The annual Similkameen BBQ King competition, held at the historic Grist Mill & Gardens in Keremeos, is coming up on July 9th. If you’re passing through or staying in the South Okanagan, it’s a great way to sip and taste your way through the region’s best culinary offerings.
Similkameen BBQ King
Enjoy an extraordinary evening with award-winning Similkameen wines and ciders on the grounds of the Grist Mill, and watch as featured chefs create dishes using organic ingredients from local farmers in the heart of Canada’s organic capital. Participants can savour dishes and small bites from each chef, along with their chosen wine or cider pairing.
Shayna Merritt, and Josh Shulman, Shayna & Shulman Culinary Adventures/Smugglers Smoke House
James Holmes, Chef Partner at Craft Corner Kitchen
Small Bites competitors are:
Rick Chaicomdee, Benja Thai
Kirsten Steele, The Wrong Turn
Traci and Brian Russell, Branding Iron
Andrew Wurz and Stéphan Cantavénéra, Tree To Me • Harker family, Harker’s Organics
Chris Mathieson, The Grist Mill and Gardens
A panel of judges will choose winners for 4 awards and guests will vote for the People’s Choice award. Live entertainment will be provided by Aidan Mayes and Mandy Cole, described as “powerful and soft, edgy and smooth”. This Penticton based duo is a crowd pleaser. There will also be a silent auction that is a partial fundraiser for the Grist Mill, which is a Heritage BC site.
Last year I had the honour of being a judge, and the competition was fierce. The basket ingredients that had to be used by all of the competitors included short rib, blueberries, apricots, zucchini, and more — all from local producers.
Tickets are $90 and can be purchased at any Similkameen member winery, at the Keremeos Visitor Centre, the Grist Mill, Tree To Me or online. Complimentary shuttles are available from Summerland, Penticton, Princeton, Hedley, and Osoyoos. Follow Similkameen Wine on Twitter and Facebook for more information about their wineries, special events, and more.
Fountain Tire is going across Canada this summer to commemorate its 60th anniversary with unique Open Road Cinema Tour. In appreciation of the loyalty and support its customers have given over the last six decades, Fountain Tire is hosting a free, family-friendly drive-in movie night on Monday, July 4, 2016.
Fountain Tire Open Road Cinema Tour
Where: Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Grounds (6050 176 St, Surrey) Tickets: It’s free to attend but you are encouraged to reserve in advance online. When: Monday, July 4, 2016. Pre-show entertainment and activities: 6:30pm. Anticipated start time of movie: 9:30pm.
Along with the Open Road Cinema Tour, Fountain Tire locations will celebrate with 60 days of in-store promotions, AIR MILES contests giving away a total of 60,000 AIR MILES, and many other local events. Family friendly activities and games will be onsite for pre-show entertainment, plus a selection of food trucks.
Win a VIP Package
I have a VIP package to give away thanks to Fountain Tire. This includes a VIP gift basket with a ticket front row access (for your vehicle) at the event on the 4th. Since the event is on Monday, I’ll be drawing a winner on Friday, July 1, 2016 at 9:00am. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on the post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a VIP @FountainTire #FountainTire60 prize pack from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/tWEj301LFYD
Follow Fountain Tire on Facebook and Twitter for more information about the Open Road Cinema Tour.
Established in 1956, Fountain Tire is one of Canada’s premier tire and automotive service retail networks with 160 locations spanning Central and Western Canada from the Vaughan, north of Toronto to Victoria, British Columbia.
Ticket is for front row vehicle access at the drive-in movie. However, should you have a very tall/large vehicle you may be moved to a row further back for visibility purposes.
There’s going to be a whole lot of music and fun pumping through the bucolic Pemberton valley, in the shadow of majestic Mount Currie this summer. The four-day Pemberton Music Festival is set to return Thursday, July 14 to Sunday, July 17 with headliners like Pearl Jam, The Killers, J. Cole, Kaskade, Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, Ice Cube, and Billy Idol packing multiple stages. There’s also Pemby Comedy, to laugh your butt off (when you’re not dancing your butt off), food trucks, activities, days on end of sea-to-sky summer fun.
Camping is now sold out for Pemberton Festival so your best bet is to stay in Whistler and take the shuttle in to the festival site. I have done the shuttle every year I’ve covered Pemberton so here are some of my top reasons for staying in Whistler:
A comfortable place to rest your head
Whistler is packed with hotel, condo, town home and and full house rentals either right in the village or on the beautiful and serene mountainside. When you’re out all day (walking and dancing) at in the summer heat at Pemberton, having your head hit a comfortable pillow at the end of the night to recharge you for the next day is key. Walk from your room down to the Whistler Village Shuttle and start your festival day all over again feeling refreshed and ready to go.
Bonus accommodation activities
If you book with an accommodation like Nita Lake Lodge (one of my favourites) in Creekside, you’ll not only be able to take the Creekside Shuttle to Pemberton Festival, but you’ll have hotel perks like complimentary bikes for guests, stand-up paddle boarding, canoeing on Nita Lake, and delicious dining options. They also have a spa, outdoor pool, and hot tub. When booking our accommodation this year, “hot tub” was at the top of our wish list.
