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[maddiekeenlyside]

The Starkeeper brings puppet theatre to Moncton’s Capitol

March 6, 2015

Quirky, dream-like puppet show The Starkeeper/Le Porteur will land on the Capitol Theatre’s stage on March 11.

Transcending language barriers, the show is a wordless (but not silent) production by Montreal’s Theatre de L’Oeil and has been performed 675 times in at least 10 countries since its creation in 1997. 

Wednesday’s performance at the Capitol Theatre marks the show’s first performance in Moncton since 2003.

Julie Laviolette, communications director at Theatre de l’Oeil, said while the play is for five-year-olds and up, it can also be rewarding for adults.“It’s a dream-like journey about a star that fell from the sky."

Protagonist Pretzel, a kind of worm, wants to place the star back in the sky, she said. 

“He meets different characters that try to help him. Each character has its own music for the audience to understand their feelings and express emotions.”

The show divides 20 to 30 characters between the team of four puppeteers, Laviolette said.

“Sometimes the children, they don’t really understand people are manipulating the puppets. It’s really well executed. You forget people are there.”

Graham Soul has been working with puppets since his childhood. 

“Technically, I had a small troupe – a friend and I pushed my brother and sister into performing too.”

The four became successful enough to land paying gigs at company Christmas parties. 

Still, despite his hobby’s success, Soul didn’t expect it to become a career. 

But since 1992, he has been a professional with the Montreal company and is one of four puppeteers performing at the Capitol March 11.

The Starkeeper is their longest-running show, and not a show you can get bored performing, Soul said.

“Despite doing it 675 times, it’s a challenge, a fun show to do."

It’s not a purely linear story, and it’s not always completely logical. Action can pass from one place to another, overlooking scientific details, Soul said. 

In one scene, the main character climbs a spider’s web and ends up on the moon.

“And in a cavern of dreams, where there are many beds, he goes to sleep. Water rises, and he ends up in the ocean. People are like, ‘Wait a minute. They were on the ground, the moon, now the ocean?’ It’s a bit like a dream – magical and poetic, fantasy-like.”

Having no words in the show is an advantage, Soul said. 

“With this show, we can go anywhere. We were surprised.”

For instance, they were told audiences in Japan might not be as demonstrative as Western audiences because of cultural differences, but that wasn’t the case, Soul said.

“Puppets remove social barriers. They’re funny, quirky creatures. We found (the reaction) wasn’t different to anywhere else. Last summer we were in mainland China and Taiwan, and they seemed to enjoy it too.”

Dressed in black, wearing black velvet tops and hoods, the four puppeteers blend into the scenery.

“We’re using what’s called black theatre lighting,” Soul said. “Basically the puppets are lit in a kind of narrow corridor of light, and anything that’s put into this corridor is visible.”

Puppets are full of materials: strings, levers, pulleys. Eventually something can go wrong, and you’re always on your toes to prevent it, Soul said.

“You’re performing and you hear a funny sound or a lever’s not working properly. It’s always at the back of your mind.”

The show employs a great deal of puppetry techniques, borrowing elements from such traditions as Japanese bunraku and shadow puppetry, as well as marionettes, Soul said.

“The fun thing about puppetry, a lot of technique is invented. You want to do something that hasn’t been done before? You go, ‘This is what we want to do. How can we do it?’”

In the case of a character called Bob, they knew they wanted the design to be enormous, he said.

“He’s a character with a theatre in his belly, and other characters perform in it.

”Experimentation also makes for a better show, he said.

“In the beginning, Bob was sort of a gruff character that would pass character’s auditions and yell ‘Next’. Our main director, Andre Laliberté, didn’t like that. He said it seemed too scary. Wouldn’t it be neat and more original if we played against type?” Soul said. “An enormous character bossing everyone around, well, what if the tiny little character bosses him around?”

At nine inches tall, the other character now pushes the seven-foot-tall Bob around instead, Soul said.

“She sits in his hand and watches the show in his belly. It’s much lighter, kinder.

”Soul’s only regret is not being able to watch the show himself, he said.

The Starkeeper/Le Porteur will open on March 11 at the Capitol Theatre, and tickets are on sale, $9 for children and $20 for adults. 

[maddiekeenlyside]

Ambulance New Brunswick, plow crews fight snow together

By Madelaine Keenlyside

Paramedic crews have been working overtime during this week’s storm, says Jean-Marc Dugas, manager of safety programs for Ambulance New Brunswick.

“Because of bad weather, we’ve had some crews working double shifts,” Dugas said.

Calls for help don’t diminish during storms, but the number of paramedics who can get to work might.

And calls that would normally take 45 minutes were taking three or four hours, he said.

“In stormy weather, we co-dispatch the plow, whether it’s municipal or provincial.”

That plow clears a path to the address in question and then stands by to lead the ambulance to the hospital.

Early Monday morning, one plow driver had to go far outside his normal jurisdiction to help paramedics reach a patient. The plow then helped make the long drive to the hospital in Moncton, he said.

And the co-operation of plow drivers and emergency responders has been exemplary, he said.

“They are going over and above.”

