The Buzz - January 2023

Collective artistry

the people we meet along the journey.” In 2008, Johanna founded the Freestanding Room in Montreal. It is “a collection of creators who believe that big things happen in small places.” When I heard about this collective, I immediately felt the alignment between Johanna’s contributions and the art scene on PEI. There are so many big things here in this small place!

Johanna went on to have many other acting roles at the Playhouse and in Montreal. One of the roles she played was in a two-hour show with just her on stage. “After playing that role, I decided to write my own show!”

She says, “Like most actors, I’ve also done a variety of odd jobs like commercials, and I’ve worked in film. But one of my favourite things to do is dramaturgy. It’s this fun process of finding the thread and telling the story. I love bringing the words from a script to life on a stage.”

Along with all her work in theatre, Johanna spent some time in the early 2000s as a DJ in Montreal’s first hip hop club. “I could see that we were changing the world by changing the ways people saw the world through music.”

Johanna brings this passion for change into everything she does. “I love going into unknown places and getting to know them.”

Like many artists, she has her hands on many projects, many of which include writing bilingual adaptations and a lot of translation work. It’s important to her to work in both French and English. “I also have some ongoing creative projects and those perpetual works in progress.”

Johanna Nutter has been newly appointed as the executive director of the Victoria Playhouse. Listening to her speak about that place and the people who have supported her journey was inspiring, and her connection with the Playhouse goes back nearly 15 years.

Her love and care for the place is evident in how she speaks about being there: “The Victoria Playhouse is the most beautiful room I’ve ever been in. It’s like I’m in the belly of the whale. The acoustics are so great, and the artisanship of the room is incredible. It feels like an artistic sanctuary and I’m so excited to see what we build together in this next year!”

Johanna has been active in the theatre world for most of her life.

“I worked as a teacher in the school system for a little while but basically when I was starting out, I was living in Montreal and I was a bartender with an agent,” she laughed. During that time, she stumbled upon a role that she felt she was perfect for. She eagerly and enthusiastically went for the audition, but she didn’t even get a call back.

“Then I got a call from the Victoria Playhouse saying they had a perfect role for me to play. It was that very role I didn’t get called back for in Montreal!” And so began her relationship with the Victoria Playhouse in 2007. Our short conversation included Johanna sharing many serendipitous moments like this one throughout her career.

“It’s all about the relationships and

Even though we needed to do our chat on the phone, I could feel the heart and soul of Johanna’s energy as she spoke about theatre. She described it as the “collaborative beating heart and the hearts of the people on stage” and that’s just the best description I’ve ever heard.

Johanna is a collaborator at heart, and she loves to work with other people in multi-disciplinary and unique ways to share their artistry. “I’m no stranger to putting the cart before the horse. Then there’s a cart and others can climb aboard too, if they want to.”

While it can be easy to get bogged down in all the criticisms and challenges that come with thinking and creating outside-the-box, Johanna had some great wisdom to share on how to work with it, rather than against it. “We all have this inner jury and I’ve learned to talk to them and convince them to be helpful!”

Now that’s collaboration!

PETER RICHARDS

Pro le: Johanna Nutter by Julie Bull

Johanna is holding the model (designed by Scott MacConnell) for the set of Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass—the play that brought her to the Island.

Anne’s Cradle

Stage production to tell story of Anne of Green Gables translator

during a period of tumultuous change.

Born into an impoverished family of tea merchants in rural Japan, Hanako’s fortunes changed dramatically when she was offered a place at an illustrious girls’ schools in Tokyo founded by the Methodist Church of Canada, where she fell in love with English-language poetry and literature. After the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, the missionaries who taught her were forced to leave Japan, but Hanako found solace in a gift received from a Canadian friend: a copy of Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables Amidst the wail of air-raids sirens, she began translating her copy into Japanese, fully aware that she risked imprisonment or death if caught.

Confederation Centre of the Arts announced plans to adapt the novel Anne’s Cradle: The Life and Works of Hanako Muraoka into a play. The bestselling biography of the Japanese translator of Anne of Green Gables tells the complex and captivating story of a woman who risked her freedom and devoted her life to bringing quality children’s literature to her people

It was not until 1952, when a Japanese publisher took a chance on a story from an unknown Canadian author, and released Akage no An. The book was an immediate success, and launched a cross-cultural literary legacy that continues to this day. The story of Anne is included in Japanese school curriculums, it spawned an animated television series as well as other books, and thousands of Japanese tourists visit PEI every year.

While on PEI, Kanji Yamanouchi, Japanese ambassador to Canada, visited the Centre to express his excitement for the project. The Centre is hoping to present a public reading of the play at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

Hanako Muraoka in 1919

COURTESY TOYO EIWA JOGAKUIN ARCHIVES

Watermark Theatre 2023

Spring and summer programming announced for 15th year

Robert Tsonos, artistic director at Watermark Theatre in North Rustico, recently announced the spring and summer programming for 2023. The company is celebrating its 15th year producing professional theatre.

First up this spring is the second annual Watermark Children’s Theatre Festival, followed by the comedic drama Steel Magnolias and the thriller Gaslight throughout the summer. The theatre will also continue to present the Watermark Music Series on Sundays in July and August.

Two productions will be featured in the Children’s Theatre Festival. Birds of a Feather by Robert Watson, produced by Neptune Theatre (Halifax, NS) from March 31–April 2, and What If by Katey Hoffman, produced by Geordie Theatre of Montreal, April 14–16.

Directed by Samantha Wilson, Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling will run from June 27–August 26. A group of Louisiana women bond and gossip at a local beauty shop while following the marriage and motherhood of one of the customer’s daughters. As the

Every Brilliant Thing

PEI’s Desert Island Theatre Company brings Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan, with Jonny Donohoe, to Charlottetown this month. The play runs January 19–21 and 26–28 at Beaconsfield Carriage House. Benton Hartley will take audiences on a journey of love and self discovery.

title implies, these women can be as delicate as magnolias and as tough as steel. When tragedy strikes, they draw on their underlying strength and love. Steel Magnolias is a play that continues to speak to audiences all over the world about hope, loss and friendship.

Directed by Martha Irving, Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson will run from July 7–August 25. Bella Manningham hears strange sounds and the gas lights dim for no apparent reason. Is she losing her grip on reason, or is it being loosened for her? Bella thinks she’s losing her mind. The truth might be far worse. Based on the 1938 play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton, the thriller spawned the term ‘gaslighting,’ a word now used to describe an insidious form of mental abuse.

Finally, the Watermark Music Series returns, curated by Hannah Melanson this year. As always, Island musical artists interpret classic composers. The dates are July 23, August 6 and 20. More details, as well as fall and winter programming, will be announced at a later date. Tickets will be available soon at ticketwizard.ca and 963-3963.

You’re seven years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid.” She finds it hard to be happy, so you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world to cheer her up. Hilarious and heart-wrenching, Every Brilliant Thing is a play about depression and the lengths we will go for those we love.

Content warning—this play includes frank discussions of mental illness such as depression and anxiety, as well as suicide.

There is limited seating and tickets are only available at the door. For info: @DesertIslandTheatreCo on Facebook. The Carriage House is located at 2 Kent Street, Charlottetown.

Desert Island Theatre presents Duncan MacMillan play

Directors Samantha Wilson (left) and Martha Irving

Confederation Centre of the Arts

Charlottetown Festival

2023 lineup includes original musical and smash hit comedy

my Gran and her life, but also an entire generation of women who fought through some tough times by keeping faith, hope, love, family, friendship, and humour close to heart,” says Reid. “It reminds us that joy and laughter can be found, even in the darkest of times.”

The production’s music is written by Reid, Matt Murray, and Bob Foster—who co-created the Festival’s 2022 musical Tell Tale Harbour. It will be directed by fellow Scot and the Festival’s former associate artistic director Mary Francis Moore, who is the artistic director of Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton, ON, where the musical will premiere before its run in Charlottetown. MAGGIE is produced in association with Johnny Reid and Michael Rubinoff, the originating proCome From Away

Also at the Sobey Family Theatre in The Play That Goes Wrong, a smash-hit comedy that has taken over Broadway and London’s West End. The Sherlock Holmes meets Monty Python production is a play within a play, telling the story of a failing theatre troupe trying to put on a murder mystery. Directed by Herbie Barnes, the show is chock-full of mishaps and madcap mania that delivers fun for all ages.

The show is set during the opening night of the fictitious play The Murder at Haversham Manor, where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), this masterpiece of malfunction is sure to bring down the house. The Play That Goes has garnered rave reviews from around the world, with HuffPost calling it, “the funniest play Broadway has ever seen.”

The Festival’s lineup also features two cabaret shows. After playing packed houses on a tour of the Maritimes, The Songs of Johnny & June returns to The Mack. Directed by Islander Rebecca

Parent, the show celebrates the lives and songs of Johnny Cash and June Carter, country music’s most iconic couple. The biographical performance follows the legendary pair’s storied relationship through renowned songs, like “Jackson,” “Folsom Prison,” and “Ring of Fire.” It stars Islanders Jacob Hemphill and Melissa MacKenzie.

Also at The Mack is I’m Every Woman, a revue of iconic music that changed the world. Directed by Robin Calvert, the cabaret will feature five vocalists performing empowering songs from legendary women. The show travels through several decades of hit music, with songs from Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Chaka Khan, Taylor Swift, and more.

Family-friendly programming returns to the Outdoor Amphitheatre. Back by popular demand, Munschables will bring a new selection of stories from children’s author Robert Munsch to life through an interactive and musical performance. This year, the cast will be made up entirely of Islanders.

The Mi’kmaq Heritage Actors also return to the Outdoor Amphitheatre with the new show Mi’kmaq Stories of Rabbit and His Friends, a performance for all ages that shares the history of the Mi’kmaq people through stories, songs, and traditional dance.

Admission to these noon hour performances is free, with donations gratefully accepted.

“Prince Edward Island is full of diverse local talent, and it is important to showcase that in an accessible way,” says Dawn Ward, the Festival’s associate artistic director. “Gathering at the Outdoor Amphitheatre has become a summer staple for the community, and I am excited for Islanders to see themselves reflected on stage.”

Tickets for The 2023 Charlottetown Festival are on sale now at confederationcentre.com.

Day of Pink

Courage Across Canada Tour at The Guild—Jan 29

The Day of Pink Courage Across Canada Tour 2023: ReOpening with Pride is coming to The Guild in Charlottetown on January 29. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Showtime is 7 pm.

The Courage Across Canada Tour evolved in celebration of the resiliency of queer, trans and non-binary folks over the last few years to build a sense of pride throughout Canada.

Icesis Couture, winner of Canada’s Drag Race (season 2), and her drag sisters are traveling across Canada, visiting a total of 10 cities, to host a series of free educational sessions at local schools by day and free performances at local venues by night. The Charlottetown performance will be hosted by Couture and Kimora Amour.

Attendees can take part in valuable discussions, see artistic performances, engage in informative Q&As, and honour those who have made a substantial difference in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Visit dayofpink.org to learn more about the Courage Tour and the International Day of Pink. Admission is free but cash

donations in support of PEI’s local drag performers will be accepted at the door. Tickets can be reserved through the Guild Box Office, online at theguildpei.com or by calling 620-3333

Review by Sean McQuaid

Man of the Deeps

Beneath Springhill: The Maurice Ruddick Story

Watermark Theatre, North Rustico November 30, 2022

Dark events can cast surprisingly bright shadows. That’s true of the 1958 Springhill mine disaster, which brought death and destruction but also made a feel-good legend of its survivors, especially musical miner Maurice Ruddick. It’s also true of 2022’s Hurricane Fiona, which battered Atlantic Canada but showcased the region’s resilience and determination as communities rallied, recovered, rebuilt.

Those bright shadows overlap in Watermark Theatre’s belated production of Beneath Springhill: The Maurice Ruddick Story, a one-man show based on the real-life story of how Ruddick and others survived nine days trapped deep underground in a coal mine in Springhill, Nova Scotia. Watermark’s plans for a September-October run were foiled by post-Fiona problems, but the show finally opened on November 30. As Watermark’s artistic director Robert Tsonos has observed, post-hurricane PEI feels like the perfect time and place for an inspirational play about surviving a disaster.

That inspirational play is the brainchild of Ontario-based actor, musician, playwright, music director and sound designer Beau Dixon, artistic director and co-founder of educational theatre company Firebrand Theatre. Dixon serves as both playwright and star of the show, originally directed and developed by Linda Kash with music by Susan Newman and lyrics by Rob Fortin.

A devoutly Christian smalltown coal miner who moonlighted as a musician, Maurice Ruddick was, like Dixon, a mixed-race African-Canadian singer from a large, religious family (Ruddick had 13 children and Dixon’s minister father had 13 siblings). While the racism of his era posed occasional challenges, Ruddick was nevertheless admired and celebrated after the disaster, named “Citizen of the Year” for bolstering morale by leading his fellow miners in prayer and song during their underground ordeal.

Known as “the singing miner,” Ruddick chronicled this crisis in his own “Springhill Disaster” song, as did one of the televised historical Heritage Minutes shorts a few years back, but Dixon’s play is the most ambitious artistic adaptation of these events to date. It’s a compact script spanning a little over an hour, but Dixon packs that running time densely with a steady stream of songs, monologues and dialogues.

Dialogues? In a one-man show?

Yep, because Dixon plays a host of characters, not just Ruddick but also Ruddick’s wife and daughter, various fellow miners, a CBC reporter and more, altering his voice, dialect and body language as needed plus occasional quickie prop/wardrobe modifications. Dixon’s fluid acting versatility might be the most impressive thing about the show, which is inspirational as advertised but also a bit thin story-wise.

During the play’s brief running time we get to know the Ruddicks and their community, and we see and hear how Maurice and company survived the mine disaster; but it’s a very basic plot and the show’s Maurice isn’t really a character who develops or evolves—he’s the same hardworking yet playful, brave yet humble mensch from start to finish.

That said, he’s an entertaining, immensely sympathetic protagonist brought to life by an actor who’s likable, funny and similarly musical (Dixon serves his show well as both vocalist and guitarist), and Dixon affectingly blends notes of pathos, agony and suspense into the story’s sadder and scarier moments, aided by a small, often-dark minimalist set and evocative lighting and sound design. Even knowing how it all turned out decades ago, it’s a tale full of real human drama and heart.

TSwiftDanceParty

Taylor Swift inspired event at PEI Brewing Company

TSwiftDanceParty Canada is coming to the PEI Brewing Company in Charlottetown. Canada’s largest Taylor Swift inspired dance party will be taking place on January 13 from 8 pm–midnight.

Swifties can expect the deep cuts, the popular tracks and tunes from the Midnights album.

This is a 19+ event with standing room only.Tickets are available at peibrewingcompany.com

Canada’s Drag Race (season 2) winner Icesis Couture (above); (below, l-r) Eve 6000, Suki Doll and Kimora Amour

brought to life by an actor who’s likable, funny and similarly musical

LIVE @ the Centre

A lineup of classic and classical music, and some laughs

LIVE @ the Centre presents The Original Wailers, Classic Albums Live, Colin Mochrie, and more at Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown this winter.

Straight from Jamaica, The Original Wailers bring their tour to the Centre on January 19. The group continues the legacy of ground-breaking ska and reggae group Bob Marley and The Wailers. Lead guitarist Al Anderson can be heard on classics like “No Woman, No Cry,” and the ten-times platinum album Legend

The PEI Symphony Orchestra continues their season with the show Mahler’s Musings on January 22. The PEI Symphony will present Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (reduction by Yoon Jae Lee), paired with the lighthearted and colourful Baby-Serenade for Orchestra op. 24 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold—one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history.

Looking ahead to February, Classic Albums Live returns to the Centre to

perform Billy Joel’s The Stranger on February 1. A perennial Centre mustsee, Classic Albums Live presents skilled musicians recreating the greatest albums of the ’60s and ’70s live on stage—note for note—cut for cut.

The Stranger is considered Billy Joel’s critical and commercial breakthrough, featuring hits like “Just the Way You Are,” “Vienna,” and “Only the Good Die Young.”

Comedian Colin Mochrie comes to the Centre on February 5 with Hyprov. Hypnosis and improv—two art forms that have mystified and entertained fans, skeptics and everyone in between for decades worldwide—come together as two masters of their crafts unite for a totally unique comedy experience. Mochrie is joined by hypnotist Asad Mecci to create a completely original show entirely from the audience’s uninhibited subconscious.

Tickets for all performances can be purchased online at confederationcentre.com, via phone at 1-800-565-0278, or in person at the Centre’s box office.

The Original Wailers will be on stage January 19

SUBMITTED

news THEATRE

ACT (a community theatre) workshop

a production will be covered, including: what it takes to make a show; how the production team works; and budgeting for rights and scripts, venue, auditions, rehearsals, costuming, ticketing, publicity, set and props, lighting and sound, music, front of house, and program.

Thomson is a founding member of ACT (a community theatre) and has been the producer or associate producer of over a dozen shows, organizer of ten community theatre festivals, and author of ACT’s Producer’s Manual. Participation is limited. For more info and to register, email briancollinsphotography@gmail. com. A small fee is payable by etransfer to actproductionspei@gmail.com or in cash on the day of the workshop.

ACT’s community theatre festival seeking volunteers

committee to organize the festival (with help from a mentor), email actproductionspei@gmail.com. Local theatre groups or individuals are also invited to consider entering a performance (short play or excerpt, max 40 mins) for the 2023 Community Theatre Festival which will take place in Charlottetown. One act plays, scenes, musicals, dramas or improv groups are welcome. Have a play but need actors/director? Enjoy acting but don’t have a play? Contact ACT to make the connections required to get the performance to the community stage. Email actproductionspei@gmail. com with initial ideas or proposal before January 15. There is no fee to participate.

