ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Light Up the Arts

The Arts Station is excited to invite you to “Light up the Arts” starting on November 25 at 6pm. Wander downtown to discover magical lighted installations by local artists in a fun and interactive artwalk.

Light up the Arts will launch at an annual collaborative community event, the Holiday Kick-off, in partnership with the Fernie Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fernie. Downtown Fernie will transform into a magical festive atmosphere with fireworks, light installations, carolers, Santa, and Christmas lights with a Shop Local competition to encourage residents to #SpendItInFernie.

There will be five feature artists presenting installations found outside around Downtown at The Arts Station, Library, Senior Centre, and City Hall. In addition, over 450 local kids have created lighted lanterns and artwork that will be on display. All the kids visited the Arts Station to be led in creative activities in different mediums.

Feature artists are:

Samantha Sedlowsky, @sam_sedlowsky_art Sam loves all things fabric. She feels that one of the joys of learning to art quilt has been how the natural and man-made landscapes around her have transformed into fabric in her mind. Working from a fabric stash decades in the making, upcycled material, Sally Ann finds, fabric collage can be economical and environmentally friendly. Even the smallest scrap has a place. Sam is committed to creating her art only from collected scraps, upcycled fabric, and dumpster-diverted materials. For her installation, she will be upcycling from her Moose on the Loose installation to create a new exciting lighted house. Come and view the Moose House structure in a new way!

Sam Sedlowsky lives in Fernie, BC in a multigenerational household where all things fabric is encouraged. Erich Stoffels, @coast.one Eric is a local artist and has been living in the Elk Valley for the past 10 years. He is an electrician by trade and loves the winter season, so naturally, this project called his name. Eric has come up with an idea that he calls “The Fernie Tree”. It will be made up of illuminated artwork that he thinks best represents winter in the valley. Eric is very excited for everyone to see and enjoy his creation.

Oli Stoffels

Oli lives in Sparwood, goes to school at The Fernie Academy, and loves to do art. Oli has created a project called “The Gnomes”. It is made up of four gnomes that range from 3-5 feet tall. The Gnomes represent his family and the winter spirit, which you find a lot of in Fernie! Oli was inspired by his dad entering ‘Light Up The Arts’ so decided to enter as well. Oli is very excited to be chosen to build his gnomes and hopes everyone enjoys his project.

Michelle Money, @michellemongeyart Michelle is a painter, designer, and illustrator from Sydney, Australia, now based in Fernie, Canada. She has been an avid art enthusiast from a young age and began to focus on painting as her chief art form in her teen years. Most of her art has been developed for friends and family, with personal meaning and touch behind each painting. Michelle created a vinyl moose as part of the Moose on the Loose project at The Arts Station collaborating with another local artist. Michelle’s installation will showcase cyanotype lanterns using local flowers and ferns she has been collecting on Summer hikes. Cyanotype is a very cool process and the resulting images are beautiful which she hopes you will enjoy.

Danyal Taylor, @danyaltaylor Danyal is originally from New Zealand and now resides in Fernie, B.C. He feels lucky to call this place home as it is an adventure lover’s paradise with its incredible skiing, tall mountains, and beautiful hikes. Danyal is an adventure filmmaker, storyteller, and photographer. Traveling around the world to showcase awesome.

Danyal’s installation will be an opportunity for him to explore a new medium with the result of a fun multicoloured neon light display inspired by the Three Sisters mountains.

Join us on November 25th to see the lighted artwork for the first time. The feature installations will remain for the winter months to bring light to the darkest months of the year!

Thank you to our community partners Fernie Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fernie. Thank you to CKCA for grant funding to support this project.

Friendship Burritos

by CLAIRE SMALLWOOD

Burritos are kind of a mythical creature in Fernie. Luchadora was a bright spot in the pandemic but then the burritos disappeared. We thought we might see them again on the Chilango menu, but alas, we are still burrito-less. Fernie is a burrito-challenged town, but I’m on a mission to empower our community to embrace the burrito. And not just any burrito, the Friendship Burrito.

In 2007 I moved to Utah to be a ski bum, but I didn’t have a car and lived far from the ski area. My friend Molly would offer to pick me up every single day to go skiing. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have someone who was willing to drive so far out of their way to bring me up to the mountain. What better way to say thank you than by making her a breakfast burrito for the drive? I grew up in New Mexico—burritos are a way of life down there!

I can’t remember exactly when, but one day I made extra and decided to put them in my pockets and hand them out to random strangers. One day, someone asked “What is this?” when we handed them a burrito. My friend Re quickly responded to them with “Claire Smallwood Friendship Burritos.” So, we started calling them friendship burritos from then on. I would explain to anyone who received one that it was all about “spreading the breakfast burrito stoke.” (I believe those were my exact words!) The look on people’s faces when you offer them a “friendship burrito” is amazing. They are either totally excited or they look at you like you have three heads—either way, they usually take the burrito! This particular Friendship Burrito recipe is breakfast focused, but what I’d really love to encourage is to just embrace the burrito. Make a dozen, freeze a few, and make a stranger’s day! Wrap anything in a tortilla! I have a friend who even wraps thanksgiving leftovers in burritos and freezes them. What makes friendship burritos extraordinary is that they are crisped up on the outside. Once you’ve wrapped ‘em, fry ‘em up!