Kirk Steeves, senior manager of the HealthEd College of Paramedicine in Moncton, said his students are trained to cope with difficult weather conditions.

Part of the education they receive is on how to use resources like provincial plow systems, he said.

“You have to make judgment calls very quickly. As soon as something comes in, you’re probably aware of whether you can get to a patient or not and can ask for early activation of plows or local resources.”

But sometimes a patient is simply unreachable by vehicle.

“There are times where we’ve had to go as far as we could, and one person would have to stay with the ambulance. If the patient is in sight, a paramedic would walk to the scene.”

Safety for the paramedics themselves is important too, he said.

“If paramedics are stuck or injured, they’re not servicing the patients.”

Dugas said it can be helpful in an emergency situation if a person can watch for the ambulance and signal them from the driveway.

Turning on four-way flashers on any vehicle in the driveway can also create a beacon to help emergency responders know they’ve found the right address, he said.

“The snow is making it harder for us to see civic numbers on people’s houses.”

[maddiekeenlyside]

[maddiekeenlyside]

Fifty per cent of Islanders would vote Liberal if election called today, survey says

By Maddie Keenlyside

Dec. 8, 2014

Liberal party support rose recently, even as Premier Ghiz recently announced his plans to step down, according to poll results released today.

According to a Corporate Research Associates poll, the Liberal party has maintained a lead with 50 per cent (two per cent more than in August) of Islanders saying they would vote for the party if an election were called today.

Undecided voters at 26 per cent outnumbered the 23 per cent who said they would vote for the Progressive Conservative party.

Also, 15 per cent said they would vote for the New Democratic party, and 11 per cent for the Green party.

The survey was conducted as part of an independent telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians by the CRA Atlantic Quarterly.

A sample of 300 adult Islanders were surveyed between Nov. 5 and Nov 25.

Data from http://cra.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14-4-PE-Press-Release-2581501985076016.pdf

[maddiekeenlyside]

[Members of the press, including CBC’s John Jeffery, wait for politicians to arrive for question period on Nov. 25. Maddie Keenlyside photo.]

Racy, ‘Original Sin’ gala part of 2012 gaming trip funded by taxpayers, opposition leader alleges

By Maddie Keenlyside

Nov. 25, 2014

Opposition leader Steven Myers continued to grill finance minister Wes Sheridan on his 2012 gaming trip to London during question period on Nov. 25.

“What is it about this trip that demands all the secrecy, even now, two years later?”   

Sheridan said there is nothing secret about the trip.

“This is an effort by this province, putting together some very fine individuals to try to bring home solutions that every province in this country can benefit from.” 

Sheridan said they go on these types of business trips to promote P.E.I., and find solutions to issues here.

“To make sure if there are opportunities, to bring them back to P.E.I. To ensure we have resources to support health care, education, social services.”  

But there were not just meetings at this conference, Myers said.

“It also featured social events with delegates. On Friday you said the conference was like the home show at the Civic Centre. Question to the minister, were you too busy networking at these social events to advance your secret online gaming project?”

Among the social events listed was a show called Fire & Ice: a racy one, he said.

“It says that it was quite a party. The name of the party was ‘Original Sin’, and I gather there are videos online. Does that jog your memory?”

Sheridan said they were there on business and said he did not know what Myers was talking about.

“We’ve seen a number of companies.”

Myers said videos of the party did not look like anything he’s ever seen at a home show in the Civic Centre in Charlottetown. He asked the minister of finance if he attended the Fire & Ice ‘Original Sin’ gala.

Sheridan said he was not aware of what Myers was talking about.

Myers continued, and said there are videos of this party online that would make “just about anyone blush.”

“Definitely not safe for work – definitely not safe for our work. Does the minister feel this would be a good use of taxpayers’ money, to attend this event?”

Sheridan said conferences like this are about trying to find solutions.

“This is business development. This is what we do as a province. We’re going to find ways to make sure Islanders are, one, protected and two, have the resources needed to provide services.”

Estimating the total costs at around $10,000, Myers asked Sheridan if this figure sounded about right for consult.

“All of this information is put out there and there is nothing to hide.

These are expenses that are associated with doing business. That’s what we’re here for, that’s the position we’re in.”

Sheridan said the goal of the trip was to make sure the revenue comes back to Canada and find out what they were up against.

[maddiekeenlyside]

Hope for bats as AVC gains national bat white nose syndrome coordinator

By Maddie Keenlyside

Nov. 7, 2014

Jordi Segers knows a lot about bats. 

He knows they’re sometimes seen as scary. But he knows they’re intelligent, highly social creatures and we know far too little about them.

He also knows they’re dying out, victims of bat white nose syndrome.

In Canada, bats may disappear before we begin to scratch the surface of their lives. Over the past couple of years, populations in eastern Canada have been decimated, Segers said.

He was recently appointed the national coordinator for the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-operative at the Atlantic Veterinary College.

When he first heard about the position, he realized it was a chance for him to make a real difference in combating the fungus killing bats, he said.   

“Populations have dropped and dropped, the mortality rate is as high as 90 per cent.”

Some bat species can live up to 42 years old, birthing one pup a year. Worldwide, bats make up 30 per cent of mammal species, with a whopping 1,100 species of bat identified, Segers said.