Bonshaw Young Players

Lorne Elliott

Trailside Music Hall—Jan 29

Comedian Lorne Elliott is coming to Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown on January 29. Doors at 6:30 pm. Show time is 8 pm.

From Newfoundland to New York City, Los Angeles to Australia and points in between, humourist and musician Lorne Elliott has been making people laugh since the 1970s.

Madly Off In All Directions, Lorne’s own CBC Radio Comedy Series, was taped across Canada and it continued for 11 Seasons.

Learn about what a producer is and does at ACT’s How to Produce a Show workshop with Rob Thomson. The workshop will be held in Charlottetown on January 15 from 1:30–5:30 pm. Interactive participation regarding every aspect of

FEB BUZZ DEADLINE

Monday, January 16

ACT (a community theatre) is planning to host the PEI 2023 Community Theatre Festival (tentatively in late March or April). This festival has been held for many years to celebrate World Theatre Day. Right now they have no one to organize the management of the event. Traditionally it is organized by a small group of volunteers who help recruit theatre groups, arrange a venue, publicity, refreshments, and other things. In past years, hundreds of audience members have dropped in to watch two or three of the afternoon’s performances—a mix of comedy, drama, legend, musicals, and even some improv. This is a great chance to get involved and support local theatre. If interested in forming a small

Bonshaw Young Players Drama Group classes will be held on Saturdays starting January 21 from 10:30 am–12:30 pm at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House, 2 Kent St, Charlottetown. Sessions will emphasize the triple threats: song, dance and improv drama. Open to ages 6–16. To register, contact Ruth Lacey at rlacey688@ gmail.com or 675-4282.

Drop-in improv class

The HA Club’s drop-in improv performance classes with instructor Laurie Murphy resume this month and run until June. Classes at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown are held on Mondays from 7–9 pm. In Summerside, classes are held on Wednesdays from 7–9 pm at Brothers 2 Restaurant. Info/register: lauriemurphy@marram.ca

His one-man shows share his unique look on life with a performance of comedy and music that is original, entertaining, foolish and uplifting. He performs on stages across the US and Canada and makes regular appearances at the Montreal Just For Laughs Festival among others.

Lorne is also a playwright and novelist. He is currently getting ready to release a new novel, mount his plays Mom Runs Amok and The Fixer Upper, and hit the stage with his current oneman show: A Benefit Concert for Lorne Elliott with Special Guest Lorne Elliott, All Proceeds to be Donated to the Lorne Elliott Foundation for the Preservation of Lorne Elliott

Tickets: trailside.ca

BRIAN COLLINS

Rob Thomson

Fix Your Plate by Tara Reeves

Commit to change over resolutions

Change is healthy and necessary, and the fast-paced world in which we live is constantly changing. If we fail to adapt and commit to change, then we will fail to thrive in life. If you sit down and re ect honestly, you’ll probably notice that change is the only constant thing in our lives. It’s imperative that we learn to adapt and commit to change. Here are a few ways to help you do just that, instead of making big resolutions that will fall by the wayside.

First things first, define what type of change you want to commit to. If you don’t know what you’re committing to, then you’ll never be able to truly commit to change. Be clear and be honest while defining your commitment. Make a plan by defining why you’re doing this and how you’re going to do this. You can even use a notebook for this purpose.

Let’s use the example of fitness. If you don’t like the condition your body is currently in, you might decide to change it. You must define why you’re doing this; be as clear, honest and detailed as you can. Then draft a plan regarding the methods you’re going to practice to achieve this, such as improving your eating habits and increasing your physical activity.

This will make you aware of what you’re actually committing to and prepare yourself for the work ahead.

The second thing to improve commitment to change is to make sure you’re not “faking the funk”—saying you want to change without participating in the effort. Commitment is an obligation that you can’t fulfill if you don’t fully engage with it.

Staying with the example of fitness, you’re just “checking the box” if you’re just going to the gym to say you went to the gym, but you aren’t changing your eating habits, as well; you won’t reach the results you want. To get the best results and to fully embrace the change, you’ve got to commit to a healthy overall lifestyle by going to the gym AND by changing your eating habits. You’ve got to completely invest yourself in what the change requires.

Commitment requires persistence. You can’t chicken out because you’re finding it hard to adapt to change or

if the change isn’t immediately working out for you. That’s not how it’s done. To acquire great results from the change, you’ve got to practice persistence. Again, using the example of fitness, some days you’ll do well; you’ll eat healthy meals and you’ll workout like a beast. Other days won’t go so smoothly. These small failures only equate to big failures if you don’t preserve and power past them to try again the next day. You’ve got to be persistent to get the results your heart desires.

Motivation isn’t permanent; it requires revisiting and refreshing. Go back to your notebook where you defined your commitments. Re-read those reasons and plans that you wrote down while you were defining your commitments when you were highly motivated. This will reignite that spark. If your motivations have changed, draft your plan again and add some new reasons to the list.

Committing to change—any change— is significant and can be daunting. Take some baby steps with these four tips to get started, and remember that slow and steady wins the race.

DANCING

DownStreet Social Dances

A Social Dance is held on the third Saturday of each month at DownStreet Dance studio in Charlottetown. All levels are welcome and encouraged. All dance styles, all styles of music, and no partner necessary. Admission is at the door or in advance at downstreetdancestudio. setmore.com. Info: downstreetdance@ gmail.com

Modern Square Dancing

Modern Square dancing is good exercise, good for the mind, and great for having a good time. The club in Charlottetown is planning to hold class sessions in the new year for people who are interested in learning this form of dance. Modern Square dancing is not just for older people and it is not just country music, it is for anyone who likes to dance and meet up with other dancers. For more info, call 218-6399 or email cmrbelanger@live.ca.

PERFORMANCE Music,

Theatre, Dance, Comedy…

Mondays | 8 pm

Jokes on Us Comedy Show

Hosted by Shawn Aucoin and Matty Burke. Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Dec 29 | 8 pm

Island Jazz plays Joe

Henderson Jazz

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Dec 29 | 8 pm

The Darvel & Guests

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Dec 29 | 2 pm, 6 pm

Du ebag Theatre: Robin

Hood

2 pm: Harbourfront Theatre, Summerside

6 pm: Kings Playhouse, Georgetown

Dec 30 | 8 pm

Coyote + The Brood

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Dec 31

Capital New Year

Featuring Adam MacGregor, Bridget Driver, David Woodside, DJ Josh Hood, and Swift Kick. Founder’s Food Hall & Market, Charlottetown

Jan 5 | 8 pm

Island Video Game Jazz feat.

Jacob Reddin

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Jan 5 | 8 pm

Tragic Little Pill

Tribute to Alanis Morissette and No Doubt. Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 6 | 8 pm

Katie McGarry

Tribute to Miranda Lambert. Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 7 | 8 pm

Nathan Wiley with band

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 11 | 8 pm

Steve Zaat Album Release

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 12 | 8 pm

Island Jazz feat. Sean Ferris Group

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Jan 12 | 8 pm

Jordan Cameron, Jill Chandler, Maureen Trainer & Doug Hoyer

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 13 | 8 pm

Dancing Queen

Tribute to ABBA. Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 14 | 7 pm

Winterjazz ft. Don Ross, Brooke Miller

The Pourhouse, Charlottetown

Jan 14 | 7:30 pm

Invitation to Dance

Christine Carter and Duo Conertante recital. Steel Recital Hall, UPEI, Charlottetown

Jan 15 | 8 pm

Owen Steel + Baby God

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 18 | 8 pm

Kelly McMichael

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 19 | 7:30 pm

The Original Wailers

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Jan 19 | 8 pm

Island Jazz feat. Ken

Fornetran Trio

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Jan 19 | 8 pm

Terra Spencer

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 19–21

Every Brilliant Thing

Beaconsfield Carriage House, Charlottetown

Jan 20 | 8 pm

More Soul

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 20 | 7 pm

SoPA Winter Concert Series

Featuring vocalists Brenna Clapp and Hayden Lysecki. Florence Simmons

Performance Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 21 | 8 pm

Someone Else’s Song

Featuring Dennis Ellsworth, KINLEY, Amanda Jackson and Liam Corcoran. Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 20–22

PEI Winter Bluegrass Festival

Featuring The Seldom Scene, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, Ray Legere & Acoustic Horizon, The Janet McGarry Band, Bluegrass Tradition, Shane Douthwright and the Virtuosos, Matt Lunn and Echo Mountain, Bluestreak, and The Sti Family. Delta Prince Edward, Charlottetown. peibluegrass.ca

Jan 22 | 8 pm

Dr. Zoo

Kings Playhouse, Georgetown

Jan 22 | 8 pm

Hayden

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 22 | 2:30 pm

PEI Symphony Orchestra:

Mahler’s Musings

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Jan 26 | 8 pm

Island Jazz feat. Chris

Corrigan with Adam Hill

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Jan 26–28 | 8 pm

Craig Fair presents: A Kind of Magic - A Night of Queen

Featuring Joce Reyome, Brandon Howard Roy and Josée Boudreau. Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 26–28

Every Brilliant Thing

Beaconsfield Carriage House, Charlottetown

Jan 27 | 7:30 pm

Sloan Steady Tour

Harbourfront Theatre, Summerside

Jan 27

Richard Wood & Friends

Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 28 | 7:30 pm

Legends of Motown

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Jan 28 | 7:30 pm

The Fabulously Rich

The Tragically Hip tribute band. Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Jan 29 | 7 pm

Day of Pink: Courage Across Canada Tour

Featuring Icesis Couture and Kimora Amour. The Guild, Charlottetown

Jan 29 | 8 pm

Comedian Lorne Elliott

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Jan 29 | 1:30 pm

Island Jazz at the Movies City Cinema, Charlottetown

Feb 1 | 7:30 pm

Classic Albums Live: Billy

Joel: The Stranger

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Feb 2 | 8 pm

Dr. Zoo

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Feb 2 | 8 pm

Island Jazz feat. Spencer

Soloduka

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Feb 3

Shawn Hogan

Hosted by Katherine Cairns. PEI Brewing Company, Charlottetown

Garrett Mason

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Feb 4 | 7:30 pm

Julie & Danny

Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Feb 5 | 7:30 pm

Hyprov

Starring comedian Colin Mochrie and hypnotist Asad Mecci. Confederation Centre, Charlottetown

Feb 9 | 8 pm

Island Jazz feat. Blue Clay from Moncton

Baba’s Lounge, Charlottetown

Feb 11 | 7:30 pm

Blues Summit: Tightrope

With special guests Got Blues. Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Feb 12, 26 | 2 pm

Old Time Music Show

Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown.

Feb 15 | 7:30 pm

George Canyon

Harbourfront Theatre, Summerside

Feb 16 | 8 pm

Tara MacLean

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Feb 17

SoPA Winter Concert Series

Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown

Feb 17 | 7:30 pm

Side Hustle Improv

The Guild, Charlottetown

Feb 17 | 8 pm

Joanie Pickens with band

Trailside Music Hall, Charlottetown

Feb 18 | 7:30 pm

Big Band Night

Featuring the Charlottetown Jazz Ensembles. Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Feb 20

Tom Jackson

IllumiNATION Festival Mainstage

Concert Series presented by the 2023 Canada Games. Seaport Stage, Port Charlottetown

Feb 23

The Beaches

IllumiNATION Festival Mainstage

Concert Series presented by the 2023 Canada Games. Seaport Stage, Port Charlottetown

Feb 23–25 | 7:30 pm

Little Women - The Broadway Musical

Featuring the 8th Avenue Players. Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Feb 25

The Trews IllumiNATION Festival Mainstage

Concert Series presented by the 2023 Canada Games. Seaport Stage, Port Charlottetown

Mar 3

Classi ed

IllumiNATION Festival Mainstage

Concert Series presented by the 2023 Canada Games. Seaport Stage, Port Charlottetown

Mar 4 | 7:30 pm

Hired Guns

Scott MacAulay Performance Centre, Summerside

Mar 5 | 2:30 pm

PEI Symphony Orchestra: Goodnight Moon

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Mar 8–12

Music PEI Awards Week

Various locations, Charlottetown. musicpei.com

Mar 10 | 8 pm

Cat & Nat Un ltered Live

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Mar 11 | 7:30 pm

War on the Catwalk

Confed Centre: Sobey Family Theatre, Charlottetown

Mar 12, 26 | 2 pm

Old Time Music Show

Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown.

Mar 17

SoPA Winter Concert Series

Florence Simmons Performance Hall, Charlottetown

Mar 18 | 7:30 pm

Pulsart Trio

The Mack, Charlottetown

…more at buzzpei.com

PEI Bluegrass & Old Time Music Society presents

JANUARY 20-22, 2023 • DELTA PRINCE EDWARD

CHARLOTTETOWN PEI

BLUGRASSLEGENDS

The Seldom Scene

Seth Mulder & Midnight Run

Ray Legere & Acoustic Horizon (NB) • Bluegrass Tradition (NS) • Shane Douthwright & The Virtuosos (NB) • Matt Lunn & Echo Mountain (NS) • Janet McGarry Band (PEI) Bluestreak (PEI) • The Stiff Family (PEI)

Purchase weekend pass by Dec 31 to receive Early Bird Price of $80 (tax + fees incl.) and to obtain special discount rates at the Delta Prince Edward (based on availability)

Day passes available after Jan 1, 2023

See the schedule at www.peibluegrass.ca

Tickets and hotel reservations

www.peibluegrass.ca

902-569-5600

Still on view…

Double Takes

Double Takes, a solo exhibition of photographs by Doug Dumais, has been extended until January 14 at the Hilda Woolnough Gallery in Charlottetown.

The goal of Double Takes is to create photographic equivalents of rhyming stanzas of poetry or verses of songs. Similar to how songs or poems rhyme, several pieces in the exhibition contain echoes of their own details, creating internal rhythms and patterns. Other images in the show are photographic recreations of paintings by painters such as Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) and Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), and generate echoes that resonate beyond the work and across art history.

Ultimately, this exhibition exploits photography’s artifice and revels in the medium’s capacity to trick or create fictional narratives.

Dumais is a photographer based in Charlottetown who documents spaces undergoing drastic changes. dougdumais.com

Hale-toi une chaise!

The hybrid exhibition Hale-toi une chaise!Pull up a chair! continues at the Acadian Museum of PEI in Miscouche until the end of February.

On display are works made by members of the public who participated in a painted chair project. Coached by local artists and using chairs and other objects as their canvas, each participant created a painting or collage to represent how they felt about their environment and culture. The resulting works are surrounded by artifacts and archives from the Acadian Museum’s own collection.

A reproduction of an old-fashioned Acadian kitchen and a stage will make this space ready for events like kitchen parties, story nights, cooking demonstrations and other events throughout the winter.

museeacadien.org

Through Our Lens

The current Sixty Days of Fame exhibit, Through Our Lens by the Red Sands Photography Club, continues in January at MacNaught History Centre and Archives.

The exhibit features the many styles of the Club’s membership in capturing with a camera the everyday happenings of Island life.

The Red Sands Photography Club is made up of amateur and professional photographers who meet monthly for field trips, picture critiquing and learning new skills.

The exhibit is on view Tuesday–Saturday from 10 am–4 pm at 75 Spring Street, Summerside.

Confederation Centre Art Gallery

Dreaming Machines, an exhibition of dreamlike imagery drawn from the Confederation Centre Art Gallery (CCAG) collection, is on view until January 22. It features work from artists Carol Fraser, Joshim Kakegamic, Patrick Landsley, Stephen B. MacInnis, Dodi Morris, Norval Morrisseau, Herbert Siebner, Norman Takeuchi and Esther Warkov.

RE: visiting is on view until February 5. This exhibition tracks the changing careers of eight notable Canadian artists by bringing their recent work into comparison with earlier pieces in the CCAG collection. These pairings, which function as focal points of artistic biographies, illuminate the way the trajectories of individual lives and careers reshape our interpretation of works of art from the past. Featured artists include K.C. Adams (MB), Ron Shuebrook (ON), Jin-me Yoon (BC); Lucy Hogg (NYC); Herménégilde Chaisson (NB), Daniel MacDougall (PE), Glenn Lewis (BC) Medrie MacPhee, (NYC). Curated by Pan Wendt.

On view until February 26, Surabhi Ghosh: What’s Mine is Yours is an overview of the last decade of the Montreal-based artist’s sculptural work, including several collaborations and new works. Curated by Pan Wendt.

Documenting their relationship to the art gallery and its systems of representation, Black artists working in Canada consider ‘what the gallery can’t hold’ in the exhibition, While Black: a forum for speculation on what the gallery can’t hold. The exhibition features 17 artists including PEI-based artists Niyi Adeogun, Selecta Chevron, Robin Gislain, King Kxndi, Sammo Mossa, Baha Royalty and Reequal Smith. While Black continues until March 5. confederationcentre.com

The Young Masters

High school group exhibition at Hilda Woolnough Gallery

Charlottetown Rural and Colonel Gray High Schools will celebrate the artwork and achievements of their Grade 12 art classes with The Young Masters, a group exhibition on view at the Hilda Woolnough Gallery at The Guild in Charlottetown from January 20 until February 9.

The exhibition will feature the final works of the graduating art students as they begin to move into the next stages of their life. The artworks represent each student’s artistic interests and abilities. Each student conceived of and created their pieces based on their personal artistic philosophies and the explorations they have chosen to make in the world of art.

An opening reception will be held January 27 at 7 pm. 111 Queen Street, Charlottetown.

At the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre

Messages from the Cosmic Field is a recent iteration of The Cosmic Field, a series of 78 paintings that were displayed in a grid at the Hilda Woolnough Gallery in Charlottetown and also made available as the Cosmic Portal Oracle deck. The deck, similar to a tarot deck, uses imagery and prompt words that are then interpreted as messages by its users.

