Posted on August 25, 2014 under Monday Morning Musings with no comments yet

Do you know where this is?

 

 

The first Antigonish Art Fair is officially in the books.  David Miller and Beth Latwaitis deserve most of the credit for bringing this wonderful event to life. They worked tirelessly all spring and summer securing funding, contacting local artisans and artists and food vendors. Jyotsna and Ruth put in a lot of time with the logistics and there were tons of volunteers. My job as emcee was a lot of fun. It was chaotic at times trying to juggle all of the acts at the gazebo ( and in the Farmer’s Market barn for the last event ), but I got a front row seat. I liken it to baking cookies. The other committee members assembled the ingredients, Jyotsna and I mixed up the batter and the put the cookies in the oven. I hope most people agree that the finished product was pretty tasty.

If anybody says that there’s nothing to do in Antigonish, please feel free to give them a shake on my behalf. I won’t even start to list everything that has gone on in the past week. But if these same people hauled themselves off the couch last Friday evening they would have seen the following at the Art Fair: “popping” a dance craze that came out of L.A. in the 70’s ( Los Angeles… not Lake Ainslie! ); Arpo and Ally the clowns; belly dancing, Wild Hearts, Lazurus, a violinist from Madras, India; some awesome guitar players and vocalists and much more.

And did I mention the Philipinos? We have an ever growing population of Philipinos who have chosen Antigonish as their home. Besides bringing an incredible work ethic to the companies who employ them, they have also brought an irrepressible joy for life as was demonstrated in their two performances at the Art Fair. Please go out of your way to make them welcome in our community. They are wonderful people.

Here’s my last word on the murals. I spoke with local artist Eli Tynan who explained to me how the murals have surfaced around town. The Town ran a contest and the successful artists were able to have their works scanned and printed on aluminum. One of Eli’s alcohol ink paintings will soon grace a building on the Main. Look for it. But don’t drink it!

Ok. Enough culture. When was the last time you tried to cancel a credit card? When was the last time you felt like throwing your phone on the ground and stomping on it while the client service rep on the other end of the line is trying to explain to you why this is not possible? And do you have any idea how ridiculous this exercise is when you have a credit balance? “Credit Card Crazy” is a tell all about my attempts to cancel a card with a credit balance ( wait for this )…. of  30 cents.

Whoosh. That is the sound of life speeding along. It’s the end of August, in case you haven’t noticed. It is startling watching the months hurtle by like a locomotive coming down a mountain pass.

Have a great week. Long weekend coming up!

 

Posted on August 23, 2014 under Storytelling with no comments yet

The Cabot Links gift shop

 

 

Every once in a while, you meet someone for the first time and within minutes you feel like you’ve known her forever.  Such was the case recently when I ventured up to Inverness to pay a visit to the Cabot Links golf course.  The plan was to have a meeting with Ben and then stop into the gift shop to see if they might sell some of my books.  The gift shop is located in a large yurt.  I struck up a conversation with one of the managers, Ann, and we engaged in a conversation that lasted nearly an hour.  She was a “salt of the earth” kind of person.   It almost seemed like we were kindred spirits.

Almost.

You see, Ann’s last name is Campbell.  We gave each other a knowing glance.

As far the MacDonald clan is concerned, the only good thing named Campbell comes in a can and should be heated in a pot on the top of a stove.

The Campbells and the MacDonalds have a long history, and some of it is tinged with notoriety.  Glencoe.  The MacDonalds have very long memories.

The strong handshake was a dead giveaway.  I could tell immediately that the gift shop was in good hands.  As fate would have it, they were running low on reading material and it appeared that my timing was perfect.

Ann confessed that she was not a reader but suffers a similar affliction as my wife: she is a shopper.  I told her that my target audience for my writing had become women between the ages of 45-70.  She said that most of the shoppers who frequented the gift shop were women.  I hinted that she would enjoy the book as many of the stories had a shopping theme.  I was not suggesting for a moment that she was part of the aforementioned demographic!  It is never a good idea for a man to guess a woman’s age.

We compared notes and discovered that we had both spent time in Alberta.  Everybody from Nova Scotia has worked in Alberta at some point in their lives.  We both worked with people who had challenges and we both wanted to raise our families in our home province.  We each had a parent that had died too young.

I only had a handful of books with me.  I sat at a small table and autographed them, all the while chatting with a golfer from Chicago.  I told him that my book would be an ideal gift for a man to buy his beloved.  Choosing anything else (clothing, jewelry) is fraught with danger.

It was time to leave.  I thanked Ann profusely for taking a chance on an unknown quantity (me!).   I told her that meeting her was the highlight of my day, and that when I laid my head to rest that night I would remember the encounter with fondness.

With a glint in her eye, she suggested that I sleep with one eye open.

Ann is truly the “salt of the yurt”.

Posted on August 21, 2014 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Here’s lookin’ at you

 

 

Oh my, but we have some talented people living around here. I discovered this mural on the side of the Marie’s Flowers building. I urge you to take a leisurely stroll down Main Street some day. Start at The Wheel and end at ( in ) the Heritage Museum. Walk slowly and pay attention to all the buildings, the flowers and the store fronts. We should all be proud of our community. It looks fantastic this time of the year. I always think about parents dropping their kids off for the first time at St.F.X. If this is their maiden voyage to Antigonish , then they would surely have a good first impression.

And speaking of talent, we have an amazing lineup for the last “Art in the Park” tomorrow evening at Chisholm Park.  Please note: we are starting at 5:00 p.m. as the days are getting shorter. Please come and support our artists and see performers from all over the world. Yes, several Coady students will be among the performers and the show will conclude with the amazing and energetic folks from the Phillipines. The weather looks good and there will be some delicious food.

The Fall Fair will be staring soon as will school. September really is the official start of the year for most of us. I don’t know about you, but as fantastic as the summer has been, there’s something to be said about routine… not to be confused with poutine. The fall of the year seems to have a distinct rhythm and everyone seems to be back in a groove. It is also one of the best times of the year. The air is crisp and later on, we get to witness the incredible spectacle of the changing of the leaves.

Mark this date on your calendars: Sunday, October 26^th at 7:00 p.m. I will be taking my travelling show on the road all the way down to Heatherton in support of the community’s efforts to raise money for their new community centre ( the old elementary school ). Besides Phil and myself doing our thing, my four children will be performing some great tunes. The last time I heard them perform publically together was when they opened for Bruce Gouthro many moons ago in Mabou. I hope you will come out and support this worthwhile endeavor.

Lots of new material coming at you soon. Next up ( on Saturday ) is “Salt of the Yurt” which tells of my chance encounter with Ann Campbell who co-manages the gift shop at Cabot Links in Inverness. The gift shop is housed in a yurt. If you haven’t seen one before, Google it. I will have a picture taken on the inside of the yurt but you need to see the whole structure.

Hope to see you tomorrow evening and have a fantastic weekend.