September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 1
ISSUE 3.9 | SEPTEMBER 2012 | FREE
Inside: Homeschooling 2.0 Pages 4 & 5 New ‘Eating Local’ columnist Terri Smith Page 15 Jamie visits Shambhala music fest Pages 16–19
the Homeschooling issue
PAGE 2 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
In all truth, if Todd could figure outa way to teach every class by using a video game, he probably would.
Come and homeschool with The Stew Magazine
On the Cover: Our very own Morrigan Sullivan, daughter of Todd and Juli, and constant inspiration to this magazine, is our lovely cover model this month. She relaxes in her crib and flips through one of the many texts that she’ll be expected to complete before the end of the school year, all as part of a foray into homeschooling. Well, not really. No one’s expecting her to read much of anything at this point, much less the dozen or so text books that we managed to dig up around the house (how many titles can you name?) All we really expect of her is to be adorable, and we think she’s got that about perfected.
Here at The Stew HQ, homeschooling has been on our mind a lot over the last few months, partly because there’s a little person running around here who might need to get some kind of schooling in the years ahead of her, and partly because homeschooling just seems to be getting talked about a bit more often these days. It’s for that reason that we’ve started putting together our own prototype curriculum for homeschooling. English: Our reading list will run the gamut from Dr. Seuss to Dr. Raoul Duke (aka Hunter Thompson), with the occasional afternoon spent kicking back with a DVD of one of Shakespeare’s better film adaptations (Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet is a likely choice, but we’ve also heard some good things about Titus). Writing assignments will be dictated by the current month’s theme in The Stew Magazine as the student will be expected to write an interesting and educational feature story each and every month. Math: After a basic rundown on how to use a calculator, this class will likely be replaced with a longer lunch break. Science: We can learn physics, chemistry, and (sometimes) biology at the same time, by putting together any number of science experiments that end with things exploding. It’ll be a good idea to keep a first aid kit nearby. Probably also a fire extinguisher. Social Sciences: The best way to learn about things like psychology and sociology is to immerse yourself in the culture of the society you’re trying to understand. Clearly, in the 21st
STOCK PHOTO
LET'S DO SOME SCIENCE According to The Stew Magazine’s curriculum, this is what a successful science experiment looks like.
century, the best way to accomplish that is to hang out on the Internet, but the Internet itself is far too widespread and chaotic to effectively work for this subject. We need something more focused and more like an actual society, which is why each day we’ll spend 60 minutes playing World of Warcraft. Not only will we be able to experience, first hand, what people are really like when they don’t have to filter themselves and be polite to other humans, but we can kill orcs while doing it! Physical Education: Take this money, run down to the end of the street and get me a mocha
latte, then run it back to me so that it’s in my hands while it’s still hot. Art: Creativity should be encouraged and nurtured in both children and adults. That’s why there will be a 150 minute block set aside each day to play with crayons. Student and teacher can choose between blank paper (for a more freeform design) and available colouring books (if they’d rather focus on perfecting their use of colour) for their project. Time will be set aside at the end of the day for admiring each new work of art from where it hangs in the local gallery (also known as the refrigerator).
Field Trips: There are plenty of exciting places in the world for a child to explore, and much to be learned from those exploration opportunities. Field trip locations currently under consideration are Walmart, the back yard, the movie theatre, the mall, and the pub. This list is obviously a work in progress and is not meant to reflect how we would actually homeschool another human being, but this seems like a good starting point to build from. If you have any suggestions on how we could improve on this plan, please send an email to letters@ thestew.ca
School’s In. We’ve got all your band rental instruments and equipment here.
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September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 3
Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 20 pgs Servings Per Container 1 Amount Per Serving
Calories 0 % Daily Value* Textbooks We’ve got probably about nine of them on the cover, including books on Art, history, abnormal psychology, and even a newspaper stylebook. Shambhala Jamie’s report from this massive music fest arrived a bit larger than we expected, but it’s a heck of a read and definitely worth every word.
Homeschooling 2.0 Pages 4 & 5
Ingredients (or things that helped us get through the last month): Loads of sunscreen; school text books; pens; pencils; binders; paper; a scientific calculator (whoever uses all those functions, anyhow? how many do you need? are 412 too many? not enough?); lots of time in the kiddie pool in the front yard; Okanagan fruit; bulk boxes of popsicles; driving to Winfield for a friend’s wedding; pretending to be a photographer for a friend’s wedding; home-made ice cream; lots and lots of little mini corn dogs; re-discovering dance music; borrowing the in-law’s car; lending our car to the 21-year-old; Sirius Satellite in the in-law’s car; checking out Playboy Radio on the Sirius radio; air conditioning; popcorn; early morning Sesame Street; discovering that we actually kind of like Elmo; get up and dance time (anyone who has ever had a musical toddler knows what I mean); the baby’s new ‘get trucking’ move; noticing how fast the kids grow up; the end of summer vacation; second-hand store browsing; finding a $5 organ at a second hand store; finding the $5 organ is just about in perfect working order; trying to deny the loss of summer; grudgingly acknowledging the inevitability of fall and then winter.
MEME: Botched Ecce Homo Painting New ‘Eating Local’ columnist Terri Smith Page 15
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Eamon wonders if schools is right for everyone Page 8
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PAGE 4 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
As a teenager Juli wanted to go to a catholic boarding school, mostly because she thought that it would be badass to dress up and smoke in the belltower.
HOMESCHOOLING 2.0 CHANGING
THE FACE OF EDUCATION
BY JULI HARLAND THE STEW MAGAZINE
Times are changing when it comes to education. As the world around us gets smaller with help from the internet, and as more and more people work from home, telecommuting and flex-working, it seems that homeschooling is in a bit of a boon in the Cariboo. Once mostly reserved for the religious right and those who live miles away from the nearest building even resembling a public school, homeschoolers are coming from many backgrounds and some are even living in city limits. They are both religious and secular. They gather in groups for kid-to-kid interaction. They support one another. And they can even have access to travelling teachers. It is a far cry from the picture society might paint of the homeschooled child living out in the middle of nowhere, un-socialized, slightly odd, and with a scary knowledge of bible verses and farm lingo. Modern homeschooled children are active, knowledgeable, well-adjusted, and plenty social. And they live just down the road.
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September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 5
We’re pretty sure that ‘dance time’ should be a part of the homeschooling curriculum, if we decide to go that route.
