Photo by Rod Leland

My gastronomically-talented friends, the Lethbridge Personal Chefs, are holding an awesome free event at the Galt celebrating local producers. You’ll find yours truly there stuffing his face.

Amanda writes:

Hey foodies and fans!

Well, the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is nearly upon us, and we’ve teamed up with our friends at the Galt to bring you “A Night at the Museum“, a community-inspired holiday event to kickstart your Christmas shopping and holiday meal planning!

We’ve been all over Southern Alberta, visiting farms, meeting farmers and taking notes to make sure we bring you all the information you need to put a little more Lethbridge in your Christmas cooking. You’ll taste products from and learn more about:

• Vital Green Dairy and Sheep Farm
• Broek Pork Acres
• Pura Vida Beef and Poultry Farm
• Fairwinds Goat Farm
• Driview Lamb Farm
• J&M Farms
• Leffers Brothers Organics

…including where in town you can buy their stuff for yourself! You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to support your community and help Lethbridge grow (and just how good it tastes!). We’ll also have recipes for you to take home of all the goodies you’ll be trying!

The gift shop will be open, so check out its awesome selection of works from local authors, artists and artisans. Passholders get 20% off all gift shop sales for the one night only, so it’s a pretty great night to come in and consider getting yourself a Galt pass

It’s open to the public and there will be food, drinks and fun- what more do you need?? Tell your ma and pa, aunties and uncles, and come help us celebrate our amazing community!

Facebook event page

Lethbridge Personal Chefs

Study this man. His name is Sly Grosjean and is a nominee for Canada’s Worst Driver.

Brother-in-law, Fred is concerned that Sly is addicted to his technological driving devices. Sly is a deliveryman and has difficulty with directions. He relies heavily on the GPS on his phone to navigate his way around the city. Because Sly is dependant on driving with new technology, he’s also quick to make sure that nothing is his fault.

I’m rooting for you, Sly. Win this show and justify my road rage!

I’m sure this is old news to any CKXU listener, but for everyone else the CKXU FUNdrive is well underway. I probably should have blogged this earlier.

FUNdrive is the most important time of the year for CKXU. This is the only time of the year we solicit our listeners and the community for donations. These donations help us bring in a large portion of CKXU’s operating income and help us keep the station running for the year.

This year FUNdrive falls from October 21 – 28. This is the most fun and exciting time of the year at the station and all our shows join in to help raise the funds.

CKXU 88.3FM is the best radio station in Lethbridge, with the most diverse selection of music. It’s produced by University of Lethbridge students and volunteers, who need you big money to keep it on the air! Lots of events, swag and great music are your reward.

CKXU FUNdrive

FNMI Awareness Days are a chance to celebrate the pride, history and knowledge that are at the heart of Canada’s FNMI communities. The celebration begins today at 9 a.m. with the raising of the college tipi. This event will be followed by opening ceremonies at 11:30 a.m. in Centre Core and a feast of traditional stew and bannock at the Piita Pawanii Centre. Other events include a traditional fashion show, drumming and dancing, as well as a hoop-dance demonstration. A full schedule of events is available online. Artisans and craftsmen will be exhibiting their wares from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. daily in Centre Core.

Here’s a quick clip of what’s happening right now at Lethbridge College:

P.S.
FNMI = First Nations, Metis & Inuit

Back in 2001 or so, I worked with Gordon Leigh (from the John Howard Society) and local author Richard Stevenson to advertise a  jazz & poetry festival. The logo above is some of my old work. Anyway, I hadn’t heard much on that front in a few years and am pleased to see that Jazzerwocky 2011 will be held at Whispers Restaurant & Lounge on October 22.

From Whisper’s blog:

Saturday, October 22, Whispers will host Jazzerwocky. Confirmed thus far are the Scott Davidson Trio, the Naked Ear, and poets Jay Gamble (U. of L. faculty) and Richard Stevenson (Leth College faculty), both well published poets.

I’ve enjoyed about a few of these events in years past. The lineup looks excellent!

