Jessica Brodeur for Hummingbird604.com
After a quick pep-talk, pledge and anthem, the youngest group (aged 6 – 8) split off into corners of the field for their t-ball games while the older kids played and goofed off on the sidelines. Some of them were so small that their uniform drooped to their knees, but regardless they bat, ran and slid from base to base – with a little help from the volunteers. Then they switched, older children stepped up to bat being able to hold the bat a bit more sturdily.
Photo credit: Jessica Brodeur for Hummingbird604.com
For various circumstances, these children may not have been able to play baseball without the help of the Boys and Girls Club of South Coast BC. The purpose of the club is to provide a space that’s not school and not home: a supervised environment that doesn’t feel supervised so kids can just hang out and be themselves. This careful balance (a science, really) is created by volunteer staff that have the same interests as the kids: hanging out after school, eating snacks, playing, talking, and – of course – sports. Some volunteers are avid baseball players, some are recognizable community figures, and others were just there to play the essential role of cheerleaders and supporters to liven the spirits. All of the volunteers had a heart for youth.
The Right to Play Ball program is basically a great opportunity for these kids to be active and play in a team environment. They pledge to support their teammates, honour their opponents, and try their hardest. The players sign up through the Boys & Girls club to play for the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Foundation for no cost. Equipment is supplied including mitts, bags, helmets, water bottles and even dinner. The program is the first of its kind, one that plays to the physical but also emotional and communal needs of the players. Each week an industry professional or athlete addresses the mini-league players in a little assembly to promote the self esteem of each child, a valuable lesson both on and off the baseball pitch. This also means that the young generation of athletes not only get to play at the famous Nat Bailey stadium, but also get to meet some of the stars of the Vancouver Canadians.
Photo credit: Jessica Brodeur for Hummingbird604.com
The league has 3 games left this summer, but the Boys & Girls club is open every day of the summer with hours adjusted now that school is out. With over 300 teammates in the Right to Play Ball program alone, the Vancouver Canadians and Boys & Girls club are providing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will last in memories and character. Subsequent games are Wednesday July 11, Wednesday July 18, Friday, July 27, Friday August 10, and Friday August 17. Each session runs 4:30 – 6:30pm, except Friday August 17
from 1:00 – 4:00pm. The mini league will consist of two divisions. All children ages 6-8, will be in the “T-Ball” division while all children ages 9-11 will be in the “Coach-Pitch” division.
Disclosure: This guest post was contributed in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com by Jessica Brodeur. Jessica was my former intern and worked for me as Content Manager over the summer and part of the fall of last year. This post was not sponsored nor paid for, Hummingbird604.com just covered this initiative of the Vancouver Canadians and BC Boys and Girls because it is a great program. You can read Jessica’s bio below. As always I (Raul) retain full editorial control over anything posted on my site.
Jessica Brodeur is the co-founder of Vancouver Music Review and tweets as @space_cadet00. She enjoys photography, travelling and volunteering. She also contributes to The Province. You can read more of her writing on both of those sites.
Patrons of this summer’s Bard on the Beach are in for an aesthetic surprise as director Miles Potter and scene and costume designers Kevin McAllister and Mara Gottler show us a cool and sophisticated Macbeth on the festival’s BMO Mainstage.
Your 12th-grade English class imaginings of a blood-soaked berserker Scot this ain’t. Every element, from the design’s clean lines to Potter’s direction, show us a Mr. and Lady Macbeth (played by Bob Frazer and Colleen Wheeler) that are less like the hot-blooded murderers of common portrayals and more like the icy couple in the perfect house down the street–all smiles in the neighbourhood but full of dirty secrets behind closed doors. As Macbeth himself says, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” (1.7.93).
With this interpretation in mind it is as if the doors of Macbeth’s castle have been blown open, and the cool grey stone of the interior becomes a barren and windswept landscape in which this powerful couple struggles to find each other. An important question that any director of Macbeth must answer with his leading actor and actress is that of the relationship between Macbeth and his wife. Who is the more ambitious? Are they in love/in hate/indifferent? In Potter’s Macbeth, we see a couple whose relationship seems all but cooled until the possibility of greatness presents itself. What barren couple, suffering under the mediocrity of frustrated ambition and trapped in a hierarchy that allows talented men to climb only so high and no higher (and women the ability only to excel through their husbands), wouldn’t jump at the chance to become something more, or better, than they had been? Who could resist the temptation to rule once the idea presented itself?
