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Guide Thursday, November 15, 2018

Kinky Boots coming to P.G. Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

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ccording to True North Touring, the hit Broadway musical Kinky Boots – featuring songs by pop icon Cyndi Lauper – is coming to CN Centre on March 22.

A ticket presale started on Nov. 7, for people using the passcode STEPONE. Kinky Boots projects power – the spiritual power of music and the sensual power of footwear.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

CN Centre manager Glen Mikkelsen wears his own kinky boots as he announces the Broadway production of Kinky Boots is coming to Prince George on March 22.

This hit on stage was also a popular British film based on the book telling the true story of a man who inherits a shoe factory and strikes up an unlikely partnership with a cabaret performer and drag queen.

“Charlie Price reluctantly takes over his father’s business, a shoe factory, and he is looking for a new idea,” said CN Centre manager Glen Mikkelsen, explaining the plot. Charlie meets up, by way of a street fight, with Lola, a drag queen who tips over some dominoes in his brain that transform the business. It sets its focus on sexy footwear, especially the kind that can handle the weight and hip position of men in high heels.

This hilarious romp earned 13 Tony Award nominations, taking home six of the coveted trophies including the all-important Best

Musical as well as Best Score for Lauper.

When it was staged in London, it picked up another set of honours: three Laurence Olivier Awards. It has been a smash in Toronto, Australia, Korea, Chicago, Japan, and scores of other places.

Mikkelsen was in New York City on a family trip when he and his wife Joanne spotted ads for a Broadway show with which they were not familiar. They took a chance on Kinky Boots and it ended up being “one of the most exciting and fun Broadway shows” he had ever seen. When True North Touring called to say they were bringing the show to Canada, CN Centre was quickly penned into the schedule. “It is fun, it is lively, it is uplifting – a wonderful show,” Mikkelsen said.

— see ‘I ASKED, page 6

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Burton up for poetry prize Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

A Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

Andrew Burton is a finalist for a national poetry prize.

ndrew Burton has always had a gritty pen.

The Prince George writer has written plays, short stories and poetry, most predominantly, and even though he hits veins of comedy and poignancy, the foundation has always been raw reality.

He has won international awards for his theatre work (he is the founder of Street Spirits Theatre Company, among other stage ventures) and critical acclaim for his verse has also been widespread.

The latest honour is in the form of national broadcasting attention.

Burton was named, this week, as one of the Top 30 finalists for the CBC Poetry Prize.

His poem Where You From? made the nationwide long-list and in true Burtonian fashion it scrabbles in the grime and chill of

the Canadian gutters and alleys.

“Some of it came from my youth,” Burton told The Citizen.

“I did have a period when I was about 15 to about 18 when I was living on the street in Winnipeg, and then later on I got into the helping professions and was back on the street working in that different way.

The poem comes from that combination of experiences.”

Burton now works for Northern Health as a counsellor and advocate in realms like addictions, abuse, street risk, and all those nuanced levers that need to be pulled and pushed when your title is Social Worker.

“I’ve written a lot about street life, over many years – different aspects of counterculture,” he said.

“I think a big part of my poetry has been observational stuff and sometimes very direct and sometimes not.”

Winnipegers, he said, will recognize their city in this poem.

— see ‘IT’S A BIT OF, page 3

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‘It’s a bit of a mashup’ Where You From?

— from page 4 When he was a youth, he lived in a condemned apartment above a street-level prosthetic limb factory. The apartments were disallowed by city inspectors because there was no alternate fire escape route.

The landlord offered the apartments up for off-the-books residents, and Burton was one among the “sketchy counterculture crowd” who didn’t mind taking the risk for a cheap room.

He said nobody was worried because there were ways of getting out of a potential fire anyway.

References to different points of known Winnipeg geography and culture were also enjoined with aspects of Prince George.

“It’s a bit of a mashup,” he said. The concrete canyon between the Art Gallery and The Bay is out of Winnipeg, but “there’s a reference to the soup bus, and that is about the one that used to be a staple in Prince George’s downtown.”

He’s been writing poetry for decades,

using it as a means of personal expression, catharsis, arrangement of thought, and fun.

A lot was for his own sake but he also knew he could move others with his words.

The first time his scribery came to the attention of the national broadcaster was when he was living in Thompson, Manitoba prior to moving to Prince George.

He would frequently drive to Winnipeg, a distance about equivalent to Vancouver from this city.

