Happy stormy Monday everyone! It’s a special day today, it’s my one-year wedding anniversary! One year already….time flies! I had some great plans for us to celebrate, but they were all outside, so they will have to wait. Looks pretty likely that thunderstorms will be hitting Ottawa all day. Maybe we’ll be in for a good show at least?
Wobble & Sway Podcast
I have been invited to take part in a podcast this week! I’m honoured to be part of the kickoff of Wobble and Sway, which is focused on festivals-what happens behind the scenes, specifically after the festival is over. I’ve had many experiences that will allow me to contribute on this topic, and will be sharing my thoughts this week. The first ten episodes are currently being prepared, so stay tuned in the near future for their release!
Live Events!
I’m excited to talk about a live concert this week! Phase 3 re-opening has allowed bars to host up to 50 people indoors or 100 outside. One of Ottawa’s premiere venues for concerts is opening up its stage again this Friday and Saturday nights. This isn’t just any concert either, it’s one of my favourite reggae artists: Slim Moore. Hailing from Montreal, Slim Moore is taking to the stage with four shows over two days, allowing for more people to be able to see it. I saw Slim Moore at the Tweed Backyard Shin-Dig two years in a row, and he is amazing!! You can read my brief reviews on his performances in 2018 and 2019 if you wish. He will be doing two shows each weekend night, with the Rainbow staff clearing the house, sanitizing and then re-opening the doors between each show.
Sports Sports Sports!
Sports are back!!! Hooray!!! I have to up my cable package though. First, baseball: the Toronto Blue Jays have really been in the news this past week. After JT and the Liberals denied the request for MLB to resume in Toronto, the Jays were homeless. After similar denials from Pittsburgh and Baltimore, they were left with their triple A affiliate’s park in Buffalo. At least they have a home somewhere! They’ve played their first series of the shortened season and came out 1-2 against Tampa Bay. Not the best start, but there are a lot of promising players with the Jays this year.
The National Hockey League has unsealed the vault and announced that the new Seattle Franchise will be named the Seattle Kraken. Pretty cool name, and you gotta respect the logo!
https://www.nhl.com/news/seattle-kraken-nickname-for-nhl-expansion-team/c-317588092
The playoffs are starting very soon for the NHL. Exhibition games are kicking off on Tuesday and the first playoff series will start on Saturday afternoon. You can see the full NHL schedule by clicking here.
As for the CFL, things are looking pretty bleak. The league and players association are still haggling over details of a 2020 season, and it’s not looking great at all. The league pushed back a negotiation deadline until the end of this week and they’re hoping to start in September. That of course is dependent on a significant contribution of federal money to keep the league alive. With a spend-happy government right now, it’s possible, but it’s still a lot of money.
https://torontosun.com/sports/football/cfl/canadian-football-league-moves-the-goalposts-on-a-deal-with-players
The CFL seems to be struggling in general. Last year, they quietly changed their league logo. And apparently fans hate the new logo, with Facebook groups created protesting the change. I hadn’t even noticed the logo change last fall, and I’m really not sure that I even care. But some people really do, according to 3DownNation:
https://3downnation.com/2019/09/05/current-cfl-logo-unpopular-with-fans-poll/
Finally, basketball! The NBA started scrimmages this past week, but is anyone even paying attention? So instead of talking about the NBA, I’ve found a great basketball skills video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rfzd74Gy44
This Kid’s Got Talent!
This week, I am featuring the incredibly talented Kyra Basque for the “Kid’s Got Talent” portion of my weekly post!
Fourteen-year-old Kyra is going into grade ten at South Carleton High School. I saw Kyra’s performance as Baby Bear in The Greely Players’ production of Shrek, and while she is a gifted performer, her art is where her heart truly is! Kyra is especially talented at portraits, which you can see from these samples of her work! The first picture shows an original piece of her work, while the next two are portraits of celebrities that she did.
Kyra has been drawing for as long as she can remember; her early attempts were primarily copies of cartoons-she would draw the characters she was seeing on television as early as four or five years old! She is inspired by pictures that she sees, and she loves expressing those images from her own perspective (the sign of a true artist, in my opinion!)
Kyra hopes to include her artistic abilities in her future career plans, and she is interested in architecture. I am in awe of her talent…thank you, Kyra, for sharing your art with our readers. You are very gifted, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for you!
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