Shylah Gibb is taking to the country music world! Join her twice weekly with her podcasts about the industry and numerous special guests. Here is her first individual release , of which is reflecting on Morgan Wallens actions in the past year and the impact it has had on Wallens release of ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’. This album has already been breaking records on Spotify, Apple Music and more; not to mention has overcome its fair share of difficulties. This album is making waves all over the country and non-country worlds; it most definitely deserves a listen.
Real or fake? Wild or planted? Or maybe none at all. Most households that celebrate Christmas have their own traditions surrounding the holiday, especially when it comes to picking out a tree. Amongst the endless Christmas decorations that go into making our home feel festive, the tree is typically the focal point. Some enjoy bight multi-coloured lights, homemade ornaments and a big star on the top; others prefer the more simplistic white lights with a peaceful angel at the highest point. Regardless of the decorations, it all starts with the tree!
Let’s begin with a quick look at fake trees. There are the plain artificial trees that still give you the ability to decorate, or you can buy the ones with lights already attached. It tends to be much more common for people who work a lot, whether home or away, and for folks without kids or whose kids have grown up, that invest in the already lit ones. This typically saves time on set up and tear down, along with little to no maintenance once the tree is up. Then we move on to the fake, but not pre lit trees. I have found that those who have this type of tree either put it up extremely early, therefore a real one wouldn’t survive the duration, have an allergy to pine, or they have a home that is very difficult to get a real tree into. This gives you the excitement and luxury of still decorating your own tree, just without the hassle of a live one. There is no stigma around fake trees at all, it’s all about finding out what suits you and your family’s personality best!
Now onto live trees. These day’s it is much more uncommon to trek up the mountain and hunt down your own wild Christmas tree; but that’s not saying it isn’t still being done! Driving to the outskirts of town, parking at the base of a mountain and trudging through the snow with your frozen toes. Rope in one hand and a saw in the other, nothing puts you in the holiday spirit faster! On the other side of that, the burden of actually sawing the tree, tying it and hauling it back to the vehicle can be grueling. The work isn’t done there either, you then proceed to get it into or on top of your vehicle, by then you are covered head to toe in sap before you finally make sure it is secure for the drive home. It is definitely a bittersweet process but never a dull moment!
If the wild tree hunt doesn’t tickle your fancy, lastly, we have the classic Christmas Tree lot. This is where individual taste can really shine through; some like the ones with character, others require it to show no bald spots, and some go for the height. That’s the beauty of a tree lot, there is something for everyone, but that also can make it difficult for all those in the household to agree. In the end, there is some sort of compromise worked out, usually followed by a cup of hot chocolate and some laughs on the way home. With that being said, potentially in some locations, you will find the U-Cut tree lots. This gives you the fun of cutting down your own tree while saving you the day long trip up the mountain to find your own, it is basically right in the middle of the first two options, but can be a tad more difficult to find in the city.
Regardless of the type of tree people you and your family are, it may differ every year and traditions evolve, but the purpose is to bring everyone together. There is no such thing as a perfect tree, and we learnt that first hand from Charlie Brown when he showed us that it’s all about the inner beauty we see and the symbol it represents.
Team Canada and the World Juniors have had a bit of an upset this morning. Hockey Canada has confirmed that there have been 2 players on the Canadian team testing positive for COVID-19; this has led to all players, coaches, and staff that were in contact with these players into a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The camp is currently suspended but the tournament should continue as usual; safety protocols will be requiring additional testing before resuming any camp activities.
With that being said, the hockey world finally has something to count down for! Amidst all the current NHL banter, the World Junior’s are set to hit the ice. After a successful post season in the NHL’s bubble’s, it if safe the say the players will be in good hands playing the entirety of the tournament at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
The annual puck drop takes place Christmas Day and the players are fired up. The same bubble format will be in place as it was for the NHL, which means it will be played without spectators; but this does not mean there will be any lack of excitement. Last years WJHC was held in the Czech Republic with Canada winning 4-3 to take the gold against Russia with a massive come back. After the whirlwind of a tournament last year and COVID eliminating almost all other sporting events right now, it’s safe to say this will be one of the most highly anticipated World Juniors to date.