Dining in Whistler
Pemberton Festival offers some amazing food truck options (from gluten free noodles to burgers, beef bowls, tacos, and everything in between) but when you’re starting (or ending) your day in the village, there are some sweet early morning and late night places to nosh. El Furniture Warehouse in Whistler (so very close to the shuttle pick up/drop off location) offers a $5 menu — everything is $5 — until 1:00am. For breakfast, I’ve come to love Stonesedge. The have amazing breakfast bowls like The Woodsman with pulled venison, two poached eggs, roasted butternut squash, arugula, ancient grains, croutons and chipotle hollandaise.
Be a tourist
You’re in one of the most spectacular, natural, world-class mountain-side locations in the world, why not explore a little? Before you head up to Pemberton on the shuttle for the day check out the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, which holds world records for the longest free span between ropeway towers. One over on Blackcomb, do a quick alpine hike before taking the lifts back down to the village. Check out the Whistler Village Farmers Market on Sunday, or visit the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre for more local heritage and culture.
Full ticketing details and prices for Pemberton Festival, including Regular General Admission, VIP and Super VIP packages, are now available online. You’ll love staying in Whistler and taking the shuttle to Pemberton Festival, letting someone else do the driving for each day of your festival experience.
Win Passes to Pemberton Music Festival
I have 2 full Pemberton Festival passes along with shuttle passes to give away to one lucky reader! Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment naming your favourite thing to do in Whistler (1 entry)
RT to enter to win @Pemberton_Fest passes from @Miss604 #WhisToPembyFest http://ow.ly/Pwmo301JbYM
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, July 6, 2016.
Produced and promoted by Huka Entertainment, in collaboration with the Village of Pemberton and land partners Sunstone Group, Lil’wat Nation and Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, the festival turns Pemberton Valley, located less than thirty minutes from Whistler, BC, into a premiere musical playground.
This year’s 20 selected shorts for the Air Canada enRoute Film Festival will be announced at a free public event at Robson Square in Vancouver on July 20th. The festival will then showcase these emerging Canadian short film talents on Air Canada flights around the world from August 1st to December 31st, 2016.
Air Canada enRoute Film Festival
Where: Robson Square (800 Robson St, Vancouver) When: Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 9:00pm
The coast-to-coast celebrations will then continue in Halifax with a free public screening at the Halifax Central Library on Tuesday, July 26th. Both events will be hosted by Liz Trinnear, Etalk reporter and Much host.
The selected short films will be available to millions of Air Canada passengers on their personal seatback in-flight entertainment system and online at enRoutefilm.com. Passengers and movie lovers alike will also have the chance to vote for their favourite film to win the People’s Choice Award. Voting will start in August on enRoutefilm.com and run through to October 31, 2016.
Films will compete for Best Short Film, Achievement in Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Animation, and Achievement in Documentary awards. A star-studded jury will select the winners, who will receive an all-inclusive trip for two to the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, courtesy of Air Canada. The Best Short Film winner will also receive $5,000 courtesy of presenting sponsor, Cineplex.
Free public screenings will be held in Montreal and Toronto in November. Following the Toronto screening, prizes will be presented at an invitation-only awards celebration. Follow the tag #enRouteFilm16 on social media for more information this summer.
The 34th annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (“Jessies”) were handed out in Vancouver last night, to a jubilant and artful crowd at the Commodore Ballroom. The past season of theatre, both large and small, for young audiences, and musicals, was celebrated and special awards were handed out to honour patrons, newcomers, and those who make a difference behind the scenes. For 2015-2016, over 40 companies registered over 70 productions, contributing to a dynamic theatre community.
The show was produced by Holding Space Productions, and hosted by Omari Newton and Dawn Petten. It was opened by the Eagle Song Dancers with a welcome, and an Arts Umbrella performance followed before we got to the juried awards.
The night moved very quickly, the Jessies are known to go long, and another year of theatre was toasted. Host Omari Newton joked about Hamilton collecting all of the awards at little did we know at the beginning of the show that The Arts Club’s Onegin would end up being the Hamilton of the night, picking up 10 awards.