“Even if the populations make a recovery, because of their slow reproductive rates, nobody alive today will see the healthy populations we’ve seen even a couple of years ago.”

Because they are so difficult to study, there are many things yet to be discovered about their social and cognitive abilities, he said.

 “A lot of them show a high fidelity for summering sites, returning year after year. We’re trying to understand their understanding of the world, because if they live to be that old, they must remember.”

While monitoring bats in N.S., he saw a cave population of 4,400 rapidly dwindle to four bats.

“It’s very sad to see. I’ve had several chances to witness the devastation with my own eyes.”

Segers, originally from the Netherlands, completed his doctorate studying bats in N.S. He will work with various groups – from researchers to government officials and public education – to improve research and coordinate a possible solution.

Scott McBurney is a clinical veterinary and wildlife pathologist at the Atlantic Veterinary College and a colleague of Segers.

Over the past year, the deadly fungus has spread farther east and west in Canada, with three of four counties in Cape Breton, as well as counties in Ontario, going positive this year, he said.

“The disease is spreading in both directions.”

McBurney hopes an assessment submitted last November to the federal government by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada will lead to a national designation of endangered for the affected species of bats.

“If you can’t list them as endangered, then you don’t get the other things that start to fall into place, where you develop a recovery team, winter habitat or summer habitat protection. Without that endangered status, none of those steps begin to be taken.”

Though scientists anticipate white nose syndrome will spread across the country, the federal government is caught between a rock and a hard place trying to reach a decision, he said.

“It’s only made it as far as Ontario. They may look at this and go, well the bats in (Western Canada) aren’t threatened, so let’s just let the provincial jurisdiction sort of look after itself, and once the disease spreads further maybe then we’ll consider listing it federally.”

Don McAlpine is a researcher and curator at the New Brunswick Museum. Bat populations in N.B. have faced the same devastation. It is frustrating the assessment has not provoked more action, he said.

“It hasn’t moved forward through the system federally in a way one would expect an emergency assessment to move.”

Meanwhile, the bat population has continued to drop. In the last year, it has reached a point where the bats are considered to be extinct in some regions of eastern Canada, he said.

The fungus, pseudogymnoascus destructans, spreads rapidly through bat colonies via social contact. It awakens them during hibernation and puts their immune system into overdrive, leaving them to starve and freeze to death. There’s no known solution, he said.

"It’s a continuing, downward spiral. We have less than half of one percent of what we started with in March of 2011.”

Solving the problem must be a collaborative effort, one he looks forward to, he said.

“It’s my first week as coordinator, and it’s a lot of responsibility, but I’m not alone.”

[maddiekeenlyside]

History, not horror, at the heart of Summerside’s annual Ghost Walk

By Maddie Keenlyside

Oct. 31, 2014

Wayne Wright loves walking with ghosts.

Good thing, because it’s that time of year again, and Summerside has been conjuring up the spirits of Halloween and history with its 14th annual Ghost Walk.

The event, which took place Oct. 23, is a favourite for Wright, a well-known Island editorial cartoonist.

He has been a long-time performer in the walks. As one of the actors, he has been involved in everything from railway crashes to medical discoveries, he said.

“This year I’m a 2,500-year old mummy. It brings out the imaginative side of me where belief is reality and you are what you believe you are. That’s what I do love.”

One year he played Edgar Allan Poe, reciting The Raven.

“I have a love of the gothic or the macabre, that was one great fun time. But one year I was even Puss ’n Boots, if you can believe that. “

Wright has performed in all 13 annual Ghost Walks, including this year’s. Part of what he loves about acting is being able to relive the childhood love of play.

“It’s the excitement, almost of a school concert when we were children. We would engage in school concerts and our knees would knock together, but there was also such a tremendous fun in dressing up, as a Roman centurion or an Irish wastrel, or something.”

Jean MacKay is an archivist at Culture Summerside. She helps cultural programming coordinator Marlene Campbell by conducting historical research for each year’s event.

“I find stories that’ll be interesting for the Ghost Walk and I give them to Marlene. She either has the feeling for them, or she doesn’t.”

Scanning historical newspapers for stories, she tried to tie her suggestions to geographic locations around Summerside.

“Our first vignette is always about why we celebrate Halloween. We have a pagan who holds a bonfire, and she tells them why it is this particular night the veil to the spirit world is thin.”

It’s more historical than scary, she said.

“We don’t jump out at people. If we’re standing on that lawn that means that story has some significance to that place.”

They change the route every year so people come back to new stories each time.

“The only thing that’s repeated is the first vignette that sets the mood around the fire.”  

There are many vignettes involving death, characters who have been killed by everything from diseases like consumption to railway accidents.  But it’s more to honour their lives than to provide lurid details, she said.

“The thing about old newspapers is they gave details. Even in obituaries now, it’s rare to read how someone died. But in the older obituaries, they would say if it was dysteria or pneumonia, or details about an accident now that’s not considered proper.”

The walks go forward rain or shine each year, she said.

