Fishing wins the sunny day in a star-studded paradise

CEE LO GREEN LOSES TO FISH: Musician Don Bouchat of Winnipeg’s Big Roll Band plays all winter at Tippy’s bar on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. He told yours truly, "We just had a month-long visit from Cee Lo Green and Kanye West. They rented two estates here for $40,000 a month and brought recording gear and a video crew, plus an entourage. At first, there was a lot of bling and bodyguards, but then they realized that nobody gave a damn and they became island-ized. They were in Tippy’s many times and one Saturday, Cee Lo asked my bass player, Chico, to play on a track. Get this — Chico declined because he was going fishing. Gotta love this place!"

Gotta wonder if Cee Lo turned up his signature song Forget You on the way back down the road.

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SEX AND OUR CITY: Want to watch "Big" and Carrie, the TV characters from Sex and the City, get busy on a Winnipeg stage? While it’s not exactly Chris Noth and Sarah Jessica Parker at the upcoming Arthritis Society’s Sex and the City fundraiser, Winnipeg’s version of Big will be local lad Ron Cantiveros. The handsome publisher of the Filipino Journal is being asked to kiss "Carrie," played by Girltalk blogger Marlo Boux, then pick her up and carry her off. It’s what every romanceminded fan dreamed of during the series — finally, girl gets boy! But Cantiveros is no boy. "Ron is secretly known as the Brown Ninja," laughs event organizer Genny Sacco-Bak. It’s all part of her steamiest-yet Sex and the City charity fundraiser series, and it’s happening at the Park Theatre March 14 from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sacco-Bak says tickets are more than half gone, and women are already booking early dinners in the South Osborne area, close to the reception. The night includes a red carpet, pink lighting, Cosmo cocktails and appetizers, a reception with ‘the stars" and a photo booth with a tickle trunk of accessories. The major entertainment is a fashion show, and then the first Sex and the City movie.

The musings of Marlo Boux can be found at www.girltalkwithmarlo.com. Sacco-Bak says: "She’s the perfect Carrie with long blond hair, same kind of features, but prettier." Red-haired Terri Apostle, the CTV weather specialist, plays uptight Miranda, and Sexy Samantha is played by Angie Lamirande of local the Pop Sports and Entertainment promotion company. The innocent raven-haired Charlotte is played by Susie Parker, the owner of Sparker Strategy Group social media and marketing. Women are encouraged to dress as one of the four women in the show or come as a funky New York glamour babe — little black dress, impossibly high heels, sunglasses, dripping with bling and everybody’s name is "Dah-ling." Tickets are $50 at the Love Nest stores and the Smitten sex shop in Osborne Village.

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PSST!: Film industry makeup artist CJ Hutchinson, well-known in Winnipeg for his zombie calendar work, flew back to Winnipeg from his home in Alberta Thursday to get ready for his Mardi Gras makeup booth at the convention centre, which will be sizzling for two days this weekend. Mardi Gras masks are part of the sexy and mischievous look, though they can get hot and uncomfortable. To create exotic faces — beautiful or scary — with makeup, Hutchinson and assistants will be there to get people in the party mood. Much missed by the zombie crowd, Hutchinson and his lady love had a baby and left town for Alberta two years go, but the ’Peg is still in his heart.

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BEST BET FOR LATE VALENTINES: River City Rumble’s A Red Hot Rockabilly Valentine happens tonight at the Regal Beagle bar in the Marlborough hotel. Bands include the Fl!pcats, Greg Arcade and his Rockin’ Band and the Sons of Rockabilly. This curious mixture of ’50s-meets-punk music is the first fundraising event for a new festival for rockabilly fans coming up this Aug. 3-4 in Winnipeg. Cheryl Scott, owner of the Rockabetty clothing store in Osborne Village and chairwoman of the festival board, says, "We are negotiating with some exciting headliners from the States alongside local and national rockabilly talent." There are festivals on both coasts of Canada and in the States. "For those of us who love rockabilly, we have had to travel, as there’s been nothing in Central Canada." The urban festival will be held at "either the new Metropolitan or the Garrick," says Scott, and it will include the surrounding ’50s culture of antique cars at a car lot nearby, plus a ’50s pin-up competition and workshops in swing dance, ’50s hair, makeup,and more. Organizers include Derek Zomiak, host of CKUW rockabilly radio show What’s the Ruckus, writer/music buff Teresa Stolarskyj, accountant Shawn Groening and rockabilly musicians Greg Arcade and Mike Melynk.

Got tips, events, sightings, unusual things going on? Call Maureen’s tip line at 204-474-1116, email Maureen.Scurfield@Winnipegfreepress.com, or send letters to Maureen Scurfield c/o the Insider, 1355 Mountain Ave., R2X 3B6.