Mykelti Williamson, known best for his role as “Bubba” in the Academy Award-Winning Forrest Gump, is currently in Vancouver filming a movie for the Lifetime network. I had the chance to catch up with him to talk a bit about his current project, and a lot about his new venture into the spice business.
“I love Vancouver, it’s a very pretty city to me,” Williamson told me while on a lunch break on set. “The people are always nice and I’ve been coming here thirty years and I’ve only met one rude person — in thirty years.”
His recent television credits include playing Brian Hastings, head of CTU in 24 and Ellstin Limehouse in Justified. However even before television, and film (he also had roles in Con Air, Waiting to Exhale, and more) and even before Forrest Gump, he loved to cook.
“I’ve been making seasonings and sauces for quite a few years, since I was a kid in fact. It was one of the things people have always been telling me to do – to put those on the market.” Williamson launched his Bubba Style seasonings and spices back in March of this year and runs the business with his wife, Sondra. They have three different seasonings available and Williamson says that in about a month they’ll have about four more.
The brand name “Bubba Style” is actually a tribute to a term of endearment – calling someone Bubba. “Every Bubba that I’ve met can cook and so my brand is more than an homage to Forrest Gump, my brand is for all the Bubbas I’ve met as a result of the movie.”
“I’ve got something called Fry Bubba Fry, which reminds people of Run Forrest Run. Bubba doesn’t run — but Bubba can fry.”
Williamson, who even has an Uncle Bubba, described Bubba Style as being not as heavy as Southern style and not as complex as Cajun style. “Bubbas like to do things in a very simple way. Clean, wholesome, down to earth, not fancy. Just clean-tasting, down-home cooking, that’s Bubba Style.”
He explained that other seasonings on the market may have 160mg to 380mg of sodium per serving but Bubba Style only has 10mg. “I don’t believe that you have to use as much salt to make [food] taste good.” You can use the seasonings as a rub for grilling but they’re also good for stews, chicken, pasta, and any other way you want to add flavour to your meal.
Partial proceeds from Bubba Style also support two causes that are close to Williamson’s heart. Save Africa’s Children, an offshoot of the ministry at his family’s church, and United Cancer Advocacy Action Network and the outreach of Rachel Shur, a survivor who has dedicated her life to helping other families who are going through what she went through.
“It’s not just about making money for selfish reasons, but we want to be blessed so we can be a blessing to other people.”
Mykelti Williamson’s Bubba Style spices and seasonings are available in a few locations in California but otherwise only online at the moment. After launching in the spring they are still building up the website to offer products. I haven’t tried them out for myself yet but I was assured that “with shrimp, it’s just to die for.”
Williamson‘s Vancouver-filmed “A Narrow Bridge” is due to air on Lifetime in February 2013 and also features Toni Braxton and David Julian Hirsh.
Rounding the Stanley Park Sea Wall the photo opportunities are abundant. North Shore and city scenes, forest trails, ocean wildlife, balanced rocks on boulders, sunsets, and more. Perched on the Western tip of the peninsula, Siwash Rock might just be one of the most photographed hunks of stone in the City and as such, it’s today’s Vancouver Icon.
About 32 million years ago, a volcanic dike formed in the sedimentary rock that forms the foundation of the park (sandstone and mudstone). Magma was forced to the surface through a fissure in the Earth’s crust creating the basalt stack, which is more resistant to erosion that the softer sandstone cliffs. Siwash Rock is the only such sea stack in the Vancouver area. [Source: Wilderness on the Doorstep: Discovering Nature in Stanley Park]
To the Squamish First Nation Siwash Roch is Skalsh or Slah-kay-ulsh. According to E. Pauline Johnson’s “Legends of Vancouver” it is a young man who was turned to stone, as an honor. Its plaque reads: “Indian legends tells us that this 50 foot high pinnacle of rock stands as an imperishable monument to “Skalsh the Unselfish,” who was turned into stone by “Q’uas The Transformer” as a reward for his unselfishness.
” From far trans-Pacific ports, from the frozen North, from the lands of the Southern Gross, they pass and repass the living rock that was there before their hulls were shaped, that will be there when their very names are forgotten, when their crews and their captains have taken their long last voyage, when their merchandise has rotted, and their owners are known no more. But the tall, grey column of stone will still be there – a monument to one man’s fidelity to a generation yet unborn – and will endure from everlasting to everlasting.” [Source: Legend of Siwash Rock]
The BC Travel Tuesday series has returned this summer as I partner up once again with Backyard BC to highlight properties and destinations around the province. We’re now half way through our six week campaign with six different getaway packages for BC hotels.