[maddiekeenlyside]

House-call hair salon could bring happiness to the housebound

[Danielle Pott owns Hair There & Everywhere, but her sister was the one who suggested the name. Pott loved it so much that it stuck. Maddie Keenlyside photo.]     

By Maddie Keenlyside

Oct. 3, 2014

A married mother of three and a professional hairstylist, Danielle Pott has worked in daycare for years.

But in September, she started a journey into a new kind of business.

“I wanted a change.”

Her new business, Hair There & Everywhere, takes her on the road and into the homes of people having a bad hair day.

It’s not all about looks.

“I have a passion for seniors and love to help them as much as I can. Especially being stuck at home. A hair cut can make you feel great.”

Stay-at-home moms have also benefited from her service.

“I’ve talked with moms who had to cancel five, six hair appointments.”

Paula Gauthier, a learning manager in Practical Nursing at Holland College, said for the housebound, elderly or ill, this kind of service can make a big difference.

“Self-esteem is part of wellness. Personal grooming affects your state of well-being, and is a big part of good mental health.”

As the population ages, a great number of seniors are finding it difficult to get out or travel, she said.

“The goal of the health care system is to keep people at home as long as they can.”

It can also help others considerably too, she said.

“Someone recuperating at home from an injury or illness, even after surgery, you might not be able to drive or leave home for six weeks.”

She cuts – no colouring – and has worked in local barber shops as well, Pott said.

“I love to try different designs. There’s a creative aspect.”

While cutting men’s hair has long been a job dominated by men, women working in barbershops are becoming more common, she said.  

“There was always another woman working there, so I never felt like the only one.”

When she first came up with the idea, she’d never heard of anyone doing this sort of thing before, and people she has spoken to haven’t either. But she hopes to expand her business.

“It will take a while to get my name and word out there.”

[maddiekeenlyside]

UPEI Winter’s Tales takes readers to the deep woods of Atlantic Canadian writers’ The Deer Yard

[Harry Thurston read both his and Allan Cooper’s work from The Deer Yard at UPEI on Sept. 22. Cooper was unable to attend the event. Madelaine Keenlyside photo.]

By Maddie Keenlyside

Sept. 22, 2014

History has been known to repeat itself, but rarely so poetically.

In 700 AD China, poets and close friends Wang Wei and Pei Di penned their famous Wang River Sequence through a series of letters.

The creation of Harry Thurston and Allan Cooper’s The Deer Yard mirrors the ancient work, said Richard Lemm, a professor of English at UPEI and organizer of the Winter’s Tale series.

The authors were to read excerpts from their book on Sept. 22, in the UPEI Main Building’s faculty lounge, and on Sept. 23 in Summerside’s Rotary Library.

It was Cooper's idea that they stay in touch by engaging in a poetic correspondence, Thurston said

Friends since their twenties, for years they had been meeting to discuss poetry on a monthly basis, usually over lunches in Moncton, he said.

In December 2009, just beginning a Haig-Brown writer-in-residence in Campbell River, B.C, Thurston and Cooper began exchanging poems, from coast to coast. Cooper wrote his friend from his home in Alma, N.B.

 “This was a way of staying in touch while I was away.”

The two began writing soon after he arrived in B.C. and the last poem was finished not long before he returned to his home in N.S.  

 “I had a sense of duty not to let the conversation lapse.”

The Deer Yard, a loosely translated title of one of Wang Wei's most famous poems, worked as a metaphor to tie the poems together, he said.

Chinese literature has been an influence on both Canadian poets since early in their writing careers, and Cooper said he feels particular kinship with them.

“There's a luminous transparency in their poems, as if there was no barrier between the human and natural worlds.”

While Thurston and Cooper exchanged letters from coast to coast, Wang Wei and Pei Di carried on their poetic correspondence from 20 different locations, he said.

Cooper said he would respond using a specific image or idea in his poem as a launching point. He wrote his poems swiftly, and revised later. At several points the exchange got a little clairvoyant.

“I was sitting at the computer, wondering what Harry was up to, and an e-mail with his next poem appeared in my inbox. Harry's poems were more formal than mine, and I find it interesting that my own poems became more formal as I went along.”

Thurston said it soon became apparent something interesting was happening artistically.

“We were drawing things out of each other that otherwise might have remained dormant.”

Both the ancient and modern works focus on nature as a theme, and his relationship with the natural world goes back to his childhood on a farm outside Yarmouth, Thurston said.

Like most children in the 50s, he spent most of his time outdoors, exploring the land on his father's farm. The youngest of three brothers, he spent a good deal of time playing alone.

“The natural world, animals, trees, flowers, were companions, in a sense. I felt a kinship with them.”

Studying biology in the late 1960s, the growing environmentalist movement set him on a course of writing about threats to the natural world, Thurston said.

“Certainly, our conflicted relationship with the natural world is the defining issue of our time, and future generations will judge us by what we do in response to it, including our writing about it.”

Cooper has long felt a strong connection with Thurston and his poetry.

“One of the early book reviews I wrote was about his first collection, Barefaced Stone. We have a strong personal and poetic relationship, and I treasure that highly.”

A musician as well as a poet, he said his songs and poems are quite different, he said.

“I write more about personal relationships in the songs, although I have written several political songs as well.”