Messages from the Cosmic Field shows two groupings of the original paintings paired with prompt words, meant to evoke two distinct messages. Visitors are encouraged to sit with the pieces and allow the messages to come to them. No two individuals will interpret the meanings in the same way, highlighting how each person has their own distinct perspective and guiding the viewer to make connections

Renée Laprise, Discipline, 9”x12”, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 2022

between their conscious and intuitive knowledge.

Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Laprise has a BFA from the University of Toronto and currently lives and creates in PEI. The stories told in each painting are inspired by her past and present-day experiences intermingled with nature and local PEI landscapes. Underlying all of her work is an intense interest in mystical interconnection of the physical and non-physical realms.

reneelaprisearts.com

EXTENDED TO MARCH 5, 2023

CAMPBELL (CHARLOTTETOWN CURATOR), MICHELLE JACQUES AND DENISE RYNER

CURRENT

AND UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

SURABHI GHOSH: WHAT’S MINE IS YOURS

Until February 26, 2023

IT’S MORE THAN SPORTS

Next show by local artists opens January 13

The Breadalbane Gallery will celebrate its next show of works by local artists on January13 with an opening reception from 6–8 pm. Featured artists include Anne Gallant, Haley Lewis, Zoe Novaczek, Becka Viau, Vian Emery, Marianne Janowicz, Will Baker, Adrianna Chandler, and Joan Sutton.

The Gallery is a casual community space that hosts artists from the Breadalbane area and around PEI. Artists interested in showing may submit work to breadalbanegallery.com.

Located at 4023 Dixon Rd,

Photograph [detail] by Joan Sutton

Breadalbane, the Gallery is open Tuesday (11 am–3 pm), Wednesday (9 am–1 pm), Thursday (4–8 pm), and by request by calling 621-0575 or emailing breadalbane.gallery @com. breadalbanegallery.com

January 28 - April 2

IGBHY & LEMMENS: LAND IS NOT A MAT TO BE ROLLED UP AND TAKEN AWAY

February 18 - May 21

145 Richmond Street, Charlottetown, P.E.I.

NIYI ADEOGUN AND ROBIN GESSY GISLAIN SHUMBUSHO - COME AS YOU ARE | A VISUAL EXPRESSION, 2021-2022 - DIGITAL PRINT - COURTESY OF THE ARTISTS

A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CCAG AND THE ART GALLERY OF GREATER VICTORIA

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Renée Laprise art exhibit

SUBMITTED

Breadalbane Gallery

EXHIBITS galleries and museums

Acadian Museum of PEI

Hale-toi une chaise! Pull up a chair!, a hybrid exhibit mixing new pieces made by members of the public and the museum’s own artifacts collection, will be on view to the end of Feb. Also on view is the permanent exhibit and video The Island Acadians: The Story of a People Acadian genealogy resources are available to researchers. A PEI Museum and Heritage site. 23 Main Dr. E, Miscouche. museeacadien.org

The Breadalbane Gallery

On view this month are works by Anne Gallant, Haley Lewis, Zoe Novaczek, Becka Viau, Vian Emery, Marianne Janowicz, William Baker, Adrianna Chandler, Joan Sutton. An opening reception will take place Jan 13 from 6–8 pm. 4023 Dixon Rd, Breadalbane. breadalbanegallery.com

Confederation Centre Art

Gallery

On view: Dreaming Machines, featuring work by Carol Fraser, Joshim Kakegamic, Patrick Landsley, Stephen B. MacInnis, Dodi Morris, Norval Morrisseau, Herbert Siebner, Norman Takeuchi and Esther Warkov, to Jan 22; RE: visiting to Feb 4; Surabhi Ghosh: What’s Mine is Yours to Feb 26; and While Black: a forum for speculation on what the gallery can’t hold, featuring 17 artists including PEI-based artists Niyi Adeogun, Selecta Chevron, Robin Gislain, King Kxndi, Sammo Mossa, Baha Royalty and Reequal Smith, to Mar 5. 145 Richmond St, Charlottetown. confederationcentre.com

Monday, January 16

The Harvest

Cornwall Library Art Gallery

The Youth Art Exhibit continues to Jan 6. Peaceful Art Creations by Laura MacPhail will be on view Jan 10–Feb 17. Meet the artist Jan 10 at 7 pm. Contact the library for info on displaying in the gallery. 15 Mercedes Dr, Town Hall, Cornwall. 6298415, library.pe.ca

Eptek Art & Culture Centre

On view: Still Quilting Forward, featuring work from members of the PEI Modern Quilt Guild; and Wartime Memories from Prince County, highlighting WWII artifacts, in partnership with the PEI Regiment Museum. Visit the permanent exhibition at Eptek on the history and architecture of Summerside. Admission is by donation. The site is open year-round. 130 Heather Moyse Dr, Summerside. 8888373, peimuseum.com

Hilda Woolnough Gallery

Double Takes, a solo exhibition by Doug Dumais continues to Jan 14 The Young Masters, a group exhibition by Charlottetown Rural and Colonel Gray High School grade 12 art students will be on view Jan 20–Feb 9 with opening reception Jan 27 at 7 pm. 111 Queen St, Charlottetown. theguildpei.com

Lefurgey Cultural Centre

Through Our Lens, a group exhibition by Red Sands Photography Club members is on view through Jan. 205 Prince St, Summerside.

this town is small

Presented by this town is small, Water is Time is Water by Monica Lacey as well as The Harvest: Cyan-o-Synthesis by Sarah Nicole Dart, will be on view Jan 17–Mar 21 at Receiver Coffee on Victoria Row, 128 Richmond St, Charlottetown. Messages from the Cosmic Field by Renée Laprise will be on view Jan 22–Apr 15 at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre, 97 Queen St, Charlottetown.

Water is Time is Water

Water is Time is Water by Monica Lacey, presented by this town is small, will be on view January 17–March 21 at Receiver Coffee on Victoria Row in Charlottetown.

Says Lacey, “This installation is an elemental practice, an ongoing devotional exploration, and the result of a gnawing curiosity about the true nature of Time, the ways in which we are embedded in and communicating with the hydrologic cycle, and the places where those concepts overlap and absorb each other.

“Loosely following the threads of a physics theory put forth in the last decade, which posits that spacetime may actually be a superfluid, I explore the measurement of motion [time] through capturing moments of constant change underwater. Submerged mesh fabric simulates the spacetime through which the water can move, and in the images, the two can be

“The Harvest: Cyan-o-Synthesis is a mini nature study to help me personally become more integrated into life on the East coast,” shares Dart. “It’s a harvest of plants, seaweed, and flowers foraged from explorations along the beaches, trails and parks. They have been monogrammed inside the main exposure which is a manipulated collage of photographs called Animal Bouquets. The two photographic printing methods are used in combination through a double exposure process. Each creature in the Animal Bouquet has a personal story that connects my old home out West with my new one here on PEI.”

Sarah Nicole Dart is a self taught cyanotype artist, designer and flower collector from Vancouver Island, BC, who moved to Charlottetown in January 2022. Using Photoshopped acetate transparencies as well as locally foraged flowers, weeds, seaweed and feathers, the artist uses alternative photography methods to print using the sun’s energy; often experimenting with household products like coffee, tea, vinegar, wine, paprika and baking soda to encourage “happy mistakes.” Presented by this town is small, the show will be on view until March 21.

observed to merge and reflect and dialogue with each other until they are indistinguishable.”

Lacey is a multidisciplinary visual artist, writer and educator based in Charlottetown. Inspired by nature and by liminal spaces, she prioritizes connection and communication in her work, play and practice. Lacey holds a Diploma in Textiles and Photography from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and has received several awards and grants for excellence in her work and service to her community, including the Garfield Weston Award and the Nel Oudemans Award. She lives in Epekwitk/PEI with her husband and daughter. In addition to her studio practice, Lacey teaches Kundalini Yoga and serves as director/curator for the Fitzroy St. Tiny Art Gallery, a mini art space on her front lawn.

Photo by Monica Lacey

Exhibition by Monica Lacey at Receiver Co ee

The Harvest: Cyan-o-Synthesis by Sarah Nicole Dart will be on view at Receiver Coffee on Victoria Row in Charlottetown beginning January 17.

Cyanotype art by Sarah Nicole Dart

Art show by Sarah Nicole Dart at Receiver Co ee

COURTESY THE ARTIST

Travel support fund

this town is small (TTIS), with the support of Innovation PEI through the PEI Culture Action Plan, is offering microgrants for professional PEI artists for travel costs associated with opportunities to support their artistic practice, including residency programs, presenting their work off-Island in a gallery/festival, mentorship, accessing resources not available on PEI, and other opportunities on a case-by-case basis. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis for this program. Read more and apply at thistownissmall.com/ travel-support-for-pei-artists

Arts education at Confederation Centre

Registration is open for classes and camps at Confederation Centre of the Arts this winter. Exploring Visual Arts is a six-week class for young students to explore the elements of art through a series of diverse drawing, painting and sculpting activities. At the end of the course, students will create an artwork in the medium of their choosing using the skills they have learned throughout the class to inform their final work. Activities will be supplemented by Gallery visits. Classes are held on Sat from Jan 14–Feb 18 with Exploring Visual Arts I (ages 6–8) from 9–10 am and Exploring Visual Arts II (ages 9–12) from 11 am–12 noon.

Winter Break Camps run through the extended mid-term break and offer an opportunity to explore art through both hands on and observational experiences with tours of current exhibitions at the Gallery and a backstage tour of the Sobey Family Theatre. Exploring the Arts Camp (ages 6–12) runs Feb 21–24 and offers a range of arts education, from drawing and painting to music and dance. Exploring Performing Arts Camps run Feb 27–Mar 3 with Junior (ages 6–8) and Intermediate (ages 9–12) camp options. Through a combination of activities, games and classes with trained educators, campers will experience a taste of life as a triple threat. Days are packed with drama, dancing, music, prop making and more. Whether a child prefers to be in the spotlight or backstage, there are activities for all interests. Exploring Visual Arts Camp (ages 6–12) runs Feb 27–Mar 3. Through exercises and lessons, students will create paintings, sculptures, drawings and various crafts to take home. The theme for this week is Fairy Tales and Fantasy. All camps run from 9 am–4 pm. Visit confederationcentre. com or contact Callista Gilks at 628-6134 orartseducation@confederationcentre. comfor more info.

PEI Craft Trade Show 2023

The PEI Craft Trade Show, formerly the PEI Craft and Giftware Buyers Market, will run Jan 27 from 12–6 pm and Jan 28 from 10 am–4 pm at the Delta Convention Centre in Charlottetown. The event is for retailers seeking Atlantic designed artisan and craft products,

THE ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

MANUSCRIPT: L.M.

MONTGOMERY AND THE CREATION OF ANNE

Explore all the handwritten pages of Montgomery’s beloved novel and learn about her creative process, her legacies, and her Island through expert commentary and interactive material. Available in English and French.

including handmade pottery, ceramics, fashion accessories and jewellery, glass, woodwork, textiles, greetings cards and fine art. The annual two-day wholesale trade show provides Atlantic craft producers with an opportunity to market their product to retail businesses and galleries throughout Atlantic Canada, (with exposure to markets across Canada and the USA as a long term goal). PEI Craft Council organizes this event to create a chance for all people who make their product in Atlantic Canada to raise their businesses with the wholesale market. Every artist, crafter, maker, designer of craft and gift-ware are welcome to participate. Info: 892 5152, peicraftscouncil@ gmail.com, peicraftscouncil.com

Call for submissions

this town is small (TTIS) is seeking proposals for a new exhibition series at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre (CLLC). Professional artists currently residing in PEI are eligible to apply. TTIS in partnership with CLLC will present four solo exhibitions per year in the new TD Art Corridor. Artists are invited to submit recent artworks that are original, forward-thinking, and incite conversation, with preference given to works that have not yet been exhibited in the region. TTIS is enthusiastic about artists’ most recent endeavours and art forms that propel contemporary production and incite conversation. Proposed artworks should be ready to hang, and both two and three dimensional work will be considered. If works are three dimensional, please clearly indicate a plan for mounting the works in the proposal. The

exhibition space is the upper portion of a 33 foot long wall and is positioned above a series of bookcases. It is recommended that applicants refer to images of the space on the application form and visit in person. Preference will be given to bodies of work that consider how to best make use of the wall space. Submissions will be reviewed by a jury made up of professional artists and community members. TTIS is committed to equal opportunities and encourages applicants who identify as Indigenous, members of visible minorities, LGBTQ2SIA+, and persons with disabilities to apply and self identify in their application. Solo exhibitions will run for approximately three months and artists will be paid an artist fee of $1000 for a solo exhibition and provided support for installation, promotion and more. Selected exhibitions will take place beginning in April. Submissions are due Jan 22 at midnight. Visit thistownissmall. com/this-town-is-small-x-charlottetownlibrary-learning-centre-call-for-submissions to apply.

Life Drawing sessions

Life Drawing sessions resume Jan 8 at the Gertrude Cotton Art Centre, 57 Bunbury Rd, Stratford. The drop-in drawing sessions with nude model are held on Sun from 2–4 pm, weather permitting (check @Life Drawing PEI on FB for cancellations). All skill levels welcome. Must be 18+ or have parent/guardian written permission. Easels are provided but participants must bring their own drawing material. They are always looking for models. If interested, reach out on FB or email lifedrawingpei2022@gmail.com.

Isako Suzuki, Neriage Vases, 2022, stoneware, ceramic stain, the taller vase is 37.5 cm high and the other is 28 cm high.

Arts grants awarded

Island artists receive funding for creative projects

Elizabeth Iwunwa says receiving an arts grant feels like a pat on the back. Iwunwa is among 13 Island artists who recently received a total of $50,000 through the provincial Arts Grants program.

“Artists often have to choose between either creating meaningful work by bringing esoteric, abstract ideas down to earth or shelving those ideas to focus on more practical livelihood concerns,” says Iwunwa. “Receiving this grant is an encouragement to win hearts and change minds through the ideas that stories embody.”

Successful applicants were selected by a six-member jury of their arts community peers and follows the same model used by the Canada Council of Arts.

Hans Wendt (Visual Arts, $5000) will create a new body of paintings that will explore the struggle between ideas about painting and personal expression. His work will be exhibited at the Michael Gibson Gallery and the Toronto Art Fair in 2023.

Nancy Cai’s (Interdisciplinary, $6500) project will feature PEI oral history and traditional folklore in a full-colour, middle-grade adventure graphic novel. Sorcha and the Wizard’s Ring follows a young girl navigating the world of Island Folklore and all its wonders— and dangers.

Lawrence Maxwell (Writing and publishing ($1500) will create a poetry book, Collection Plates & Slot Machines, featuring 100 original poems selected from his unpublished catalogue, of which he’s been writing for the past year, as well as others created during a writing period in December 2022.

Elizabeth Iwunwa (Writing and publishing, $6000) will trace the evolution of Black music in PEI from its roots as a simple means of expression, to its function as a salve against racial injustice, and as a tool of belonging and community-building. Highlighting the contributions of Black people to PEI’s cultural landscape across several generations will unearth a more accurate story of the Island’s past with a view to cultivating a sense of belonging, legitimacy, and awareness within the Black Islanders and Black musicians living in PEI today. This project tackles the problem of documenting Black achievement and history in PEI, particularly, within the arts.

Bren Simmers (Writing and publishing, $4000) will write a collection of poetry based on process-based experiments informed by contemporary poetic practices (erasure, cut-ups, sensory logs, daily poems, dice rolling, English-to-English translation, etc.). By inviting risk and restraint into her work, she will subvert habitual ways of constructing a poem, allowing for fresh possibilities to enter her writing.

Ariana Salvo (Writing and Publishing, $2500) will complete her fictional novel, Oranges Taste Like Freedom, about a Greek Cypriot woman and Turkish Cypriot man who discover the journal of a Holocaust survivor who was incarcerated in a Jewish internment camp in Cyprus after her ship to Palestine was intercepted by the British. the two uncover the story of the 52,000 Jews who were imprisoned on their island.

Jacques Arsenault (Music, $2000) will be doing a mentorship in Acadian traditional music with Emmanuelle LeBlanc.

Aaron Comeau (Music, $3000) will compose a large body of new musical works on the piano, documenting the process extensively. This project will explore & develop the improvisation/ composition process in great depth.

Melissa Mullen (Film and media arts, $2500) has written the first draft of a feature length screenplay, Still Dancing The proposed project is to work with acclaimed screenwriter/mentor Cynthia Whitcomb in winter 2023 to take the script to its next level.

Lucus MacDonald (Crafts, $8000) will hand carve 40 unique interference wave patterns onto hand-planed walnut wood. These wall hangings will depict the vibrational waves made by sunlight reflecting off water in a frying pan. With this project he wishes to capture the ephemeral beauty hidden in these transient moments that catch us off-guard.

Lauren Jean Lawlor (Theatre, $4500) will be writing a play script, CHEESESTRING, exploring the challenges that come with queer dating in rural communities and of dating with a trauma history.

Chloe Dockendorff (Dance, $2000) will attend Ballet Jörgen’s six-week Junior Company program. She will work with international instructors and choreographers to develop technique, artistry, and maturity in her dancing; and she will gain experience through learning and performing company repertoire.

Ashley Cao (Dance, $2500) will create the dance piece, Same Moon Bright Moon, expressing the day of the year when the moon is the largest, roundest and brightest, which is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China and is also close to Thanksgiving in Canada. People in different places bathe in the same moonlight and share the joy of harvest. The dance is a fusion of Chinese classical dance and international ballroom dance, integrating elegance, serenity, liveliness, and freedom.

Elizabeth Iwunwa, one of 13 artists to receive funding through the provincial Arts Grants program

SUBMITTED

Art Lotto

Event returns to support arts education and Island Artists

supporters will find the diverse range of pieces compelling.”

