Join the Miywasin Society and the Esplanade Archives on Tuesday April 2, 2013 at 5:30 PM for a feast and Round Dance at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre.

Participants will join hands in a circle and dance around the drummers and singers. The beat of the drum is like the heartbeat of the community, and everyone moves as one. It’s a dance for everyone: children, friends, families, youth and Elders.

Buffalocalf Crossing will kick off the dance at 7 PM. Participants will experience the traditions of First Nations Dance as well as teachings and customs.

This event also showcases Profit & Ambition: The Canadian Fur Trade Exhibit, organized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization.  This exhibit is currently on display in the Esplanade Museum’s Heritage Gallery until April 27, 2013.

Everyone is welcome to gather with us to share this evening at no charge!

In Print – Medicine Hat News art exhibition

In Print – Medicine Hat News art exhibition

Opening Reception

• TONIGHT! Friday, March 1st
• 7:00pm – 9:00pm
• Yuill Family Gallery (Medalta)
• No Charge Entry

A newspaper’s front page has long been a ubiquitous part of many peoples’ lives. It is often the first point of reference when big news breaks anywhere in the world. The headlines call to us and even though the images are often iconic, few can name the source they originally came from.

How can it be that one of the most important communication tools of the past 500 years can be taken for granted?

In this exhibition, Medalta and the Medicine Hat News have partnered to exhibit important front pages over the past one hundred years.

The thought is that by elevating the Front Page from its regular place on your dining room table to the walls of a gallery, it will encourage the viewer to re-visit the idea of how information is transmitted.

The POST has been getting some big renovations lately. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) has just announced the re-opening of this great downtown thrift store taking place this Friday, March 1st. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. Lavar Payne and the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce will be on-scene to help them celebrate. The ceremony will be followed by coffee, snacks, tours of the store, and a massive 50% off blowout sale.

The renovations were made possible thanks to the generous support of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta which provided the CMHA a $6000 grant which was used to make floor plan changes, repaint the interior of the 14,450 square foot store, and create new in-store signage.

“We are so appreciative that the Community Foundation provided us with this funding. By helping us make improvements at The POST, we can continue to provide the community with a wide selection of merchandise at affordable prices, a supported work program that helps individuals experiencing mental illness get back into the workforce and an excellent volunteer opportunity,” said Executive Director, Sharon Hayward. “The POST also provides our Association with dependable revenue that we can use toward operating our various mental health programs and services in Southeastern Alberta.”

A little bit more about The POST:

The POST is a social enterprise owned and operated by CMHA that provides a supported work environment for several individuals experiencing mental illness. In doing so, revenue is generated to assist the non-profit with the ongoing provision of its programs and services. The store is staffed by a mix of paid employees and volunteers.

Figure yourself a businessy-type?

Dragon’s Den will be holding open auditions in Medicine Hat on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 looking for the next big thing for the hit series on CBC Television. Taking place from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre.

All interested entrepreneurs should be prepared to pitch their business in less than five minutes. If they can convince Dragon’s Den producers, they could be invited to brave the Dragons face-to face when season 8 is filmed in Toronto.

The auditions in Medicine Hat are one in around 40 stops in various Canadian cities. We’ve already had the Worst Driver, so why not redeem Medicine Hat by getting a participant on the Dragon’s Den?

More information with more audition dates and places here:
http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/auditions/

Which book should Medicine Hat residents read in October 2013? During the month of January, the One Book One Community committee is asking for suggestions of books for the eighth annual book discussion weekend which will take place in October 2013.

Every year Hatters come together to discuss a book and to enjoy activities based around the title. Like a citywide book club, One Book One Community offers readers opportunities to discuss the book, listen to guest speakers, and participate in activities that complement the book. Past books have included Obasan by Joy Kogawa, A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, An Audience of Chairs by Joan Clark, The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe, Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay, Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and in October 2012, the chosen book was The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.

Hatters are asked to make suggestions up to February 1, 2013. To be eligible, the book should be by a Canadian author, available in paperback and substantial enough to generate discussion. It can be fiction, non-fiction, biography, poetry or short stories. Suggestion forms will be available at Medicine Hat Public Library, the Vera Bracken Library at Medicine Hat College and at Coles Bookstore in the Medicine Hat Mall. Suggestions may also be submitted online at www.obocmh.ca The suggested titles are read and evaluated by volunteer readers and the committee. Once the book has been chosen, the title will be announced in the spring.

One Book One Community is cosponsored by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, City of Medicine Hat, Medicine Hat Public Library, Medicine Hat College and Coles Bookstore.

Indie Rock HAUNT-cert!

You asked for it… YOU GOT IT!

This Halloween weekend, October 27th, 3rd street effort presents West Coast alt-rock talent, The Zolas and The Belle Game. So come sweat through your costume because if it’s any good you could win amazing PRIZES from Lucky Squid Tattoo and Valhalla Pure Outfitters in Medicine Hat. The schow is at Schooner’s Pub. Doors at 8PM

TICKETS: $10 in advance and $15 at the door.
Available at Madhatter Roastery, The Lucky Squid, Schooners Pub and Valhalla Pure Outfitters as well as online.