Lemm said both Thurston and Cooper are prominent Atlantic Canadian writers.

“Harry is well-known as an environmental and conservation writer, arguably best known in the Atlantic provinces. And Allan Cooper is a poet, editor, publisher, and a fine musican.”

The men will also present their work Oct.25 at the University of Waterloo’s Sino-Canada Literary Forum: Literature and Our Environment. Some excerpts from their book have been translated into Chinese for the event.

[maddiekeenlyside]

Fundraising potential unlocked by P.E.I. Escape Rooms’ grand opening

By Maddie Keenlyside

Sept. 19, 2014

[This reporter was given a rare sneak peek into one of the rooms.Josie Baker examines one of the many puzzles in the House Room, which is usually kept more dimly lit during a game. Madelaine Keenlyside photo.]

You’re locked in a prison cell, no obvious way out.

You have only your wits and your friends as tools to escape.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking – you must act fast, or it will be too late.

That may not sound like fun and games at first glance.

But when volunteer Josie Baker and her partner were hooked when they discovered the “room escape” game phenomenon while on holiday in Singapore.

The game involves a safe space, in this case recreating the experience of being trapped in a cell. The object: to escape, she said.

 "We started out in handcuffs and had to find a way to break out of them. There was a code on the wall we had to crack, and objects we had to find in the room to get a key."

The couple escaped the room. But they didn’t escape the concept.

Hooked, they went on to try more and more of the games, which originated in Japan.

Then, something clicked for Baker.

A board member at the Voluntary Resource Centre in P.E.I., she realized the concept might make an excellent fundraiser.

On the weekend of Sept. 13, the centre held a grand opening for its own escape room series, P.E.I. Escape Rooms.

It is the first of its kind on the Island and one of a handful in North America, the only she is aware of that exists to raise money for charity, Baker said.

The non-profit centre has been a hub for community groups and organizations in the private sector for 35 years.

“We’ve had a lot of different groups grow up here.”

It provides resources, access to a boardroom, a mailing address, office space and more to non-profit organizations in Charlottetown, she said.

But every year, there is less and less funding for such services. Government cuts have hit all social programs, including social organizations, community building and other things, especially environmental groups, she said.

“They think by cutting social services, they can grow the economy. This has been going on for a long time, especially over the last six to eight years.”

Katimavik lost its government funding in 2010, and CUSO closed down its operations in the Atlantic provinces, she said. 

Though they’re open as an office from Monday to Friday, Baker realized hosting escape room games could be just the fundraiser they needed.

They are booking two rooms prepared for the games, and they can take small groups of four to five in each.

“There are two rooms so far - the House Room, which is a little spookier and more challenging, and the Office Room, which is less challenging, but people seem to enjoy more.”

The puzzles inside the room need to be done in sequence in order to get out, she said.

“It's really challenging, and a great team-building exercise."

Some visitors have mentioned worrying about claustrophobia – from being locked in a room – but they found there’s nothing to fear, she said.

“Being trapped is more symbolic than a reality. It's more about solving the puzzles. There's an emergency key on the door, and buttons for emergency communication."

So far, about 60 per cent of participants don’t complete the puzzles entirely, but all have had fun in the process, she said.

The grand opening was helpful, and in terms of being able to meet rent for the month, helped meet their goals. But the organization still needs funds to continue functioning, she said.

"In terms of being able to cover the rent for the month, we met our goals. But at this point in Canadian history, and in general, governments are interested in industry, not community work. We’ve seen that across the board.”

Even larger, national and international organizations are cutting back.

“We lost a major organization, CUSO. They closed down in the Atlantic provinces. They had an office here in Charlottetown that had to be shut down.”

Small businesses have been having a difficult time too, she said.

“The economy is hard. It’s a system-wide problem”

Craig Asano, executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada, said there is simply not enough money available through traditional venues.  

“Times are tough.  If organizations don’t receive what would normally come as an annual grant, they have to look at cutting or slashing their programs.”

Creative ideas like the escape room game and crowdfunding can help, he said.

“They can ensure the dollars are spent where they’re needed the most to fill the funding gaps left by cuts in provincial government financial services.”

Tools like Facebook help organizations connect to potential donors, he said. And the Voluntary Resource Center’s P.E.I. Escape Rooms is just one example. 

“It’s engagement. They’re creating these communities of like-minded people, some they know in person, some online.”

Using online and viral tools to solicit thoughts and ideas, organizations like the centre can help make their fundraising goals achievable, he said.

“It has significant applications, and we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.”

People need to see beyond the money, he said.

“It’s about the connections and all of the outcomes from the engagement and exchange of information and ideas and support. All of that great stuff.”

Baker said the escape rooms are booked fairly solid for the next while, and they are assessing whether or not they can continue to offer it past Christmas.

“Right now we’re figuring out staffing. We have some new volunteers and only two of us know how to train them.”

Anyone interested in participating can book a session by calling the Voluntary Resource Center at 902-368-7337 or emailing [email protected]. There is a maximum of four to five people per team.

[maddiekeenlyside]

Bookworms abound at Holland College

[Dale Knowles, a Holland College student from the Bahamas, has a love for both writing and reading. Madelaine Keenlyside photo.]