Featured in January is a pair of Neriage vases by Isako Suzuki of Hermann-Suzuki Pottery in Cornwall, PE. Growing up with a ceramicist father in Japan, Suzuki spent much of her childhood in her father’s ceramic studio where he trained her in wheel-throwing. Over the years, she refined her technique and eventually dedicated her time exclusively to Neriage pottery. Recently, her Neriage works have been selected to be included in juried exhibitions in Japan.

“Neriage is a technique that combines two or more different types of clays in a very specific manner that will lead to desired patterns when the piece is thrown on the wheel,” says Suzuki.“My fascination with Neriage has always been the creation of illusory effects of tonal gradation on three-dimensional pottery surfaces.” Suzuki usually achieves this by mixing dark coloured stoneware clay with white clay to give an appearance of texture.

SALES

Craft Swap & Sale seeking vendors

Island residents have the unique opportunity to win a specially curated piece through an exclusive art lottery.

The Friends of the Confederation Centre of the Arts are hostingArt Lotto, a fundraiser to support arts education programs at the Centre as well as Island artists. Starting January 3, a unique piece from an Island artist will be raffled off each month via a limited number of $20 tickets. The artists and pieces will be revealed at the beginning of the month, and tickets will be available immediately.

“Art Lotto promotes the incredible talent we have on the Island while funding arts education for the next generation,” saysLinda Dunning, chair of the Friends’ Art Lotto committee.

The artworks selected byKevin Rice, director of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, were purchased at regular retail price to support the artists and will be on display inside the Centre’s Richmond Street entrance off Victoria Row.

“This project is a great opportunity to highlight work by Island-based artists,” says Rice. “I think patrons and

Lottery tickets for this month are on sale January 3–31, or while supplies last. Future draws will open on the first of the month (i.e., February 1). There are 100 tickets available each month. Tickets can be purchasedonline, via phone at 1-800-565-0278, or in person at the Centre’s box office while supplies last.

confederationcentre.com

Eptek Film Series

The Friends of Eptek Centre’s Lunchtime Film series continues to the end of April. The films, mostly travelogues, are screened on Thursdays at noon at Eptek Art & Culture Centre in Summerside. There will be some new films, as well as some from late Friend, Blanche Hogg, and there is no charge.

Eptek Centre is a site of the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation and is located at 130 Heather Moyse Drive in Summerside.

A Craft Swap & Sale will be held Jan 14 from 10 am–4 pm at the Benevolent Irish Society (Irish Cultural Centre) in Charlottetown. Organizer Lisa Murphy is looking for vendors who want to rent a table and join her and other crafters to swap and sell their extra craft supplies. She will be there with sewing machines, fabric, sewing notions, fur coats, leather swatches and hides, leather craft tools, thread, and more. Quality supplies only; no finished craft products. For info or to rent a table, contact Murphy at lisamurphystudios@gmail.com. 582 North River Rd, Charlottetown

Gifts from the Heart

Supported by caring donors, Betty Begg and her volunteers at Gifts From The Heart offer free food, clothing, furniture and housewares to qualified low income

families and those experiencing temporary hardship. Betty’s popular End of Month Sale is held from 10 am–3 pm on the last Saturday of the month and offers a chance for the public to thrift shop her inventory. The monthly sale proceeds defray operating costs. The next End of Month Sale date is Feb 25. Betty also manages three new Community Fridges that should be up and running by spring—one at the Gifts From the Heart location on Maple Hills Ave in Charlottetown, one in West Royalty and one in Stratford. Starting Jan 16, donations of food, new and gently-used clothing, furniture and household items can be dropped off at 10 Maple Hills Ave on Mon and Wed from 10 am–4 pm. Monetary donations gratefully accepted. Call 628-6871 (office) or 393-0171 (Betty) for more info or to register as a client. Open Mon–Thur from 10 am–4 pm, andFri from 10 am–3 pm.

Pinch Penny Fair 2023

Planning is underway for this year’s Pinch Penny Fair, a project of The Friends of Confederation Centre. The Island’s longest running indoor yard sale and children’s fair will be held at Confederation Centre of the Arts in April. Donations of gently used items, including books, toys, games, jewellery, collectibles, art and more, are welcome. The drop off dates are coming soon. Proceeds will go to family programs, equipment purchases and scholarships. Info: 628-6141 or friends@confederationcentre.com

Isako Suzuki, Neriage Vases, 2022, stoneware, ceramic stain, 37.5 and 28 cm high.

Welcome to City Cinema from The Charlottetown Film Society

City Cinema is owned and operated by our non-profit Society. We will continue to present a diverse mix of films and welcome your suggestions and support. Become a member, bring friends, and share feedback!

Advance Tickets

Please visit our website at citycinema.ca, we accept all major credit cards online and both debit and credit at the cinema. Seating may be limited, advance tickets are strongly recommended.

Subject to Change

Film availability and showtimes are subject to change. Please check our website and book tickets in advance.

Rent City Cinema

City Cinema is available for rent for private film viewings! We provide the projectionist and will have the the canteen and bar open for your group. Please fill out the form under Venue Rental on our website and we’ll respond with information and rates.

Admission

Regular $11.00

Member $8.00

65 and over $8.00

14 and under $8.00

We now accept credit cards online and both debit and credit at the cinema

Annual membership - $25.00

Notre Dame de Moncton (Our Lady of Moncton)

January 3–5 & 13–14

14A. Dir: Denise Bouchard, Canada, 2022, 90 min. Laurie Gagné, Louise Turcot, Gilles Renaud. In French with English subtitles.

Spoiler Alert

January

20–26

PG. Dir: Michael Showalter, US, 2022, 112 min. Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge, Bill Irwin, Sally Field.

“This second feature by Acadian director Denise Bouchard is a lovely reflection on family, both chosen and biological… The main character, Anna, is thrown out into the streets of Moncton by the landlord of her rooming house when she is not able to pay the rent… She ends up living clandestinely in the basement of a residential house. Laurie Gagné plays Anna, who has lived a tumultuous life... We meet her at a moment of crisis: she is about to meet the son that was taken away from her almost twenty years before... Gagné shines in the role… her son is played by Thomas Lapointe… Rounding out the cast are two superb actresses and an outstanding cameo. Frédérique Cyr-Deschênes plays the role of Estelle, the barista who befriends both the mother and the son… Award-winning Québec actress and writer Louise Turcot plays the role of Victorine, an elderly woman whose husband passes away suddenly… Turcot’s role is filled with strength and fragility. Acadian poet Jean-Philippe Raîche plays the wonderfully over-the-top — prickly yet compassionate— department store clerk… Screenwriter Mélanie Léger can be credited for a brilliantly unassuming yet thoroughly engaging story… Cinematographer John Ashmore makes Moncton another co-star of the film: the Petitcodiac River, the city bridges, the parks, the Notre Dame de Parkton café and the lights of the city at night… The vibrancy and relevance of artistic production in New Brunswick is on full display.” —Sophie M, Lavoie, NB Media Co-op

Babylon

January 6–12

14A, nudity, sexual content, coarse language, substance abuse. Dir: Damien Chazelle, US, 2022 188 min. Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Jean Smart.

Nominated for 5 Golden Globes including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor & Best Score.

Babylon is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles. A tale of outright ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood. Full reviews are on hold until it opens, but critics were allowed to tweet: “Babylon is a daring Hollywood epic that shocks the senses. Margot Robbie and Diego Calva give tremendous performances. Damien Chazelle incorporates his signature musicianship and movement throughout.”

Screen Rant

“Extravagant, decadent and all together delightfully delicious... Phenomenal filmmaking. This is Damien Chazelle’s love letter to movie making, and Margot Robbie’s best performance to date.”

—Jazz Tangcay, (Variety)

“A dazzling, dizzying cacophony of demented depravity. Loved it! A rebellious, outrageous portrait of golden-era hedonistic Hollywood. Margot Robbie is a live wire. Diego Calva is sensational. Awe-inducing costume & production design.”

—Courtney Howard, (Variety, The AV Club)

2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

(The World’s Best Commercials)

January 14—19

Rating TBA. Dir: Various, International, 2022, 110 min. In English and other languages with English subtitles.

“Packed with genuinely heartfelt moments, plenty of humor, and solid cast performances, Spoiler Alert makes for quite a lovely watch. Michael Ausiello  is an entertainment journalist living in New York… Michael is consumed with his work but he’s convinced to go out to a bar, where he meets and instantly clicks with Kit Cowan, a photographer... Over several years, Michael and Kit’s relationship grows stronger. But a er 14 years together, and a few speed bumps, everything changes when Kit is diagnosed with terminal cancer… Parsons and Aldridge are fabulous together; they’ve got a good amount of chemistry… Sally Field and Bill Irwin are also excellent… Spoiler Alert doesn’t force its sorrow on the audience… but it is touching, funny, hopeful, and full of love. Paired with genuinely moving performances, the romantic drama is like a warm embrace, with an equal amount of humor, sorrow, and love wrapped up in it.” —Mae

Abdulbaki, ScreenRant

Living

January 27–February 5

Rating TBA. Dir: Oliver Hermanus, UK/ Japan/Sweden, 106 min. Bill Nighy, Alex Sharp, Aimee Lou Wood.

Nominated for a Golden Globe, Best Actor, Bill Nighy.

“In an era of streaming, you’d think that TV commercials risk becoming a lost art. Not so, as the award-winning ads from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity handily show. A staggering 40,000 entries from 100 countries are showcased and judged during the annual festival, which has been presented since 1954, with the winners receiving the highly prized Lion trophy... Whether they make you laugh until you wheeze or tug at your heartstrings, these ads not only o er a unique view of the world, but inspire the viewer to consider the intersections between creativity and commerce, advertising and art.” —Jen Zoratti, Winnipeg Free Press

“Deeply endearing... Bill Nighy stars as Mr. Williams, a grizzled civil servant who, upon learning that he is terminally ill, endeavors to make something meaningful of the final six months of his life. First, that means skipping work for a grand night out with a friendly

stranger; then, spending a string of quiet a ernoons with a young woman from his o ce; then using his position in the Public Works department to get something done for a change. Well acted and visually striking, Living is a wonderful showpiece for Nighy, who is as a ecting as you’ve ever seen him.” —Marley Marius, Vogue “Let us now praise Bill Nighy! He gives a beautifully calibrated performance in this remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikuru set in 1950’s London, and adds his own touches to the role... Everything from the opening credits to an immaculate script by The Remains of the Day’s Kazuo Ishiguro to impeccable supporting turns from Tom Burke and Aimee Lou Wood make this feel like one of the rare occasions where everything aligns just right. An absolutely gorgeous, heartbreaking piece of work” —David Fear, Rolling Stone “An instant classic”. —Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Classics at City Cinema

Presented by Laurent Gariépy

city cinema schedule

Mad Max: Fury Road

January 5

Dir: George Miller, Australia, 2015. Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult. Max joins forces with Imperator Furiosa against Immortan Joe and his army. Winner of 6 Academy Awards.

Mystic River

January 15

Dir: Clint Eastwood, US, 2003. Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden. The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them has a family tragedy. Winner of Academy Awards for Best Actor & Supporting Actor.

Gran Torino

January 22

Dir: Clint Eastwood, US, 2008. Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her.

Veteran Walt Kowalski becomes a reluctant hero when he stands up to gangbangers who try to force an Asian teen to steal his treasured car.

Cabaret

January 28

Dir: Bob Fosse, US, 1972. Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Michael York, Helmut Griem.

A club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them. Winner of 8 Academy Awards including: Best Actress, Supporting Actor and Director.

Metropolis

January 29

Dir: Fritz Lang, Germany, 1927. Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich. Live Score by Island Jazz

In a futuristic city the son of the city’s mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet. In 2001, the film was added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, the first film thus distinguished.

PEI Public Library Service programming

PEI Public Libraries offer programming for babies, children, teens, adults and seniors. Visit the Public Library events calendar at library.pe.ca or follow @ PEI Public Library Service on FB for updated info about library events in PEI communities.

Charlottetown Library Learning Centre

Programming continues in January at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre (CLLC). The Makerspace hours are changing to 2–5 pm daily. Drop by the Rotary Auditorium to use one of the Oculus Virtual Reality headsets on Thurs from 3–5 pm (ages 10+). Games Night: Mur Club drop-in takes place weekly on Thurs from 5–8 pm. Join Desmond to learn and play Mur: Beyond Fischer Random Chess. No chess experience necessary. Bring devices and questions to Tech Help Drop-In from 10 am–12 pm on Sat starting Jan 7 and be paired with a teen volunteer for assistance (30-minute time limit per week). Join knitters, crocheters, rug hookers, and fibre and textile makers at Fibre Arts Club at 1 pm on Tues starting Jan 10. All levels welcome. Learn how to access the Library’s eBooks, eAudiobooks and digital magazines at Intro

to Using the Libby & Flipster Apps on Jan 11 at 1 pm. Explore how to find your voice in writing and performing spoken word at the Spoken Word Workshop with Julie Bull on Jan 12 at 7 pm. Register in advance, space is limited. Create a snowy mason jar tea light holder at Crafternoon on Jan 18 at 1 pm. Register in advance. Meet for the Weekly Book Club (7 weeks) at 1 pm on Wed starting Jan 18 to discuss sections of a book selection. Join Ivy Wigmore for gentle yoga suitable for all levels and light refreshments at Seniors Café on Jan 19 at 1 pm. Pre-register for Intro to 3D Printing (ages 16+) and join Graeme on Jan 22 at 1 pm for a walk through of the 3D process from start to finish. Try out a new game or play an old favourite at Board Game Café on Jan 25 at 6 pm. Drop-in for Adult VR Club on the last Mon of each month (Jan 30) from 6–7 pm and enjoy games, escape rooms, puzzles, and more. Daily children’s programming is available in the Children’s Library. Follow @PEI Public Library Service on socials for updates. CLLC is located at 97 Queen St, Charlottetown.

Summerside Rotary library

The Summerside Rotary Library in the Inspire Learning Centre offers programming for all ages. The following is a list of adult programming in January. Join knitters, crocheters, rug hookers and other fibre and textile makers at Nifty Knitters and Needlecraft on Thurs at 1 pm. Bring your own needlecraft paraphernalia. Register for Adult Guitar Lessons on Jan 10 at 7 pm. Play games like cribbage, crokinole, scrabble, checkers, and more at Cards, Crokinole, and Cronies on Jan 11 and 25 at 2 pm. The Seniors Café on Jan 13 at 11 am will feature tea, coffee, and a presentation by Shelley King from the Alzheimer Society of PEI. Create Mindfulness Jars on Jan 16 at 6:30 pm and Jan 17 at 2:30 pm. Register for a 20-minute Tech Help for Seniors session on Tues from 2–3 pm starting Jan 17. Bring tech questions and a device. Register for So, You Want To Write A Novel and join instructor L. P. Suzanne Atkinson for writing exercises on Jan 21 (10:30 am and 1:30 pm) and Jan 22 (1:30 pm). Space is limited. Canadian Mental Health Association representatives will present Mood Disorders on Jan 23 at 6 pm. On Jan 24 at 7 pm, gather at the library for the as Community Legal Information presentation Wills and Estates. Join the Book Club on Jan 28 at 2 pm for a lively discussion. Pick up a copy of the latest book club selection at the main circulation desk. Loads of children and teen programming is also on offer at the Summerside Rotary Library in the Inspire Learning Centre at 57 Central St, Summerside. For full details of provincial library programming, follow them on socials @PEI Public Library Service. To register for programming, call 436-7323.

Grand Prize winner

Bren Simmers wins the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize

CBC Books, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, recently announced the winner for the 2022 CBC Poetry Prize.

The Grand Prize winner is Charlottetown-based writer Bren Simmers for her poem collection Spell World Backwards.

“My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017. As I started writing about her deterioration, I became interested in how language is affected by the disease,” Bren says, about the inspiration behind Spell World Backwards. “In this series, I try to mimic some of the looping, nonsense words, and holes in her speech. As she progresses into late-stage Alzheimer’s, it has become increasingly difficult to communicate with her, outside of touch. She still loves to dance though!”

As the grand-prize winner, Simmers received $6000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and her poetry collection has been published on CBC Books. She will also receive a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

In sharing her poetry with CBC Books, Bren says, “I thought the experience of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s would resonate with many readers across the country. By sharing this journey with others, I hope to create space for a conversation about

E ective writing

11th annual MacLauchlan prizes awarded in November

The MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing were recently presented to to acknowledging effective writing skills—a foundational skill for academic success and lifelong learning.

Established in 2011 by the MacLauchlan family to honour H. Wade MacLauchlan’s contributions to the University and his 12 years of service as UPEI president and vice-chancellor from 1999–2011, the awards were presented to 36 students and one faculty member this year.

Monday, January 16

Bailey Clark, a Faculty of Arts student and an award winner, read an excerpt from his piece entitled

how to cope with ‘the long goodbye’ and the different ways to honour a person whose faculties are being eroded by this disease.”

Simmers’ is the author of four books, including the wilderness memoir Pivot Point (Gaspereau Press, 2019) and Hastings-Sunrise, (Nightwood Editions, 2015) which was a finalist for the 2015 City of Vancouver Book Award. Her most recent collection of poetry is If, When (Gaspereau Press, 2021). The collection links her living experience in Squamish, BC with those of her great grandparents, who lived in the near by town Britannia a century earlier.

Born in Vancouver and raised in North Delta, BC, Simmers has lived in Charlottetown, PEI for approximately five years.

“Who Wants a Car, Anyway?”: Improved Roads, Snowplows, and the Transportation Revolution on Prince Edward Island, 1900-1970.