Thankfully British Columbia has the best homeschooling laws in North America, or so says the BC Home Learners’ Association. “In BC we have some of the greatest freedoms to be totally responsible for our children’s educational programme with the least amount of interference by government or school districts. “At the same time, home educating parents are free to seek out support from the registering school (whether public, independent, or correspondence). The choice is yours according to your individual needs. We need to cherish the flexibility allowed for in the BC homeschooling laws.” That’s high praise from a group made up of homeschoolers and their families. Being totally responsible for your children’s educational programme can sound both exciting and petrifying. Registering your child as a homeschooled student does not mean that you need to follow BC government curriculum, if you so choose. All the law requires is that you provide ‘an educational program,’ the design and administration of which falls to the parents, though the provincial curriculum is available to the homeschooler if they so desire. According to Dr. Brian Ray, the president of the National Home Education Research Institute, all it takes to homeschool your child is time, patience and commitment to the responsibility. He goes on to say, “The tutorial method has always been the superior method for educating children. Home schooling epitomizes this method, providing the essentials for success — a close
relationship between the student and teacher, motivation, flexibility, and individualization.” Jennifer Earnshaw is a young mother of three children who decided last year to homeschool her eldest daughter as she began her kindergarten year. Her reason is simple: it just works better for her family. “My daughter was starting kindergarten and my youngest was still sleeping when it would have been time to go, and then napping when it would be time to take her home. It seemed crazy to change our lifestyle just so that my daughter could go play at kindergarten. And I didn’t agree that a five year-old should be away from home and her family for 7 hours a day.” Her two other children, aged three and not-quite-two, have been enjoying the process as well. “I wanted to be able to have this as a family time. The kids get to do the same things. It is really good to have that family time. I mean she’d probably not even know her brother and sister if she was at school all day. So it is nice to build that sibling relationship.” For Earnshaw it was about not disrupting her family life at home. For her, homeschooling means that she doesn’t have to wake the baby up first thing in the morning to bundle her and her siblings up to bring her eldest to school. It means that when the baby is napping she doesn’t have to get her up to bundle them all up all over again to pick up her daughter and bring her back home. It means that the kids will be able to avoid the peer pressure groups or feeling bad because they don’t have Nikes (or
whatever it is now). They can develop their own personality and not have to worry about the style of their hair or what they have. They can just be themselves. For other families it is a deep-rooted desire to instill holistic measures into their children, providing them with a more hands-on learning experience which mirrors the family’s own values and ideals. For Tanya Lipscomb, there was no question as to whether or not she wanted to homeschool her children. “I always knew I wanted to homeschool my children,” says Lipscomb. “Throughout my years in public school, I noticed some large gaping holes in both the school system and the social interaction. “Some of these issues include large class sizes, varying intelligence levels, uniform learning (which does not work for many children), cuts in the arts and music, lack of balanced nutrition, poor social integration, lack of intergenerational socialization, more of a focus on competition and less attention to community AND a severe lack of valuable information (like gardening, preserving foods, animal husbandry, building homes, creating sustainable lifestyles, alternative energy sources, and generally more wholesome living). “As well, I was raised without a TV, and I have found that it has created a social disease amongst so many people, especially the children of our society. It creates huge boundaries in communication and listening skills.” Not only does homeschooling match her family ideals,
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but it fits in with her lifestyle, as well. A travelling musician, homeschooling allows her the freedom to do what needs to be done and still have plenty of time to spend with the family. “One on one learning is much, much more effective and efficient. We can learn the lessons for the day in two hours and still have time to ski, skate, hike, go to the Science Centre, go swimming, camping, etc., any time we like. The flexibility is wonderful. Every school day is different. If we are on the road, then we check out what’s around, go to the local nature conservation area and learn about local plants and animals, learn about local history in museums, check out the art galleries.” Thanks to homeschooling, the Earnshaw family also has the time to stay involved with extra-curricular activities, and with friends and family. Their involvement in gymnastics certainly keeps them well socialized, as does play groups, get-togethers, sports, and a variety of other child-centered activities. There’s no fear of non-socialization in either case. Though some of her friends and family may have thought that her kids would “be a little weird”, Earnshaw says that most people think it is okay, and besides, it is something that she wanted to try. And who is better qualified to teach her own kids than her? And the Heritage Christian School, which they are registered through, has a travelling teacher that lives right in Williams Lake who is available to them if they should come across anything difficult.
For Lipscomb there have been some struggles to maintain the right to homeschool all of her children, though her challenge is not with the school system, but with a family member. As a result, her oldest two children are currently enrolled in traditional school and homeschool while she is on the road, and she is currently ‘unschooling’ her youngest. Unschooling is a form of homeschooling where education happens without the use of a schedule, curriculum, testing and grades, more or less. It is growing in popularity with many families who are interested in homeschooling as an organic experience rather than a sense of imposed education. Unschooling is child-led education, so if the child chooses to go to school, they are still unschooled, as they were not coerced or persuaded to go there, but chose to do so of their own free will. There are so many stories about and reasons for alternative education these days, it would take many more pages than we have to tell them all. Each family has their own reasons for choosing a more home-based approach to their children’s education. Every child has their own experience. And perhaps that is a large part of what makes it so appealing. The experience is, quite literally, exactly what you make of it. For information about homeschooling in your area, please contact the BC Home Schooler’s Association in charge of your area. You can check the listings on their website at: http://bchla.bc.ca. juli@thestew.ca
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PAGE 6 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
Homeschooling: Doing it all for my baby BY TODD SULLIVAN THE STEW MAGAZINE
This month’s theme was inspired, in part, by our daughter, Morrigan. Coming into the September issue of The Stew Magazine, we were hoping we could focus on something education related, as this month is usually remembered as the month for kids going back to school. I suppose we could have easily looked at the idea of mature students, people returning to college or university later in life, and could have even spoke on the subject pretty well, as it’s something that Juli has decided to do, but we decided to go in the opposite direction. And part of the reason
we chose to do that was because we’ve already been talking about home-schooling Morrigan. Now, it’s certainly not a sure thing at this point. Morrigan is only 16 months old, so there’s still plenty of time to decide what systems will provide for her the best environment and the best education, but homeschooling is definitely on the table, and it’s something that we’re considering pretty heavily. And so what better way to learn about it than to do a bunch of research on it in order to make a feature story on the subject? I’m not entirely sure why it is, but homeschooling seems to be a bit more on people’s radar these days. It
could be that more people are actually doing it, or it could just easily be that the same — or even fewer — people are actually doing it, but are simply being more vocal about it. It could be that the Internet, and social media, have allowed for a greater discussion on the subject, and have made the process more transparent and easily understood. There are plenty of reasons for people to homeschool. Sometimes there are religious reasons, sometimes it’s because of a lack of faith in the school system or disagreement with the curriculum. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of convenience if you happen to be living outside the range of bus routes, or don’t want
to subject your child to the lengthy trip into town. There are no wrong reasons, as long as the child is getting the best education they can at the end of the day. And that’s pretty much my reason for considering homeschooling as an option. Because I want to make sure that Morrigan has the best education she can get, and has access to the best tools available to her, to ensure that she will have a long, interesting, and satisfying life. And I’m not sure if I can expect the public school system to give her those tools. An education, yes, certainly, but I sometimes think that she’ll need tools beyond that. I want, for example, for her to have
things like creativity and curiosity encouraged and nurtured, and I’m not sure where the best environment for those things are. And, as I said, the most important thing to me is that she have the best environment available, wherever that might be. I feel like, now that we’ve put this issue together, we might be a little bit closer to figuring that out. That was, after all, part of the reason we did this issue in the first place. If you want to share your own thoughts on homeschooling, or tell us about your own experiences, send us an email. We’d love to hear about them. todd@thestew.ca
SPEAK
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Who’s heading for homeschooling? BY JULI HARLAND THE STEW MAGAZINE
Homeschooling is something that has been talked about quite a bit over here at the Stew HQ. With the littlest member of the crew coming up on a year-anda-half old here soon, it is not going to be too long before we have to start deciding how to deal with her education. On one hand I think that homeschooling is a fantastic way to have a complete experience with your child. It is something that you share completely with them, all the while
creating a bond that cannot be recreated if they are in school all day. On the other hand I envision a lot of ‘school days’ spent sitting around eating cold pizza and playing video games. Not a fantastic education, no matter what your message. I would love to combine home education with learning about food sustainability, complete with a thriving garden and chickens and a cow ... but to be honest I have a bit of a black thumb and I am sure that Todd would throw his hands up at me if I came home with a farm
animal. Nonetheless, it is still an option that we are leaning towards. In part because of a realistic view of the current traditional education system with all its faults and foibles. In part because we want to have some control over what she comes across as curriculum, and in part because we want to allow her the freedom to learn in a manner that suits her as opposed to making her fit into a learning structure that may not be what makes her thrive. And also because it is just one more reason to spend time watching her
grow and develop into the person she will become before we even know it. Alternative schooling is becoming so prevalent in today’s society that who knows what the future will bring for traditional school in the first place? Whatever we decide, we still have a lot of time to weigh the options. And who knows, it could be that after all the weighing of options and decision making that she doesn’t want to stay home in the first place. Kids — they do have a mind of their own. And that is probably the biggest reason of all to think
about homeschooling. Because they do have a mind of their own, and it is up to us, their parents, to allow them the space and time to grow and develop their minds in a way that will encourage questions, curiosity, and a sense of wonder about the world around them. Be that at home or in the traditional education system. Because isn’t a desire to learn about the world around them something that we all can hope for our children, and their children after them? juli@thestew.ca
September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 7
Question of the Month
A petition to keep the failed painting restoration, calling the work “daring”, currently holds more than 22,000 signaures of the 25,000 it’s looking for.
