Browsing “The Scene”

Construction Season, Festival Season, Hot-as-balls Season… summer has a lot of different names. But one of my favourite descriptors for summer is Running Season; the season I love to hate. Last year I decided to take up running, primarily because I’m a masochist with addictions issues.

Initially I found myself in tears and tantrums, realizing that I may have actually crossed a line of insanity for taking up this new, ridiculous sport. I have several friends who LOVE to run. We would meet up and instead of coffee or beers we’d run together. At first, it was awful. Seriously, I’m not sure why I took up running, because I’ll tell you what, it’s not really that fun. I started re-evaluating my friendships with the whackos I ran with. And then something happened: It became terribly addicting (as per my aforementioned issues).

I still hated it, but it became easier, and 5km turned into 10km which then turned into a bloody half marathon for godsake! The good/bad thing for me is that Calgary is a hotbed for all things running, which is half the reason why I think it’s so addicting.

It seems once the weather’s nice, everyones out there running around like they’ve got somewhere to go. But they don’t, they’re just all hopped up on running to nowhere. And our arid temperature and wicked pathway system is a runners wet dream.

Then there’s the running events. Calgary has everything from kooky 5km fun runs, like the Underwear Affair, to the ultra serious Calgary Marathon, which can qualify you for the Boston Marathon!

Plus we’ve got running clinics, some free like Lululemon’s group runs, or really cheap clinics by Mountain Equipment Coop. If road running isn’t your thing, don’t forget that we live a hop, skip and jump to the woods where you can really challenge yourself on the trails.

Alberta has several incredible Ultra-Trail Runs like the Sinister Seven in Crowsnest Pass or Kanaskis Country’s Death Race. Yep, a race called Death. Riiiiight. If you’re looking for a new hobby or a way to slowly punish yourself, running may just be your next thing. There is literally a race every week in Calgary and surrounding areas, check out the Running Room’s listing for more information. And of course if you’re not competitve but you’re looking for great places to run in Calgary, give our own Marc Affeld’s super sweet article a read on YYC’s running hot spots. On your mark, get set, GO!

You remember, right? Back in the day, before Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. We’d all go to a place and there’d be all this entertainment and it was all for a good cause? Well my friends, lets all go back to the halcyon days of 2011. This Sunday local artist Rik van Dyke is throwing a ‘Rockstarter’ with the hopes of raising money to fund his film making. There will be food, 8 bands in both theatres and an art auction. I spoke to Rik earlier this week to tell me what he has planned for the proceeds.

Tell me a bit about the movie you’re hoping to help fund with this event.

I am trying to raise the funds to shoot a pair of pro-level movie shorts each being approximately 2.5 minutes long. a double-feature if you will, one historical, the other urban, both combined to be five minutes of screen time. The first movie is called “Black Mantis”, a Kung Fu period piece highlighting the art of Praying Mantis Kung Fu. The second film is called “Bad Blood” and it’s a contemporary Rock and Roll Revenge film.

You’re putting on an old fashion fundraiser. Will you think about starting an online campaign in the future with IndieGoGo or a similar site?

Depending on how the fundraiser goes, I may very well continue onto IndieGoGo to complete my financial goal of $5000.

What about Calgary will benefit you in filming?

The local talent and locations in the Calgary area will be highlighted in both films which have been written with both in mind.

Rik is hoping to make these films as a way to take himself to the next level as a film maker. The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. on Sunday (May 19th) at the Globe Theatre downtown. The line-up is impressive with local favourites like the Cripple Creek Fairies, epic video game rock from THWOMP and the Outlaws of Ravenhurst to name a few. Tickets for the Rockstarter are $15 and you can get them online or at the door. Click here for more details.

TGIW. Thank God It’s…Wednesday? At least for me when I know The JAM is on at Ubu Lounge. What is The JAM? It’s a hybrid music event that embraces the spontaneity of a jam session. It brings together Calgary’s talented and encourages them to jump on the stage and the dance floor.

Dancers, singers, lyricists, poets, and musicians from all disciplines have been on The JAM and every event is a such a unique and positive experience defined by whoever decides to show up and work up the courage to jump into The Jam!

