Christmas concert will make wishes come true

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This article was published 22/12/2014 (4243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHRISTMAS WISH COMING TRUE: To fund an adventure through the Children’s Wish Foundation, you need about $10,000, and the radio-station trio Energy 106/Jewel 101/CKJS were at $7,000, a bit short of their dream for 2014 after many fundraisers such as garage sales and car washes.

Program director Adam West had a brainstorm — an old-fashioned Christmas concert. Picture DJ Don Percy onstage at the Park Theatre last week in a big leather chair, reading ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas to thunderous applause. Add to that Maria Aragon belting out her new song Nothing But a Beat. Then there was Slava!, the Ukrainian contemporary adult dance group and talented singer Colleen Furlan, who played Ariel in The Little Mermaid at Rainbow Stage earlier this year, singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, plus eight more fabulous acts.

It’s no surprise the audience went wild, throwing money into various auctions to the tune of $2,500. Combined with $500 from the generous Slava! group, which collected beforehand, it gave the radio stations the $3,000 needed to fund a wish.

“The audience was so excited,” said co-organizer Heather Milne, who ran out of auction tickets even though they started the night with many rolls. Station DJs and staff on hand included Frankie Hollywood, Steve Adams, J.B. Francis, Jordan Knight, Dan and Leslie Michael, Shannon Gwynne and Norm Foster.

 

WEDDING WINNERS: Danny Kramer’s Dance Band just won the Manitoba/Saskatchewan Best Entertainment Act of 2014, awarded by the Canadian Wedding Industry. Events by Emma (Emma Singh) won Best Decor for the region and the Fort Garry Hotel won Best Overall Caterer. Tammy Ouellet of Divine Weddings and Events took two huge awards: Best Luxury Event Planning — Total Budget over $75,000 and the under-$75,000 category. “She was over the moon,” says Kramer. He and his wife, Wendy, flew to the national awards night on Dec. 14 in Toronto at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. A band from British Columbia called Side One took top honours.

 

SINGLES NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH: Want to find a new love for the new year? There are less than 50 tickets left for the Adventures for Successful Singles New Year’s bash at the Viscount Gort hotel. The dinner-and-dance party has a 400-person limit and sells out every year. The 2014 party was a smashing success, with many people checking in early for drinks before the big party, staying the night and having breakfast in the morning. For info and tickets, call 204-775-3484.

 

JUST DO IT! Take a tip from Bruce Walker for 2015: “Don’t die with the music still inside you.” Walker was well-known back in the day as a young man in bands including the Jury, which had a recording contract, but took a straight job when things died down.

He retired recently, and the feeling of having songs left inside him started driving him crazy. In 2014, he sat down to write one song, and many came pouring out. He has already recorded a half-dozen. So if you have songs, poems, paintings, stories to be told — any talent you’ve let slide — Walker says, “Get it out!”

 

TALE OF FRANKIE’S KIDS: Purebred springer spaniel Frankie gave birth to nine healthy pups — Pinkie, Annie, Belle, Bobbie, Blue, Baby Kay, Tash, Lucy and Hogan. Mama was exhausted from all the feeding, so Bonnie McCann and husband Jack Anderson put out the call, and the east Fort Garry neighbourhood came to the rescue.

For two months, every day their back porch was packed with friends and neighbours from blocks around — and everybody become buddies. The pups went home with porch people who knew each other, such as Linda Brennan, Joanne Gibson, Matt Edmonds, Kris Robinson, Sue Plueschow and Carol Scurfield (my sister). They kept walking the dogs together and having play dates and doggie sleepovers when people went out of town.

Now, Lisa Kalkoven, the canine coach for Extreme Dogs at the Red River Ex, has trained the six-month-old brothers and sisters in a private class.

What was it like teaching dogs who just want to wrestle and kiss and love their fellow students? “It was very challenging,” laughs Kalkovan.

 

ARTSY CHRISTMAS MINGLE: There’s nothing better than shmoozing the important people who dispense grants for your arts projects — and the Manitoba Arts Council is OK with that. They invited a bunch of artsy types to a holiday party in their office building last week at 93 Lombard Ave. About 50 to 60 people were still hanging in at 5 p.m. — a mixture of Manitoba artists, novelists, playwrights, dancers, filmmakers, video types and musicians. The council’s cocktail party was called Make Merry with MAC.

“There was a lot of really good shmoozing going and the right people were meeting the right people, the ones who could give money,” says my spy. Not much artsy decoration in view, but there was a ready supply of fake gold doubloons to throw in a bowl to get you drinks from the wine kegs.

Party attendees included Douglas Riske, executive director of the arts council and David Scott, the associate director of granting programs, who’s a composer in his own right. Writer Joan Thomas made the scene, as did Rita Menzies of Agassiz Chamber Music Festival fame, Vicki Young from the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, composer Jim Hiscott and Sandi Mielitz and Carolyn Rickey of Camarata Nova.

PURPLE STREAK OF POWER TO FIGHT CANCER: Are you a funky person with a big heart? You might want to do something different this holiday season. It’s called the Purple Streak of Power program. Hair FX at 915 Grosvenor Ave., has been working with patrons and organizations to raise funds and further cancer awareness. They will give you a purple-streak hair extension on the left side of your ‘do, close to your heart, for $15, to show your support for someone you care about. Proceeds go to the Never Alone Foundation. For details, contact Hair FX at 204-452-1442.

“It’s not kids coming in for the streaks. It’s mostly people around my age (50 this year), in support of a certain person,” says Michael Larocque, founder of the Crescentwood hair salon.

No appointment is necessary, and it only takes a couple of minutes. As a courtesy, call ahead to let them know you’re on the way down.

 

Got tips, events, celeb sightings, special things happening? Call the tip line at 204-474-1116 or email mscurf@shaw.ca, or write Maureen Scurfield c/o the Winnipeg Free Press,1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6