Biographies and memoirs you can sink your teeth into at the CRD Library Mick: the wild life and mad genius of Jagger. Andersen, Christopher. 2012. Call number: 782.4216 6092 JAG For decades, Mick has jealously guarded his many shocking secrets—until now. As the Rolling Stones mark their 50th anniversary, journalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen tears the mask from rock’s most complex and enigmatic icon in a no-holdsbarred biography as impossible to ignore as Jagger himself. Amy, my daughter. Winehouse, Mitch. 2012. Calll number: 782.4216 4092 WIN In this intimate and tender account, her father and confidant, Mitch, offers an inside view of Amy’s life as she lived it, putting to rest once and for all the controversies that have long surrounded her. Sifting fact from fiction, he presents a portrait of Amy unlike any other, detailing the events and the people that shaped her life.
Next stop : a son with autism grows up. Finland, Glen. 2012 Call number: 618.9285882 FIN Next Stop is a candid portrait of a differently-abled young man poised at the entry to adulthood. It recounts the complex relationship between a child with autism and his family, as he steps out into the real world alone for the first time, and how his autism affects everyone who loves him. The perfect gentleman : a Muslim boy meets the West : a memoir. Ahmad, Imran. 2012 Call number: 305.697092 AHM Both deliciously funny and deeply insightful, The Perfect Gentleman is a beguiling multilayered memoir that has touched the hearts of readers all over the world. At the age of one, Imran Ahmad moved from Pakistan to London, growing up torn between his Islamic identity and his desire to embrace the West. Join Imran in his lifelong struggle against corruption and injustice, and as he grapples with some of Life’s most profound questions.
Let’s pretend this never happened : (a mostly true memoir). Lawson, Jenny. 2012. Call number: 070.92 LAW Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives — the ones we’d like to pretend never happened — are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. Barack Obama: the story. Maraniss, David. 2012. Calll number: 973.9320 92 OBA In Barack Obama: The Story, David Maraniss has written a deeply reported generational biography teeming with fresh insights and revealing information, a masterly narrative drawn from hundreds of interviews, including with President Obama in the Oval Office, and a trove of letters, journals, diaries, and other documents.
MEME
Todd Sullivan todd@thestew.ca publisher / editor-in-chief
“When I was in the fifth grade I had the opportunity in what was then called an “Enrichment Program”, which was basically an optional course that was dedicated to creativity, imagination, and problem solving. In other words, awesome.”
Juli Harland juli@thestew.ca sales manager / executive editor “The best thing, I suppose, is that which I haven’t experienced yet. Learning is a life-long endeavour, and I look forward to many journeys into schooling over the next 40 years of my life — and then some!”
Angela Shephard angela@thestew.ca fine frugality (crafters beat) “The best thing I experienced in school was that everything happened in a scheduled way, rather than the haphazard way my life outside of school had, as well as the words of encouragement from a few of my teachers.”
Jamie Horsley tonesoup@thestew.ca tone soup (music beat)
Carol Davidson stir@thestew.ca stir (health beat)
Torrey Owen torrey@thestew.ca In My Shoes (city beat)
Terri Smith roads.end.csa@gmail.com Eating Local (food beat)
MONTH
an image, video, etc. that is passed electronically from one Internet user to another
Send your answers to letters@thestew.ca
Natasha Peeman hairdooz@telus.net beautydooz (health & beauty beat)
OF THE MEME [meem] noun An element of a culture or system of behaviour passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means
INE Z A MAG
What's the best thing you experienced in school?
“The best thing I experience in school was leaving! Well, actually, my teachers, the good ones. The teachers who were still excited about teaching taught me to love learning and that has served me well every since.”
Botched Ecce Homo Painting Originated at: Reddit On August 21, 2012 the Spanish magazine Heraldo printed a story about a failed attempt to restore a painting which had been donated to a church in the town of Borja. An elderly woman, Cecilia Jiménez, was behind the attempted restoration, which can only be described as a spectacular failure. The story (and its accompanying photo) appeared the same day on Reddit under the title, “An old church in Spain needed to restore a worn out painting. They hired the wrong person.” By August 2, it had become the center point of a Facebook group, which quickly acquired more than 4,000 likes. From there it moved to Tumblr (http://beastjesus.tumblr.com/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/frescojesus), thus pretty much hitting all the sites necessary to be a modern internet meme. Lost in the humour of the story (and, particularly, the humour of the photos involved) is the sad fact that this irreplaceable piece of art may be irretrievably damaged. The church is planning to bring a restoration professional in to see if the damage can be repaired.
Michael Jones jjonesmii@yahoo.com One Seoul Searching (overseas beat)
Laura Kelsey laura@wordsmore.com Poetry Editor “Writing poetry on my math worksheets.”
THE STEW Magazine is an independently owned and operated monthly arts and lifestyle magazine published in the Cariboo Chilcotin. All information contained in this magazine is correct, to our best knowledge, as of press time. Opinions expressed by correspondents and contributors are not necessarily those of THE STEW or its employees. We reserve the right to edit letters to the editor for grammar, punctuation, content, or length. All letters must be signed by the author. THE STEW Magazine accepts no responsibility for correctness beyond the amount paid for that portion of advertising space occupied by the incorrect item. We reserve the right to refuse any advertising or editorials submission which we believe to be inconsistent with the philosophy of this publication. The contents of this publication are copyright The Stew Magazine 2012.
PAGE 8 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
4th Annual
taste of the
Cariboo 2nd Annual
&
Harvest FEstivaL of Awesome
Coming the end of September at the Oliver Street Market in Herb Gardner Park Lots of local food to taste along with tosn of local musicians to enteratin the crowd! This year purchase a “grazing” punchcard for only $5 and take your own journey through the local foods of the Cariboo, as prepared by Red Seal Chef Alison Sutherland-Mann. Finish your tour and then enter to win prizes! For more information or to volunteer as entertainment, please contact Terri at 250-296-4409
Traditional school system isn’t right for everyone Oh boy, this month’s paper revolves around education. One of my favorite topics. So let’s get to it. I think it’s fair to assume most of us as children and teenagers attended government funded public education institutions, also known as schools. Yes? No? Well I certainly did, and the majority of my friends, peers, and even enemies did as well. Not that I have many enemies at present, but I certainly did in school. I didn’t really want enemies but sometimes we can get a great deal of what we don’t want if the environment is just wrong enough, and the school environment certainly brought out the worst in plenty of young, confused, and insecure people. If you’re getting the feeling that this column is not going to celebrate the current school system, you’d be right. To be blunt, I have quite a chip on my shoulder concerning the school system. I’m not completely sure what its current incarnation looks like from the inside, but I’m reluctant to believe it’s been improved that much. The practice of sticking 20 or 30 kids of the same age with varying intelligence levels in one room together and then forcing them to listen to some adult figure is hardly my notion of optimum learning conditions. It does seem like a great way to indoctrinate, but not educate. Especially for younger children in the ‘elementary’ schools this seems like a way of stealing away part of their childhood by positioning them into cramped desks in cramped rooms and then forcing vary-
In My Shoes By Eamon Owen ing subjects into their brains. In school, children are forced to abide by time schedules not of their own choosing. The days are regimented. Students are told when to arrive, when to leave and what to do while there. They are made to agree with professings of teachers. If students try and decide for themselves when they’d like to come and go, it doesn’t go over that well. If they outwardly disagree with teachers they can also be punished in any number of ways, especially if said teacher has authoritarian issues. Less than educating, school seems like an efficient means of casting cogs for the system, grooming future obedient wage slave employes to wilfully obey future corporate employers. Now another thing the education system seems to do. They lead children to believe school is the most important thing in the world, insisting that if you ‘drop out’ your future is doomed and the best you can hope for is a life of regret and a career maintaining lavatories with your tongue. Schools somehow ‘teach’ you that you’re unable to learn without them and that you absolutely undeniably need them if you’re to hope for even a sliver of happiness and success. Schools have a way of
saying “You need me! Without me you are nothing!” Now, doesn’t this sound quite similar to the relationship one has with an abusive, manipulative spouse who imprisons their partner through the use of fear and false-dependency? Just saying. To be honest, what I consider to be one of the best decisions of my life thus far was finally deciding to stop going to classes in my last year of high school. Yes I dropped out. I love learning, but that dark environment, the cramped walls, the deranged peers, and the twisted teachers just finally took their toll. And leaving was wonderful! I only wish I’d have been wise enough to have gotten out much sooner. But better late than never I suppose. School took much more from me than it gave, and it left me quite damaged in many regards. What it did provide were feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and fear. It’s taken a great deal of time to work past the negative impact it left on me, a sensitive and caring guy who had to hold back his emotions, hide his identity, and with regularity enter physical combat to defend the safety of his person. That’s not the experience of education anyone should endure. eamon@thestew.ca
September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 9 JULI HARLAND PHOTO
WALL ART ď ľ Dwayne Davis and his interns Jamie Moore and Miranda Fontaine hard at work on one of their new mural creations behind the WLCBIA in Williams Lake.
