FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| NEWS Fourth Street Lilac Festival this weekend Fourth Street Lilac Festival hits the road this Sunday, May 31 for its annual giant block party of fun, food, entertainment - new this year - Shakes-Beer in the Park..ing Lot. Organizer Pat Maiani of Divinci says this year's festival is increasing the focus on the arts, including local theatre groups and musicians. Shakes-Beer, an outdoor performance area at the former Holy Cross Hospital parking lot, will combine continuous live theatre and comedy by Green Fools, Shakespeare in the Park, Obscene but Not Heard, Theatre a GoGo, Improv Extraordinaire and others, as well as food and drink. The festival also features live music at several different stages, including performances by The Plaid Tongued Devils, David Thiaw and Domba, Anne Loree, Maud, and others. Booths along the street will provide food samples from Fourth Street restaurants, and endless tables of jewelry, clothing, pottery, plants and gifts from local merchants and artisans. The main event takes place rain or shine from noon to 5 p.m., but the fun will continue with a jam session at the parking lot site. Despite last year's rain, more than 15,000 people attended the event, and when the sun shone for the 1996 festival, 40,000 people participated. Food Bank invites Calgarians to Help the Hungry The Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank is inviting Calgarians to help make a difference through its second annual Help the Hungry Week from June 1 to 7. To participate, the food bank suggests people be a Host for Hunger on Saturday, June 6 - invite family or friends for a party and request a minimum $10 donation for the food bank. Last year's event was proclaimed a success, raising $14,000 for the food bank. In April, 1998 the food bank provided 8,556 people with enough food for one week. More than 42 per cent of the people helped last month were children under the age of 16. The food bank also supplies food to more than 80 non-profit agencies. More than $8 million in donations per year is needed to operate the food bank - $2 million in cash and $6 million in food. To find out more about the campaign call 253-2059. CKUA launches live radio program in Calgary On May 30, CKUA will begin producing a live weekly radio program from its Calgary studio for the first time in its 70-year history. The program Deuces Wild, to run Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., will be hosted by broadcaster, music promoter and former Fast Forward columnist John Rutherford. Deuces Wild will feature guest hosts who have brought in hidden gems, guilty pleasures and recent purchases from their record collections to share with the listeners, and for the debut program Rutherford has chosen Calgary's own Jann Arden as his first guest. CKUA general manager Ken Davis notes the program will be the beginning of the station's commitment to expand its presence in the city. The station will also begin publishing its program guide weekly in Fast Forward. Fetish fashion festival features outrageous designs Looking to spice up your life? Erotic City, a live stage show and party featuring outrageous and daring fashions by Alberta fetish wear designers, comes to Calgary June 3 at Dooie Stevens. Male and female models will display racy fashions created by Firefly Tattoos, Industrial Revolution, Synthetic Illusion, Alteregos, and Arabesque pierceless body jewelry, among others. In addition to the stage show, there will be party games, door prizes, an aphrodisiac buffet, exhibits, and the crowning of Ms. Erotica, Mr. Hunk and the Sexiest Couple. For more information about Erotic City, an Alteregos fashion production, call Dooie Stevens or the Erotic City hotline at 403-988-3802. Human rights activists gather in Calgary Members of the English branch of the Canadian section of Amnesty International (AI) will converge on the University of Calgary June 5 to 7 for their annual general meeting. Founded in 1973, this year marks 25 years of AI's human rights activism in Canada. While in the city, the delegates will be sharing their concerns at a number of public events. On the evening of Friday, June 5 they will canvas Prince's Island Park and the neighborhoods of University Heights, Varsity Acres and Banff Trail seeking personal pledges of support for the basic rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which will be 50 years old in December, 1998. Marie Deans, one of the leading voices in the movement to abolish the death penalty in America, will speak at a public session on Saturday, June 6 at 8 p.m. in the MacEwan Ballroom. Deans is a 30-year veteran of the movement and her work with Virginia death row inmates was featured in the documentary First Tuesday: Death Row - A One-Woman Band. Following her presentation, local musician David Thiaw will take to the stage for a performance of world drumming. The Calgary meeting is another step in the effort to help make the basic human rights outlined in the declaration truly universal. "Human rights have moved from the margins to the mainstream, now they are part of every public discussion," says Bob Goodfellow from AI Canada. "Members of AI Canada have had an impact helping to free prisoners of conscience, stop human rights violations and push the issue onto the national agenda." Local artists to appear at Vancouver festival Vancouver's New Music West Festival may have scaled down this year, but that doesn't mean the annual Canadian music industry showcase and conference will be low on talent - especially when it comes to those artists supplied by Calgary's music pool. Six bands will be making the trek West from this city to join the other almost 80 artists from across Canada at the event which takes place in various venues around Vancouver from May 28 to 30. Pop bands The Buicks and Brown Eyed Susans, reggae act Strugglah, punk band Downway, acoustic folk duo Sara and Tegan, and Geffen recording artists The Primrods perform alongside acts such as 54·40, Pure, Matthew Good Band, and Neko Case. Along with the talent many industry insiders will be in attendance including A&R reps from most of the Canadian major labels, giving those artists who haven't been signed an excellent opportunity to be seen. |
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