It is this question which lies at the heart of this production of Macbeth. In the haunted banquet scene we see a household ripped open, and know that nothing in this couple’s world will ever again be at peace. The direction and design lift this play from its medieval nightmare into the sleek and chilly heart of contemporary ambition.
(NB: I really must give a nod to actor John Murphy, whose portrayal of the Porter brings Shakespeare’s dagger sharp humour wickedly to life.)
Macbethwill be playing on the BMO Mainstage in Vanier Park, Tuesdays to Sundays, until September 20. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the box office at 604-739-0559 or by visiting Bard’s website at www.bardonthebeach.org. For a complete schedule of performances, please visit Bard’s Schedule page.
Disclosure: Lauren Kresowaty is reviewing this 2012 summer’s Bard on the Beach season in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com, and as such, she attended this performance (and will attend the rest of the season) on media tickets kindly provided by Bard on the Beach. No review is requested from either of us, nor a favorable one is expected either (in the case of a review actually being written). As always I (Raul) retain full editorial control on anything published on my site.
Lauren Kresowaty (NiftyNotCool) is a writer, theatre artist, and blogger based in East Vancouver. She posts weekly on her personal blog, NiftyNotCool.com, and tweets from @niftynotcool. Lauren is currently working on an adaptation of the Greek tragedy “The Libation Bearers” for her friends in Rice & Beans Theatre and following her imagination wherever it leads.. You can get in touch with Lauren by commenting on a post on her site or following her on twitter.
I have an extremely low threshold to process pain and loss. Particularly loss of life. I have never been able to properly process seeing my loved ones die. My method to process my pain and my losses is usually very complex. I like being left alone, on the one hand. But on the other hand, I seek the company of other friends and family to help me cope. I become extremely aggressive and lash out at any minor drama occurrence. And at the same time, I take a very zen approach, thinking about all the really important things in life, and meditating about the fact that nobody really gives a damn how many followers you have on Twitter, or whether you did not get invited to THIS or THAT media trip.
I visited a close friend of mine (his family and mine are friends since we were children, although there’s an age difference) in the hospital today. He had a heart attack and his brain shows no activity, from what I have been told. Barring any miracles, it is unlikely he is going to make it. And it breaks my heart. It breaks my heart that I did not get a chance to share with him one more meal, laugh at one more joke, or see him glow with pride when I would tell him I came back to competitive volleyball as a middle blocker (we both were competitive volleyball players).
It is in moments like this when I feel the duality that is who I am at its peak. On the one hand, I write (like I am writing this blog post) to process how I feel and to yell to the world how unfair I think it is that an otherwise healthy father of 4 children can be now bedridden and in an induced coma. On the other hand, I am here at my Mom’s alone, me and my laptop, pondering how I feel.
I feel so unbelievably ambivalent. I am two people in the body of one. I am an extrovert who loves being in the spotlight, and I am an introvert who enjoys deep thought and critical thinking. I want to cry and yell and at the same time, all I want to do is to curl up on my couch and shed tears. I feel so many conflicting and ambivalent emotions it’s hard to understand. All I know is that one more time, I am facing the hard, cruel truth: life as we know it on this planet is extremely ephemeral.
Cherish it. Love profoundly. Take risks. Forgive your enemies. Forge new bonds. Mend rifts.
And every single day of your life, make sure you tell the people you love that you love them.
I’m a very lucky guy, in more ways than one. Sometimes, you know how destiny works, that you befriend not only one individual but an entire family, and they become like your own? That’s what happened to me with the Schwebers. I first met Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber at Northern Voice, a few years ago. We became really good friends and Arieanna and I decided to write a book together (which you can download here).
