Tag Archive for: culture

Blue Eyes by Evie

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In my digital storytelling workshops, I’ve been encouraging participants to tell first-person stories. But another way to tell a story is to interview someone. About a year ago, I sat down with my mother at her dining room table, with a handheld recorder, and I asked her to tell me some stories about my birth. I listened to those anecdotes a few days ago and turned one of them into this digital story.

Length of time it took to make:  4 hours

Equipment used: Zoom H4n recorder; Macbook Pro laptop

Software: Audacity; iMovie ’09

Music: royalty-free music downloaded from Jamendo

 

SaskScapes-The Gravelbourg community players

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The Gravelbourg community players join me on stage at the Renaissance Gaiety theatre and share their personal stories of reinvention which led them to finding passion in the theatre. These folks are an inspiration for anyone who wishes to follow a dream.

SaskScapes-The Radisson Music Festival – with Avery & Gerald

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Born of previous musical events in the area, this year launches the premier of the Radisson Music Festival. A vision fully realized by my second guest, Radisson town councillor and musician Gerald Wiebe. My first guest is a fresh new musician on the Saskatchewan music landscape. At 18 years old, Avery Fairbrother has caught the eye (and ears) of the towns of Borden, Radisson and beyond. He’s ambitious, smart, articulate and great with numbers!

A new perspective

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When driving through the farm fields of Saskatchewan, I’ve always been curious as to why abandoned barns and shacks are left barely standing, ready to return to the soil. I find them oddly beautiful structures and each one is like looking at a house of cards ready to tumble. Why not knock them down and clear the area?

In an upcoming SaskScapes podcast I spent an afternoon driving around my guest, Bill Warrington on his family farm. I asked him this very question. The next thing I knew Bill was cutting across his own wheat field, me bumping along beside him in his white truck, and then we came to a stop.

There stood (or rather leaned) an old wooden house. Bill is so proud of his family history and in 2011 had a plaque erected to honour the Warrington family homestead built one hundred years earlier. This was the home in which Bill’s ancestors lived, 13 children raised in this small shack! We mused about the pressure of having to get along under cramped quarters.

And in that moment, I realized why many of these dishevelled monuments are left standing. Within their toppling walls there are family stories to be remembered. How many of these landmarks are left standing to preserve the past? It was also pointed out to me, that in many cases they provide shelter for wildlife. I’ll never look at them quite the same way again.

SaskScapes-with guest Myrna Dey

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Myrna Dey is a Canadian author residing in Kamsack, SK. Her novel “Extensions” was voted “people’s choice” for the 2011 Scotia Bank Giller Prize. Myrna talks about the experiences that have influenced her writing – from growing up in a “bookish” household, to living in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Guyana, and more.

SaskScapes-the Esterhazy flour mill with guests Ralph, Jim and Ray

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Esterhazy resident, Ralph May, proudly shows off one of Saskatchewan’s treasures which has received a National heritage designation – The Esterhazy flour mill. In the second part of this podcast, I’m joined by two other local residents, Jim and Ray, who share stories of growing up on a farm during some of the most difficult years of the depression, and the joy to be found in living the simple life.

SaskScapes – with guest Florie Gray

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Florie Gray is Esterhazy’s second oldest citizen as of 2014 and she joins me in her first podcast recording ever. Florie takes me on trip down memory lane, discusses how the world has changed since she was young, sings her favourite song for me, and experiences her first “selfie”!

SaskScapes – with guest Jim Harding

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Jim Harding, the mayor of Fort San, shares his early artistic inspirations, his passion for the environment, and the story behind the new Qu’appelle Valley Centre for the Arts which finds a home in the 1911 Old Central School in Fort Qu’appelle.

Fort Qu’appelle’s new Centre for the Arts

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This weeks SaskScapes podcast was recorded in Fort Qu’appelle’s Old Central School. This grand piece of architecture was slated for demolition in 2011. You’ll hear my guest Doreen Evans share the story of when she cornered Jim Harding, the mayor of Fort San, in a local coffee shop and said “Jim, you’ve got to help save the school”. You’ll also hear my other guest, Jack Lowe share stories of being a student in the school.

The great news is that the school was saved, and is now home to the Fort Qu’appelle Centre for the Arts. I had a chance to tour the building and the work they are doing is remarkable. The dedicated committee is making every attempt to maintain the original interior fixtures where possible.

There are big plans for this centre, which will house dance studios, rehearsal, performance and gallery spaces as well as visual arts workshops. There is a call for emerging and established artists and craftspeople to come and show their work on either a short-term or long-term basis.

The team is so committed to bringing this vision to life, that a few dedicated souls are donating their time and skills to do some of the renovations themselves.

This is a true community effort, all in the name of creative arts.

In the next SaskScapes podcast you’ll have an opportunity to hear my conversation with mayor Jim Harding who shares with me how this dream began, and the plans for the future. I’m always so excited when I learn that Saskatchewan has a new arts centre for all to enjoy.

SaskScapes – with guests Doreen Evans & Jack Lowe

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Doreen Evans & Jack Lowe are two of Fort Qu’appelle’s more senior residents who recount some of the more colourful stories you won’t necessarily read in the history books. Recorded inside the old Central School, now home to the newly restored Qu’appelle Valley Centre for the Arts.