If this sounds like a lot of work, consider it community service.

And, lest we get any heated discussions about it: no, I do not think there’s a strong difference between a wrap and a burrito except perhaps the sentiment behind it. Friendship wrap just doesn’t have the same ring to it… although I’d offer that a burrito should probably have some reminiscences of flavours such as garlic, beans, cumin, cheese (always cheese), or chile.

Make the Friendship Burritos with love and pass them out to your adventure buddies - make someone’s day with a Friendship Burrito! Submitted Photos

Get a dozen tortillas, the big kind. Whisk up about 12-15 eggs and scramble them as you normally would, except add some hot sauce or salsa to your tasting. Don’t forget to season the eggs. Set aside. Get a big pot of salted water boiling. Chop up some Yukon gold potatoes (or any potatoes) and cook them until soft. Drain and then toss the potatoes with garlic powder, cumin, pepper, and chile powder. Heat a skillet over medium with about 1/3 cup of oil. Add the potatoes into the skillet and start to crisp them up. Optional: add some diced onion, cooked bacon, sausage, etc. Next, add about 2 cups of shredded cheese. You can also just add this to the burritos.

Arrange your ‘workstation’ so you can easily assemble the burritos on a clean cutting board or kitchen surface.

Pile about a fist-full size of ingredients into the centre of the tortilla in a ‘rectangular’ shape. Take the two ‘ends’ (short sides of the rectangle) and fold those parts of the tortilla toward the middle. Then, take the part of the tortilla closest to you with your thumbs (while holding the ends toward each other) and roll the burrito up. Check the QR code for a video demonstration!

Get your skillet on low and add the remaining olive oil. You might need a bit more depending on how many burritos you are making. Place the burrito ‘seamside down’ on the skillet and then rotate the burritos occasionally, until they are crisp on all sides.

“Fernie is a burritochallenged town, but I’m on a mission to empower our community to embrace the burrito. And not just any burrito, the Friendship Burrito.”

Serve immediately or wrap them in foil for lunch/late breakfast. If you are saving

them for later, let them cool completely before wrapping them!

Whenever you decide to share your friendship burritos, make sure you’ve heated it all the way back up in the oven. I suggest re-heating the burritos unwrapped in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes from frozen. Follow the recrisping steps above!

Now, stuff those pockets with the burritos and share with your friends, neighbours or adventure partners!

Check out this video of Claire making Friendship Burritos!

We Will Remember

To those who served on the frontlines of conflict; thank you for bringing us to today.

The Road Goes on Forever

by MICHAEL HEPHER

This morning I am working on a print commission for a dear friend of mine. Andrew (a printer who makes really nice books) is publishing a book about his friend Gray (also a printer) and has asked me to create two hand-printed illustrations of Gray that will be bound in the centre of the book. It’s an honour to be asked to be part of this very printerly project, but it’s a weighty thing to capture a character like Gray in a way that is befitting his personality and also suits a fine publication.

A few days ago, with much relief, I successfully laid down the first layer of ink, but the project itself has been in the works for almost 18 months. We started talking about the project in May 2021. After hours of reading and dialoguing with Andrew, I sketched a few rough ideas. I redrew the scenes about a dozen times until we were both happy. From there, I imported the line drawings into ProCreate (a drawing app for iPad) and played with colours and layers as I tried to imagine what a linocut print would look like on paper.

Once the digital mock-up was feeling good, it was time to order the paper. The paper industry is still in supply chain chaos from the pandemic, so it took more than 200 days for the carton to arrive from London—a new record, I think. It arrived right in the middle of the busiest August I’ve had in years, and to tackle an important project like this I need a block of time. Suddenly it is mid-October and I’m finally getting ink on paper. With five of eight colours down, I’m starting to get excited about the finished result. If all goes well, both of the prints will be finished by the time this issue hits the stands. The moment of completion is lovely but fleeting, so if I don’t enjoy the journey on a project like this it means I live in a world of frustration.

In the current climate of Amazon Prime and Netflix streaming—short turnarounds, speedy delivery, and instant gratification are king—but I can still remember when it took eight years to watch all the seasons of Friends. We have devalued that feeling of anticipation to the point that we don’t know what to do with the thought of just

Submitted Photo

“We have devalued that feeling of anticipation to the point that we don’t know what to do with the thought of just waiting.”

waiting. You rarely see anyone standing in a line anymore without playing Candy Crush. I’m also guilty (although I can’t stand that particular game) but I’m trying to catch myself more and just sit.