Whispers Restaurant & Lounge

Matt writes:

hey dude,

my band the liptonians and another band from vancouver called the zolas will be playing at the slice on oct 16th… I was wondering if you’d post about it on your blog and facebook.

The Liptonians

Leeroy Stagger’s newest song was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Head over to YouTube to get a copy of the song.

On October 15th, the 99% of Lethbridge will be holding their own “occupy” demonstration:

OCCUPY LETHBRIDGE

Saturday, October 15th, 2011
Lethbridge, Traditional Blackfoot Territory
Peacefully Assemble with The 99%!

10 am – Special “Not Your Mother’s Poetry” Broadcast on CKXU 88.3 FM.
Stop by the Station, Lower UofL SU Building

11 am – Sign making outside of City Hall

12 pm – Peaceful Assembly outside of City Hall – Beginning of the 99% Open Mic. Please keep it to under 5 minutes.

12:30 pm – March as part of the 99%. City Hall around downtown and back. Open Mic stops outside of financial institutions and Jim Hillyer, MP’s office. What is YOUR message to the 1%?

2:00 pm – Open Mic finishes at City Hall.

* The route is approximately 1km long and will be kept at a slow pace for those with limited mobility.

For those unable to march, there will be people with information mingling outside of City Hall. They would love to discuss how a better world is possible.

Occupy Lethbridge

Brooke Kreeft gets lyx’d

Newspaper clipping after the jump.

Image via Joan Kreeft

Vancouver-based singer/songwriter Dave Hadgkiss goes by the stage name Folk Thief. His newest album, Love, Heartache and Oblivion was released in March 2011 and quickly rose to the top 10 on the college radio charts, and the critics are loving it!

As part of a tour across Canada from Vancouver to St. John’s and back, Folk Thief and My Boy Rascal will be playing at the Owl Acoustic Lounge at 9pm on Saturday Oct. 15th.

And here’s what he sounds like:

The Devil Behind Me by Folk Thief

More available on Soundcloud.

My secret source from the Allied Arts Council writes:

From Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2, downtown Lethbridge will be alive with the arts!  Lethbridge Arts Days 2011 is one of many events occurring throughout the province during Alberta Arts Days 2011.  The event is being coordinated by the Allied Arts Council in partnership with over 150 arts organizations and artists showcasing a diverse cross section of what Lethbridge’s artists have to offer including music, dance, photography, sculpture painting, performance art, and much more including live demonstrations.

The 8th annual ArtWalk runs Friday and Saturday from 10:00am- 5:00pm.  Everyone is invited to join other Art-Walkers for this laid back, self-guided tour of art in downtown Lethbridge.  Downtown businesses and galleries will open their doors to host an eclectic mix of art displays and demonstrations.  Running concurrently with ArtWalk, an Artisan Market will be running at The Gate.

On Friday at 10:00am, the latest addition to the City of Lethbridge Public Art Collection will be unveiled at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery.  On Saturday morning from 10 – 11:30am, a public art tour begins at City hall and winds through downtown highlighting several public art pieces in downtown Lethbridge.  ArtsFest, a showcase of local performing artists runs Friday & Saturday night in Galt Gardens starting at 5:00pm.  Local musicians, dancers and performers will delight crowds until 10:00pm.  Food and beverage vendors as well as a beer garden will be on site.

From 1:00 – 5:00pm on Sunday, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery presents SAAG Family Fun Day - a carnival of entertainment, with street performers roaming the gallery and Galt Gardens, drop-in family art activities in the TD Creativity Center and Loose Moose Theatre Company presenting their fast paced Impro Show.

All events are open to the public.   Arts Days programs outlining detailed event information are available at the Allied Arts Council office, Bowman Arts Centre, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Galt Museum and many other participating venues.  The program is also online at www.artsdayslethbridge.org.  Join the facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ArtsDaysLeth) for all the latest updates and information.

My best friend Martin Warszawski has a piece in Calgary’s only animation festival, “Animated City!”

GIRAF Animation Festival is pleased to announce a brand new project literally animating the streets of Calgary! Animated City is a two part initiative: a series of large-scale projections on the sides of buildings in downtown Calgary, and a collection of rear projections in the windows of cool community businesses along 17^th avenue and in Kensington. Hitting the streets in early November, Animated City promises a series of psychedelic, experimental and mind-blowing animations, with many made by local animators.