Play Your guide to where to go and what to do for the month of September
PAGE 10 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
Although named on a bit of a whim, the Harvest Festival of Awesome is still a great time and a fantastic way to try all kinds of local goodies. Not that we are biased or anything.
September 1 - 30, Quesnel - Barkerville: Leave the car at home and ride the Barkerville Shuttle. Leaves from Quesnel to Barkerville. Daily morning departures returning to Quesnel at 6pm. Various pickup locations in Quesnel. Weekend Special as low as $20.00 return trip. For more information contact: 1-250-925-0999 or 1-855991-WEST (9378). www. barkerville150.ca
liams Lake: The Williams Lake ArtWalk is winding down. Wander to each of the 40 locations and if you get to at least 32 of them, and get your official ArtWalk passport stamped, your name goes into a draw that offers $100 for 3rd place, $200 for 2nd, and $300 for 1st place to use at any of the participating merchant’s. Watch for “Arty The Art Walker” around town! Call Willie to find out more 250-3988826.
$60 for 60 Minutes
$70 for 75 Minutes Massage • Zen shiatsu therapy Holistic Energy Therapy
Cameron Self
Registered Shiatsu Therapist
2-150B Oliver Street, Williams Lake
(Above Woodland Jewellers) Wed. to Sat. by appointment only.
(250) 392-0045
September 1 - 8, Wil-
camself@hotmail.com
September 7, 14, 21,
Micheal Hodgson and the Williams Lake Studio Theatre would like to thank the fine folks at
for all their support with this year’s festival show, ‘Office Hours’
SATURDAYS 9am - 2pm
JOIN US FOR OUR 2nd SEASON!
28, 9:00am - 2:00pm, Boitanio Park, Williams Lake: The Original Farmer’s Market. Come by for farm fresh food, crafts and entertainment every Friday through to the end of September. September 7 - 9, Barkerville: 2nd Annual Barkerville Cowboy and Drover Jubilee. Celebrate British Columbia’s rich cowboy heritage gold rush style! Three musical venues, a cowboy poetry tent, “Northern Star” amateur singing competition and the oldest wooden “Cowboy Church” in BC await you! For more information call Barkerville at 1-888-994-3332 or visit their website www. barkerville150.ca September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 9:00am - 2:00pm, Herb Gardener Park ,Williams Lake: Oliver Street Market. Come for the local farm fresh food and goods, stay for the friendly atmosphere! Watch out for the annual Harvest Festival of Awesome/Taste of the Cariboo event planned for the end of September. Come and see what you’ve been missing. September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 8:30am - 1:00pm, Helen Dixon Center, Quesnel: Farmer’s Market is still on! Come and check out the fresh produce and
services. For more information please contact Paul Dumas at 250-747-8543, or check out the website at www.quesnelmarket.com. September 8, 10:00am - 4:00pm, Arena Banquet Hall, Quesnel: Skate and Equipment Swap! DONATIONS of equipment can be delivered to the minor hockey office from August 20th to September 8th as per regular office hours. If you would like to SELL your equipment, you can set up the day of the swap. You will be responsible for your own equipment throughout the day if you choose to sell it. Presented by Quesnel & District Minor Hockey. For more information please contact Laura Hender 250 747-4627 or Sam Wright 250 992-5586. September 8, 7:00pm, Steeped on Reid Street, Quesnel: Open Mic Night! Only 50 tickets to be sold! $10 includes beverage and snack ~free entertainment~ Hosted by Rob Hess. Pre-sign up required for those wishing to perform. For information please call Naomi at 778-414-1297 September 8, Williams Lake: The Dirty Knobby 2012 will be on September 8th in the Mountain House Road area. The annual event will
WE FINALLY GOT IT!
Local food, Artisans, Crafts People, Family Fun, Live Entertainment
OLIVER STREET
MARKET HERB GARDNER PARK
(Across from Safeway, Beside City Hall)
Contact Terri at 250-296-4409 to become a vendor or for market info oliver.street.market.wl@gmail.com or on Facebook (Oliver Street-Market)
be hosted by the Williams Lake Off Road Motorcycle Association (WLORMA). Open to all ages and skill levels, with more fun and activities planned than ever before. For more information check out www. wlorma.ca September 8, 6:00pm, Wells Community Hall: Ducks Unlimited Dinner and Auction. Come out for an evening of fun while supporting the Ducks Unlimited Foundation. $40 for a single, and $75 for a couple. For information or for tickets please contact Robin at 250-994-3243. September 8, Williams Lake - Gavin Lake: It’s the 20th Annual Tour de Cariboo! Williams Lake’s largest fundraising event for Big Brothers Big Sisters. All proceeds stay in town to benifit the many great programs serving the youth of the lake city. Free overnight accommodation for riders. Food, festivities, prizes and more. Many thanks to everyone who works hard each year to put the event together, and to the riders who make it all happen. September 8, 10am - 3:00pm, Scout Island Nature Center, Williams Lake: Free public play party for all ages on September 8th from 10am -3pm at Scout Island Na-
Gecko Tree
Café & Catering
ture Centre. Play Games, take guided nature walks and try your skill at nature challenges. September 8, 7:30 9:00pm, 108 Mile: 2012 Blues Jazz Concert series ‘Slap Back’ is bringing the Blues back to the Cariboo with Jimmy D Lane Trio at the 108 Golf Resort’s Lotus Club. September 8 - 9, Stampede Grounds, Williams Lake: 36th Annual Harvest Fair to be held at the Stampede Grounds. Each day starts with Breakfast each morning. There will be: Professional Bull Riding, the Exhibit Hall, music, and many events going on all weekend. Pick up a Fall Fair brochure around town so that you do not miss anything. September 9, Boitanio Park, Williams Lake: Scotiabank and the BC SPCA are hosting its annual Paws for a Cause walk for the animals. Come on down and check out the silent auction tables, dog agility, obedience testing, and more. Furry friends are encouraged to attend. Walk location: Boitanio Park- Pic Nic Shelter. Registration time 10:00 am; Walk start time 11:00am. For more information call the Williams Lake and District SPCA branch 250392-2179
Menu items with you in mind. • Gluten-Free • Vegan • Vegetarian • Omnivore
The building permit is in hand and the work is starting on the soon-to-be-open juice-bar and coffee house at
HOUSE
HOBBIT
One more reason to come in and relax with friends.
71 S 1st Avenue
Leanne Kunka Owner
392-7599
Real food for real people. Tues-Fri 7:30-4:00 Sat 9:00-4:00
250-398-8983 54 N Mackenzie Ave Williams Lake
SERVING
September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 11
For the record, The Stew Crew has a rescue cat that they are pretty sure is as old as the pyramids. Best cat ever.
September 9, 1:00pm, Sylvia’s Cafe: 29th Annual Jimmy Dunlop Memorial Toy Run. The 29th Annual Toy Run will be leaving from Sylvia’s Cafe (26 miles on the Nazko Hwy) and ride to LeBourdais Park in Quesnel for the presentation of toys to the Quesnel Good Cheer! For information please call Larry at 250-9923085 September 9, 11:00am - 2:00pm, River Front Trail at the end of Bowron Ave, Quesnel: Paws for a Cause. Walk with us on September 9th and open your heart to thousands of animals across BC in need of your help. Registration starts at 11:00 or Pre Register Online! Walk leaves at 12 (Noon), from the River Front Trail at the end of Bowron Avenue. Face Painting by Donation to the SPCA by Warehouse One the Jean Store Ticket Auction for Pet Prizes, and a Best Dressed Pet Contest!! For more info Please call the Quesnel SPCA at 250-992-7722 September 10, Williams Lake. Summer’s over! StrongStart centres at Marie Sharpe, Mountview and Cataline Schools reopen on Monday, September 10. Kids 0-5 and their parent/caregiver are invited to drop in for free early
learning activities. Call 398-3839 for more info.