As I look at my life, I realise I’ve structured it around things that take time: letterpress printing, oil painting, driving a VW van, vintage mountain bikes—all of those things are more about the journey than they are about the destination. I believe it’s that anticipation— the suspended feeling of potential gratification—that is a big part of what makes these arcane things appealing to me. There’s no sense getting frustrated by the pace of a holiday in a Volkswagen… it goes as fast as it goes and in the meantime you have a big screen view out the front window to enjoy. I’ve always preferred the buildup leading up to Christmas to the crash after all the wrapping is torn off. The crash doesn’t minimize the joy of the gift, but it helps acknowledge that it’s a very human thing to want something to look forward to. Our ability to anticipate the next week or month or year, and carry the hope of excitement down the road, is one of the things that keeps us moving.

For many in Fernie the first snow is filled with this kind of anticipation. It’s a bit late this year so there’s been lots of time to get ready: wax the skis, pull out the box of mitts and sort them into pairs, and put on the winter tires. As those things happen, take a minute to stop and breathe in that excitement—that’s the money right there. As I plan a few more projects to keep me peering forward into the winter with eagerness, I too am trying to take some quiet moments to enjoy the journey so that when I reach each destination I can carry that anticipation right into the next project so the journey never ends.

The purpose of the Communities of Interest Advisory Initiative is to foster dialogue and communication between the four coal operations and community representatives within their area of influence.

Thank you

Thank you to first responders and everyone involved in keeping our communities safe this fire season!

www.evcnpvoice.com

Photo: @device_clement

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Growing Joy

by Sadie Rosgen

As the fall burns up the living things and winter comes upon us, my mind wanders to those new mothers out there and the delicious anticipation of a baby. I am so fortunate to have two babies of my own and as they approach double digits, I am reminded of the slow moments of connection between the old and the new. The coming together of a family welcoming their newest member. The sleepless nights that bring on the delirious delicious love that babies bring.

A magical time to say the least…

Growing Joy

By Sadie Rosgen

the night is wild outside I am here restless a gasp of breath myself and you

I am born again forged with love the fresh the unconcerned every swimming piece

I am burning from the guiding light of endless night

you are here writhing inside of me proving that I will never be alone again home again gentle sound throbbing movement softening my ways tearing up my every gaze lost in every way from love and you

The moon is Earth’s only satellite. At about one-quarter the diameter of the Earth, it lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field, and has a surface gravity about one-sixth that of Earth’s. It orbits the Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km and its gravitational influence is the main driver of the Earth’s tides. During each synodic period of 29.5 days, the visible surface illuminated by the Sun varies, resulting in the lunar phases that form the basis for the months of the lunar calendar.

The moon has had a significant cultural importance on most of the Earth’s civilizations, so imagine what would happen if some mysterious force knocked the moon out of its orbit. Moonfall depicts such an event.

The movie is directed by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen, three writers/directors who have specialized in special effects-driven action movies. Spenser Cohen was screenwriter for the Netflix science fiction extravaganza Extinction (2018) and more recently Distant (2022), a film which depicts the trials of an asteroid miner who crashlands on a harsh alien planet. Harald Kloser is a composer and writer, known for Alien vs. Predator (2004), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and 2012 (2009),

Roland Emmerich directed his first feature, The Noah’s Ark Principle (1984), while still enrolled in the Munich film school. The film was a huge success and opened the 1984 Berlin Film Festival. With his flair for special effects, he set up shop in blockbuster-hungry 1990s Hollywood. In his Hollywood debut he directed Jean-Claude Van Damme in the cyborg action fest Universal Soldier (1992) and followed this with Stargate (1994). In

Moonfall

by ANDREW VALLANCE

“The moon has had a significant cultural importance on most of the Earth’s civilizations, so imagine what would happen if some mysterious force knocked the moon out of its orbit. Moonfall depicts such an event.”

1996 he claimed blockbuster status with Independence Day, followed by lesser success with Godzilla (1998), The Patriot (2000) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). This space romp stars Patrick Wilson, Halle Berry, and the wonderful, talented John Bradley, most famous at this point for his role as Samwell Tarly in the epic HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Bradley is absolutely hilarious as an internet conspiracy theorist, the film’s comic relief and undoubtedly the best part of this film.

Patrick Wilson began his career starring in Broadway musicals winning two Tony Award nominations. On television he co-starred in the HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003), for which he was nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He has also appeared in films such as The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Watchmen (2009), and as demonologist Ed Warren in The Conjuring Universe (2013–present). In the DC Extended Universe, he portrayed Orm Marius / Ocean Master in the superhero film Aquaman (2018).

Halle Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance of a struggling widow in the romantic drama Monster’s Ball (2001). She took on high-profile roles such as Storm in four installments of the X-Men film series (2000–2014) and the Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). More recently she appeared in the action films Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

Unfortunately, Moonfall does not achieve the same standard as much of Wilson’s, Berry’s and Emmerich’s earlier works. It has a weak script and disappointing special effects.

Two thumbs down.