By  Madelaine Keenlyside

Sept. 12, 2014

It’s September and students and staff alike are hitting the books. But many have been nose-deep in books all along.

Shaniya Butler, a Child and Youth Care student at Holland College in Charlottetown, says she picks up a lot of books and doesn’t have time to read them all.

“Right now I’m reading God Loves You, more of an information book, and Right Where I Belong, about a Spanish girl sent away from her home. I’m enjoying them both.”

Dale Knowles, a fellow student, said he loves any fiction, but especially young adult series.

“And Oliver Nocturne, about teenage vampires. I used to write small stories myself, back home in the Bahamas.”

Sam Hunter has stacks of books lying around. He’s reading The Sister’s Brothers by Patrick Dewitt.

“It’s really good, a Western about two Old West hitmen and their adventure across the Western states, and I recommend it. I have stacks of books lying around.”

But a love for reading is not limited to students.

Librarian Patricia Doucette said she’s reading a book called The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, by Nadia Hashimi.

“It’s about two Afghan women of the same family in two different generations. They both live part of their lives as men. I’m enjoying it.”

However some, like staff member Chris Arsenault, prefer other styles of writing.

“I’m the Computer Network Technology learning manager, and mostly read science and technical journals, and other online publications.”

Though he loves to read, he doesn’t read much fiction, he said.

[maddiekeenlyside]

Summerside athlete Scott Clark to run in Monday’s Boston Marathon

Summerside runners recall terror at last years Boston Marathon

By Madelaine Keenlyside

April 16, 2014

On Monday, the Boston Marathon will run again, undeterred by the act of terrorism that took place at the finish line last year.

Though some Islanders will be returning to the legendary running event, while others have decided to watch from afar.

Summerside’s Scott Clark has participated in the marathon for years, and participated in the 2013 marathon. On April 21, he will be running in his eighth Boston Marathon, a fabled event “like the Masters of golf,” he said.

It’s a family event for him and his wife, who has accompanied him there every year.

As fate would have it, his family chose not to stay down by the finish line – where both bombs went off – that day in 2013, he said.

“It all comes down to timing.”

Clark had passed the finish line nearly three hours into the event, long before any sign of trouble, but earlier than other runners.

By the time the bombs went off, Clark and his family were back at the hotel about a half-kilometre away, waiting for a friend.

When emergency vehicles started storming by, he knew something was wrong. Word started to filter to them, and news coverage followed instantly.

But it was hard to comprehend, he said.

 “We were a bit frantic, trying to get in touch with my friend who was still down near the finish line. I know every Islander that was down there, we’re a pretty tightly-knit community.”

Clark said his friend eventually sent them a text message that he was OK and trying to work his way back up through the crowd.

Just a half-hour before the explosions, fellow runner Brenda Benson, also from Summerside, was still feeling the buzz of finishing the marathon. When she got back to her hotel room, her phone started to ring.

People from back home were calling, wondering if she was OK.

“Until that point, I hadn’t heard anything or noticed anything, and it wasn’t until I was aware that something was going on that I could hear the sirens.”

Though there are crowds throughout the whole route of the marathon, Boylston Street is where the finish line is. As soon as you hit the 25-mile mark, you can start to hear the roar of the crowds, she said.

It’s also where the bombs went off. 

“If they were trying to make evil grow, they couldn’t have picked a worse spot. There’s so much great energy right there.”

After hearing the news, everything just changed, Benson said.

“The first thing we all did, we were all trying to connect to each other just to make sure we were all OK.”

Normally after the Boston Marathon everyone’s celebrating, wearing their medals and having a good evening. At least they were safe, but it was a night of fearful waiting, and she just wanted to get back to Canada, Benson said.

It was made worse by the fact that no one knew what was going on, or whether another bomb would go off.

All evening, she kept waking up and saying they should head down to the main floor, she said.

“At that point, your mind is starting to go, is this is terrorism?

“You start thinking of 9/11, thinking OK, I’m in a high-rise here. The whole night, I didn’t sleep.”

She and her training partner went down to the main floor of the lobby. That’s when the emotion of it all really started to hit, she said.

“There were families still there, waiting for their runners that had been stuck on the course, so you started to see them be reunited.”

As realization set in, a heavy sadness started to take over, she said.

“Then fear hit, and anger. You’re just mad that this could happen.”

Benson said she thinks about Martin Richard and his sister all the time. Richard was only eight years old when he was killed by the Boston bombing last year, and his little sister, Jane, lost a leg.

“They just stay with you, constantly.”

Her two young children were back at home in P.E.I., and she just wanted to get home to them, she said.

Though Benson loves the marathon, she won’t be returning this year.  

“I decided to just witness it from afar this year.”

Benson said she often wonders what would have happened if she lost a leg.

“I’m just amazed by all the people that have lost limbs. They’ve kept going, and they’ve conquered all these milestones already.”

And she’s sure it hasn’t been an easy year for them..

“Being so close to such evil – well, you see it on TV, but to be so close to it you just realize how vulnerable we all are.”  