Even as an audience member, I can’t help but succumb to the vibe of The Jam. Something can start out with a mellow and poignant reading of poetry or reciting of spoken word, and can suddenly shift to an improvised instrumental jam session. Jazz? Blues? Funk? House? Dance Hall? I’ve seen it at The JAM. Dancers from disciplines such as breakdance, hip-hop, contemporary, and salsa are a natural occurrence. Of course, YYC’s talented singers and lyricists flood The JAM with so much talent.

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I know it’s just over a week away and I’ve already started dreaming about the long weekend. Who doesn’t love a long weekend? And of course if the weather holds, this May long will have us saying “Old Man Winter who?”. But if you’re like me, any long weekend proposes the opportunity to get the hell out of town for minute or two. Well if you’re also like me, budgets are, um, annoying but very necessary. Okay, so maybe I can’t splurge on a plane ticket to Kelowna or Costa Rica, but I have a few ideas on how to spend this coming Victoria Day weekend with out breaking the bank.

1. Do it yourself yoga retreat. I’ve always wanted to spend a weekend engorged in headstands and down-dog, giving my limbs a hug on a tropical island somewhere. Yoga retreats can be pricey, with accommodations, flight and the cost of endless rum drinks. Although Calgary might not be floating in the middle of the Pacific somewhere, we do have some stellar yoga studios here that offer tons of classes all weekend, every weekend. Most studios offer a five or ten class card for around $120, so why not just spend a couple of days at the studio and try a whack of classes? Then buy yourself some rum and turn on Bob Marley, now that’s a retreat!

2. Hike local. To me, camping and hiking go hand in hand, but booking a spot anywhere for Victoria Day long weekend can be tricky. Not to mention, if you do get a spot, it’s not always guaranteed you’re going to like your neighbors when you set up camp. And driving into the mountains for a day hike is nothing short of a nightmare. Try hiking local or close to, Bragg Creek has a ton of beautiful trails at a short drive (or bike!) away. If you’re really looking to stay close, try Fish Creek Park, it’s in the city limits and yet it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere.

3. Do a pub-crawl in another community. When I’m on vacation I like to check out the local hot spots. How often do you venture away from your typical watering hole to head across town to see what’s happening? I know cabs can be a pain, and you might not be that familiar with the bus line where ever you’re going, but you’re on staycation! What you saved on a hotel and airfare, splurge on local transportation. Hell, who knows you might make some new friends way out in McKenzie Towne, Bowness or Rundle.

4. Spend a night in one of YYC’s boutique hotels. Alright, so this one may bit a little over budget, but still not the cost of a trip to Vegas. I’m not sure if you’ve heard but Calgary’s got a couple of super baller hotels. If you can’t get out of town then get the eff out of your house and enjoy the luxury of the Hotel Arts, the Germaine or (gasp) the Kensington Riverside Inn. Oooooh. If you’re feeling really spendy, all of these places have epic restaurants attached to them too. Pick jaw up and make reservation.

I think these items are a great way to get some ideas flowing for your DIY vacation, remember you don’t have to travel far to find an adventure. Personally, I am going to probably try all three maybe not in that order. If any of you see a lady in yoga pants and hiking boots reeking like rum, wandering around Calgary looking for a room to stay, you’ll know I’ve reached staycation bliss.

The Calgary Comic Expo is only a few weeks away from flooding our streets with the crème de la crème of sci-fi, film, television, fantasy, horror, comic book, gaming and animation.

Stars like Nathan Fillion, Gillian Anderson, John Carpenter, Stan Lee and Wil Wheaton (just to name a few) will be on hand to fulfill fanboy (and girl) dreams.

But there’s more to the Expo than big names, autographs and photo ops.

It’s also a chance for local talent to shine including all-round awesome Calgarian Sam Hester.

Illustrations Courtesy of Sam Hester

You might not know it, but you’ve probably seen her work already. She’s been active in Inglewood and Ramsay planning pop-up arts events and her work can be seen along 23rd Avenue, in the window of Broken City and even along Elbow Drive as painted utility boxes. She’s even been doing graphic recordings for Calgary Economic Development and was part of Calgary’s first graphic jam.

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Decidely Jazz Danceworks (DJD) is at it again! Those funky-funksters are up to no good be-bopping and hip-hopping al over the place. Last week I had the opportunity to visit the studio and got a sneak peak of Turn Up the Get Down, DJD’s newest creation to hit the stage. Just watch the video and listen friends!

