On this week’s edition of Making Contact, my great grandmother flies to new heights. Listen to my life-after-death encounter.
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Author Archives: Jaxon McNulty
The Watercooler – Mental Health Month
October is Mental Health Month! Check in with your friends and family.
On this edition of The Watercooler, I catch up with my mom and we get a little personal.
WARNING: Sensitive content.
Catch the latest edition of Our Planet Earth all about vertical farming.
Things are looking up!
Tame Impala Postpones 2020 Tour
Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker is in no rush to tour his latest album, ‘The Slow Rush’.
The Band recently announced that they will be postponing their tour, scheduled for 2020, one year.
Come summer 2021, Tame Impala will pick up again, starting their tour on July 28th in Phoenix. The band will be rolling through the larger U.S. market states as they continue through to October. They also made sure to throw in a few Canadian shows along the way, scheduling Roger’s Arena in Vancouver and another in Toronto.
To end things off, the touring group will take things to Kevin’s homeland of Australia and rock things up down there.
Tickets available to Vancouver’s show are available now.
https://www.ticketmaster.ca/tame-impala-vancouver-british-columbia/event/1100577BB649352F
Mariana’s Trench Takes on (most of) the World from Vancouver, Oct. 15th
There’s absolutely no doubt that most of us miss going to live concerts. The smell of the venue; the bumping of shoulders trying to push to the front; maybe not the overpriced beer…
These days, however, we’ll take what we can get, and I’m speculating that what Mariana’s Trench has cooking will be nothing short of satisfactory.
Vancouver’s very own Mariana’s Trench will be returning home, but not just for us Vancouver-ites.
This four-piece powerhouse will be performing at the Commodore Ballroom on October 15th via live stream and are opening up the venue to viewers from all around the globe. Thankfully, Trench-lovers from the United Kingdom and Europe as well as North and South America are able to purchase tickets to the show.
Tickets are available now and are running at a mere $16.44. Fare includes a $1 charity donation for Unison.
Don’t miss this rare, intimate performance that will have you dancing along wherever you are watching from.
Tickets available on Ticketmaster.
Vancouver Improv Festival Announces Show Dates
Yet another Vancouver festival has moved into the digital world. This year, you can get giddy from the comfort of your home with the Vancouver Improv Festival.
Standing as one of North America’s longest running improv festival, the 22nd annual event will be pulling the curtains via YouTube and share the screen with an ensemble of 8 talented performers. From Vancouver, Winnipeg, and the UK, this whirlpool of personalities is all round up by the Austin, Texas based director, Shannon Stott.
Along with a line-up of shows, the Vancouver Improv Festival is also holding a series of workshops. Work with and learn along-side instructors as they share the keys to advancing in storytelling and character development.
All workshops and shows will take place from September 30th to October 4th.
Check out Vancouver Improv Festival’s website for more information on shows and workshops: https://vancouverimprovfest.com/
Visit their YouTube channel to lighten your mood: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_liN87cBlVMA3lxnn9FO7g
Vancouver Fringe Festival Pulls the Curtain on Their 2020 Line-Up
September is a special time of year for all cinema lovers, as it’s the time of year that we can satisfy our craving for film and theatre at all of our favourite festivals. Although, for obvious reasons, festivals across the globe have been adapting to the global circumstances, and the Vancouver Fringe Festival 2020 is no exception.
The shows typically run on an eleven-day spree at the start of September, but Vancouver’s beloved film festival will be holding their gala on select dates all the way through Autumn and into Winter.
Hand-in-hand with Ruby Slippers Threatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Playwrights Guild of Canada and Savage Society, the Vancouver Fringe Festival presents Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women, 2020. The event – organized by Tai Amy Grauman (Métis, Cree, and Haudenosaunee), is shining the spotlight on works written by Indigenous women.
The events kicked-off on September 10th, and a few shows have already been streaming online and have hit the stage in person. So far, they have showcased five different theatrical presentations this past week with much more on the way!