Our values are very much aligned and I’m proud to call them friends. And in fact, I’ve befriended not only Ianiv and Arieanna, but also Ianiv’s sister (and husband), and Ianiv’s Mom. Dorita has been amazing to me and she has behaved pretty much like my Mom in Canada. We go together to ballet, theatre performances, and she’s always been willing to cook a Mexican meal whenever I feel like I miss Mexico (I’m in Mexico right now so I’m missing the chance to give Dorita a hug). On this special day, all I wanted to say is that I’m incredibly blessed to have you in my life and I really appreciate that you welcomed me into your family, not only as a friend of your son and daughter-in-law, but as one of your own. Much love and happy birthday!
Los Amigos Invisibles was the concert that closed the TD Vancouver Jazz Festival this year. I have to begin by admitting that the reason that I was in that concert was because a Venezuelan friend told me that they were fantastic. So a few days before I begun doing some homework by listening to their music. To be honest, I was very impressed with their songs, the music was so cool and funky, I was looking forward to the concert!
Los Amigos Invisibles. Photo credit: Marcela de la Pena
I learned that this group celebrated their 20th anniversary last year so they have been around for quite some time now. They begun playing in Caracas (Venezuela) with an alternative music proposal. They were promoted by David Byrne in 1995 and five years later, they were nominated for a Grammy and Latin Grammy.
The concert held on Sunday July 1s at the Vogue Theatre was full of people ready to dance. The band begun to play the classical songs like Sexy, Mentiras, La Vecina, among the most popular ones. Being in the concert with a groupie was fantastic, we were in the front row by the stage, I got in a great mood and we danced the whole time. The songs were fantastic, the musicians so nice and you could tell that they knew their material perfectly but at the same time they were having fun with their audience.
My favourite song was Mentiras, and I guess it was may people’s favourite because it was sang quite loudly with the band. The guitarist is an amazing musician, I mean the whole band was but this guy had such a groovy tune that was great to watch. Now Los Amigos Invisibles is one of my favourite bands from Latin America.
Disclsure:Marcela wrote this guest review of Los Amigos Invisibles at the 2012 TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com. She attended the performance and paid for her tickets on her own dime. More about Marcela below:
Marcela de la Pena is an urban planner who specializes in Urban Design and Community Development. In her spare time, she enjoys writing about life in Canada. You can read about her life in Canada blog (in Spanish) Mi Vida en Canada.
As anybody will know, Mexico is an extremely Catholic country (sometimes, I feel that it borders on obsession, but that’s not for me to judge). I was raised Catholic, and because of that, I was raised to pay tribute and my respects to church figures. While I am no longer a good, practising Catholic, I felt an incredible amount of peace visiting the Santuario del Senor de Villaseca (Sanctuary of Our Lord of Villaseca) in Guanajuato city today. I went to visit with my Mom, as it had been our tradition whenever we faced big challenges and hurdles.
Our Lord of Villaseca is the patron of impossible causes, and I will fully admit that I called upon him numerous times. When I was finishing my PhD. When I didn’t have funding to undertake graduate studies (neither for either of my Masters’ degrees nor to complete my doctorate. When I had my heart broken, hoping to be healed. For every single seemingly impossible challenge, I asked for his help. I now have a PhD, the best professional and personal life ever and I survived every challenge I faced.
Call it a miracle or just my tenacity, or pure sheer luck, but I’m really glad I visited to pay my respects and said “thank you”. The photograph below shows numerous messages that pay tribute and acknowledge a miracle performed by Our Lord of Villaseca. I took some time to browse the various “thank you” notes: completion of an undergraduate degree, healing of a tough illness, finding the way and quitting drugs.
The experience itself was incredibly humbling and peaceful. As I said, even as a non-practising Catholic, it gave an immense amount of peace.
A wonderful advantage of having an annual Shakespearean festival like Bard on the Beach in Vancouver is having the opportunity to see lesser-known Shakespearean works given the same level of talent, direction, and brilliant design usually reserved for the bard’s more well-known “crowd-pleasers”. One such hidden gem is Shakespeare’s King John, the story of John, younger brother of Richard the Lionheart, who ascends the throne following King Richard’s death. The production, directed by Dean Paul Gibson, alternates with Bard’s other studio production, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and plays Tuesdays to Sundays until September 19.