After debuting with ‘Tic Toc Tic’ in 2009, The Zolas scaled the precipice of cult status across Canada and are back with their second offering, ‘Ancient Mars’. Their compelling brand of alt-rock, like Snickers, will satisfy.

Orchestral dark pop group, The Belle Game, has mystified crowds across Canada with rich melody that like M&M’s, melts in your ears not in your hand. (What?!)

O’ hungry for new local talent? Opening the show, will be eclectic hometown boys, ‘The Wild’, to prime your sweet tooth.

Toronto performance poet, Andrea Thompson, visits Medicine Hat Public Library to perform and read from her work. This takes place in the Currie Room on Tuesday, October 16 at 7.00 pm.

For the past twenty years, Andrea Thompson has performed her poetry across North America. As
one of the pioneers of Slam poetry, her writing has been included in magazines, literary journals and anthologies. She has been featured on film, radio and television. Her debut collection, Eating the Seed (2000) has been featured on reading lists at the University of Toronto and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her spoken word cd, One was nominated for a Canadian Urban Music Award in 2005. She was the Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2009.

She recently coedited an anthology, Other Tongues, Mixed-Race Women Speak Out, which includes
poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and explores the question of how mixed-race women in North America identify in the twenty-first century. The anthology serves as a place to learn about the social experiences, attitudes and feelings of others, and what racial identity has come to meant today.

For more information and to contact Andrea Thompson, go to www.andreathompson.ca

Andrea Thompson’s visit is cosponsored by Medicine Hat Public Library, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

For more information, contact Hilary Munro at 403-502-8533 or hilmun@medicinehat.ca

Image Credit: RandomHouse.ca

Steven Galloway, author of the acclaimed novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo, will be the speaker at the eighth annual One Book One Community event.  This free event takes place on Friday, October 12 at 7.00 pm in the Esplanade Studio Theatre.

The evening will be introduced by Mayor Norm Boucher who carried out two United Nations Missions in Croatia in 1995 and Kosovo in 2001. He is conversant in Croat and makes regular visits to Croatia.

The Community Orchestra, conducted by Christine Bootland of the Conservatory of Music and Dance, will play Albinoni’s Adagio. Coles the Book People will have books available for sale and signing. Refreshments will be serving following the reading.

Book discussions and activities will take place on Saturday, October 13 in the Crowfoot Room at Medicine Hat College from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm. All events are free. Participants may bring their own lunch or purchase lunch at the College Cafeteria.

For more information, please go to www.obocmh.ca, or contact obocmh@gmail.com. This event is sponsored by Medicine Hat College, The City of Medicine Hat, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, Medicine Hat Public Library, L.E.A.R.N., and The Esplanade.

In recognition of Culture Days, Medicine Hat Public Library and the National Film Board of Canada present the film, The Mystery of Mazo de la Roche. Show time is 2:00 pm on Sunday, September 30 in the Library Theatre.

Mazo de la Roche was one of the most successful and prolific women writers of the 20th century. She was the author of the popular Jalna novels, about the Whiteoak family of Ontario. The books span 100 years, beginning with the arrival from India of Captain Philip Whiteoak and his bride Adeline to Canada, where they settled on the shores of Lake Ontario in the mid1850s. Several of the books were made into films and appeared on television.

Despite her great success, she was also a mystery throughout most of her life. In this film, both dramatic and documentary techniques are used to present a portrait of a compelling woman, uncovering the secrets behind her extraordinary literary success.

The film will be preceded by Bone Wind Fire, a 30 minute documentary narrated through the words and lives of Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Carr and Frieda Kahlo, three of the 20th century’s most remarkable artists.

This film is being presented by Medicine Hat Public Library and the National Film Board’s NFB Film Club as a joint presentation.

For more information go to www.nfb.ca or contact Hilary at 403-502-8533 or hilmun@medicinehat.ca

The Big Fix, a film about the Deepwater Horizon sinking in the Gulf of Mexico, is the featured film for the beginning of the fall season of Cinema Politica. It will be shown at Medicine Hat Public Library on Monday, September 24, 2012 at 7.00 pm.

The Big Fix looks at the root causes of the offshore drilling rig sinking in the Gulf on April 22, 2010. This disaster created the worst oil spill in history. The film exposes the root causes of the spill and the massive cover-up that followed by BP. In making the film, filmmakers uncovered a vast network of corruption exposing a government that puts the pursuit of profit above all other human and environmental needs.

The film features Peter Fonda, Amy Smart and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

The Big Fix was an official selection at the Festival de Cannes in 2011.

Cinema Politica and Monday Night at the Movies/Friends of Medicine Hat Public Library are cosponsors of this free program.

For more information about the film, go to www.thebigfixmovie.com

For information about Cinema Politica, go to http://www.cinemapolitica.org/

For local information, contact Dave Bahnmiller at 403-529-2209 or daveb@shortgrass.ca