Faculty of Nursing student and award winner Adedamola Adedeji also read an excerpt from her piece entitled Providing Person-Centered Care for Older Adults

“I didn’t expect to win knowing how many people might have submitted their work. Then being selected to read my paper in front of prestigious people, professors, and students meant everything to me,” said Adedeji. “I feel empowered and encouraged to always put in my absolute best into any academic work because it surely will pay later on.”

The MacLauchlan Prizes for Effective Writing distribute up to $30,000 annually in awards.

Bren Simmers SUBMITTED

A gift of Island Poetry

THE SOUNDS OF MAKING A BASKET

Pounding, groaning, pounding

As ash separates, ring by ring

Scrape, scratch, scrape

As knife scrapes the strips clean

Splash, bubble, splash

As the strips soak to soften

Scratch, whoosh, scratch

As strips weave in and out

Swish, swoosh, swish

As the sweetgrass gets tied in

Groan, sigh, groan

As tired ngers pull down dried rows

Bliss, joy, bliss—

The nished basket is held up with pride.

Each month

2023 weather calendar

Produced by John Morris and Jim Abraham

Jim Abraham and John Morris released their annual weather calendar in December, two months after Hurricane Fiona blew through Atlantic Canada. The 2023 calendar is called Eastern Canada Weather.

Abraham is the president of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and was responsible for launching Canada’s Hurricane Centre. “We decided to focus this year’s calendar on climate change, highlighting the impacts to Atlantic Canada,” he says. “We certainly didn’t expect an historic storm like Fiona that changed our lives and livelihoods and reminded us of that threat.”

Morris is an internationally published photographer. His imagery has

appeared in publications around the world, including the New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, BBC, CBC, the Globe & Mail, MacLeans magazine and more.

The Eastern Canada Weather calendar is available in shops and bookstores across Canada including Coles, Indigo, Bookmark, Northern Watters Knitwear, and Sobeys on PEI, and online at Amazon or Etsy.

Proceeds from calendar sales will go towards an education fund for the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.

Julie Pellissier-Lush. Epekwitk Mikmaq Poetry from Prince Edward Island, Acorn Press, 2021.

Deirdre Kessler selects a poem by an Island poet for The Buzz

BOOKS PEI

As You Continue to Wait (and Other Poems Hovering Above the Absurd, Existential, and the Otherworldly)

J. J. Steinfeld

and eighth poetry collection, As You Continue to Wait (and Other Poems Hovering Above the Absurd, Existential, and the Otherworldly), is available now at Bookmark in Charlottetown.

Published by Ekstasis Editions, the 80 poems invite the reader to join the writer in various states of being and an assortment of absurd, existential and otherworldly realities, with the spiritual never distant. The collection engages with the ordinary and the extraordinary spheres of being that were addressed in his previous poetry collections

In As You Continue to Wait, Steinfeld once again attempts to make sense of the way we conduct our lives, to find meaning in our not always meaningful surroundings, and in the sometimes joyous, sometimes frightening yet endlessly fascinating moments of existence and being.

Steinfeld lives in Charlottetown, PEI. Nearly 500 of his short stories and over 1000 poems have appeared in anthologies and periodicals internationally, and over 60 of his one-act plays and a handful of full-length plays have been performed in Canada and the United States.

Amateur Radio Club

New “Ham” operators on PEI

The Charlottetown Amateur Radio Club has added eight new ham radio operators to the over 300 federally licensed amateur radio operators on PEI. The successful candidates completed a 12-week course hosted by the Club and recently took their exams to qualify for licensing.

The newly licensed amateur radio operators come from a wide range of backgrounds and ages. There are five women and three men, ranging in age from 12 to 50. Their background includes information technology specialists, Red Cross staff and volunteers, a municipal officer, and a homeschooled student.

Amateur radio offers different operating methods, such as morse code, digital applications, meteor scatter, satellite operations and regular voice communication using a variety of technologies. Amateurs can talk to fellow radio operators in their local communities, on the other side of the Earth, and even in space—all without the assistance of the internet or cellular networks.

Charlottetown Amateur Radio Club President Bill McMaster says, “In an emergency when cell towers and internet are down, amateur radio offers a communication link to relay information via amateur radio operators in the field or relay between reception centres.” In addition, he adds, “Amateur radio operators have the ability to send emails via radio to anyone using a system called Winlink without having to rely on internet access.”

The Club plans to hold some hands-on workshops in 2023. Anyone interested in learning more can visit charlottetownarc.com or email contact@charlottetownarc.com.

Isn’t amateur radio just like CB radio?

Amateur radio has very little in common with CB radio. Used in the trucking industry, CB radio is restricted to one band of relatively short range. While there are no licensing requirements for CB, there are few operating privileges when compared to amateur radio. Amateur radio has dozens of bands allocated for worldwide use that enable diverse communications at all times of the day and night, and all through the year. Local amateur operators participate in on-air meetings (nets), radio sporting events, community service, long-distance contacts, and even two-way communications with astronauts on the International Space Station. Many amateurs also build their own antennas and other

equipment, and have demonstrated knowledge of electronic theory, regulations, radio wave propagation, and digital modes.

I have a cell phone. Why would I need amateur radio?

Mobile phones need significant infrastructure to work. When Fiona struck it was evident how fragile the cellular network is. Cell sites lost power, and when they went dark so did the connections between mobile phone users. The remaining towers were overwhelmed and congested. Also, cables can be cut, towers can be damaged in severe weather, the whole cellular and Internet system requires a constant supply of power. Amateur radio can function on batteries, wind, solar power and generators—enabling operators to preserve vital communications links between communities, provinces, regions, and across the country.

Is it for everyone?

Yes, amateur radio can be practiced by people of all ages and ability levels, including those with significant physical and visual impairments. The examination is multiple choice, and the entire question bank is published online by Industry Canada. Plus, there are online courses provided by the Radio Amateurs of Canada, and now there are revived in-person classes offered by the Charlottetown Amateur Radio Club.

What kind of radios can be used?

Amateurs operate with portable walkie talkies, mobile radios in vehicles, base stations at home, and in temporary locations such as parks and lighthouses during demonstrations, training and exercises. Some use simple wire antennas, while others use larger commercially-made directional beam antennas and dishes. The sky is, literally, the limit.

Fiction writer, playwright and poet J. J. Steinfeld’s twenty-fourth book

Curiosity and inquiry

UPEI faculty member co-authors new book for higher education

Dr. Stacey MacKinnon, associate professor of psychology at UPEI, and co-author Dr. Beth Archer-Kuhn, associate professor of social work, University of Calgary, have published a new book, Reigniting Curiosity and Inquiry in Higher Education: A Realist’s Guide to Getting Started

The book offers higher education instructors, at any career stage and in any discipline, a realistic guide to incorporating curiosity and inquiry-based learning (IBL) into their classrooms to promote long-term knowledge creation and retention and life-wide learning. It is based on the authors’ research and classroom experiences, such as “The Curiosity Project” at UPEI and Archer-Kuhn’s group studies at the University of Calgary.

IBL is a flexible teaching and learning approach that can be progressively adopted and developed without a specific formula, and that positions students as co-constructors of knowledge rather than passive recipients. It is student-driven, creates engagement, develops a curiosity mindset, promotes group learning that is collaborative rather than competitive, fosters metacognition, and builds confidence as students learn to deal with ambiguity and risk.

Beyond its capacity to promote independent learning, it offers a perfect foundation for preparing students for signature work and capstone courses, and it is adaptable to small and large classes.

The book can be purchased from Stylus Publishing.

Residency scholarship

Applications are now open for a unique writing and creative residency program in PEI. The Hideout Residencies welcome writers, artists, and self-care practitioners to a quiet rural setting on PEI’s south shore each spring and fall. Residencies are a week in length and allow for uninterrupted time to work on a creative project.

One full scholarship covering residency costs is available to an emerging or established writer or practitioner with financial need. Writers or wellness practitioners who identify as BIPOC or 2SLGBTQ+ are especially encouraged to apply. The scholarship deadline for 2023 is March 1. For more information about the Hideout Residencies, the application process, or the scholarship, visit thehideoutpei.com.

L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf

New initiative from the LMMI and Robertson Library

Heritage & Culture Awards

The L.M. Montgomery Institute (LMMI) and the Robertson Library at UPEI recently launched a new initiative, “The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf: Highlighting a Favourite Writer’s Favourite Reading.”

Scholars and fans have long been interested in the author’s reading habits and her zeal for collecting and sharing reading material of all kinds. Born on November 30, 1874, Montgomery was a voracious reader and writer from a young age. In her lifetime, she wrote 20 books, numerous short stories and poems, and voluminous journals. She read widely and constantly from a variety of genres.

The bookshelf project gives the Robertson Library and the LMMI an opportunity to foster increased awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of the ways in which Montgomery’s devotion to books and reading contributed to the creation of the author’s literary legacy.

Funded by a generous donation from Montgomery scholar and LMMI research associate Dr. Donna Campbell as part of the ongoing KindredSpaces collection, the project will take a digital and a physical form of a bookshelf.

Dr. Emily Woster, past Montgomery visiting scholar and co-chair of the LMMI’s 2018 conference, “L.M. Montgomery and Reading,” is curating and annotating the selection of books that will populate the digital bookshelf, which can be accessed at kindredspaces.ca/bookshelf. The project will begin with a small sample of entries, which include Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Della Lute’s The Country Kitchen, a novel with recipes published in 1936; and a book about the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that Montgomery purchased on her trip to visit her publisher in 1910.

The project will highlight books that bear Montgomery’s handwriting or other indications of her use or ownership, such as her signature or a personal note to someone she gifted with a book.

It will also focus on early editions of books similar to those read and owned by Montgomery.

The LMMI plans to acquire more books associated with Montgomery that will be added to the physical version of the project and new content will be added to the digital bookshelf in June and November each year.

Our Male Survivors Groups are a free and confidential group program, led by experienced professionals, that can assist maleidentifying individuals in their healing from adult sexual violence and/or childhood sexual abuse.

Some of the books in “The L.M. Montgomery Bookshelf: Highlighting a Favourite Writer’s Favourite Reading”

PEI Autistic Adults

PEI Autistic Adults is an online and in person peer-support group for autistic adults/seniors on PEI to talk about autism, share experiences of navigating PEI as autistic adults, and support each other. Their website has a public blog where members can share their views, a private discussion forum, private chat functionality, and links to their social media. There are weekly meetings via Zoom and plans to expand once the group is larger. PEI Autistic Adults was started by an autistic senior and currently has 65 members ranging from students to seniors. PEI Autistic Adults is not affiliated with any organization. For those who would like to participate in the meetings but do not wish to interact online, email peiautisticadults@gmail. com. For more info, visit peiautisticadults.com.

ADHD PEI public meeting

ADHD PEI will present their first Annual Public Meeting on Feb 1 from 6–7:30 pm at the Charlottetown Library Learning Centre (Rotary Auditorium A). A presentation by the Board will review the organization’s accomplishments so far, recent changes within the organization, and their future plans. There will be an opportunity for questions and feedback. The presentation will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. Free to attend and all are welcome. Learn more about ADHD PEI and what they do, celebrate their achievements and growth over the last four years, and meet and catch up with like-minded people. Info: adhdpei.ca, contact@adhdpei.ca

Breast cancer support

The PEI Breast Cancer Support Group is a survivor driven group that provides group support, a voice of solidarity for PEI breast cancer survivors, education, one on one support, and advocacy. Regular meetings are held on the first Monday of each month. Email charlottetownbreastcancersg@gmail.com or call Judy at 569-3496 to attend. The group has received financial support from the Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN). CBCN’s patient-friendly website publication for those newly diagnosed will help increase understanding of diagnosis, treatment options and what to expect. Other resources include an Intimacy Workshop, Surgery guide, financial navigator, MedSearch, handbooks, and more. Hard copies can be ordered by email to cbcn@cbcn.ca or call 1-800-685-8820. Info: Judy (569-3496), Teri (218-1621), charlottetownbreastcancersg@ gmail.com, 1-800-685-8820

Prostrate cancer support

The Prostate Cancer Support Group will resume their meetings starting Jan 17 at 7 pm. The meetings include interesting speakers, discussions and information-sharing. Anyone newly diagnosed with prostate cancer or living with prostate cancer are welcome to attend. Family members, partners and friends are welcome. The meeting will be held at 51 Warburton Dr, Charlottetown. Contact Ron Profit at 892-2896 for more info.

COMMUNITY

The next Happy courses

The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) Happy Course covers the topic of self-compassion and will be held weekly from 6–8 pm on Wednesdays, from Jan 11–Feb 1, in Summerside and Charlottetown. This course offers essential tools for people to treat themselves in a kind and compassionate way whenever facing difficult life challenges. The module explores topics of common humanity, self-acceptance, self-kindness, self-forgiveness, and self-appreciation. It is for those who find that they are harsh at themselves quite often. The Summerside classes will be held at Three Oaks Senior High and in Charlottetown the location will be Colonel Gray High School. For more info on how to register, check the GEBIS Charlottetown Facebook page or email happycourse@gebis.org. In order to create a relaxed atmosphere for learning, seating is limited to 30 participants. GEBIS Charlottetown is a volunteer, not for profit organization aimed at promoting mental and physical well-being within their communities.

Trade HERizons 2023

The Women’s Network PEI’s Trade HERizons program begins again in Jan. Trade HERizons is a career exploration and college preparation program for women and gender-diverse people with a focus on exposure to trades and technology careers, enhancing essential skills, career exploration and personal development. Participants experience hands on learning opportunities with Holland College, meet mentors and tour with employers in industry. Participants also enhance life skills and focus on labor market research, resumes, interview skills, math, and team building. The program runs Jan 16–Apr 7. Info: admin@ wnpei.org, 368-5040, wnpei.org

Places in Charlottetown preferred, but hosts in other communities can also submit. Providing accommodations for incoming artists is vital to the success of The Charlottetown Festival, and hosts will receive a few perks. Confederation Centre asks the community to share this call with friends, family and co-workers to help spread the word. For more details or to submit an accommodation, contact Rosie Shaw atrshaw@confederationcentre.comor 388-0211.

Flood protection rebate

Homeowners can now apply for a rebate on home improvements that help reduce flooding risks. The City of Charlottetown has launched a new rebate program that helps Charlottetown residents protect their homes against damage in the event of flooding. The Flood Protection Rebate Program provides Charlottetown homeowners with a one-time payment of up to $1000 for the installation of flood protection devices such as sump pumps, including their back-up battery systems, water detectors and alarms, and backwater valves. Rebate applications will be reviewed and approved on a first-come, first-served basis up to April 30 or until the program’s funding is exhausted. Info: charlottetown.ca/flood_rebate

Island Stroke Support Network

Awards include: Heritage Activities; Arts/Culture Activities; Publication of the Year; Volunteer of the Year; Youth Volunteer of the Year; and Award of Honour. Nomination forms are available at online at culturesummerside.com, in person at MacNaught History Centre and Archives, 75 Spring St, Summerside, or by calling 432-1298. Nominations close Jan 27 at 4 pm. The Awards will be presented at the Mayor’s Heritage Tea during Heritage Week in Feb.

New home heating program

A new pilot program will help Island homeowners upgrade their current heating system to a cleaner, more efficient system, while reducing the carbon footprint. The Residential Home Heating Program will allow homeowners to borrow funds for costs associated with the purchase and installation of equipment that is eligible for the Energy Efficiency Equipment Rebates at efficiencyPEI, including ENERGY STAR® certified heating. Finance PEI will provide financing to a maximum of $30,000 per residential property for these upgrades over a 10-year period, with the Dept of Environment, Energy and Climate Action reimbursing Finance PEI for the interest portion of the loans on behalf of homeowners. This will result in zero per cent interest to the borrower. Info: princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/ residential-home-heating-loan-program

Electric scooter regulations

Confederation

Centre seeks summer housing

Confederation Centre of the Arts is currently seeking housing for artists performing in The 2023 Charlottetown Festival. PEI’s housing crunch makes it challenging to find accommodations, and the Centre relies on the support of the community to welcome top-tier talent to the Island. The Centre assists seasonal artists with their housing search by assembling a list of options from the community. Artists will then connect with a host directly to book, arrange payment, coordinate details, etc. There are almost 30 artists coming to the Island this summer who need accommodations between mid-May to the end of Sept.

The dates and lengths of their stays vary; most artists will stay for the whole summer, but others only stay for 2–4 weeks. Hosts with any availability within that window are encouraged to reach out. All types of accommodations are welcome, including houses, condos, apartments, secondary suites, spare bedrooms, etc.

The Island Stroke Support Network (ISSN) launched by March of Dimes Canada will enable stroke survivors and their caregivers to make meaningful connections through one-to-one peer support, stroke support clubs, and technology training. ISSN connects stroke survivors and their caregivers with highly trained, caring volunteers who are also stroke survivors, for one-on-one virtual support. Volunteers will share their lived experiences with stroke to bring hope and information to participants as they navigate their personalized stroke recovery plan. Additionally, Stroke Support Clubs held at select public libraries will allow stroke survivors and their caregivers to share their experiences and practical advice with one another. Each year, about 350 people will have a stroke in PEI. Peer support programs such as the ISSN are an important resource for fostering social connection and emotional support, and empowering people to rebuild their lives and achieve their goals after stroke. For info, call the Stroke Support Line at 1-888-540-6666 or email afterstroke@marchofdimes.ca.

Heritage & Culture Award nominations open

The City of Summerside’s Heritage & Culture Award nominations are open. The Awards are given annually in recognition of individual and group contributions to the preservation, education or promotion of heritage or culture in the City of Summerside.