Robin Grady at 250992-2008 or via email at lorettagrady@yahoo. com
September 10, Alexis Creek; 150 Mile House; Wildwood: Summer’s over! Outreach StrongStart centres reopen on Monday, Sept.10 at Alexis Creek, Tuesday, Sept.11 at 150 Mile House and Thursday, Sept. 13 at Wildwood. Watch for the new Horsefly StrongStart centre opening soon. Kids 0-5 and their parent/caregiver are invited to drop in for free early learning activities. Call 398-3839 for more info.
September 14 to October 27th, Parkside Art Gallery, 100 Mile House. This show will feature the works of three contributing artists, Martha Cloudesley, Claudia Ring and Jenny Taylor, whose unique approach to the Fibre Arts will deliver delight and surprises. September 15, 10:00am, Antique Machinery Park, Quesnel: Antique Machinery Park Appreciation Day. Come out and see what the Antique Machinery Park has been doing this past summer. New exhibits, machinery and so much more. Burgers, hotdogs and corn too! For information please contact Doug at 250991-8080
September 12, 1:00pm, Stanley Cemetery, Barkerville: Stanley Cemetery Workbee by the Friends of Barkerville. Bring wheelbarrows, shovels, garden rakes, hammers. Plans are to install 2x6 boards on posts around cemetery and place more fine gravels on trails, some painting if needed. Please confirm if attending as will cancel if numbers are too low, need at least 12 people. Please contact
September 15 - 16, Likely: The Unlikely Paddlefest & Kayak Celebration - contact Red Shreds at 250-3987873. If you’re not in on
the fun - you should be.
gmail.com
September 16, 9:00am, LeBourdias Park, Quesnel: Terry Fox Run! Join us for this year’s Terry Fox Run in beautiful Quesnel! Extra Details: Music provided by Heath Onstine. See you there! For more information please contact Geoff Ruffle at ruffleg@
September 16, 10:00am - 2:00pm, Centenial Park, 100 Mile House: Paws for a Cause event. Come enjoy the festivities! Agility demonstration, costume contest, and even nail clipping and ear washing services for your furry friend,
donated by the 100 Mile House SPCA. For more information please call 250-395-5303 September 16, 10:00am, Cariboo Memorial Complex, Williams Lake: The Terry Fox Run - Cariboo Memorial Complex starting at 10:00am - for more info call 250-398-7665
Connect with us. The Stew Magazine is online. Do you know where to find us? www.thestew.ca www.facebook.com/stewmag MAGAZINE
www.twitter.com/stewforthought (the stew magazine) www.twitter.com/lewzr (todd sullivan) www.twitter.com/tonesoup (jamie horsely)
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PAGE 12 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
It’s been a number of years since Todd took a road trip looking for photographic inspiration. What did he take pictures of last time? Power lines. Lots of power lines.
September 22, 11:00am - 4:00pm, West Fraser Timber Park, Quesnel: Imagine the Multi-Center Day. On September 22, 2012 at West Fraser Timber Park we are hosting a festival which will celebrate art, culture and sporting activities. There will be games, activities, demonstrations, food vendors, and entertainment.
The Barker Mineral Cake Sale will be served and the door prizes of one ounce of gold, ten ounces of silver, or five ounces of silver will be drawn. The festival finale will be the Golf Ball Drop in which all the entries from the Shopping Bag sales will be placed in a chute and attached to a helicopter which will hover overhead. The golf balls
with be released with the ball landing in or closest to the golf hole located in the hardball field being declared the winner of the $2,000 Travel Gift Certificate. Try out one of the skills contests or learn a new activity while listening to some great local artists. For information please email: ourmulticentre@ gmail.com
Looking for treasures If you have antiques, collectable art, sculptures, or one-of-a-kind pieces that you’re looking to sell or consign...
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September 23, 9:00am - 5:00pm, Best Western Tower Inn, Quesnel: Free Sheep and Goat Forum. BC Ministry of Agriculture is hosting a day long Sheep & Goat Forum - Keeping Flocks Healthy. The North Cariboo Sheep Breeders Association is assisting on this forum. More details to come. For information please contact Wylie Bysstedt at coyoteacres.qnl@ gmail.com September 25, 6:30 9:00pm, Central Cariboo Arts Center, Williams Lake: An invitation to join the Cariboo Camera Club: An opportunity for fellowship and learning in the art of photography. Meetings are held at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre (old firehall) on the 4th Tuesday of each month, starting at 6:30pm. Features include: Knowledgeable presenters, Image clinics with contstructive critiques, Photographic
outings, Monthly digital frame exhibitions, Affiliated with the Canadian Association of Photographic Art. For more info, please call Cathie Wright at 250-790-2191 September 28, 5:00pm, Boitanio Park: Take Back the Night! A prevention initiative to raise awareness about Violence Against Women. This event is free and open to all members of our community. Join us for the evening walk through Williams Lake as a way for women to “Take Back the Night”. We encourage all members of our community to help recognize this important matter. Please come out to help raise awareness, promote prevention, honor all of the women affected by violence, and support families of victims.For more information please call Community Policing, Cariboo Friendship Society, CMHA - Cari-
More of everything you love to make you feel great and look fabulous!
Under Onetrix and sharing space with Cobalt Spa
383 Oliver St., Williams Lake
250-398-5544
September 29, 1:00pm to 2:30, Cariboo Memorial Complex, Williams Lake: The Cariboo Memorial Complex is hosting a Free Skate starting at 1:00pm sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Wms Lk September 30, 9:00am, Dragon Lake Boat Launch, Quesnel: 19th Annual Quesnel Women’s Fall Challenge! Come take part in this Half Marathon, 10k walk or run, 5km walk or run. For anyone ages 6 and up. Register at Quesnel Arts and Rec centre or online. Cost: Before Sept 16 $25, Regular (Sept 17-28) $30, Late (Sept 29, 30) $40, Post Race Lunch/ Awards $15. For information please go to http:// qwfc.wordpress.com
We’re smart. And sexy.
HAIR • TANNING • FULL ESTHETICS • WAXING • BODY PIERCING PERMANENT MAKEUP • GEL NAILS & SHELLAC
Lush.
boo Branch, Axis Family Resources Ltd., Women’s Contact Society or to volunteer please call 250392-4118.
MAGAZINE
September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 13
Some might say the other alternative is to skip the salad completely, but that doesn’t sound like a very healthy option.