King John at Bard on the Beach. Photo credit: David Blue
Do not be intimidated by the play’s lesser-known status, or by the fact that it is one of Shakespeare’s “history plays”. King John is exciting, visually striking, and well-paced, and the title role is as meaty and complicated a part as any Shakespearean actor could hope to play.
Scott Bellis turns out a breathtakingly human performance as King John, whose temperament and tenuous hold on his crown begin to unravel him in the latter half of the play. Bellis’ performance leads King John through an incredible transformation, beginning his journey as an overly confident monarch, every bit a divinely-ordained king, until arriving at the final curtain, a small repentant man, grasping was is left of his destiny with trembling fingers.
Supporting Bellis’ performance is a strong cast. I was starstruck with every rich sweep of Patti Allan/Queen Elinor’s cloak across the floor, and impressed with Bard newcomer Aslam Husain’s of portrayal of Philip the Bastard, elevated to knighthood through more esteemed parentage than that of his mother’s husband. I was also moved by Todd Thomson’s hard but feeling Hubert de Burgh (possessing a scarred face but a pure heart), Allan Morgan’s smooth as oil portrayal of the manipulative Cardinal Pandulph, and by 7th-grader Lucas Gustafson’s brave performance in the tragic role of young Arthur, Duke of Bretagne (I’ve always heard that if you want to see an actor simply be present on a stage, watch a child).
Though Pam Johnson’s set is spartan, the lack of any kind of platform or floor structure creates an expansive playing space over which the characters, splendidly arrayed in Barbara Clayden’s beautiful costumes, position themselves in chess-like arrangements. I found Jamie Nesbitt’s simple projections distracting at first, but soon found myself enjoying and looking forward to the black and white drawings and their child-like representations of the action and location.
Those who are interested in Early Modern and Elizabethan literature and culture will also enjoy King John as an example of the issues of the time depicted in “popular culture”. Elizabethan play-goers would be very familiar with conflict over lineage and crown (having watched the throne of England pass from Henry VIII to Edward VI to Lady Jane Grey to Mary Tudor and finally to Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, all in the space of 12 years), and the sinister and greedy representation of Catholicism (personified in Cardinal Pandulph) would have been the accepted (and mandated) representation of Rome in the newly Protestant country. Being a fan of Early Modern literature, it was a delight to watch Elizabethan values play out across the stage and resonate with our still-held values of family, honour, and decency.
As artistic director Christopher Gaze said on opening night, it is a rare treat to be able to see a performance of King John nowadays. While a Hamlet, or a Lear, or a Midsummer Night’s Dream may come and go and come again, to see a play like King John at a summer Shakespeare festival is to see a celestial event: like an eclipse or a comet, the next opportunity may not come for years (or even in your lifetime), and catching a glimpse of this lesser-known Shakespearean work is a special occurrence indeed.
King Johnwill be playing on the Douglas Campbell Studio Stage in Vanier Park, Tuesdays to Sundays, until September 19. Tickets ($21 to $40) can be purchased by contacting the box office at 604-739-0559 or by visiting Bard’s website at www.bardonthebeach.org. For a complete schedule of performances, please visit Bard’s Schedule page.
Disclosure:Lauren Kresowaty is reviewing this 2012 summer’s Bard on the Beach season in exclusive for Hummingbird604.com, and as such, she attended this performance (and will attend the rest of the season) on media tickets kindly provided by Bard on the Beach. No review is requested from either of us, nor a favorable one is expected either (in the case of a review actually being written). As always I (Raul) retain full editorial control on anything published on my site.
Lauren Kresowaty (Nifty Not Cool) is a writer, theatre artist, and blogger based in East Vancouver. She posts weekly on her personal blog, NiftyNotCool.com, and tweets from @niftynotcool. Lauren is currently working on an adaptation of the Greek tragedy “The Libation Bearers” for her friends in Rice & Beans Theatre and following her imagination wherever it leads.. You can get in touch with Lauren by commenting on a post on her site or following her on twitter.
My love for Theatre Under The Stars is well known. For years I’ve attended their productions, reviewed them and created giveaways to enable my readers to enjoy the opportunity to participate in one of the best summer events in the city of Vancouver. Presented at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, Theatre Under The Stars has become one of the traditions of summer in Vancouver. In its 66th season, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) offers a unique summer experience not to be missed.