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Hurricane Arthur leaves a mess behind after thrashing through Charlottetown. Madelaine Keenlyside photos.

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[The troupe performed without their beards during Wednesday’s dress rehearsal. Alex Davies played Jesus, center, and Sara Caissie, left of center, played the disciple John. All actors are members of the church, and some have acting training. Madelaine Keenlyside photo.]

Trinity United presents Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’

By Madelaine Keenlyside

April 18, 2014

On April 17, just in time for Easter weekend, Summerside’s Trinity United Church performed a play based on Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting.

The famous work depicts the last meal Jesus and his disciples had before he was crucified, says Rev. Andrew Richardson.

“What’s just transpired is Jesus has said ‘One of you will betray me.’ And the painting is the reaction to that.”

With an actor playing each of the disciples and Jesus, including two women and two high school students, each had a monologue to perform, he said.

Alex Davies played Jesus – the lead role, so to speak – and this is his second year in the play.

“I don’t do a lot,” he laughed, lifting his arms in the air as he does in the still life performance. “My arms get really tired after an hour.”

Sara Caissie, one of the high school students, said it’s her first year in the play. She  portrayed John, the “beloved” disciple.

Caissie noted that some speculate Da Vinci’s John might have been a portrayal of Mary Magdalene.

“So I had a lot of fun researching a little about that. And I also love the line I get to say, which is ‘for God so loveth the world, He gave His only son.’”

Keith Small, performing as Matthew, said he has been in the church’s play for around 10 years.

“I’ve played the same part. It gets easier each year,” he laughed.

Richardson said in the play, after Jesus speaks, each disciple then performs his or her monologue in reaction.

“There’s music, contemporary music, done by our own singers and band, and that’s kind of interspersed throughout the play.”

And you don’t necessarily have to be religious to appreciate it, he said.

“I think people would find it engaging because it’s an actual recreation of the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece.”

Directed by Susan England, a retired teacher, and Jennifer McDonald, music director, the actors are all members of the church.

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Island filmmakers gaining international spotlight as community reaches critical mass, says Media Co-op president

By Madelaine Keenlyside

April 17, 2014

Islander Harmony Wagner’s short film “Queen of the Crows” has soared to great heights and landed at Cannes International Film Festival.

But that’s part of a bigger picture, said president of Island Media Arts Co-op Nils Ling.

“We have amazing talent on the Island and it is now maturing and coming into its own.”

Ling said it’s exciting to see so many creative Island makers of short, feature and web series and films taking festivals and the Net by storm.

All these accomplishments are amazing, taken by them selves, but it’s important to look at the larger picture.

“This collective activity demonstrates a growing critical mass in the film sector on the Island.”

By working together and encouraging one another, P.E.I. filmmakers are building something really vital and exciting, he said.

Islanders Jenna MacMillan and Kyle Simpson were selected as part of the Canadian National Screen Institute Online Shorts series.

MacMillan said she is excited audiences across Canada will see her film, “In a While,” inspired by the relationship of her late grandparents who were married for 56 years.

When her grandmother went into a nursing home, her grandfather felt lost without her, she said in a filmmaker’s statement on the NSI site.

Normally stoic, he became emotional when talking about living on his own for the first time in so many years, MacMillan said.

“Ultimately, my aim was to shed light on the sustenance of true love and the resilient nature and wisdom of the elderly.”

Simpson’s documentary, “Beard Life,” follows local Al Douglas as he spends the last day with his beard before shaving it off for Movember.

Late in 2013, web series “Just Passing Through” premiered online. The series revolves around two rough-and-tumble cousins from P.E.I. who arrive unannounced on their cousin’s Toronto doorstep.’

“Just Passing Through” features many Island actors and production members, and was created by Jeremy Larter, Geoff Read and Jason Larter. Plans for a second season are in the works, and the filmmakers are currently seeking support through Kickstarter.

Other short Island films include “No Parking,” a comedy by young filmmaker Justin O’Hanley, and “Island Green” by Millefiore Clarkes, which casts light on the future of organic farming.

More films can be found on the Island Media Co-operative’s website.

Directors Millefiore Clarkes and Jason Arsenault are current in production for “Where the Heart Is,” a documentary about a small Newfoundland town facing displacement.

Ling said there is real economic value in having a thriving film industry that tells our stories.

“People see Prince Edward Island on film and it impacts on their decision to come and visit. And if we have film makers able to earn a living here, then P.E.I is where they pay their taxes and buy what they need to live.”

Harmony Wagner’s film, about an 11-year-old girl who gets in trouble for acting like a crow at school, touches on the issue of mental health.

Wagner said she was thrilled and honoured her film was selected by the prestigious festival.

“The crows are so cinematic, I wanted to make a story that included them.”

Though society is starting to talk more about it, there is still shame surrounding mental health issues, she said.

“I wanted to do my part to break that taboo.”

Born in Summerside, Wagner lives and works in Charlottetown, and the film employed 19 Islanders.

“So many great people worked on this.”

The film will play to an international audience as part of the CANADA: Not Short on Talent program at the Short Film Corner in Cannes.

The Island Media Arts Co-op provides workshops, production assistance, equipment, community and more to local filmmakers.