StewSpots Salad dressing on the cheap Looking to get your copy on the latest edition of THE STEW Magazine? We’re available for pickup in a variety of places around the Cariboo Chilcotin. Please remember that this list is always evolving, and we’re always looking for new places that our magazine can call home, so if you know of someplace that you think should be a drop-off point for THE STEW, or if you own a business and you’d like to have a few copies of our magazine on your shelves, plus let us know.You can reach us by email at either todd@thestew. ca or juli@thestew.ca. Locations listed in alphabetical order 100 MILE HOUSE 99 Mile Supermarket A&W Alpine Deli & Sub Shop Chartreuse Moose Chevron CRD Library Dairy Queen Donex Higher Ground Natural Foods KFC Lone Butte General Store Marcel’s Boulevard Cafe Nuthatch Book Store Paninos Parkside Art Gallery Pharmasave Safeway Save-On Foods Smitty’s Subway Tim Hortons Velda’s Pasteries & Desserts Visitor Centre Yummers 150 MILE HOUSE 150 Mile Mall Marshall’s Store IN LAC LA HACHE Fast Trac Gas and Convenience Store Clancy’s Restaurant IN WILLIAMS LAKE 7-Eleven A&W Alley Katz Annie’s Attic Bean Counter Canadian Tire Canwest Propane Cariboo Growers Cariboo Memorial Complex Cariboo Spring CRD Library (Magazine & News Section) Central Cariboo Arts & Culture Center Concrete Fitness Cool Clear Water Dairy Queen Dandelion Living Denny’s Restaurant Dollar Dollar Elaine’s Natural Foods The Gecko Tree Greyhound Halls Organics Hobbit House Husky Karamia’s LD’s Cafe M&M Meat Shop McDonald’s Mohawk Mountview Store Movies on the Go New World Cafe One More Slice The Open Book The Overlander Hotel Quiznos Red Shred’s Safeway Sandman Inn Save On Foods Shell Shopper’s Drug Mart Sight and Sound Starbucks Station House Gallery Subway (Downtown) Subway (on the Highway) Tim Horton’s Tourism Info Centre TRU WLCBIA Women’s Contact Society Zellers Restaurant IN HORSEFLY Clarke’s General Store Cornerhouse Cafe The Post Office RaceTrac Gas IN MCLEESE LAKE Cariboo Wood Shop McLeese Lake General Store IN QUESNEL 7-Eleven (on the Highway) 7-Eleven (in West Quesnel) A&W Aroma Foods Billy Barker Hotel & Casino Bliss Burger Palace Carry All Books Granville’s Coffee Green Tree Health & Wellness Karin’s Deli Mac’s Museum & Tourist Centre Pier 14 Quiznos Riverside Bistro (West Park Mall) Safeway Save On Foods Shopper’s Drug Mart Steeped Subway Super Suds Laundromat Tim Horton’s (on the Highway) Tim Horton’s (Downtown) IN HANCEVILLE Lee’s Corner IN TATLA LAKE Graham’s Inn IN BELLA COOLA Valley Inn Coast Mountain Lodge Valley Restaurant Eagle Lodge
I know, I know, I’ve mentioned it before, but I feel I have to say it again: You can make anything that you can buy in a store from scratch. You may need to buy an item or two, and when you’re broke, you can’t always have a well stocked pantry. But if you want things that you see in the store, you can usually find a copycat recipe for it. Sometimes people want to have a salad, but they only have enough money for the lettuce and not the dressing. Well, you can turn that into a salad with items that you might have on hand! I’m including prices next to each item as a breakdown of what they cost you. This recipe also assumes that you bought a container of parmesan cheese, lemon for the dried rind, and lemon juice, all on sale. Caesar Salad Dressing Mix 1tbsp of grated dried lemon peel (assuming 3/$1 sale) $0.33 ¼ tsp garlic powder $0.02 ½ tsp pepper $0.02 1 tsp oregano leaves $0.03 1 tsp thyme leaves $0.03 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese $1.80 ½ tsp salt. $0.01 Mix these items
Fine Frugality together, and sore in a Ziploc bag, with as much air removed from the bag as possible. When you wish to make your salad combine: ¼ cup of the previously made mix (approximate total for mix alone is $2.24) ½ cup olive oil (approximately) $0.44 ¼ cup lemon juice (assuming that you saved the juice from the one lemon you previously used) free. Using a fork, blend well, or place into an old lidded jar and shake until well mixed. This recipe makes two 1-cup bottles of the salad dressing, at a total cost of $3.12 or $1.56 per bottle. I know, you can buy a bottle of dressing for about $2, but is it worth it? If you have the ingredients on hand, you don’t have to go out and pay for it, and it takes a total of ten minutes to whip it up. And it’s better for you!
The Gift Now in, just in time for school, Station House Gallery 12X12 Book Bags for Under $20! Show your support of the arts with this stylish bag, printed right here in town. Available at the SHG Gift Shop.
Station House Gallery 250-392-6113
Open Monday to Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm
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Cariboo Growers
By Angela Shephard
September 7–29, 2012 Ed & Marta Deak share with you
#1 Mackenzie Avenue North Williams Lake At the foot of Oliver Street
(250) 398 6583 or (250) 267-0010 Dwayne Davis
Williams Lake’s Year-Round Local Food Co-Operative The non-profit store is on the corner of Third and Oliver St.
You can save money by doing it yourself with more than just food too. Maybe you need laundry soap, or deodorant, or maybe even bug spray. The cost of buying these things can become a huge cost over time, but by buying just the ingredients to make these items you can save a lot of money! angela@thestew.ca
Steve & Astrid Roy 250-397-4103
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PAGE 14 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
cold hands in the water washing off the viscera of a winter spent underwater in the dark the bone ache of afterward cold eyes on a horizon half hidden with cloud ingers drip – droplets falling from hands held just so above the water I watch I don’t get soaked by waves blindsided by weather hooked off the earth from above by some sharp implement I’m freezing onshore spine a column of rocks stacked and shaken all day by the rattle of the boat motor I’m in love with the element the elemental the element the edges of the elements where they meet: rock and water, water and air
FROM SKYWARD FROM THE SELF
this is not wave spray, it’s rain clenched toes in my gumboots there was bound to be retribution BY GILLIAN WIGMORE
the bone ache of afterward
Gillian Wigmore is an accomplished poet who has an absolutely beautiful reading voice. Listen for her on the CBC.
if the sun comes out can I take credit? wash the knife edge free of blood the curve of tempered steel and leather you did the dirty work and we ate like kings the clouds broke eventually and turned the lake black
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September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 15
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Michelle Daymond for writing our Eating Local column all these months — it was great having you as part of The Stew Crew, Michelle. We’re looking forward to seeing what Terri will bring to this space in the months to come.
A new voice for local, fresh food Hello everyone. Many readers may already know me from the Oliver Street Market and Cariboo Growers’ Cooperative, and even from Michelle’s articles, but for those of you who don’t, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Terri Smith and I am one of your local farmers at Road’s End Vegetable Company. I am very honoured to be taking over Michelle’s column on local food and hope to be able to fill her shoes. Food is my passion. I have always eaten, of course, but it wasn’t until we began working on farms in preparation for beginning our own farm that I really fell in love with food — the flavours, textures, colours, smells, and tastes of freshly harvested food are beyond compare. Eating is one of the things we all must do and how we go about it may be one of
the most important decisions we make on a daily basis. Our decisions surrounding food affect not only our own health but also the health of our community, the health of the land we live on, and the health of the planet as a whole. Author Michael Pollan, in the documentary Food Inc. speaks of how it may seem that our society has a cheap food system, but that the reality is that we actually have an incredibly expensive food system, in which the costs are hidden. While the dollar value of any particular item may be low, the environmental, social, and health costs are often extremely high. When we choose to eat local, we are not only putting money back into the community in which we live, we also get the
best-tasting, healthiest food available (thereby reducing future health problems), we reduce the amount of fossil fuels that must be used to ship food the great distances which have become standard, and we get to know our farmers (who are, I must say, some pretty interesting characters)! Change is not easy. Though I was raised on a cattle ranch near Williams Lake, where most of our food came from our land, when I moved away to Vancouver all of my food came from the grocery store. I thought that I couldn’t afford organic, and was also suspicious of what the heck an “organic” label meant anyway. But littleby-little I made the changes that eventually led me back to my hometown to supply as many people as I can with the option of fresh, local, healthy food.
My decision to become a farmer has definitely not brought me fame and fortune; however, I have found that while I make less money than ever before I eat better than I ever have and consequently I feel better than I ever have. Eating is no longer just something that has to be done a few times each day. Obtaining food, preparing it, cooking it and sitting down with friends or family each day to share a meal is not only important, it is also fun. As a beginning farm, we have not yet built the infrastructure to store food for winter, so when the season is done we must buy most of our food from somewhere else. By reprioritizing I have found that while right now I live within the lowest income bracket, I can still afford to eat healthy, tasty food. If an organic farmer can
Eating Local By Terri Smith afford to eat organic food, so can you. It has been almost four years since I returned to Williams Lake and in that short time I have watched the local food system change and grow more than I could have imagined. There are now many other young farmers like us just beginning to come onto the scene. In my opinion it’s not a moment too soon. The local food network is growing as people begin to care more and more about where and how their food is grown. Over the
coming months I would like to follow in Michelle’s footsteps and provide you, the reader, with more information about who our local farmers are. If you are a local farmer who would like to be featured in this article please give me a call at (250) 296-4409. This may seem like a conflict-ofinterest since I am technically the competition, but I am farming because it is what I believe in and I believe it is going to take a great many more of us to build a healthy, sustainable, local food system. roads.end.csa@gmail.com
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PAGE 16 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
We sent Jamie to cover the Shambhala music festival not knowing quite what to expect, but we were pretty ecstatic to find this rather epic report in our inbox.
