Canada closes Pacific Rim Basketball Classic in flying fashion

Canada’s RJ Barrett answered the nation’s questions about how he would adapt to the challenges of coming up against senior players in the Pacific Rim Basketball Classic (PRBC). The six-foot-seven Mississauga, Ontario athlete earned player of the game on Sunday night at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, as he and the Canadian senior men’s basketball team cruised […]

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Toronto-based Queer Songbook Orchestra spreads pride awareness in Victoria

Growing up in a time of oppression for the 2SLGBTQ community, trumpet player Shaun Brodie grew used to living a lie. He had girlfriends. He stuffed his queer reality away, refusing to acknowledge it. “You know about gay because [of the phrase] ‘Oh, that’s so gay,’ or somebody called you a ‘faggot’ on the playground; […]

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Metamorphosis a visual poem for a wounded planet

Filmmakers Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper got inspiration for their new film Metamorphosis from wanting to create a poetic love letter to a planet rocked by climate change. Ami says it all started just over four years ago when Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, killing over 6,000 people. Due to her close connection with the […]

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Hermann’s Jazz Club looks onward with first annual jazz fest

Hermann’s Jazz Club is holding the Hermann’s First Annual Jazz Festival from June 20 to 30. Hermann Nieweler—who opened the club in 1986—passed away on June 10, 2015; after hard times involving legal issues with the club following Nieweler’s death, Hermann’s has been revamped and is ready to focus on jazz again, and the club […]

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New Music Revue: Ray LaMontagne gets halfway there with new album

Ray LaMontagne Part of the Light (Sony) 3/5 Ray LaMontagne is back with his seventh studio LP, Part of the Light, a return to form after the 2016 Pink Floyd-inspired concept album, Ouroboros. Part of the Light is more reminiscent of 2014’s Dan Auerbach-produced Supernova. Musically, LaMontagne is drifting. The first single, “Such a Simple […]

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More to approve than not in A Chorus of Disapproval

Langham Court Theatre’s A Chorus of Disapproval makes for a night of good clean laughter. However, Langham Court Theatre’s claim on their website that the play is appropriate for all ages is a stretch. While most of it is, some of the humour does not shy away from sexual innuendos; there’s even a swinger party […]

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Listening to the Bees successfully uses art and science to bring point home

Humanity’s relationship with bees is one of beautiful complexity and interdependence. In Listening to the Bees, readers are introduced to this delicate balance through Renee Saklikar’s richly evocative poetry and Mark Winston’s deep and profound relationship with the insects. Each entry from Winston—field journals from his over 40 years of scientific research into the biology […]

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Camosun student expands diversity through film festival

Camosun first-year University Transfer student Zara Chaudhry feels that there are certain things that can be expressed through film better than they can through other mediums, such as literature. Two of the things film can express so well, she says, are a person’s roots and diversity, which she hopes this weekend’s Diversity Film Fest will […]

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New Music Revue: Trampled by Turtles at their very best on new album

Trampled by Turtles Life Is Good On the Open Road (Banjodad Records) 4.5/5 Fifteen years ago, Trampled by Turtles emerged from Duluth, Minnesota; by combining elements of bluegrass, rock, folk, and punk, they turned a new generation onto string bands. Now, after a brief hiatus, Trampled By Turtles are back with their ninth LP, Life […]

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Claire Sicherman explores healing through writing in new book

In her new book, Imprint: A Memoir of Trauma in the Third Generation, Salt Spring Island author Claire Sicherman braids her family’s past with the emotional and physical impact it had on her. “The book is basically my attempt at breaking my family’s silence about the Holocaust,” says Sicherman. “I grew up knowing stories about […]

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