12 www.northislandgazette.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
ENTERTAINMENT editor@northislandgazette.com
Latin-flavoured Locarno to appear Gazette staff Locarno, the Latin project of Juno award-winning musician and Paperboys frontman Tom Landa will take to the stage Jan. 16. The show, which will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Port Hardy Civic Centre, is part of the North Island Concert Society 2015/2016 concert series. Landa was born and raised in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Canadian mother. He moved to Ontario during his teenage years where he put behind his Mexican musical roots in favour of the new sounds that surrounded him, until a record by Los Lobos, a Mexican American band, brought him ‘back home’. Los Lobos played a variety of Mexican music including Son
Jarocho which had a huge impact on Landa. Son Jarocho is a regional folk musical style of Mexican Son from Veracruz, a state along the Gulf of Mexico. Jarocho is a colloquial term for people or things from the port city of Veracruz. From that moment, Landa began his musical quest to rediscover his musical roots, and write and arrange songs in this genre. He spent several years writing and recording the material for Locarno. The result is a compelling blend of Mexican, Cuban and North American popular music. Tickets for the event are available at Cafe Guido, Port Hardy Museum, Port McNeill Flora Borealis and from Gail Neely in Port Alice at: 250-284-3927. Ticket information is also available from Kathleen Davidson at: 250-949-7676.
Submitted Photo The Latin-flavoured show Locarno will take place Jan. 16 at the Port Hardy Civic Centre.
MANAGING YOUR MONEY RRSP basics – the Super Seven ways to save and grow You already know that one of the best retirement savings strategies for most Canadians is a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) -- and, as this year’s RRSP contribution deadline nears, here is a Super Seven list of some of the best ways to get the most from your RRSP. 1. Beat that deadline This year’s RRSP contribution deadline is February 29, 2016 – don’t miss it! 2. Maximize Always make your maximum contribution each year – that’s how to get the most in immediate tax savings and in long-term growth. You’ll find your contribution room on your most recent notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). 3. Catch up Fill up unused contribution room. You can do that in a single year or over a number of years until you reach age 71
as quickly as possible. A good way to do that: Use your RRSP tax savings to help pay off the loan. Your 6. Diversify for growth maximum RRSP contributions are capped by the government – so to get the additional income you’ll likely need to enjoy the retirement of your dreams, be sure to invest in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and a well-balanced non-registered portfolio based on an asset allocation plan that matches your risk profile and time horizon. 7. Designate Choose a beneficiary for your RRSP (in Québec, this must be done through a will). Generally, RRSP assets with a beneficiary designation do not form part of your estate and do not attract probate fees. If your beneficiary is your spouse/partner or a disabled child/ grandchild, your RRSP can be transferred tax-deferred to your beneficiary’s registered plan.
4. Rise up To have more money in retirement, raise your RRSP contributions Saving for retirement is an absolute as your income rises. necessity – and an RRSP is a great 5. Borrow to save An RRSP loan way to do just that when it’s part of an can be a good option for maximizing overall financial plan tailored to achieve this year’s contribution or catching up your retirement dreams. Talk to your on past contributions – but only if the professional advisor. interest rate is low and you pay it back
This column, written and published by Investors Group Financial Services Inc. (in Québec – a Financial Services Firm), and Investors Group Securities Inc. (in Québec, a firm in Financial Planning) presents general information only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any investments. Contact your own advisor for specific advice about your circumstances. For more information on this topic please contact your Investors Group Consultant.
1046 Cedar Street, Campbell River
Ph: 250-287-4739 Toll Free: 1-800-755-6755 Fax: 250-287-7122
Kathleen Furmaniak CFP, CPCA Financial Consultant
kathleen.furmaniak@investorsgroup.com ™ Trademarks owned by IGM Financial Inc. and licensed to its subsidiary corporations.
Author gives reading at NIC
By Kathy O’Reilly-Taylor Editor “I’m not a trained writer, I’m a story teller,” author Monique Gray Smith told the audience at North Island Community College Jan. 4. “I wish I was a trained writer, but I wonder would it then stop the flow (of the story),” Gray Smith said. Gray Smith was in Port Hardy as part of NIC’s Write Here Readers Series to read passages from her first novel, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, and her next book My Heart Fills with Happiness, which is due out in March. Tilly, loosely based
on Gray Smith’s own life, is a story of hope that captures the irrepressible resilience of Indigenous peoples everywhere. The book won the 2014 Burt Award for First Nation, Métis and Inuit Literature and is used today in schools and Universities across Canada to share Indigenous history through story. My Heart Fills with Happiness is a children’s board book with award-winning Cree/Métis illustrator, Julie Flett. Gray Smith is a mixed-heritage woman of Cree, Lakota and Scottish ancestry living on Lkwungen territory in Victoria. She is originally from Saskatchewan.
Kathy O’Reilly-Taylor Photo Monique Gray Smith reads to an audience of about 30 from her book Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience at North Island College Jan. 4.
Victor’s Secret show an uplifting event By Tyson Whitney Reporter There will be men strutting bras down the runway for a fifth year in a row, as part of the annual Victor’s Secret Fashion Show being held Jan. 30 in Port McNeill at the Community Hall. The show features men modelling bras that have been created by local community members. “I’m always overwhelmed by the community’s support,” said Cheryl Beech Verbrugge, the event organizer. The doors to the Community Hall open at 6:30
p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets for the show went on sale Jan. 5; they are $30 and are available at Timberland Sports or the Dalewood Beer & Wine in Port McNeill. There will be a dance after the fashion show, and no minors are allowed as the event includes alcohol. All proceeds from the event go to local North Island cancer patients from Woss north. “It’s a great cause,” Verbrugge said. “We helped seven patients in 2015, and raised over $13,000 from 2012 to 2015.”