Welcome to Shambhala, the city of joy! In the second weekend of August, 14,000 people trek from all over the province, the country and even from overseas to come share in one of the most amazing experiences on the planet. Background What makes Shambhala so unique? Several things: For one, it’s a home-grown festival. Shambhala began in 1998 as a small gathering of about 500 people on the Salmo River Ranch, which operates as a full time cattle ranch when it’s not host to the largest electronic music festival in western Canada. The festival is produced by the ranch owners’ three children, making it a true family business. There are no corporate sponsorships, therefore there are no advertisements on the grounds. Your eyes and brain are free to relax and take in the natural beauty of the grounds and all of the amazing art without the distraction of corporate logos. In fact the one thing I did see with corporate logos on it was a huge discarded Telus advertisement banner that was being repurposed as covering for the documentary dome.
I saw it as the artists were painting over it, leaving only the word “art” from “smart.” When it was done I don’t think anyone realized what the past life of the dome’s tarp had been. The other key to making the experience unique is that Shambhala is an alcohol free festival. Festival goers are warned when they buy a ticket that no alcohol is allowed on site and as cars arrive at the festival gate they are searched thoroughly and all alcohol is confiscated. There are no bars or beer gardens on site. This helps keep the aggressiveness and douchebaggery to a minimum. Arrival and Setting Where is this pace? What’s it like? Well, let me set the scene for you. After a long drive — all the stories I heard were of people spending anywhere from six to 30 hours on the road, but most trips were in the range of eight to 12 hours — you
THE STEW MAGAZINE’S
Monthly
MIX
Tone Soup By Jamie Horsley arrive at Salmo, BC. There you catch up to the end of the gate lineup. I was lucky enough to be allowed inside on Tuesday to see the last of the work come together before the gates opened to the public on Wednesday, and thankfully didn’t have to deal with the lineup. If you would like to avoid the gate lineup as well, simply get involved, either on a working crew or as a volunteer — all workers are expected to arrive before Tuesday morning when volunteer orientations happen. All reports from the gate lineup come in the form of personal horror stories of extremely long waits from those who came unaware. If you would like to be let in on Wednesday, before the party starts on Thursday, there is a $60 early entry fee, which if I were the paying public, I would absolutely pay for — your pick of the best campsites will make your weekend that much more enjoyable. Back to that lineup though; It is in that lineup that they search every car for banned substances (the
Packing lunch was never this easy.
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list of which is available on their website). Once you’re cleared they check your ticket and give you a wristband and send you on your way to find camping. I’ve heard stories that that lineup is so long it generates a party of it’s own. I’ve heard stories of buskers raising enough money for a ticket while sitting alongside the line. Basically, you’ll want to come early, and be prepared to wait long hours. After finally getting through the car search and registration process, we were in! As you come in past the gate, on your right there is a huge open field known as Sunshine Camp. Sunshine Camp is the farthest away from the action and the cheapest to camp in. Tenting is free throughout all of the camp sites but if you would like to camp with or in your vehicle or RV there is a small fee. As you travel down the road past Sunshine Camp, further toward the action, you will see signs along the road welcoming you to Shambhala and explaining the peaceful and artistic
FILL THIS:
These are the songs that rocked our world during the last 30 days
Juli Harland: LMFAO - ‘Party Anthem’ LMFAO - ‘I am Not a Whore’ LMFAO - ‘I’m Sexy and I Know it’ Angela Shephard Buffy Sainte-Marie ABBA Fleetwood Mac Terri Smith: Hmmm, well, anything by Drum and Bell Tower. Laura Kelsey: Isaac Smeele - ‘Gin Jar’ Year of No Light - ‘Persephone’ Ted Neeley - ‘Gethsemane’ intent of the festival and its grounds. It is a message of love and sets the tone of the energy that will permeate the next half week that you will be spending on the grounds. Beyond that message, you turn the corner around the trees and it opens into another field known as Starlight Camp. This camp
is far more desirable as the walk to the grounds is significantly shorter as it backs onto the fenced gates of downtown Shambhala. As you come down the main road through Starlight camp the road splits and you can turn off to go to downtown, or you can continue on to the gear drop gates of Meta Camp. Meta
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September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 17
We tried to make it to Shambhala last year as well, but were unable to attend ourselves, and weren’t able to find anyone to attend for us at the last minute. This year we were more on the ball with our planning. Camp is tent only camping, it’s free but you gotta pack all your gear in. The road through Meta Camp is quite long but as you continue down the road the camping spots seem to get better. I obviously didn’t follow the road far enough before settling on a site. If I had gone further, I would have found more shady spots amongst the trees and some nice spots right along the river. However some of those spots are very close to the fence that backs some of the biggest stages on the grounds and therefore can be very loud. But you didn’t come to sleep, you came to party, right? I highly recommend taking the long hike down into the depths of Meta Camp if you’re not camping in your air conditioned RV. If you intend on doing this, the one thing that will make your life easier will be some non-motorized device with wheels, like a wagon, wheel barrow, dolly, shopping cart, or anything that will allow you to push, pull, or drag your gear rather than lift and carry it. People set up camp sites of all sorts, often camping in large groups, sharing supplies and such. Almost every campsite has a name: Camp Bubblez, Camp Renegade, Camp Fuckerd, Kamp Konfused, Camp Bachelor Pad, Super Island Friends and so many more. The names serve as a way for friends arriving from other places to find each other and also as a sort of address when inviting new friends back to your camp
OLIVER GOSSELIN PHOTO
to chill out. Some are elaborately decorated or even themed, others are nothing more than a tent or two. If you’re camped out in the field you’ll want to bring your own shade in the form of tarps, awnings, foldout gazebos, or anything else you can find that you can build a shady area out of. You may not sleep much at night and it’s nothing but hot all day long so shade is essential. The other thing to keep in mind is the dust. This year we didn’t see a drop of rain all week and the vehicles driving up and down the main road kick up a lot of dust, and the closer you camp to the main road the dustier your site
will be. So be prepared for a dusty weekend; bandanas for your face are particularly handy and don’t stake your tent along the road side if you can avoid it. After I got my camp set up I went to wander around and see the sights. It was Tuesday and the only people on site were crew workers and volunteers. Some of the buildings in the downtown area were still being built. Art was going up all over, some of it even being painted on the spot. Stage crews were hard at work preparing stages and sound equipment and rigging beautiful things into the sky against nothing but the trees. When you
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understand how things are normally rigged into the ceiling of a stadium or theatre, it’s awe inspiring to see these amazing pieces rigged onto the random points of the trees. When I woke up on Wednesday morning the landscape had changed. Where there was once fields with a tent or an RV splattered at random in them, now the fields were filling fast with RVs, vans, busses, tents and other elaborate camp sites. The early arrivals were trickling in and getting set up. The foot traffic along the main road past my site was turning into a steady stream. I spent the day wander-
ing around, checking out the scene a little more, meeting people and making friends, which is amazingly easy at Shambhala. Everyone welcomes everyone else with open arms and smiles and hugs. Inside downtown the vendors were starting to get set up. There were a few
permanent installations like the Night Owl Hot Brews coffee bar and the Tea Tree & Apothecary which both highlight products local to the Kootneys. Most of the vendors were travelling vendors some of which I’ve seen around at other festivals. CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
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PAGE 18 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
Juli is a big fan of mini donuts, and the mini donuts from Ogopogo Mini Doughnuts sound like something she’d be pretty crazy for.