He’s an incredible artist, talented as he is tall, and his animation will be projected at the Jubilee Auditorium, North Wall, November 5th from 7PM to midnight.

GIRAF

Also, the Lethbridge College Students’ Association has set a booth up outside their offices to encourage students to vote. They even are giving away goodie packs and a chance to win Flames tickets for doing so. I got a free Schick Hydro 5 razor with five blades and hydrating gel skin guards to reduce irritation.

TD customers also get VIP status if the college wins. It’s easy to enter via Facebook or email: TD Pump It Up!

EDIT: I just thought I should mention that the concert is Mother Mother, B.o.B. and Team Canada DJs.

UPDATE: You blew it, Lethbridge. We lost out on the fifth round

Lund is even-handed in his appraisal of Alberta’s politics and environment. Things are this, but they’re also that. It’s not equivocation or weasel-words. It’s a full reckoning of the situation. “The oil and gas industry is reflective of the duality of the province ,” he says.

To read her article, pick up the latest copy or read the “preview digital edition” of the magazine.

Kate had been on an afternoon treasure hunt with a friend… at the last stop, her boyfriend Keith, with some great friends and family, greeted her with this…

I took in a bit of “The Word on the Street” festival this afternoon. The streets around the Lethbridge Public Library were closed off for presenters, booths and FOOD. I ate a hot dog.

Sunday, September 25, 2011 marks the day that Lethbridge joins Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Kitchener and Saskatoon in hosting the national Word On The Street Festival and celebration of literacy.

Hosted by the Lethbridge Public Library, the Lethbridge festival is designed to be a playful, all-ages, spill-out-into-the-street community event with something for everyone to see, hear, do, and of course, eat!

More photos after the jump.

The most awesome thing that caught my eye was some swordfight demonstrations by the Lethbridge Medieval Club (Facebook page here).

Erin (left) and Kris (right) told that they’re looking for some new members because the last few got decapitated. I forgot to ask if they accept mages.

Whetstone Magazine made an appearance, selling copies of their freshly-printed issue #2. Here’s my sister showing it off:

A number of poets and musicians took to the main stage. This is Shaela Miller and her band (they sounded great):

Even the Lethbridge Furries Club made an appearance!

I got the heads up from my sister, the assistant editor for Whetstone magazine, that issue #2 is now available. For those unfamiliar:

Whetstone is a biannual literary magazine managed by student-enthusiasts at the University of Lethbridge with occasional help from members of the English Department.

Originally established in 1971, Whetstone was revived in September 2009 and aims to attract writers from southern Alberta and the prairies.

Whetstone accepts original works of prose, poetry, photography, and graphic design from students, scholars, and members of the general public.

To get your copy:

Whetstone website
Facebook page

Danny Ponomar via Lethbridge Daily Photo Dose

So I just noticed that my friend Ashley has a blog all about being a vegetarian in Lethbridge. She offers a lot of insights and some curious and delicious-looking recipes. Check it out!

The Lethbridge Veg

The public is invited to attend the opening and sale of recent paintings by George Kush.

George Kush paints deeply researched views of this areas’ not too distant past. Historically accurate and skillfully painted, this is beautiful and important work. The opening is this Saturday 7-10 pm. As always – live music, refreshments and the artist in attendance. Better yet, every painting the exhibition is for sale.

Please call Stuart at the gallery for further information. 403.328.8170

One-liner of the most in vogue museums of Lethbridge is the Sir Alexander Galt Museum and Archives. Believing the rumours stable ghosts visit it! After this you can trip along the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden to think the instant unsophisticated unanimity and use to advantage the pulchritude of its floristic compositions.

Lethbridge is a big apple where celebrations and extraordinary play events never end. Here you purpose unequivocally find engaging places to collapse! Music, artistic, striking performances, children attractions and kid-friendly cafes and parks – this all is waiting on the side of you here.

History of Lethbridge (via Kim Siever)