New regulations will support the safe operation of electric kick scooters on municipal roadways and active transportation pathways in PEI. Regulatory changes to the Highway Traffic Act and Trails Act set the minimum age, maximum speed and other requirements for the use of electric kick scooters in the province. The regulations took effect on Nov 26. With the new regulations in place it means an e-scooter cannot have a power output that exceeds 500 watts, must operate at a maximum permitted speed no greater than 24 km/h and must be equipped with a bell and/or horn and lights. The operator must be a minimum age of 16 and wear a helmet. The e-scooter is not allowed on sidewalks, the Confederation Trail or highways where the maximum posted speed limit exceeds 60 km/h.

Bridge course

Ray Malone is offering an eight-week bridge course, Planning the Play of the Bridge Hand, in Charlottetown this winter starting Jan 12 at the Benevolent Irish Society. The curriculum is based on the work of Barbara Seagram and David Bird, two internationally famous bridge teachers and authors. Topics include: other types of finesse; planning your entries; planning to draw some trump but not all; planning to keep the danger hand off lead; planning to combine two chances; planning further hold-up plays; and plans that involve counting. The course fee will be on a sliding scale depending on the number of tables. The target group for this course is intermediate players. Info/register: ray.teaches. bridge@gmail.com, 368-8416.

Order of Canada

Kathy and Kevin Murphy invested by Governor General

Islanders Kathy Murphy, C.M. and Kevin Murphy, C.M., were recently invested into the Order of Canada by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada, on December 14 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

The Charlottetown business leaders and entrepreneurs have transformed their network of family run restaurants, boutique hotels and a brewery into popular destinations. They are

King’s Counsel appointments

The tradition of King’s Counsel, formally known as Queen’s Counsel, dates back to the 16th century when one or two barristers of the English High Court would be selected to provide legal counsel to the Crown. This annual tradition has continued for 425 years

prominent heritage developers who are devoted to preserving the Island’s historic culture.

The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours. Appointments are made for sustained achievement at three levels: Companion, Officer and Member. Officers and Members may be elevated within the Order in recognition of further achievements, based on continued exceptional service to Canada.

across many Commonwealth countries to recognize exemplary lawyers for their contributions to the field of law, leadership, professionalism, as well as their public and social contributions to improve the lives of all residents.

This year’s highest honour in the legal profession has been awarded to Islanders Andrew D. Campbell, Kevin J. Kiley and Perlene J. Morrison.

The Honourable Antoinette Perry, Lieutenant Governor of PEI will host the 2022 King’s Counsel recipients in a formal ceremony in the new year.

Kevin (left) and Kathy (right) Murphy with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada

SGT MATTHIEU ST-AMOUR, RIDEAU HALL ©OSGG, 2022

Naturalist video digitized

Journal of Geo Hogan (1953–1992) now available online

The video “Like the Back of My Hand: Journal of a Prince Edward Island Naturalist Geoff Hogan (1953-1992)” has been digitized and is now available for free screening on the Institute of Island Studies’ YouTube channel (youtube.com/ watch?v=TZHDswMuC7Q).

Geoffrey Hogan was a well-respected naturalist and authority on PEI’s vegetation and wildlife, who resided in Springvale, PEI, until his untimely death in 1992. His popular courses and nature tours, and his book Familiar Birds of Prince Edward Island, have influenced many people. Hogan had nurtured his property in Springvale into a gardener’s paradise which attracted birds and wildlife all year round. He had a profound awe for the natural beauty of the Island, and in his journals, he wrote about what he saw out his kitchen window: how one season flowed into the other, how the

Native wetland recovery project

A recent project, funded by the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund, worked to strengthen PEI’s response to Yellow Flag Iris, Iris pseudacorus, a serious invader of fresh and saltwater wetlands.

Yellow Flag Iris is a plant admired by many gardeners on PEI for its beauty, however, it is prone to escape and upon entering a waterway it quickly takes over and pushes out valuable native plant life. Its dense root system collects sediment and forms a new hardened bank edge that has been reported to encroach as much as 10 inches per year into a waterway.

birds, animals and plants shared this special place he called home, especially his garden which he said he knew “like the back of my hand.”

The Institute of Island Studies at UPEI developed this video in 1994 from the journals and photos of Hogan. For lovers of nature and particularly gardeners, it will help illustrate the perennial passion that Islanders maintain for their landscapes, seascapes, farmland, woodland, and flora and fauna. The video is 26 minutes long and was created with the help of Harry Baglole and Laurie Brinklow (executive producers), Deirdre Kessler (journal editor/script writer), Rob MacLean (narrator), Henry Dunsmore and Jay McPhail (videography), and York Point Productions (post-production). Hogan’s sister Carol Ann Corner gave permission for it to be digitized and made available to the public.

Established populations reduce wildlife habitat and dry up wetlands, reducing the ability to mitigate flood events. As a coastal island, PEI residents have been subject to an increase in extreme weather events influenced by climate change. It is important now more than ever to preserve wetland functions, further strengthening ecosystems and promoting resilience.

This project introduced a new management technique to PEI, known as benthic matting. A benthic mat is a tarp that is placed on a wetland bottom to control aquatic weeds. It smothers invasive plants, preventing photosynthesis and limiting respiration.

Hurricane Fiona ripped through the province in late September, and when the dust settled the PEI Invasive Species Council performed site visits to see how the benthic mat held together. They were pleased to find it remained together rather well considering its exposure, as it was installed in a seasonally flooded wetland (dry this time of year) along a roadside. In total, about one third of the rebar pulled out of place from the mat, snapping the numerous zip ties holding them in place. A day was spent at the site resecuring the mats and the Council will remove them next June to evaluate their full impact. They are hopeful the site can be recolonized with native cattails and Blue Flag Iris, Iris versicolor, a native alternative to Yellow Flag Iris.

Submitted by Kassidy Matheson, Technician, PEI Invasive Species Council (peiinvasives@gmail.com)

Odd organisms

When I began learning about nature, it was trees and wild owers that captured my attention. Trees were majestic, providing homes for many species of wildlife. Wild owers seemed like artwork scattered through the woodlands. Then I realized how interesting shrubs are, and what about those gorgeous ferns? The learning curve seemed endless, as well as fascinating.

Lichens were way down on my list, until I started associating them with wildlife. Then I started paying more attention to these interesting organisms.

Lichens are certainly oddities, being neither plant nor animal. They are composites, made up of a fungus (which cannot photosynthesize) and one or more organisms that are able to photosynthesize, such as algae or certain types of bacteria. Having no chlorophyll, fungi cannot photosynthesize. Algae and cyanobacteria, photosynthesize quite well.

This partnership—seemingly a truly symbiotic relationship where both partners benefit—results in something completely different, containing properties of each. Some biologists have theorized that the fungi have actually captured the algae or cyanobacteria, in a way forcing it to photosynthesize for them. Around lichens, there seems to be more theories than answers. In any case, the partnership can survive a far wider range of environmental conditions than the individuals alone.

In any identification, it is best to start with some distinct species and then expand your knowledge base. It is also useful to group things together. There are three categories of lichens—foliose, fruticose, and crustose. Foliose lichens are leafy and generally large, with a distinct upper and lower surface. Fruticose lichens are often rounded in cross-section, with no distinct upper or lower surface. Crustose lichens are crusty, and are closely attached to the rock, bark, or whatever they are growing on.

Three lichens captured my attention early and remain my favourites. Old Man’s Beard—a fruticose lichen—is the long, stringy, pale green lichen that you find mainly growing on spruce trees. We always fashioned them into

“beards” when schools came out to Macphail Woods. But it was its usage as nesting sites by Northern Parula Warblers that got me hooked. I was looking for the nesting site of a pair of these warblers when I saw the female climb into a hanging clump of Old Man’s Beard and proceed to shape the clump into her nest.

Another that I come across quite often is the foliose Lung Lichen. There are several varieties native to PEI. It is quite common on Red Maple trees, looking leafy and green. The name Lung Lichen comes from the Greek tradition of associating the medicinal uses of an organism with the part of the body it resembles. I don’t believe that Lung Lichen was actually a cure for any lung-related problems, but the name persists.

The third common lichen that I find very interesting is another one that is easy to find and has a very descriptive name. British Soldier Lichen can be found growing across the province, in a wide variety of habitats—anything from old fenceposts and wooden shingles to dead wood and rocks. It is another fruticose lichen, usually pale grey with red “hats”, hence the reference to British soldiers.

Because lichens tend to be dry and sterile, they can be found in the nests of many birds. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird makes its nest out of spiderwebs and tube lichens—small, grey lichens that are very common across the province.

Lichens are critical parts of our ecology. Just because we don’t notice them much, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t deserving of our attention.

Nature PEI meeting

Nature PEI’s next monthly meeting will be held Jan 3 at 7:30 pm. Naturalist Dwaine Oakley will present “Rare Birds on a Flight Path to PEI,” taking attendees through the past decade when rare birds strayed to PEI in increasing numbers and some, like the Carolina Wren, even began breeding here. In addition to being an instructor in the Wildlife Conservation Technology program at Holland College, Oakley co-presents a summer ornithology course at UPEI. He served as President of Nature PEI from 2004–2007 and continues to be an active member of the organization, participating in Christmas Bird counts and leading occasional outings to introduce others to his favourite animals, the birds.The meeting and presentation will take place at Beaconsfield Carriage House, 2 Kent St, Charlottetown. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Towards Energy Sovereignty

Dr. Nick Mercer will present “Towards Energy Sovereignty on Labrador’s Remote Island of Ponds” on Jan 24 at 7 pm in UPEI’s Faculty Lounge in SDU Main Building. Newfoundland and Labrador is a global leader in the development of renewable energy. However, the electricity-generation mix differs dramatically in remote and Indigenous communities throughout the province, which remain almost exclusively reliant on diesel fuel, resulting in numerous energy inequities. While sustainable energies are often promoted for these isolated villages, emerging research demonstrates detrimental socio-economic and livelihood implications which emerge when development is led by outsiders or corporate interests. The presentation will focus on an eight-plus year community-based research partnership between Dr. Mercer and the NunatuKavut Inuit community of Black Tickle, located on the subarctic tundra Island of Ponds, in southern Labrador. The research focuses on identifying and addressing community needs, integrating local knowledge and sustainability values, and mobilizing community-led initiatives to enhance island energy resilience. Dr. Mercer is a recently appointed professor within UPEI’s Master of Island Studies and Environmental Studies programs. He held a SSHRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship within Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies and has a long research relationship with remote and island communities. He serves as one of eight appointees to the Government of NL’s Net Zero Advisory Committee and is a vocal advocate for community-led clean energy policy and practice.

DANIEL MCRAE

The Nature of PEI by Gary Schneider

Smooth Lung Lichen

Oak Tree Singers are re-engaging

Director, accompanist and new members wanted

With the gathering restrictions through the pandemic and the retirement of both the director and accompanist, the Oak Tree Singers are eager, revitalized and ready to re-engage musically and joyfully. Seniors themselves, the Oak Tree Singers’ primary goal is to entertain and engage their peers who live in seniors’ homes and whose opportunity for musical entertainment and participation is limited. The Choir is currently seeking a director, accompanist, and new members.

Originating in 1995, the Oak Tree Singers was the initiative of Marian Richards, in partnership with the Seniors Active Living Centre (SALC), then located in The Oak Tree Plaza (now the home of Value Village and other retail stores).

SALC has provided a home base and practice venue for the Choir along with supporting an extensive on-site music library. Active membership in SALC also provides opportunities for Choir members to take part in a large range of activities and opportunities offered by SALC. Now located at the Bell Aliant Centre on the UPEI campus,

SALC is uniquely positioned to support parking opportunities for active members at minimal cost. Practices are weekly on Fridays from 10–11:15 am, September to June inclusive.

The Oak Tree Singers’ appreciation for the leadership, dedication, and the commitment of directors and accompanists over the years cannot be overstated.

“Marian Richards, founder, Janet Gomersal and Coleen Mumford come immediately to mind,” shares choir member Paula Gauthier. “It takes very special skills to bring people with far ranging abilities together to form the tapestry that is The Oak Tree Singers. Marian must have been before her time in the practical application of the concept of inclusion. [She] had a very keen ear and a very firm belief in the voluntary nature of membership and leadership participation in the Choir.”

Coming together earlier in the fall, members arrived at a consensus on establishing a semi-formal structure whereby Choir members, in pairs, committees and/or in cooperation with director and other partners would seek to share managerial responsibilities thereby including, but not limited to, minimizing demands on a director and to support the Choir through future like-situations.

For details about their selection process, gauthierpaula@hotmail.com or call 892-6779.

Mahler’s Musings

PEI Symphony Orchestra’s 2nd concert of the season

second concert of their 2022–23 season, on January 22 at Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown.

This year marks the Orchestra’s 55th concert season since forming in 1967, as well as their 10th and final season with Music Director and Conductor Mark Shapiro.

The programme includes Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (reduction by Yoon Jae Lee), paired with the lighthearted and colourful Baby-Serenade for Orchestra op. 24 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold—one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history.

Ticket buyers are encouraged to take advantage of season subscriptions, which grant access to the lowest price for the remaining three PEI Symphony’s concerts this season. Single tickets and subscriptions can be purchased online at confederationcentre.com or by phone at 566-1267. peisymphony.com

Invitation to Dance

The UPEI Department of Music will present a recital by Christine Carter and Duo Concertante at Dr. Steel Recital Hall on January 14 at 7:30 pm.

The recital, entitled “Invitation to Dance,” features trios written for clarinet, violin and piano by Gian Carlo Menotti and Aram Khachaturian. Additional composers featured on the program include Srul Irving Glick and Igor Stravinsky.

Christine Carter and Duo Concertante (Nancy Dahn and Tim Steeves) are a clarinet, violin and piano ensemble formed in 2015. Their performances are marked by sensitivity, passion and refinement.

Their new CD release, Invitation, with works by Cardy, Poulenc, Khachaturian and Milhaud on Marquis Classics, is heard nationally on CBC radio and has been praised by the WholeNote for its “tasteful style, courteous and elegant musicianship, and technical ease…”

The album was nominated for the ECMA 2020 Classical Recording of the Year, an award the ensemble received in 2019 for their Christmas album, Perfect Light. Highly sought-after performers throughout Canada and beyond, Carter, Dahn and Steeves are also educators on faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland who love to share their joy of music-making with audiences of all ages, be it in concert

halls, community centres or schools. Admission is cash only at the door. Accessible parking is available, and Dr. Steel Recital Hall, located on the UPEI campus in Charlottetown, has an accessible entrance via elevator.

Victorian Christmas house tours will take place January 7 from 10 am–4 pm as a fundraiser for Orwell Corner Historic Village. Four house tours will be held: two at Orwell Corner Historic Village, one in Charlottetown and one in Vernon Bridge. Call Jim Culbert at 628-7701 for info and addresses.

All proceeds will go to the nonprofit group, Orwell Corner Board of Directors, and will be used for programming enhancement at Orwell Corner and restoration work at the Stanley-Lindsay House, Orwell Corner. Storm date is Jan 8.

Christine Carter and Duo Concertante SUBMITTED

Christine Carter and Duo Concertante recital at UPEI

The PEI Symphony Orchestra (PEISO) will present Mahler’s Musings, the

Maestro Mark Shapiro DARRELL THERIAULT

Orwell Corner fundraiser

Winterval

New winter festival coming to Three Rivers

The community of Three Rivers has announced the inaugural Winterval, a new winter festival taking place January 20–22.

Winterval will feature a variety of free events for the whole family, including a snow zone, sledding, skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and a party zone with a variety of inflatables for kids to enjoy. There will also be pool parties, sleigh rides, children’s entertainment at Kings Playhouse, and live music and kitchen parties at local breweries.

For those looking to make a weekend out of it, Rodd Brudenell Resort is offering two-night packages with

extra features for kids and a hot buffet breakfast hosted by musician Michael Pendergast. Departure day features a “Dress as Your Favourite Character” breakfast, and hotel guests will have exclusive access to the Winterval pool parties and movie night.

A number of activities are happening at the Resort that are free for both hotel guests and the public. These include the Here We Go Barndance on Friday, Winterval party zone during designated hours and the Winterval snow zone, which is open all weekend. These events offer a great opportunity for the community to experience some unique winter activities.

The community of Three Rivers has been in need of a winter event, and organizers are thrilled to bring Winterval to life. With something for everyone, they invite the community and beyond to join them in celebrating the winter season.

threeriversfestivals.com

IllumiNATION Festival

Canada Games celebrates PEI and Canadian arts and culture

The 2023 Canada Winter Games Host Society recently launched its Gamestime festival, IllumiNATION, a 14-day celebration of PEI and Canadian arts and culture.

The Seaport, located at Port Charlottetown, is the site of IllumiNATION’s mainstage concert series that will showcase a 100 per cent Canadian artist line-up featuring headliners The Beaches, The Trews, Classified, Tom Jackson, and more.

From February 19–March 4, the province will be aglow with music, culinary delights, visual art and interactive exhibits shining a light on the diverse and thriving arts scene and cultures in PEI and Canada. Celebrations will take place across the Island with every event open to the public and free to attend.

There will be something for everyone at Port Charlottetown on the waterfront from February 19–March 4. The Festival Hub will feature actionpacked winter fun with family-friendly winter activities, including an outdoor skating rink and food pavilion at Founders’ Food Hall & Market, art installations, light displays, and partner activations complete with sugar shacks, food demos, warm-up stations and ice sculptures.

The Mainstage Concert Series on the Seaport Stage at Port Charlottetown will feature artists from across the country, including JUNO, CCMA and ECMA award winners Tom Jackson on February 20, The Beaches on February 23, The Trews on February 25, Classified on March 3, with more

New chamber orchestra

By Luminos Ensemble

Luminos Ensemble, PEI’s professional choir, recenly announced the upcoming launch of a professional orchestra this spring.