The Experience The party begins Thursday, but Thursday is more of a pre-party with only the two smaller of the six stages open: The Rock Pit and The Living Room. The Rock Pit is in the downtown core, beside the vendors, so there is always music downtown, throughout the weekend. The Living Room stage is on the beach and you’ll hear much more chill sounds coming from the Living Room stage. A lot of reggae can be heard on this stage during the day, but other downtempo sounds are played here as well. It’s at the Living Room where you can jump in the river to cool off and then dance yourself dry, which, in the beating sun, barely takes minutes. On Thursday the opening ceremonies were held at the Rock Pit at noon with Luciterra and Chris Murdoch, a belly dancing circus act that included juggling and contact juggling with gravity balls. The girls were beautiful and
graceful and if you’ve ever seen contact juggling, you know how fascinating it can be. This guy had ten balls going at once — incredible! That night I partied hard at the Rock Pit with the amazing sounds of Delhi 2 Dublin, Bryx, Science of Defiance, The Librarian, and Mat the Alien. Then I noticed it was getting really crowded and pushy there and I was ready for a calmer scene, so I wandered over to the Living Room where the music was slightly more chill and there was room to dance. I danced to DJ Dubconscious and then Yan Zombie. Then it was nearly 4 a.m. and I wandered off to find my tent and get some shut eye. Friday was the day the real party was gonna take off. Friday afternoon the other four stages opened. The Labyrinth was first to open at noon with a rather spiritual ceremony asking the ancient spirits to watch over us and bring us joy and peace as we evoke the first heaven of Shambala,
the city of joy, here on these grounds. Beyond the Labyrinth stage is a labyrinth of art and quiet spaces each infused with positive energy. In the Labyrinth I found a huge mandala of crystals and semiprecious stones that had been laid out with intent set into every every stone as it was placed. Just standing in front of it, I could feel the energy radiating out of it. There was also a beautiful fountain, kept by a wise woman who had graciously made herself available to listen and share. There were huge hammock nets that could fit six people at a time and even a Creation Station where people could come and use available art supplies to create their own art. The Labyrinth, I realized, is a very spiritual place. Later the Fractal Forest, the Village, and the Pagoda opened. The Fractal Forest stage is set in a rather well treed area. The Village is the main stage and has the
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biggest floor space as well as walkways that are raised a storey or two above the ground that create a balconylike feeling and look. Imagine an Ewok village that lights up at night with video projection, lasers and neon. The Pagoda is a smallish fenced in area between end of downtown and the back of the labyrinth with a huge pagoda built in it. When you step inside the area and see the huge structure and the paintings on the fence, you get the feeling you’ve found a monastery in an Asian rainforest. On Friday evening I caught most of Justin Hale’s set. His clever name and equally clever DJing didn’t take much to twist the rubber arms of most of the attendees. From there I wandered to the Village and caught most of the funky house set of Two Timer. After midnight, I went to the Pagoda and found myself absolutely trippin’ balls at the amazing sound and lights. I stayed and had my mind blown to the sounds of Wax Romeo and then Claude VonStroke. Those two sets were by far the most amazing that I saw all week. Look those guys up online. Then it was over to the Village to be sure not to miss out on the biggest name of the night, quite possibly the weekend: Datsik. Datsik’s a Kelowna local boy that loves to pump out the hardcore dubstep. While the ravers bounced and nodded to the hard dubstep breaks, I let fly the hair and headbanged like it was a metal show. I had such a blast, you have no idea. Headbangin’ to the electronic
music — who’d’a thunk it? I’ll admit, I have a hard time listening to a whole Datsik album in my living room at mid volume, but I rocked out to the whole hour and a half set. Now I truly understand what this dubstep stuff is all about. When the next artist, Bare, came on I tried to walk away but when the beat dropped I found my feet turning on their own and leading me back to the dance floor. But when the ambulance pushed its way into the crowd and the room to dance was lost, the mood and energy sorta died for me and I wandered away. I headed to the Living Room stage, looking for a calmer vibe, and found it. I caught the last of Leif’s set and fell in love with the groovy, downtempo sound of a guy called Snail Rider. I danced there until the sky was fully light and then sleepily wandered back to camp to sleep. Saturday I took things easy as I was beginning to get sore after two days of dancing hard. In the afternoon, as I was wandering through downtown, I heard a guy telling stories on the Rock Pit stage. The messages in his clever anecdotes struck a chord with me. I had to sit and listen. There was a guy on stage that looked a little like a young Tom Waits poetically ranting about all the things wrong with the modern era, backed by a guitar player that strummed riffs and choruses from classic Americana songs. The poet was Chris Chandler and the guitarist was Paul Benoit. I was so moved I
Most surprisingly delicious food vendor award: Ogopogo Mini Doughnuts. This Vernon local food cart can be found at many festivals and events around the province, serving up non-greasy and not-over-sugared delicious buttery flavoured mini doughnuts. These are nothing like carnival mini doughnuts. They’re a thousand times better! If you see the Ogopogo Mini Doughnuts truck at an event be sure to try them. Most amazingly awesome artisan: Third Eye Pinecones They have created unique pieces of jewelry by cutting cross sections of the densest pinecones in the world, which grow along the coast of California and Oregon, and encasing them in resin. Some are available with semi-precious stones inlaid into them. They’re so beautiful you have to see them to believe it. conesandstones.com at the most.
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September 2012 | THE STEW Magazine | PAGE 19
Jamie called his trip to Shambhala a life-changing experience, so that’s a pretty positive review.
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went and shook Chris’ hand after the show (and I still owe him money for a CD he let me have). That evening I caught Shasta and then Briden’s set’s at the Labyrinth. Later I went to the Pagoda to catch Love and Light and made sure I saw Pretty Lights, who would be headlining at the Village the next night but that set would conflict with others I wanted to see on Sunday. I’m glad I did. Pretty Lights was awesome and was certainly one of the most talked about names all weekend. When I did cruise past their headlining set at the Village on Sunday, it was packed. After Pretty Lights, I went and rocked out to Sigma at the Village, and when they dropped the Prodigy remix, I danced so hard I didn’t know I had it left in me until it was over. Then Dieselboy started. I was exhausted and the hard driving dubstep style bass wasn’t doing anything for me so I went to seek out calmer things. I found calmer things
in the form of my sleeping bag. Sunday was the last chance to party and also the day that had the most marks on my schedule of artists I wanted to check out. I spent most of the night wandering from stage to stage occasionally mustering the energy to dance to the best of the beats. I began the evening at the Fractal Forest with Neon Steve and then JPod The Beat Chef. Then it was over to the Village to see one of the artists I was most excited for: ill.Gates. He absolutely killed it. He kept the Village packed and jumping for his relatively early and short, one hour set. After that I went to the Pagoda, which was extremely crowded, and checked out Comic Strips, who I thoroughly enjoyed, and Porter Robinson, who was on my not-to-miss list, and Zed’s Dead, who I hadn’t heard of but came highly recommended by many other festival goers. All three were incredible, but I made sure I dashed out
OLIVER GOSSELIN PHOTO
during Porter Robinson’s set (after I heard my favourite song of his) to catch a bit of Thriftworks at the Living Room stage. After all that I went to catch some shuteye so I could be up in time the next morning to see and partake in the closing circle at the Labyrinth. I’m glad I did. The People I didn’t really know what to expect before I arrived at Shambhala. I heard about the festival more than 10 years ago from the hippie friends I had at the time. Over the
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years I’ve heard increasing reports of “Shambhala changed my life” to the point that it’s almost become a cliche phrase. I’ve also heard increasing reports of the festival growing and growing and losing the loving community it was built on. At night when the party was in full swing, and even throughout the day, you could see all sorts of freaks and weirdos. There were the obvious hippies and forest children, there was the, apparently, relatively new crowd of high-fivin’ white
guys in their ball caps with their constant calls of, “Yeah buddy!” There were costumes of all sorts. Animals, cartoon characters, movie characters, there was tons of neon and glow sticks and signs and group mascots on sticks. At night it looked like a crowd you might see on the Las Vegas strip. When I had arrived on Tuesday it was all crew and volunteers that were there. Most of these people had been coming for several years. But all week long, the big question was “How many years have you been coming?” and I soon realized that, unlike other festivals, there
were more returning workers and even ticket holders, than first years. I was a Shambhala virgin, but I was by no means an outcast for it. Everyone who found out it was my first year welcomed me with a hug and the promise of the most amazing time of my life. None of them were wrong. I will be back next year. I think I may get involved working on the Labyrinth. If you’ve never been, if you enjoy electronic music, if you’re looking for a loving community, you need to experience the joy of Shambhala. tonesoup@thestew.ca
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PAGE 20 | THE STEW Magazine | September 2012
There’s still plenty of time to soak up
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