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“A change is as good as a rest”: Island A Cappella concert heralds new chapter for Abegweit Chimes

By Madelaine Keenlyside

April 16, 2014

It’s a new era for the Island chorus formerly known as the Abegweit Chimes.

With the hiring of new director Margot Rejskind, the Island women’s chorus has re-christened itself the “Island A Cappella”.

Rejskind, who also teaches music at UPEI, joined the chorus last summer when former long-time director Myrt McArdle retired. McArdle still sings with the chorus, however.

The choir will be hosting a public concert on Thursday April 24th, 7:30 p.m. at the Steel Recital Hall, UPEI. Admission will be by donation.

Assistant director Elaine Braidwood said part of the name change has to do with an increase in popularity of a cappella singing, but also the group felt it was time for a change with the passing of the torch to the new director.

The chorus will continue to sing in the signature barbershop style established by the Abegweit Chimes. While Rejskind has considerable talent and a doctorate in music, the new director had never worked in barbershop before, Braidwood said.

“It’s been a learning curve for Margot, and also for ourselves, with Margot learning more about our style of singing.”

Under Rejskind’s leadership, the chorus has added new music to the repertoire and placed an emphasis on improving individual and group singing skills.

With arrangements ranging from rock ‘n roll to gospel, and from Broadway show-stoppers to modern classics, the new repertoire is diverse.

The chorus will also be joined by local quartet Take Note, featuring two of the chorus’ singers, and two other vocalists.

Formed in 1999, the Take Note performs and offers a singing telegram service for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and anniversaries.

“It’s been a great year. There’s an expression: a change is a good as a rest,” Braidwood said.

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M&M Meat Shops firing up the grill for Crohn’s and Colitis BBQ fundraiser

By Madelaine Keenlyside

April 15. 2014

Canada has one of the highest rates of Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, with one in every 150 Canadians suffering from the conditions.

On May 10, between 10 and 4 p.m., Islanders are invited to join the fight against these diseases by visiting any M&M Meat Shops on Charity BBQ Day.

Here in P.E.I., Sean Duffenais will be making balloon animals and performing some magic, and musician Zack Squires will be providing the tunes.

The aim of the BBQ is to raise $1 million for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.

M&M staff and thousands of volunteers from coast to coast will be manning the grills to fund the search for cures.

Jillian Robinson, 11, has been chosen as the charity’s national representative this year.

Robinson, of Halifax, knows too well what it’s like to live with ulcerative colitis, and was diagnosed with the condition when she was three.

“I’ve never known what it’s like not to be sick.”

There needs to be more awareness of the amount of suffering these people endure, said Byron Richards, development coordinator at the Halifax chapter of Crohn’s and Colitis Canada.

“Atlantic Canada has one of the highest rates of Crohn’s and Colitis sufferers in the world.”

Sadly, a lot of people suffer in secret because of the nature of the illness, he said.

“One of the challenges, especially for children, is it’s always a shame thing, especially with your bowels, you feel especially sensitive and vulnerable as a kid growing up. A lot of people keep it secret for that reason, which is a shame.”

In 1989, Mac Voisin, founder of M&M Meat Shops, learned Canadians suffer from these chronic diseases at an unusually high rate.

Voisin realized he had an opportunity to help raise awareness and funds for the little-known condition and charity.

What began with just a handful of stores has evolved into a highly anticipated national event at more than 400 locations across Canada, said Gary Decatur, president and chief operating officer at M&M Meat Shops.

“Charity BBQ Day combines the power of our local community involvement and nationwide reach. The commitment of our franchisees and volunteers in communities from coast-to-coast is truly amazing.”

Terry Slobodian, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada’s chief development officer, said they have seen incredible growth in the event over the past 25 years.

“These donations, combined with the hard work of thousands of volunteers, raise a significant portion of our annual research funds in just one day.”

According to the charity, events like the BBQ have allowed the charity to fund more than $82 million in major medical research projects.

Money raised through the event will help Crohn’s and Colitis Canada raise funds to invest in research, educate the public, and advocate on behalf of the afflicted.

According to the foundation’s website, Crohn’s disease causes patches of inflammation between healthy portions of the gut, and can penetrate the intestinal layers. It is a chronic illness, and people with the disease will experience periods of flare-ups and remission. They are also at risk of gastro-intestinal infections.

Ulcerative colitis is more localized, but no less debilitating. It typically affects the colon, and invades the inner lining of bowel tissue. In some cases, surgeons may remove the colon of a patient if symptoms are severe enough.

Ulcerative colitis is also a chronic, life-long disease with flare-ups and remissions, and neither condition has been cured.

Until May 11, Canadians can also support Crohn’s and colitis research by purchasing and signing a penguin at any M&M Meat Shops location for $2. Participants who buy a penguin will entered in a draw for a $500 gift card.

In 1980, M&M Meat Shops opened its first store in Kitchener, Ontario, and since has expanded to more than 400 locations across Canada.

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada is a volunteer-based charity dedicated to finding cures and improving lives of children and adults suffering from the conditions. More information can be found at www.crohnsandcolitis.ca or by calling 1-800-387-1479.