This summer, TUTS presents the Vancouver premiere of the Tony Award-winning Titanic: A New Musical along with beloved Broadway classic The Music Man. The season opened on July 8 and shows run on alternating nights until August 18. I will not have the opportunity to enjoy them, unfortunately (which is sad because JT and I had the tradition to go together – same with my friend Trevor Boudreau), but I am as always, able to promote the wonderful productions that TUTS is creating this summer. I just read the review of Titanic that my friend Mark Robins (GayVancouver) wrote and I loved it, and it looks like he really liked it too.
In 1940, Theatre Under the Stars started when a group of local theatre people formed to produce professional quality musicals during the summer. Since then, TUTS has been a Lower Mainland tradition, delighting generations of locals and tourists alike under the stars in the pastoral outdoor setting of historic Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. TUTS provides performers and technical staff an opportunity to work in a real world theatrical venue alongside seasoned professionals. Our productions are delivered by over 300 volunteers drawn from the community, requiring a broad variety of skills from board members to ushers to technical crew to cast and musicians.
Check out this little video of TUTS’ Titanic production.
One hundred years ago on April 10, 1912, the ocean liner Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic, never to arrive. In the masterful hands of composer Maury Yeston and librettist Peter Stone (the writer whose re-imagining of Annie Get Your Gun lit up TUTS’ 2008 season), tragedy is transmuted into a riveting and inspiring work of musical theatre. The hopes and dreams of rich and poor, cowards and lion-hearts, lovers and enemies are woven together into a richly-layered tapestry, celebrating the power of the human spirit in the tradition of Les Miserables and Ragtime.
Titanic: A New Musical won five Tony Awards on Broadway, including Best Score and Best Musical. The 2012 TUTS production will be directed and choreographed by Max Reimer, the acclaimed theatre director and former artistic managing director of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company. Titanic will also feature musical direction by Kevin Michael Cripps.
Check out this little video of TUTS’ Music Man production.
In counterpoint to the sweeping scope of Titanic comes the ageless musical comedy of The Music Man. The talented creative team that delivered last summer’s TUTS hit Anything Goes takes the lead on another beloved Broadway classic – incidentally also set in 1912. The Music Man is the story of charming con man Harold Hill, who descends on glum River City, Iowa posing as a marching band organizer who will keep the town kids out of trouble by creating a boys’ band. His scam is almost flawless – until he runs into the town piano teacher and librarian, Marian, who ultimately captures his heart. With a colourful cast of zany characters, huge musical numbers and a sweet sentimental story, The Music Man will delight TUTS audiences all summer long.
The Music Man is directed by Sarah Rodgers with choreography by Dayna Tekatch and music direction by Christopher King. I am a big fan of Sarah Rodgers’ directing, and I know of Dayna Tekatch’s skills so I am pretty excited about Music Man.
One of my dear readers will be able to enjoy (alongside a Plus One) a chance to attend a TUTS show, be it Titanic or Music Man. To enter, you have a variety of ways to participate:
1) Drop a comment on this post telling me which TUTS show you would like to check and why (Titanic or Music Man)
2) Tweet the following:
Told @hummingbird604 which @TUTSVancouver show I want to check out to enter to win tickets http://is.gd/039JYF to Titanic or Music Man
3) Pin this blog post on to your Pinterest (there’s a handy Pin This button here).
6) Post an Instagram photo of Stanley Park (where TUTS takes place) and tag me (@hummingbird604) and TUTS (@TUTSVancouver) on it. You can cross-post it to Twitter as well, though I check my Instagram frequently so the cross-posting may not be necessary.
Obviously, if you do all 6 modes of entry, you earn 6 entries to my contest. This is a short run contest, as I will be drawing winners at 7pm on July 21st. So enter NOW! For TUTS tickets information please check this link.
My Mom and I (and well, my brothers A and S too) have a tradition whenever I’m in Mexico. On Sundays, religiously, we wake up and head to our favorite menuderia (menudo shop) and order menudo for brunch. I really don’t like the meat that is served with menudo, but I love the broth. So spicy and flavourful! You can also make vegetarian menudo, just in case you were wondering.