Featuring a variety of hotels and resorts located throughout the province, Backyard BC provides residents of British Columbia with free access to exclusive discounts on accommodation. If you live and travel in BC, we’ll make sure you pay less than the lowest rates available to anyone else. Travel local. Save big. Visit Backyard BC online, on Twitter, or Facebook and see more of BC!
The winner of the third giveaway of the 2012 BC Travel Tuesday campaign is @LMDallaVecchia! If you haven’t already, you can still enter to win the grand prize which includes stays at every property we’re showcasing over the full six weeks.
The fourth giveaway of the series is perfect for a staycation. Get away to your own downtown core for a night following a romantic dinner, be a tourist in your hometown, or visit the big city.
Photos courtesy: Hyatt Regency Vancouver
Hyatt Regency Vancouver Website, Twitter, Facebook, Backyard BC listing Location: 655 Burrard Street, Vancouver About: “Freshly updated to reflect the excitement and vibrancy of Vancouver, our hotel is surrounded by the bustling business centre and within close proximity of the unique shops of Robson Street, the greenery of Stanley Park, the Vancouver Convention Centre, and Rogers Arena, home of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks.” Prize: 2 nights in a preferred view guestroom and buffet breakfast for 2. Value: $800
To enter to win the weekly contest:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win 2 nights at @HyattVancouver from @backyardbc @miss604 http://bit.ly/BCT604-4 #bctraveltuesday
This contest is now closed.
Weekly winners will be announced every Tuesday on the latest BC Travel Tuesday contest post until the six weeks are up. Gift certificates for hotel and resort stays will be sent directly to each weekly winner so they can arrange their visit personally with the property. Some restrictions apply, based on availability.
View all posts in the series by following or subscribing to my BCTravelTuesday tag. Open to residents of BC. Backyard BC’s grand prize draw for stays at all 6 properties will take place September 4, 2012.
With misty eyes and heavy hearts, we watched on Sunday as the London 2012 Olympic Games came to a close. Athletic triumphs and defeats, dreams were both realized and shattered like records. However the competition and display of athletic excellent is not over yet. The London 2012 Paralympic Games open up August 29th and will run until September 9th.
If you’re like me, you fell in love with the skill, perseverance, and amazing athleticism of the Paralympics when they were in Vancouver — where Canada placed third in both the gold medal count and the overall medal count). This morning this Canadian Paralympic Committee announced the members of Team Canada who will be going to London to represent out country.
Canada will bring a total of 145 athletes to compete in 15 sports in London. They are joined by 12 athlete support personnel (cycling pilots, running guides, boccia sport assistants and a rowing coxswain), and 134 officials (coaches, managers, support staff, mission staff). The team will be led by Chef de Mission Gaétan Tardif (Toronto, ON) and Assistant Chef de Mission Elisabeth Walker-Young (Vancouver, BC).
The Canadian Paralympic Committee has a full list of athletes, guides, assistants, and coaches available on their website, complete the competition schedule.
Follow @CDNParalympics on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for information and updates throughout the Games. Cheer on the Paralympians using the tags #London2012 & #GoCanadaGo on Twitter.
The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is hosting a salvage sale this Friday, August 17th. This sale, contrary to their annual salvage sales, is a final clearance sale as they will be closing their warehouse.
The warehouse is located at Unit 115 – 7011 Elmbridge Way in Richmond. The public is invited to stop by on Friday, August 17, 2012 between 10:00am to 2:00pm
Items up for sale during their recent salvage sale included fireplace inserts and fire tools, Clayburn bricks and guilded ornamental plasterwork from the Pantages Theatre, a partner desk, pedestal sinks, and stained glass windows.
For this final sale, they will consider any and all offers on items. They have doors, pedestal sinks, windows, and more. They “would rather see things go for a song than go to the landfill.”
Follow the Vancouver Heritage Foundation on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the sale, other heritage events, and walking tours throughout the summer.
![Siwash Rock at Stanley Park [Explored]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7213/7270169188_bbd5658ba7.jpg)
The warehouse is located at Unit 115 – 7011 Elmbridge Way in Richmond. The public is invited to stop by on Friday, August 17, 2012 between 10:00am to 2:00pm