The Luminos Chamber Orchestra will support choral performances with Luminos Ensemble and Island Choral Society, and will also present several independent orchestra-only programs each year.

“This is a logical next step in the development of Luminos Ensemble,” says Dr. Margot Rejskind, artistic director and conductor. “It will allow us to present larger-scale projects, and really give us opportunities to do things that we can’t pull together right now on PEI.”

Like Luminos Ensemble, Luminos Chamber Orchestra will be fully professional, with all musicians paid for rehearsal and performance.

The Luminos Chamber Orchestra will perform Mozart’s Requiem with Island Choral Society in April, and present an inaugural concert of their own in late spring.

artists to be announced.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada Community Program at Port Charlottetown will feature daily programming to showcase PEI musicians and entertainers.

Two festival evenings will be held at Credit Union Place in Summerside. Enjoy live music, activations, giveaways and more at the Summerside Concert Stage on February 25 and March 4 with headliners tba.

In partnership with Music PEI and this town is small, an intimate concert series showcasing local and provincial talent will take place in rural theatres and venues across PEI, including Kensington, Alberton, Borden-Carleton, Evangeline Region, Cornwall, Stratford, Hunter River, Morell, Three Rivers, Georgetown, Souris, and St.Peters.

Full line-up and programming details will be confirmed this month. Visit 2023canadagames.ca/festival for ongoing updates.

NDP International Women’s Day

The NDP Women’s Committee will celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8 with supper, socializing and entertainment at the Haviland Club in Charlottetown at 5 pm. To perform, call or text 330-2248.

Blind auditions for all instrument sections will be held in early 2023. Interested instrumentalists can visit luminosensemble.com for details.

Kings County Music Festival

Planning is underway for the 2023 Kings County Music Festival scheduled to take place May 1–5.

Young musicians who enjoy performing are encouraged to consider entering the Festival, which is one of the four local divisions of the PEI Kiwanis Music Festival Association whose purpose is to promote and encourage growth in music through local festivals in competitive and noncompetitive classes. Competitors may be recommended to the provincial music festival by adjudicators at the local festivals.

This year, the Festival is returning to an in-person event. Classes are offered in piano, voice, instrumental and choral (school and community) for all levels, beginner to advanced. Guidelines, a list of classes and online entry forms are available online at peikiwanismusicfestival.ca/kings.

The entry deadline is February 15. Questions can be directed to Lynda Sharp (651-2560, flynda240@ gmail.com) or Anne White (838-2681, dawhite@pei.sympatico.ca).

NEW RECORDINGS ALBUMS

RIF Pack III C. Ruth

SINGLES news MUSIC PEI

“Drowning” Hit the Coast

“Drowning” is the debut single from Charlottetown alt-rock band, Hit the Coast, released on all platforms on December 23.

“Drowning” is about the struggle to keep our heads above water while the heavy things in life try to hold us down. These struggles often pull us away from the people we love. In the end it’s important to stick together and pull each other up.

Music PEI export initiatives

Nigerian born hip hop and Afrobeats artist C. Ruth released his fourth EP distributed by Distrokid on December 12. RIF Pack III (Ruth’s Immigration Funds Pack III) is available on streaming platforms worldwide.

RIF Pack III contains four tracks and the overall mood is meditative and reflective. On “Manifest,” C. Ruth, with the help of Andrew MacIsaac on guitar, flexes his gratitude muscle through carefully selected lyrics. “Trip Overseas” takes a reflective and imaginative turn of what it would be like to travel out of PEI, overseas to ease some nerves. With the help of local hip hop artist and producer Kay Em, C. Ruth experiments with his vocals on “Over kill,” expressing his sincere appreciation for the nuclear family he was born into. “Beg to Differ” gets more personal as he uses more metaphors to express his current position and what has been going on lately in his life as an artist.

”I have been having conversations with myself and with creative colleagues about diving deeper to express sincerely my art through my lyrics,” shares C. Ruth. “So I spent more time on the word choices on this EP, making sure every lyrical line and cadence was delivered with intent.”

Dr. Zoo 20 Dr. Zoo

Three-time ECMA nominee, Dr. Zoo, released their sixth album, Dr. Zoo 20, to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

Dr. Zoo 20 was recorded in South Africa and features the South African Singers Choir, Johnny Clegg, and drummer Barry Van Zyl. It was produced by Brian O’Shea, one of South Africa’s leading producers with over

150 chart topping albums. The album explores themes of multiculturalism and embracing our differences and coming together to create positive world change.

Since 2003, Dr. Zoo has released six CDs and gained multiple award nominations, including ECMAs, Music NL Awards, and CMW Canadian Songwriter of the Year.

Dr. Zoo is frontman PEI/ Newfoundland songwriter Randal Arsenault and a multicultural band of Africans, Francophones and allaround eccentrics. Randal has spent 20 years travelling and working in Africa and is Assistant Professor with the UPEI School of Climate Change and Adaptation.

Not That Far Steeve Zaat

The band self-produced the single, which was then mixed by Colin Buchanan and mastered by Kristian Montano. Jon Matthews engineered the drums which were played by Mat MacEachern. The single artwork is by Connor Bowlan.

Formed in 2021, Hit the Coast consists of Curtis Klein, Bruce Rooney, and Evan McCosham. Pulling from sounds of rock past, the group explores new ways of innovating the genre.

“Swallowed by the Sea” “Brisons le silence”

Common Cross

In honour of Acadian Remembrance Day on December 13, Common Cross released two songs, one in English, “Swallowed by the Sea,” and the French version, “Brisons le silence.” Both are available on all streaming platforms.

The songs tell the story of the Acadian deportation, explains Common Cross, “more specifically, the sinking of the Duke Williams, the Violet and the Ruby. These events represent the biggest loss of life during the entire deportation and many people are not aware of what occurred during this terrible tragedy.” The goal of the project is to have the story be heard by those who do not already know about it, hence the English version.

This autumn Music PEI had artists attending three music conferences. In September, Music PEI partnered with CIMA to present Andrew Waite at Reeperbahn Festival in Germany. In October Music PEI presented a sponsored stage at Folk Music Ontario in London, Ontario with Alicia Toner, Scott MacKay and Andrew Waite. Music PEI returned to M for Montreal in November presenting the Music PEI Brunch Club Showcase with Noah Malcolm, Nadia, Pearly Gates, and The Burning Hell. Upcoming partnered showcases start in January with Americana UK in London, England with Tara MacLean, Lawrence Maxwell, Shane Pendergast, Catherine MacLellan, Dylan Menzie and Andrew Waite. Music PEI returns to Folk Alliance International in Kansas City in early February, partnering with ECMA and the Atlantic MIAs. PEI will present Shane Pendergast, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys, and Alicia Toner.

Music PEI’s Black Artist Mentorship Program

New this year at Music PEI is the Black Artist Mentorship Program (BAM!). Music PEI has enlisted Katrina Lopes of KL Management to mentor up to three participants through learning the music business. Lopes will also mentor three Diverse Voices participants, a program designed to assist artists from the BIPOC and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to record and release a single. Participants also receive a music video courtesy of their partner, FilmPEI.

Takin’ Care of Business and Golden Ticket Programs

Singer/songwriter Steve Zaat has recently released his new album Not That Far

The skillfully crafted songs and provoking lyrics on Zaat’s latestrelease touch on topics such as bereavement and mental health with encouragement and positivity. “Love Aint Done With You Yet” is for those dusting themselves off after a separation, while the moving “That’s Me” was written for a couple experiencing the loss of a child.

With some great players involved this eclectic album is also lots of fun.

There will be an album launch at Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown on January 11.

As an Acadian from Clare, NovaScotia, now living in Summerside, PEI, Common Cross says, “I’ve always found it hard to identify with traditional Acadian music. I’ve never liked the traditional style of music, so I decided to create my own version. These songs are in the hard rock genre.”

Recorded at the REC Room and Studio dimanche by Michel Gagnon and Brent Chaisson, the songs were mixed and mastered by Chaisson at Studio dimanche.

The project also included the release of two accompanying videos, both available on Common Cross’ YouTube channel. Video production was done by On y va! Média.

Music PEI’s Takin’ Care of Business Program and the Golden Ticket Program has launched with new mentors. Takin’ Care of Business is being Mathias Kom, a member of the band, The Burning Hell. Kom has years of experience and teaching in the music industry and will be covering music industry best business practices. Colin Buchanan, recording engineer and member of the band Paper Lions, replaces John MacPhee as the new mentor for the Golden Ticket Program. Buchanan will mentor participants through the process of recording and releasing a single on all platforms. MacPhee helped Music PEI create and run both Takin’ Care of Business and the Golden Ticket programs for the past few years.

Music PEI Week

Music PEI is hosting the 22nd annual Music PEI Awards and Music PEI Week from March 8–12. The annual event will feature seven nominee concerts, including the Festival Finale. The Awards will be handed out March 12 at the Music PEI Awards Party. See the Music PEI ad on page two of this issue for more details and a list of nominees.

Simple gifts

Winterjazz at The Pourhouse

With special guests Don Ross and Brooke Miller

Now in its 15th season, Winterjazz returns to The Pourhouse in Charlottetown on January 14 from 7–9:30 pm with special guests Don Ross and Brooke Miller.

World-renowned fingerstyle guitarist Don Ross is one of today’s true innovators of guitar composition and technique.

As an added bonus, singer, songwriter and guitarist Brooke Miller will perform a few of her songs as well.

We were singing our way through “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and the words “partridge in a pear tree” put me in mind of a short lm called The Gift in which a girl is given a pear. She holds it in her hands and smells it lovingly, places it gently in the window, admires it. Moves it to another location, smiles at it. Carries out some small activity, goes back and looks at her pear. Sets it in a dish… That was the whole plot. I don’t remember how it ended but its beauty stayed with me.

I think of that film these days when fruit is a valuable commodity, when we buy a single grapefruit instead of a bag full. Keep that grapefruit a little longer. Admire its texture, its weight, its color. Put it in a bowl to be admired. Eat it in small portions. Treat it as a gift.

A Mandarin orange was a childhood gift. The box of fruit was rationed— perhaps two or three oranges per child over the holiday season—but I could make an orange last for hours by carefully taking each section apart and sucking the juice out of the tiny individual follicles. Such intense pleasure.

Recent gifts: Fresh lobster rolls after the final night of the Living Nativity; singing Christmas Carols with friends around a bonfire on a cold winter’s night that was so deep; having a friend recover from a heart attack; opening the bottle of Glenlivet (a summer visitor’s gift) and savouring the first sip; walking to the Cove and realizing that I’m seeing beauty again and not just dwelling on the sorrow of fallen trees.

Speaking of trees, an early Christmas gift on our bookshelf, The Longbow, the Schooner and the Violin by Marq de Villiers, states that “A decent-sized tree can have more than forty kilometres of roots with as many as five million root tips, and many more root hairs…” Mind-boggling. Who counted all those

root tips? Just think of how many kilometres of roots on the Island are now standing vertically! We do love books that set our minds a-tingling.

We turn the page on another year, moving past storms and broken dreams, past Black Fridays and last-minute shopping, past the Solstice, Christmas and Hanukkah, past parties, feasts, decorations and lights… meanwhile down at the Cove, at the edge of the great sea, perhaps at the end of the world, shore life carries on unperturbed. Seagulls circle and cry, tiny worms burrow into the sand and send up squiggly trailings, periwinkles slither to and fro in search of food and adventure, possibly even love.

Below the capes we seat ourselves on 300 million-year-old slabs of sandstone and contemplate the wonder of it all. “More coffee?” my friend asks. She reaches in her bag and pulls out a rosy golden pear. “Would anyone like a slice of this gorgeous pear?” The pear is certainly perfect, but a pear is meant to be eaten, so…

May there be many gift pears in your life. Happy New Year!

Anchoring the Winterjazz concert series for the past 15 seasons is the house band, featuring Alan Dowling, Ian Toms, Glen Strickey and Deryl Gallant.

A portion of the profits from

admission go toward a scholarship for Island students who are entering a jazz program. These shows often sell out, to reserve a table, call 892-5200.

SoPa Winter Concert Series

Holland College Music Program students perform

Second year students from Holland College’s School of Performing Arts’ (SoPA) Music Performance program are looking forward to their upcoming Winter Concert Series at Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown. The series gives each student the opportunity to perform original pieces and their personal favourites.

Program Manager Liam Corcoran says the Winter Concert Series gives the students valuable experience, not only when they are on the stage but also leading up to the performance: “Unlike the ensemble showcases, where a group of students under the direction of an instructor work on pieces, students preparing for the Winter Showcase Series are responsible for every aspect of their performance,

from the content to interpretation.”

The first concert, on January 20 at 7 pm, will feature second-year vocalists Brenna Clapp and Hayden Lysecki. Each student will perform for 20 minutes either as solo acts or with a backing band. The second and third concerts will take place February 17 and March 17.

More details to be announced. Admission to all three concerts is free of charge.

DEADLINE

Monday, January 16

Don Ross and Brooke Miller

Hayden Lysecki (left) and Brenna Clapp will perform in the January 20th show

SUBMITTED

MUSIC ONGOING

ceilidhs, dances, sessions…

Assumption Parish Ceilidh

A ceilidh takes place every third Sunday of the month from 2-4 pm at Assumption Parish Hall in Stratford. A 50/50 draw, tea and light refreshments are included with admission. Proceeds go to Our Lady of the Assumption Parish. Hosted by Assumption Knights of Columbus and Assumption Catholic Women’s League. 145 Stratford Road, Stratford.

Blues Jam at Baba’s Plain Dirty Blues band plays at Baba’s Lounge on the last Saturday of each month (Jan 28) from 5:30–8 pm. Admission is by donation. Follow Plain Dirty Blues on FB for updates. 181 Great George St, Charlottetown.

Charlottetown Legion

Dance to live bands every Saturday night from 9 pm–1 am at the Charlottetown Legion. The lineup is: Rustlers (Dec 31); Kim Albert (Jan 7); Power House (14); Wrecking Crew (21); Roger Jones (28). All are welcome. 99 Pownal St, Charlottetown.

Dunsta nage Ceilidh

The Dunstaffnage Ceilidh is held on the first Sunday of each month at 7 pm at the Dunstaffnage School Centre. Hosted by Road Masters Band and guest entertainers. There is a 50/50 draw. Admission at the door. 13529 St. Peter’s Rd, Dunstaffnage. 626-1698

Got Blues Matinee

Blues matinee with Chris Roumbanis, Reg Ballagh, Mike Robicheau and special guest(s) from 2–4 pm. The 2nd set is always an electric blues jam. Upcoming guests are: singer/guitarist Davis Ward (Jan 14); singer/guitarist Brian Pawley (28). Dali Café, 155 Kent St, Charlottetown.

Island Jazz

Island Jazz takes place on Thursdays at Baba’s Lounge. Top local

musicians perform original music, standards,jazz and pop favourites. Each show features a different group and two sets starting at 8 pm. Admission is by donation. Lineup: Island Jazz plays Joe Henderson (Dec 29); Island Video Game Jazz feat Jacob Reddin (Jan 5); Sean Ferris Group (12); Ken Fornetran Trio (19); Chris Corrigan with Adam Hill (26); Island Jazz at the Movies (29 @1:30 pm *at City Cinema); Spencer Soloduka(Feb 2). 181 Great George St, Charlottetown.

The Jack Pine Folk Club

Once per month, Shane Pendergast hosts and features folk music and poetry from guest performers at The Pourhouse. The event follows the traditions of coffeehouses in the 1960s. This month’s folk club on Jan 18 will feature musicians Shane Pendergast, Nudie, The McMillan’s Camp Boys (NS), and poet Dylan Jewers. Admission is cash or etransfer at the door. Doors open at 7 pm, showtime 7:30 pm. 189 Great George St, Charlottetown

The Lucky Bean - Stratford

Open Mic with Robert McMillan takes place every Sunday from 2–5 pm at the The Lucky Bean in Stratford, 17 Glen Stewart Dr. All are welcome.

Schooner Sessions

Schooner Sessions with Mark Douglas and friends take place weekly on Thursdays at 7 pm at The Old Triangle, 189 Great George St, Charlottetown

Stratford Ceilidh

A ceilidh takes place at the Robert L. Cotton Centre on the second Sunday of each month from 2–4 pm (note the time change). Featuring local entertainers and a light lunch. The venue is air-conditioned. Admission at the door with all proceeds going to Camp Gencheff. 57 Bunbury Rd, Stratford

Sturgeon Ceilidh

A ceilidh takes place at St Paul’s Parish Hall in Sturgeon every other week on Sundays from 6:30–9 pm. Featuring live music, fiddling, singing, comedy and fun. Everyone is welcome. Doors open at 6 pm. 1133 Cambridge Rd, Route 17a, Sturgeon

Summerside Kitchen Party

Kitchen Party at the Summerside Legion every Saturday from 2–5 pm. Featuring Rheal Arsenault, Andy Paynter and a different special guest each event. 340 Notre Dame St, Summerside. 436-2091

Sunday Sessions

Sunday Sessions, traditional music with host fiddler Roy Johnstone, take place weekly on Sundays from 2–5 pm at The Old Triangle. 189 Great George St, Charlottetown

Winter Bluegrass Festival

First annual event at Delta Prince Edward—Jan 20 to 22

The first annual PEI Winter Bluegrass Festival takes place January 20–22 at the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown.

Presented by the PEI Bluegrass & Old Time Music Society, the festival will feature The Seldom Scene, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run, Ray Legere & Acoustic Horizon, The Janet McGarry Band, Bluegrass Tradition, Shane Douthwright and the Virtuosos, Matt Lunn and Echo Mountain, Bluestreak, and the Stiff Family.

The complete daily schedule can be found at peibluegrass.ca.

The Society has been promoting

the best in Eastern Canada’s bluegrass music scene for over 30 years with its annual summer bluegrass festival and social events.