The show will feature guest choreographers from Vancouver’s 605 Collective, Calgary’s Tara Wilson of Pulse Studios and DJD’s resident choreographer Kimberley Cooper. From what I saw, this shit is so funky it may just have you dancing in the aisles as cliché as that sounds.

Also, there’s a seven piece, live band that may make James Brown himself rise from the grave for a damn-encore. The show starts this Friday, April 5 – April 14. It will be magical! But if you don’t have all the dough to go see the show (see what I did there?) you can save some moo-la on our Contests & Giveaways page, a whopping 30% friends! Now that’s a steal if I ever saw one.

While at the preview, the dancers graciously invited the audience up to learn a quick piece of choreography which lead to broken dreams and low self-esteem… after I wiped away my tears, the dancers were so freakin’ cute they all said I did a good a job and even acted like they meant it.

So if you’re like me and you’re looking for a live show, that’s not as pricey as Cirque but as delicious as ice-cream on a hot summer’s day, then this is probably what you should be doing with yourself one of these days soon!

Okay, we may be passing on the title of Cultural Capital of Canada, but that doesn’t mean we all have to go back to pretending we’re not cultural rock stars. Because we are.

To celebrate our city’s more artistic side, and help us forget that our cultural crown is being ripped from our heads, fellow Calgarian Wendy Lees has organized the perfect event. Wendy’s created the up and coming Love Art in Calgary (LAC); small group tours to Calgary’s most interesting art spaces.

“I’ve organized LAC because I know how much wonderful art there is in Calgary and I am also aware of how many people don’t know about all the great places to find it,” says Wendy. “People sometimes think they have to spend a fortune on original art because they don’t know where and how to find affordable, original art.”

It can be intimidating walking into a small gallery, even to just admire an artist’s work, regardless of the price. Your palms get sweaty, and you’re nervous… sometimes I even apologize as soon as I walk in, like I’ve offended everyone in the place, even the art! Well Wendy’s going to help us get a hold of ourselves, and break the stuffy stereotypes. I feel less sweaty already.

Wendy has been an art appreciator and collector of original, low priced art since the early 80s. She would often go to the student sales at Alberta College of Art to find one of kind pieces at bargain prices. “When people come to my home, they often comment on the great energy that is present and I feel this is in part due to all the fabulous original art that I’ve collected over the years,” says Wendy. She’s also a mixed media artist herself and is currently a volunteer with the art program at The Mustard Seed. Wendy not only understands art as an artist but she truly embraces the feeling that art and creative expression should be available to everyone.

What’s unique about the LAC tour is the interaction with the gallery directors, artists and enthusiasts along the way. The goal of LAC is to eventually have people see art in places they may not have noticed before, and feel comfortable doing it. Wendy hopes that after spending sometime on the LAC tour that perhaps the biggest take-away will be that art appreciation is for everyone and you don’t have to be an artist or have vast amounts of knowledge to enjoy fine art.

Saturday, March 23 will be the first but not the last in upcoming LAC tours. Wendy will be holding one on April 20 and then again on June 15. “I hope to run some collaborative walking LAC tours in the summer as well, and plan to expand LAC to including different local art personalities do intimate chats for each group,” says Wendy.

If you’d like to join the tour, you can email Wendy at wendylees@shaw.ca or call 403.880.3001.

Here in Alberta, we’re blessed with one of the best ballet companies in the country. Calgary is home base to the Alberta Ballet, a company that’s classically rooted but reaches far beyond your typical Swan Lake. What makes Alberta Ballet so captivating? Stunning choreography and an eclectic mix of dancers from around the world, including the incredibly talented Hayna Gutierrez.

Recently, Hayna was the recipient of the Best Female Dancer at the 2013 Miami Life Awards, an honour that she proudly won competing against international talent. Originally from Cuba, Hayna has been with Alberta Ballet for three seasons. After dancing both in the tropical and beautiful Cuba and Miami, we were lucky enough to snag her eye here in Calgary.

When asked about her thoughts on what makes the company tick, she says it’s primarily due to the great communication between company members, directors and choreographers. “Communication is so important in everything that we do, it’s one of my favourite parts of being with this company,” Hayna says.

Well, I for one truly believe her. That open communication not only helped Hayna with her dancing, but also get acclimated in her new city. Something Hayna shared while we chatted was that she learned English primarily from her friends and colleagues in her Alberta Ballet dance community. Which made me pause, as I feel like at times her use of the English language certainly out did mine, and English happens to be my only language.