Jessie Award Winners
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role – Large Theatre
Alessandro Juliani,Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role – Large Theatre
Meg Roe, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Large Theatre
Josh Epstein, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Large Theatre
Colleen Wheeler, Peter and the Star Catcher, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Lighting Design – Large Theatre
John Webber, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Set Design – Large Theatre
Drew Facey, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Costume Design – Large Theatre
Jacqueline Firkins, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Sound Design or Original Composition Large Theatre
Veda Hille & Amiel Gladstone, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Direction – Large Theatre
Amiel Gladstone, Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Production – Large Theatre
Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Significant Artistic Achievement – Large Theatre
Veda Hille and the Ungrateful Dead (Barry Mirochnick and Marina Hasselberg), Onegin, Arts Club Theatre Company
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role – Small Theatre
Matthew MacDonald-Bain, The Out Vigil, Twenty Something Theatre
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role – Small Theatre
Genevieve Fleming, The North Plan, Upintheair Theatre
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role – Small Theatre
Curtis Tweedie, Bright Blue Future, Hardline Productions
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Small Theatre
Gabrielle Rose, The Rivals, Blackbird Theatre Company
Outstanding Lighting Design – Small Theatre
Alan Brodie, The Invisible Hand, Pi Theatre
Outstanding Set Design – Small Theatre
Glenn MacDonald, Annapurna, Christy Webb Productions
Outstanding Costume Design – Small Theatre
Sheila White, The Rivals, Blackbird Theatre Company
Outstanding Sound Design or Original Composition – Small Theatre
Jay Clift and Julie McIsaac, The Out Vigil,Twenty Something Theatre
Outstanding Direction – Small Theatre
Chelsea Haberlin, The North Plan, Upintheair Theatre
Outstanding Production of a Musical – Small Theatre
Miss Shakespeare, Musical Theatreworks & The Escape Artists
Outstanding Production of a Play– Small Theatre
The North Plan, Upintheair Theatre
Significant Artistic Achievement – Small Theatre
Joel Sturrock, Tender Napalm, Twenty Something Theatre, Outstanding Choreography
Outstanding Performance – Theatre for Young Audiences
Vincent Leblanc-Beaudoin, Emilie Leclerc, and Zack Tardif, Mathieu Mathématiques, Théâtre la Seiziéme
Outstanding Design –Theatre for Young Audiences
Drew Facey, Mathieu Mathématiques, Théâtre la Seiziéme
Outstanding Artistic Creation – Theatre for Young Audiences
Laura McLean, Our Time, Delinquent Theatre
Outstanding Production – Theatre for Young Audiences
Mathieu Mathématiques, Théâtre la Seiziéme
Significant Artistic Achievement – Theatre for Young Audiences
Still/Falling, Green Thumb Theatre, Commissioning of the Socially Relevant
Outstanding Original Script
RIVULETS: 3 short plays about a flood, James Gordon King, Babelle Theatre
Vancouver NOW Representation and Inclusion Award
Betroffenheit, Co produced by Kidd Pivot and Electric Theatre Company
Donna Yamamoto: For outstanding leadership in developing work by 3 Asian-Canadian playwrights in the Cultch’s 2015-16 season as Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre’s Artistic Director.
Additional awards presented were:
Patron of the Arts Award – Wendy Orvig
Mary Phillips Prize for Behind-the-Scenes Achievement –Ellie O’Day & Craig Laven
Sam Payne Award for the Most Promising Newcomer – Daniel Doheny
John Moffat & Larry Lillo Prize – Chris Gatchalian
GVPTA Career Achievement Award – Margo Kane
Sydney Risk Prize– James Gordon King for RIVULETS: 3 short plays about a flood
Colin Campbell Award for Excellence in Technical Theatre – James Pollard
Ray Michal Prize for Most Promising New Director – Milton Lim
Acceptance speeches were kept to a time limit, which helped the night move along swiftly, and many simply celebrated their teams, their peers, families, and the community. Donna Yamamoto spoke of developing and being diverse role models for the next generation, and that her award (new this year) brings hope of change and collaboration.
Curtis Tweedie, winning for Bright Blue Future, started off his speech with “#DreamsComeTrue!”. Veda Hille, who picked up a few awards throughout the evening for her work on Onegin said: “I f***ing love prizes but most of all I love working with all of you!”
Patron of the Arts Award winner Wendy Orvig shared an important message: “I always thought that being a patron of the arts was just about buying a ticket, but there’s so much more.” Dr. Margo Kane was also honoured for her work founding and growing Full Circle: First Nations Performance since 1992. Full Circle produces the Talking Stick Festival, which is the only multi-disciplinary first nations performing arts festival in North America.
Most Promising New Director Milton Lim spoke of diversity when he was at the podium, calling productions that do not rely on English, or the able-bodied, productions for all by all. “I believe in the people, the communities and the artists.”
— Christine Quintana (@christinequinty) June 28, 2016
Every year, so many excellent productions are recognized, by being nominated and through their awards, and every year I pledge to attend more shows in Vancouver. After last night’s ceremony, I wish I would have seen Onegin, or The North Plan, and Empire of the Son. I’m going to set the same pledge for myself again this year, and hopefully you’ll hold me to it.
Large theatre, small theatre, musicals and festivals like rEvolver, Talking Stick, and Fringe. Shows at Firehall, The Cultch, Havana. We talk of education, quality entertainment, social issues, and the just plain funny. Get out and support the arts in your community next season! Follow the Jessies on Facebook and Twitter for more award information.
Miss604 is the proud Social Media Sponsor of the Jessie Awards
There’s going to be a whole lot of music and fun pumping through the bucolic Pemberton valley, in the shadow of majestic Mount Currie this summer. The four-day 