Acts will continue until September 20th, keep rolling from October 1st to the 10th, and then start up again on October 29th to November 8th.
Stay seated past the end credits for potential announcements about shows dated later into December!
Visit the Fringe Festival – 2020 website for more information on upcoming shows, tickets, and venues.
Program Guide: https://www.vancouverfringe.com/program-guide/
Tickets: https://tickets.vancouverfringe.com/
Vancouver Displaying Art on the Streets to promote City Culture During Pandemic
I’m sure we’ve all felt that the level of disconnect to city culture that Vancouverites are enduring matches that of the pandemic we face – mass(ive).
We all miss going to art shows, seeing live concerts, and experiencing everything of the like while partying at festivals. Due to the pandemic, we are all experiencing a lack of culture. But this isn’t news and Vancouver recognizes that.
Since not everyone is able to make it out (for obvious reasons) Vancouver has put out what’s called the City Platform’s 2020: Public Works. This public feature showcases visual artwork in outdoor urban settings for all our viewing pleasure.
To feed all our art-hungry bellies, the Public Works was brainstormed to continue progressing Vancouver’s City Culture|Shift.
The Head of Public Art for City of Vancouver, Eric Fredericksen says, “Platforms 2020: Public Works highlights the crucial role of art in our community by sharing the works of local artists who continue to work from their living rooms, bedrooms, and on the streets of the city at this critical moment,” He adds, “The themes addressed in these work are so central to
the human experience right now and will offer our community new ways to connect during this time of crisis.”
City Platforms 2020 will run until the end of the year, and switch things up on a monthly basis.
Check out Vancouver’s city website or walk downtown (with a mask!) to see what art pieces are posted this month.
Vancouver City website: https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/artworks-emerge-on-city-owned-platforms-to-combat-isolation.aspx
Become the Leading Foot in Immersive Storytelling with UK-Canada Immersive Exchange
The UK-Canada Immersive Exchange is seeking applicants to become the leading role in immersive storytelling technology.
Over the course of one year, this international program works with applicants specializing in fields of art, film, production, and creation of the like into honing their digital production skills.
The technology that is used in the program is top-notch, if you will. Applicants will lay their hands on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality simulators (why not give them space and time while they’re at it?) to lay out their imagination before the viewer and fully immerse them directly into the story.
Pretty cool, Right?
Although it is highly arts-oriented, this program also focuses in on the study of international market. Applicants are prepared with extensive knowledge of the business industry, and their pockets are loaded with key industry contacts.
Oh yea, CASH!
Surely, opportunities for co-production funding are available to all applicants up to a maximum of $170,000 CAN.
Click and read more about how to apply to the UK-Canada Immersive Exchange and the opportunities that behold you: http://cfccreates.com/programs/183-uk-canada-immersive-exchange#tabs
Deadline for Applications is September 17th, 2020 at 12:00pm EDT.
Comox Valley streaming Youth Media Project on Sept. 19th
From the small community of Courtenay, the Comox Valley Art Gallery is showcasing their Youth Media Project… on the small screen.
The Youth Media Project takes 9 individuals, aged 16-30, into a 13-week program and builds their foundation of media and employability skills.
Succeeding the program, the participants create an independent film, and a film which collaborates with a small business or community organization that performs sustainable work.
Mentorship, artist collaboration, and digital media – all in the name of community action.
Previous year’s film submissions cover a range of social problems from Child Neglect, Addiction, to Animal Cruelty.
Although the film screenings are usually held in hand (in-person) with The Sid Williams Theatre Society – their collaboration will be premiering the Youth Media Project through live steam.
You can catch all the latest of the YMP’s Spring and Summer session films on September 19th at 3:00pm and 7:00pm PST here: https://www.sidwilliamstheatre.com/broadcast/
Visit the Comox Valley Art Gallery website for more information on YMP future applications and archived films: https://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com/projects/youth-media-project/
Also visit their Facebook page for a peak all the great things CVAG Youth Media Project does and more: https://www.facebook.com/CVAGYouthMediProject/