There is another major change being made, and that is the switch of the host countries for the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship next year. Originally, Gothenburg, Sweden was set to host the tournament, but due to the pandemic not allowing spectators this year they have agreed to let Edmonton and Red Deer host the tournament again next year. This will allow hockey fans who have already bought tickets for this upcoming WJHC to hang onto them and use them for the 2022 tournament. The President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rene Fasel released a statement on the matter saying, “This is a tough decision to have to make, but ultimately we did not have a choice. The health and safety of players, officials, and fans is our top priority”. The IIFH will be covering any costs that Sweden has already spent in preparation for the 2022 tournament, and for us Canadians, well, looks like two years in a row of home ice hockey!
Get your Team Canada Jersey out, face paint ready and PVR set, as across Canada we will be set for puck drop! The tournament begins Christmas Day but Canada is not scheduled to play until the afternoon of Boxing Day against Germany. For the entire schedule check out www.iihf.com
Every year around the holidays, it is exciting to see everyone putting up their lights and getting ready for the annual festivities. This year is going to be a lot different from what we are used to, therefor the community is looking for ways to ensure the holiday spirit is in full supply. The PNE has developed a safe and unique way to put on a miraculous light show for everyone to enjoy. WinterLights will be Vancouver’s premiere drive-thru holiday experience; a 2-kilometer journey through a dazzling display in the warmth of your car, how could you not want to check it out!
This event will be offering more than just lights though! The “magical journey to Santa” provides a fully rounded holiday experience including a forest of nine different themes, Christmas songs that you can sing CAROL-oke along to, and all sorts of festive performances along the way. The dazzling colours will put you in a trance, all your favourite holiday music will be playing and there will be a whimsical 50-foot purple Christmas tree you can not miss. As your journey comes to an end, you will find an assortment of COVID-friendly food trucks that will provide you with a tasty treat for the drive home.
The PNE will be following all safety protocols developed in consultation with Vancouver Costal Health. Tickets are sold online at the pne.ca/winterlights, where you can also find all the safety precautions, prices, dates and the “to be announced” list of food trucks that will be participating in the event. Masks will be mandatory for everyone over the age of 2 and the ticket scanning will be done through a window for everyone’s safety. You couldn’t find a safer way to enjoy this stunning holiday event. Whether you’d like to take a drive through this magical journey on your own, or take the gang out for some family fun, there is something for everyone!
As the holiday season approaches, many Canadians are getting ready for Christmas and other festivities! While the hustle and bustle begins in stores and our homes, we tend to focus on the decorating, baking and other traditions. It is this time of year that we tend to be so wrapped up, no pun intended, in our busy schedules; this means we need to be extra careful around the house if we have pets. Whether it be Christmas decorations, holiday baking, poultry bones or small toys, it is very important to keep all the dangerous human things away from your furry family members.
Christmas tree decorations can make all kinds of hazards for our pets! Beginning with the lights themselves, cats for one are nosey little critters and tend to love chewing on things this item can potentially give them a good zap, or worse. We saw it first hand on the classic movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when the cat chewed the tree lights and blew himself and half the living room in a puff of smoke and fur. The movie may have put a humorous spin on it, but it can be a serious problem. Not only the lights can be tempting for them but small ornaments, tinsel and the sturdiness of the tree itself can be very harmful to our pets. Us humans all get excited to decorated over the holidays, so just make sure our furry little friends are enjoying it just as much.
Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate, that is what many households see around the holidays. This season tends to be a great excuse to pig out with all of our favourite festive treats, but it is no secret that chocolate can be absolutely life threatening to cats and dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine which can be deadly to our pets, and can is usually more easily accessible for them around this time of year; that being said, it is incredibly important to make sure all our human treats are fully out of reach and secure.
The holidays are a great opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends, and of course includes our pets. Especially this year amongst the pandemic, many might be spending a lot more time than usual with their furry family members, so make sure this holiday season is safe and special for all in your home!
It’s that time of year again! It is the time where giving is more important than receiving, where families have an opportunity to gather and celebrate for the holidays; but some people do not have the opportunity to do so. The Salvation Army works year-round to improve the lives of others in a number of ways, but the Christmas Kettle Campaign is their largest fundraising event of the year. This season marks the 130th year of the fundraiser, and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. But, with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting communities hard, the fundraiser is struggling to make it as successful as previous years.