There will be plenty of opportunities to jam during the festival, so bring friends and instruments.

Downtown Charlottetown Market vendors will be set up for local browsing and shopping, and a variety of bluegrass jams, workshops and activities are scheduled for the weekend.

Tickets for day passes are available as of January 1. Visit peibluegrass.ca or call 569-5600 for tickets and hotel reservations.

East Coast Kitchen Party

Richard Wood & Friends at Florence Simmons—Jan 27

Richard Wood & Friends: East Coast Kitchen Party will take place January 27 at 7:30 pm at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall in Charlottetown.

The show will feature five-time ECMA and multiple Music PEI Award winner Richard Wood, and his friends, Keelin Wedge, Caroline Bernard and Rémi Arsenault, as well as special guests, Christine Cameron, Eddy Quinn, Jolee Patkai, Jon Matthews, Kendall Docherty, and Nolan Compton.

As an added treat, Somerset dancers Alexis MacLaren and Isla Rousseaux-Bridle, and the 2022 recipient of the Faye & Richard Wood fiddle scholarship award, 11-year old Samuel Richard, will also be performing.

Richard has once again partnered

with Charlottetown’s historic boutique hotel, the Great George, to offer a concert and accommodation package. Call 1-800-361-1118 to reserve.

Doors open at 7 pm. Showtime is 7:30 pm. Florence Simmons

Performance Hall is located at 140 Weymouth Street, Charlottetown.

Tickets: ticketpro.ca, 1-888-311-9090

Info: rwood.ca

SUBMITTED

The Seldom Scene

2023 Music PEI Awards

Nominees announced for upcoming celebrations in March

Julie & Danny

90’s country at the Scott MacAulay PAC—Feb 4

Music PEI recently announced the nominees for the 2023 Music PEI Awards. Recognizing the outstanding achievements and contributions of PEI’s musicians and industry professionals, the Awards were adjudicated by a selection of independent music industry professionals both regionally and internationally.

Leading with seven nominations is rising star Lawrence Maxwell who earned nominations in every top category, including FACTOR Album of the Year, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year, Lennox Island First Nation Music Video of the Year, Whitecap Entertainment Entertainer of the Year and Holland College Musician of the Year. His album Ballad of Miles was also nominated for the Caledonia House

Someone Else’s Song

Trailside Music Hall—Jan 21

Island artists Dennis Ellsworth, KINLEY, Amanda Jackson and Liam Corcoran will present Someone Else’s Song on January 21 at Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown.

Someone Else’s Song is a singer-songwriters circle with a twist. The performers will be covering one another’s songs, playing songs that inspired them to start writing, premiering a brand new song each and revealing the intimate stories that accompany these songs.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Showtime is 8 pm. trailside.ca

Roots Recording of the Year and The Buzz Album Art of the Year.

Alicia Toner, Andrew Waite, Lennie Gallant, and The Burning Hell each received four nominations.

The public vote category, Whitecap Entertainer of the Year, is open until January 6 and includes Music PEI Award nominees Alicia Toner, Andrew, Waite, Cory Gallant, Lawrence Maxwell and Lennie Gallant. Visit awards.musicpei.com to cast a vote.

The 2023 Music PEI Awards will be handed out at the Music PEI Awards Party on March 12 as part of Music PEI Week, which runs March 8–12. Info/tickets: musicpei.co

For a list of this year’s nominees, see the ad on page two of this issue of The Buzz

Robert McMillan fundraiser

Cross Roads Fire Dept—Jan 7

A fundraiser for Robert McMillan will be held on January 7 from 7:30–10:30 pm at Cross Roads Fire Department event hall in Stratford. Music will be provided by Todd MacLean and Friends, featuring Amanda Jackson, Dan Doiron, Kayes Road, and more.

All proceeds go to Robert MacMillan Pottery to help get his business back on its feet after being destroyed by fire in October.

Cash at the door or buy tickets online.For more details, email info@ theluckybean.com. Cross Roads Fire Department is located at 4 Georgetown Rd, Stratford

The Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping in Summerside presents 90’s Country: Cryin’, Lovin’ or Leavin’ starring Julie & Danny on February 4 at 7:30 pm.

Presented as a radio phone-in request line, Julie & Danny will take the audience on a journey with some of the best of what 90’s country music had to offer.

Featuring cover songs music by Alan Jackson, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, George Straight and more. Info/tickets: collegeofpiping.com

Jack Pine Folk Club

Monthly music and poetry at The Pourhouse—Jan 18

The Jack Pine Folk Club hosted by Shane Pendergast features folk music and poetry from guest performers once a month at The Pourhouse in Charlottetown. The event follows the traditions of coffeehouses in the 1960s.

This month’s Folk Club on January 18 will feature musicians Shane Pendergast, Nudie, The McMillan’s Camp Boys from Nova Scotia, and poet Dylan Jewers.

Admission is cash only or etransfer at the door. Doors open at 7 pm. Show time is 7:30 pm.

The Pourhouse is located at 189 Great George St, Charlottetown.

Lawrence Maxwell leads this year’s nominations with seven

STUART MACLEAN

Shane Pendergast SUBMITTED

SUBMITTED

Sloan Steady Tour

Stopping at Summerside’s Harbourfront Theatre—Jan 27

George Canyon

Performing at Harbourfront Theatre in February

Sloan Steady Tour is coming to Harbourfront Theatre in Summerside on January 27.

The Toronto-based band has released 12 studio albums, including the JUNO Award winning One Chord to Another (1996) and Never Hear the End of It (2006), which became their highest selling album in the US. Their new album Steady was released in 2022.

In 1991, Chris Murphy and Andrew Scott met while studying at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and with the addition of

Patrick Pentland and Jay Ferguson, Sloan was formed. They released their debut EP Peppermint (1991) on their own label Murderecords, and in 1992, Sloan signed with Geffen Records and released their full-length debut Smeared Sloan is one of the best-selling bands in Canada, known for their sharing of songwriting and lead vocals from each member of the group, as well as their unaltered line-up throughout their career.

harbourfronttheatre.com

Owen Steel & Baby God

Double bill at Trailside Music Hall—Jan 15

JUNO and CCMA award-winning country star George Canyon will bring his 2023 Our Country Tour to the Harborfront Theatre in Summerside on February 15. The tour announcement coincided with the November release of his new memoir My Country and single of the same name.

Canyon says,“I am so excited for the fans to hear new music and get my new memoir out to the world. I can’t wait to see everyone on the road!”

Canyon rose to becoming one of Canada’s hottest country music stars in

DR. ZOO

Owen Steel and Baby God are sharing the bill at Trailside Music Hall on January 15 at 8 pm in Charlottetown.

Steel was raised between a farmhouse in rural PEI and New Brunswick’s rambling, seaside guest house, Salty Towers—the latter of which became a refuge for touring musicians over the years, many of whom instilled an interest of songwriting and performing within him.

Grid City Magazine reflects that, “his work has always carried with it a definitive experimental element that’s helped keep it ever so unclassifiable, yet familiar and undeniably something all his own. A fan of low-fi sounds, Steel’s music has always maintained a certain degree of quirk...”

In January of 2020, Steel was invited to be the Dawson City Music Festival songwriter-in-residence—an opportunity which is offered to a singular Canadian artist once a year.

This show (his first in two years) will be performed as a duo with Saint John, NB guitarist, Sebastian Fleet.

Baby God is the alternative-folk songwriting collaboration between Andrew Murray and Nathan Gill. Both hail from PEI, and they bring the pop and indie rock sensibilities of the Charlottetown music scene to the group’s stripped back sound. Baby God’s song-first approach and laid back production style keep their recordings candid and direct. Tickets are available at trailside.ca.

Performing at Kings Playhouse and Trailside Music Hall

DR. ZOO will be on stage at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown on January 22 and at Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown on February 2.

Georgetown, PEI’s DR. ZOO is a multinational, multicultural ensemble of Canadians, Africans, and positive thinkers of many stripes.

The band has been nominated for numerous awards and has toured internationally with acts including Clegg, Hugh Masekela, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

When he’s not on the road,

the early 2000’s and has won countless accolades and awards, including JUNO, CCMA and ECMA awards. He has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded 12 albums, and was presented a certified Platinum Award for his debut album, One Good Friend. A few of his country hits include “Just Like You,” “I Believe in Angels,” “Drinkin’ Thinkin’,” “Daughters of the Sun,” “I Got This,” “I Want You To Live,” and “Slow Dance.”

harbourfronttheatre.com

In celebration of their 20th anniversary, DR. ZOO released DR. ZOO 20 in November, followed by the new single, “We May Win,” in December.

For tickets to Kings Playhouse, visit kingsplayhouse.com. For tickets to Trailside Music Hall, visit trailside.ca. For more information about DR. ZOO, visit drzoomusic.com.

Owen Steel (left) and Baby God (Andrew Murray & Nathan Gill)

frontman Randal Arsenault teaches at UPEI’s School of Climate Change and Adaptation.

(l-r): Matt Bridges, Em Peters, Morgan Wagner and Randal Arsenault

MUSIC LIVE

bars, lounges, cafés…

Baba’s Lounge

Open Mic w/KINLEY on Wednesdays at 9 pm. Island Jazz on Thursdays at 8 pm. Live music at 10:30 pm: DMayne Event/ ThatMattyMofo/Grace of Bass (Dec 29); Out From Under (30); NYE with Dekz & guests (31); Baited & guests (Jan 6); Tangy & guests (7); Abi (13); Hip Hop Night with host Kay Em (14); DJ Nova, Jabird, Sweet Dee, Burgerz (20); Sonic Detour, Radio Roulette (21); TBA (27); Plain Dirty Blues Jam (28 @5 pm); Noise (28). 181 Great George St, Charlottetown.

Bogside Brewing

Blizzard Goat on Saturdays at 3 pm.

Live music on Fridays and Saturdays at 6:30 pm (unless noted): Levee Day, Carter MacClellan(Sun, Jan 1); Stephen Szwarc(6); Lisa Birt(7); Keira Loane(13); Brandon Gillis (14); Taylor Johnson(20); Billy White (21 @6–9 pm); Break Water (21 @9–midnight); Carter MacClellan(27); Brian Dunn (28). 11 Brook St, Montague.

Breakwater at Silver Fox

Live music on Fridays and Saturdays at 9:30 pm: NYE at the Fox with The Dave Doyle Band (Dec 31, ticketed); Floyd Gaudet (Jan 6); Bayview Crossing (7); Acoustic Brothers (13); Dave Doyle (14); TBA (20/21/27/28). 110 Water St, Summerside.

Brothers 2

Live music on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 pm. 618 Water St, Summerside.

Charlottetown Legion

Live music every Saturday night from 9 pm–1 am at the Charlottetown Legion. The lineup is: Rustlers (Dec 31); Kim Albert (Jan 7); Power House (14); Wrecking Crew (21); Roger Jones (28). All are welcome. 99 Pownal St, Charlottetown.

Copper Bottom Brewing

Piano Man Craig Fair (Jan 14/21/28 @3 pm); Nick Doneff (Jan 25 @6 pm). 567 Main St, Montague.

Craft Beer Corner

Live music on Wednesdays at 9 pm and Live DJ on Saturdays at 9 pm: The Darvel (Jan 4); Final Ascension (7); Brock Mattson (11); Tanguy (14); Curtis Klein (18); MOJO (21); Nick Doneff & Sam Langille (25); Ramzoid (28 *cover charge). 156 Great George St, Charlottetown.

Gahan House

Acoustic music on Wednesdays at 9 pm: Stephen Szwarc (Dec 29);

Lawrence Maxwell(Jan 4/11/19); Jan 5- Dave Woodside(5/18/26); Jan 12- Adam MacGregor(12); Jan 25 Ashley Gorman(25).. 126 Sydney St, Charlottetown.

Hunter’s Ale House

Occasional Live music. Corner of Kent & Prince Sts, Charlottetown.

Lone Oak Brewing Co

Live Music on Thursdays and Saturdays at 6 pm, Sundays at 1 pm. 103 Abegweit Blvd, Borden-Carleton.

The Lucky Bean—Stratford

Open Mic w/Robert McMillan every Sunday at 2 pm. 17 Glen Stewart Dr, Stratford.

Marc’s Lounge

Fridays and Saturdays at 9 pm: Dave Woodside (Jan 6); Mat Hannah(13); Adam MacGregor(20); Brooke MacArthur(21); Dave Woodside(27).. 125 Sydney St, Charlottetown.

The Old Triangle

Live music on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm (artists TBA). 189 Great George St, Charlottetown.

Olde Dublin Pub

Live music Friday and Saturday night at 10 pm: TBA (Jan 6/13/20/27); MacBeth(7); Wannabeez(14); Down With Darby (21); Hired Guns(28). 132 Sydney St, Charlottetown.

PEI Brewing Company

Levee Day at PEI Brewing Company on Jan 1 from 12–2 pm with Dave Woodside. 96 Kensington Rd, Charlottetown.

Piatto Pizzeria + Enoteca

Fridays at 6 pm: Brandon Gillis (Jan 6); Ryan Merry (13); Nathan Carragher (20);Mike Stratton(27). 45 Queen St, Charlottetown.

RCAF Wing Summerside

Occasional live music. Check website at wingpei.com for updates. 329 North Market St, Summerside.

Sportsmans Club

Heather and Magnolia (Dec 29 @11 pm). 175 Great George St, Charlottetown

Stay tuned to our website calendar at buzzpei.com for new shows and updates throughout the month!

Hayden

Trailside Music Hall—Jan 22

The Fabulously Rich

Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre—Jan 28

The Fabulously Rich, a live tribute band to The Tragically Hip, will be on stage at the Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre in Summerside on January 28 at 7:30 pm.

Hayden is coming to Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown on January 22. Showtime is 8 pm.

For over 25 years Hayden has been making music on his own terms and on his own schedule.

The Polaris Prize and JUNO Award nominee has produced, engineered and mixed most of his records at home, creating a world of his own, exploring themes ranging from love lost and found, to bear maulings and home invasions.

Tickets are available at trailside.ca.

Terra Spencer

Trailside Music Hall—Jan 19

The group formed in 2016 in Charlottetown, PEI. The idea came about when the news broke that Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The original idea was to reunite a group of old friends, who began their music careers playing together in high school, to present a tribute to one of the bands they all loved, and most frequently covered.

The Fabulously Rich has come together to pay tribute to this monumental Canadian band, while at the same time, helping to raise money for the Downie Wenjack Fund for each show they play.

The Fabulously Rich are Dennis Ellsworth (vocals, guitar), Craig Goodick (bass), Trevor Campbell (lead guitar), TJ Lewis (rhythm guitar) and Greg Stapleton (drums, vocals).

Tickets are available at collegeofpiping.com.

Terra

19. Showtime is 8 pm.

Raised on the mud banks of the Avon River in Nova Scotia, funeral director-turned-songwriter Terra Spencer was recruited as a backup singer while scooping ice cream at a music festival.

Spencer can make one feel kneeto-knee with her in a room of five or 500 with her butterscotch vibrato, deft fingerstyle guitar, church bench piano, sly humour, and ‘70s wood-paneled warmth.

Tickets are available at trailside.ca.

CHRISTIE GREYERBIEHL

MARK DAVIDSON

Spencer will be on stage at Trailside Music Hall in Charlottetown on January

GLORY ZONE CONSIGNMENT

SHOP Come out and see our great selection of quality used Ladies’ fashions, original art, collectibles, kitchen items and more. 199 Prince Street, Charlottetown. 902-894-7606.

ORGANIC VEGGIE DELIVERY

Home delivery. Fresh, local, organic veggies, foods, and other natural products. $25/ $40 / $50 Veggie Boxes or custom orders. Aaron Koleszar 902-629-2575, aaron@organicveggiedelivery.com, organicveggiedelivery.com.

GET YOUR OWN BUZZIFIED

30 words for only $25*. Buy in bulk to save—6 months for $125*. Copy and payment due by deadline. *Plus HST

FEBRUARY DEADLINE

Submissions and advertising booking deadline for the February issue:

Monday, Jan 16

Advertising: sales@buzzpei.com

Editorial: info@buzzpei.com

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or staff. Compensation for errors in advertising copy which are the proven responsibility of the publisher is limited to a maximum of the cost of the placement of the advertisement.

Little Kit Bag Inc., operating as The Buzz, acknowledges that we are located on and operate on Mi’kma’ki, the traditional unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq people who have lived here for many thousands of years, and who continue to live here.

ISSUE#

buzzpei.com @buzzpei

Editor/Sales: Yanik Richards

Editor: Michelle Ollerhead

Partners: Maggie Lillo (Ruby Square Graphic Design), Carly Martin (Hawthorne House Media)

Contributors: Julie Bull, Karen Gallant, Deirdre Kessler, Sean McQuaid, Takako Morita, Julie-Pellissier-Lush, Tara Reeves, JoDee Samuelson, Gary Schneider

Office: 160 Richmond Street, Charlottetown

Mail: P.O. Box 1945, Charlottetown, PE C1A7N5

Phone: 902-628-1958

E-mail: info@buzzpei.com

The Buzz is published monthly by Little Kit Bag Inc.

Cover:

Shadow to Shadow, acrylic on panel, 30” x 30” by Karen Gallant.

Karen Gallant is a visual artist from Rustico, PEI who takes inspiration for her art from the elements and rhythms of the sea, and the land, people, and stories of the Island. Working in acrylics and mixed media, her pieces reveal the mysterious spark in the heart of Island tales that have been passed down through generations.

Karen owns Gallery in Rustico, located above A.P. Gallant’s Country Food Market and has a farm house studio in the rolling hills of Hunter River. karengallant.com

Katrin Georgi Katrin Georgi Design Inc. Self Employ Program