Hayna describes the Alberta Ballet company as one that embraces its diversity. “Although we [company members] may not all have the same shape, style or have the same background, what we bring from this is what truly makes us unique,” she says.

Open communication and diversity may be one of the many characteristics that has sealed Hayna’s love for her company, but the real appeal was the range in choreography. “I love that there is mix in dance mediums in this company,” she says. “I wanted to expanding my career through experiencing different choreographers and a mix of dance mediums. To me, that is how I need to grow as an artist.” Alberta Ballet has been pushing limits with more modern and eccentric pieces like Jean Grand-Maître’s Vigil of Angels, the highly anticipated Balletlujah with music from K.D. Lang and who can forget The Fiddle and The Drum with Joni Mitchell. It certainly seems like a haven for any dancer looking to expand their repertoire.

But I found most fascinating about Hayna, was how eloquently she described what Calgary meant to her. Dancers often move around so much, and I’m sure it can be hard being so far away from home. However, she truly lit up when I asked her how living in Calgary is treating her so far.

“I have traveled across the world. Growing up, I lived between both Cuba and Spain,” says Hayna. “Not even in Spain did I get the feeling of home like I did in Calgary.” And thank goodness! Hayna is powerhouse on the stage, and someone to look out for.

What a year. What a celebration.

Last night Calgary 2012 officially said thanks to all the hard working volunteers, planners, arts and culture groups who made our year as Canada’s Cultural Capital an amazing success.

A REASON TO CELEBRATE: Hundreds came out to the Calgary 2012 Wrap Party held at the BMO Centre. They laughed. They celebrated. A few tears were shed. But the message of the night was clear, Calgary’s year as the cultural capital of Canada is over but this is only the beginning. Our city is a vibrant amazing cultural hub and it’s only going to get better.
Photos by Amy Jo Espetveidt, Quadrophonic Image

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There’s been some serious ground swell about the funk-tastic Freak Motif, a Calgary based eight piece musical phenomenon. If you haven’t heard of them due to head-in-sand-syndrome, they’re a self-described “funxplosion of improvisatory musicological goodness”. Ron Burgundy himself could not have come up with a better description.

I have to say, I’m personally in love with Freak Motif’s album, La Casa Blanca. I feel like these guys are something to certainly keep your ears on. Their unique reggae, funk, jazz, hip hop (and sometimes even Bar Mitzvah-esque!) sound translates really well via studio album, but from what I hear it’s really their live performances that will blow your doors off!

As mentioned, Freak Motif is made up of eight members varying in musical tastes and backgrounds. “Our influences are so different,” says Henry Raul Yu, lead singer and guitarist. “We love soul, we love blues, we love reggae, we love ethnic music. Our diversity cannot just be seen in our faces (as we’re multicultural) but can be felt. We play funky music and we want you to sweat.” Words probably to live by.

In my opinion, there’s been a bit of a gap in the YYC funk scene, and somewhere along the way, the term “jam-band” was thrown to the wayside around here. When I asked Freak Motif member Stuart Wershof (guitar), what he thought about the funky-gap around town, he quoted the all mighty Jerry Garcia; “Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart, you just gotta poke around.” I then slow clapped and stood up.

“However,” says Stuart, “There is definitely is more noise about other styles of music here. Lots of Folk, Indie  and Bluegrass bands are making great music. Calgary is getting funkier though.”

Freak Motif has also collaborated with other local singers and rappers, including Dragon Fli Empire (DFE) and Caroline Fraser aka Lady C. They recorded a single with Teekay from DFE that can be found on La Casa Blanca. But for Freak Motif, local musicians aren’t only who they mesh with.

“We’ve been lucky to connect with other artists like the Light and Soul/Leaf Ninja crew who are graffiti artists/urban agriculturalists/crazy hippies. We’ve done some really cool events and festivals with them,” says Stuart. “We’ve also had local dancers who’ve performed with us take and take the energy up a level, like the Grim Reminder b-boy crew and Ember Dance Company. That’s what this whole thing has always been about, bringing all kinds of different people together!”

Well now that we’re all holding hands and wiping the friendship tears from our faces, you should probably check out the album and then go to a Freak Motif show. You can catch Freak Motif on March 2, at the Cabin Fever event, or you can follow them on Facebook for “all things Freaky”. Their words, and I certainly concur.