Communities across the country are reaching out for help, and the number of visits to Salvation Army are skyrocketing. Darryl Burry, the Executive Director of the Kelowna-Lake Country Salvation Army, told CBC that on average their numbers have increased by 61 per cent this year. These numbers are a clear indication of the struggle our province, and the rest of Canada, is experiencing. As the largest fundraiser for The Salvation Army, the kettle supports 1.9 million vulnerable people in 400 communities across Canada. But with the increased number of people in need, and the lack of volunteers this year, there is worry this season will not generate enough. The need for volunteers is a detrimental issue, Prince George’s Salvation Army Major Neil Wilkinson told CBC News that, “many of our volunteers are 50 [and older] and they are one of the sectors that are at most risk when it comes to the pandemic and so our key demographic for volunteers is being impeded by the pandemic”. It is no question that this holiday season is already going to be much different than what we are used to, but The Salvation Army is going to try and make it go as smoothly as they possibly can.
With that being said, there is one major change that could be greatly beneficial to the campaign! By the start of December, the goal is for contactless options, such as tap for debit and credit cards at most stations. Along with that, they are working vigorously to ensure they possess the correct spacing in front of local business in order to guarantee the safety of the public and volunteers. Lastly, there is an easy to use “donate” button on The Salvation Army website that you cannot miss!
Help pay it forward to your community this season. Whether you have the time to volunteer a couple hours a week, skip your coffee that day and drop a few dollars in the Christmas Kettle, or send what you can online, everything helps. If you are interested in volunteering, click A Call for Christmas Volunteers – The Salvation Army in Canada and fill out an application now!
The golf world is one of the many sports that have been shook by COVID-19. Although the sport may be a one-man game, there is a great deal of people associated with the successfulness of it. The Masters is the most recognized tournament in golf and with the impact the virus has had on the world, the tournament was forced to reschedule. The legendary event has been taking place since 1934 in Augusta, Georgia. The course is known to be one of the hardest in the world and has been played by all the prominent figures in golf over the years. It has a length of 7,475 challenging yards with a par of 72, and has never come easy to any professional golfer.
This year’s tournament presented many challenges, one of which is the change of date for the Masters Tournament itself. Usually, the event is held in April but due to the Coronavirus it was postponed till November; this is the first documented postponement since 1946 when it was rescheduled due to World War II. The winner of the tournament collects their portion of the purse worth $11.5 million dollars and the honor of being presented with the historic green jacket.
Canadians golf fans are hopeful with the presence of Corey Conners this year at the Masters. At the age of 28, he turned pro in 2015 and is currently sitting in 15th place after the third round. It didn’t hurt that Corey shot a record low score for a Canadian of 65 in the tournament. Two other top Canadians Mike Weir and Nick Taylor made the third round cut to 60 players. Unfortunately, our fourth Canadian Adam Hadwin did not make the cut in spite of shooting one under par on his second round.
Be sure to tune in Sunday to watch the tournament come to an end, cheer on our fellow Canadians and enjoy the legendary event!
The Miami Marlins have hired Kim Ng as their General Manager. She is the first female in history to secure the position and has been in the baseball sphere for over twenty years. Her decorated resume includes being apart of the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees club’s as their assistant general manager.
Growing up Ng always had a passion for baseball. She learnt the game by playing stickball in the street, and developed into a well-rounded shortstop for the University of Chicago. Following her softball career, she started as an intern for the Chicago White Sox, gradually working her way up and gaining a reputation as a negotiator; that was the year she became the first women to present, and win, the arbitration case facing off against Alex Fernandez. Not long after, the Yankees GM Brian Cashman hired her as an assistant general manager (1998-2001), then to the LA Dodgers (2001-2011) before she moved to her preceding job with the MLB as the senior vice-president for the past 9 years (2011-2020).
Kim Ng, along with numerous big names in baseball, weren’t shy when talking about her long-awaited achievement. Ng released a statement saying, “After decades of determination, it is the honor of my career to lead the Miami Marlins”. Mark Shapiro, the president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, posted a congratulatory tweet expressing his respect, “A truly historic moment for our industry with Kim Ng hired as the first woman GM in MLB history. Incredibly well-deserved & equally excited for the future of our sport-the young women that can look to Kim, follow her determination, and see themselves as future sports leaders”. There is no question that Ng is not only changing the face of baseball, but has impacted men’s professional sports in general.
History has been made, and this season of MLB will certainly put Ng to the test, but she is no stranger to the league and the associated pressures. She has 3 World Series Championship rings with the New York Yankees, and does not plan to stop at that, “When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a major league team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals. My goal is now to bring championship baseball to Miami”. Kim Ng and the Miami Marlins are highly anticipating the start season as she takes a seat as GM this morning to look over the roster.
The Olympic Games have always been a unifying sporting event, one that has always had great success when hosted at one of our great Canadian cities. Though the summer Olympics are a significantly supported event in Canada, the winter games are our forte. After the success of the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, it is quite apparent that the city is an excellent fit for the event.
Earlier this month the Vancouver City Council was put to a vote whether to put in a bid; the outcome was seven votes in favor of the motion and four votes against. The vote was originally set to be held back in April but was tabled due to COVID. There are many valid points on either side of the vote. The main con argued by Councillor Jean Swanson was that the money spent in the 2010 Olympics could have been put towards helping local people living in poverty. On the flip side of that, the pro is it would boost Vancouver’s economy and hopefully put Vancouver back on track after effects that the Coronavirus has had and is still having on the city. Councilor Melissa De Genova, whom was the one that moved the original date of the meeting, is urging city council to consider these Olympics as it could be a major tool in the economic recovery. De Genova told Daily Hive Urbanized in an interview that, “As a city councilor, I see it as my duty and responsibility to leave no stone unturned, and consider all opportunities to bring benefits to our city, and the catalyze the prosperity of our residents”. She continued to explain other benefits the city would receive should the motion pass.
The International Olympic Committee has already pointed to Vancouver as a model example for hosting a sustainable Olympics. Not only is Vancouver a suitable city to support the Winter Olympics, all of the infrastructure’s that were updated or built for the 2010 games are still in ship shape. Therefore, the city could focus on updating other avenues to benefit the games, along with other positive updates for the entire city. Projects such as long-term transportation upgrades would have more attention brought to them, along with a reuse of the athlete and officials’ accommodations being transformed into affordable housing following the end of the Olympics.
There has not yet been an official decision made, but the way things are looking it would be more beneficial to make a bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics. If the city does achieve approval to make the bid, it would just be a matter of “dusting off” the credentials from the previous Olympics and starting again, this time aiming to do it even better.
Grammy Award-winning R&B artist The Weeknd will be the headliner of the 55th annual Superbowl. The NFL, Pepsi, Roc Nation and the artist himself released the news this morning that they are all pleased to announce that the Canadian artist will be taking the stage at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay on February 7th, 2021. Pepsi posted a tweet at 8:45am today stating, “When your talent is limitless, you belong on the world’s largest stage”. The last Canadian to perform at the Superbowl’s halftime show was Shania Twain alongside No Doubt back in 2003. Although the event is American, there is no question that a great deal of Canadians also enjoy watching the season end match up and halftime spectacle.
The artist himself who’s actual name is Abel Makkonen Testaye is ecstatic about the news! Roc Nation, which is an agency led by the legendary Jay-Z, formed a social justice and entertainment partnership with the NFL which gives the agency the authority to nominate performers for the Superbowl and other NFL events. This will be the second time one of Roc Nations nominations will be performing at the halftime show. The Weeknd participated in a press release stating, ‘We all grow up watching the world’s biggest acts playing the Superbowl and one can only dream of being in that position. I’m humbled, honoured and ecstatic to be the center of that infamous stage this year”. Last year the Superbowl attracted 4.33 million Canadian viewers, and every year in the States it continues to be the most-watched TV event of the year.
The Canadian artist has an extensive loyal following and is always raising the bar for other artists; this years Superbowl performance shouldn’t be anything less than that. With The Weeknd’s devoted fans and endless amount of support, The Weeknd, NFL, Pepsi and Roc Nation are all confident they will be successful in solidifying the most-watched performance of the year. Join them all February 7th, 2021 for an unforgettable halftime show.
Photo – Ryan Remiorz / CP