His constant companion was the radio, and the only station that spanned the distance was CBC. As he rolled along one day in the ‘80s he heard an ad for a postcard poem – a fully formed piece that was both short and emblematic of the Canadian experience.

“I pulled over and sat at a diner in Ashern, listened in on conversations there, wrote what came to me at the table, submitted it, and I guess it struck a chord because I won,” he said.

— see ‘IT WAS, page 5

I am a castoff child of the city I am from the back alleys haunted by threadbare rats scrapping over the remains of soup bus sandwiches vomited up by junkies too long in the needle to care I am from the twilight time before the sun creeps up all stealth and anger hungry to chase the last husks of homeless souls from the shadowy places I am from denim clad zombies rolling from bar to bar to all night diner sitting where they can see the door where no one can get behind them I am from faded runaways hiding track marks with dollar store makeup trading sex for cocaine in the woods along the banks of the Assiniboine I am from ghost riders too dumb to know they’re dead watching for the angles for that one clean cut

that one tight score to brag about on the floor of a crack house in the Village I am from the rumble of traffic after midnight echoing back and forth in the concrete canyon between the Art Gallery and The Bay I am from strangers with no last names sharing a condemned apartment over a factory furnished with car seats and scavenged plywood.

I am from smiling and high fiving old friends speaking the rituals the magic words to connect a we are besties smile with one hand resting on a shiv in the back pocket.

I am from Old English in a brown paper bag drunk by the fountain on Broadway knowing the cops have us in their sights not giving a shit I am from the night — Andrew Burton

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‘It was really dark stuff’ — from page 1 It was a sparked fuse after that. The prairie edition of the CBC would hold quarterly poetry competitions and Burton submitted frequently, and would sometimes win.

Another interaction between he and the CBC occurred when their World Service branch took one of his poems and arranged for an actor to read it over the air to the world. It was a Christmas piece for family listening.

That was honour enough, Burton said, but it was heard in England by a publisher who contacted him about supplying a regular series of family-friendly poems to their magazine.

He happened to also be publishing a series of murder stories to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

“It was really dark stuff,” he said, “then I had to switch my mind over to children’s poems for Parent Connection.”

His writing has ebbed and flowed over the years, but it his pen has always been near at hand. He was part of the Murder

The CBC Poetry Prize will have its Top 30 whittled down to a shortlist with the ultimate winner announced on Nov. 14.

Of Crows writing group that ganged up to publish some chapbooks of poetry, and he also produced two chapbooks as a soloist.

Storm Season and Word Games can both be found at Books & Company now, and they will be joined on Nov. 14 by Daymares, the new volume of poetry Burton will personally unveil at a book launch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day.

The CBC Poetry Prize will have its Top 30 whittled down to a shortlist with the ultimate winner announced on Nov. 14.

The longlist was chosen by a panel of poets and editors from across Canada before goping to a jury comprised of Jordan Abel, Kai Cheng Thom and Ruth B who will decide the finalists and winner.

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Fall, winter prime time for pedestrian injuries Gateway staff Both drivers and pedestrians are encouraged to be extra cautious as daylight hours decrease and the weather worsens.

Almost double the number of pedestrians are injured in crashes from October to January and are particularly high between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on workdays when most people are commuting home

from work and school, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.

“Please focus on the road and leave your phone alone,” said Lindsay Matthews, ICBC’s interim vice-president responsible for road safety. “It’s time we all do our part to create a safer driving culture in B.C.” Drivers should also be ready to yield to pedestrians, she added.

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‘I asked him if he got a lot of requests for boots like these for men and he just said “ohhhhhhh yeah”’ — from page 1 True North Touring is the presentation company behind The Illusionists and Dirty Dancing that previously performed at CN Centre. They are also the production house behind Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles, and have connections to the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose hockey franchises.

The Six-Inch Stiletto Glen Mikkelsen issued a challenge, at the grand announcement of the Briadway musical Kinky Boots coming to CN Centre, the building he manages.

“You should Google ‘kinky boots’ at work and see what your boss says,” Mikkelsen suggested, as he tottered in leggy red dominatrix riders. In his blue shorts and sport coat, he was an urban mashup for which

“I told the merchant I was looking for a there are no words, but there was definitely Size 10 mens, probably a Size 12 womens, a focal point. One could not help but stare and it had to be able to handle the weight at his towering footwear and wonder how and the walk of a man,” Mikkelsen said. he could stay aloft.

“He said yes, he could One also might wonder how he came to He laughed that thankfully do that, so I asked him if he got a lot of have such architectural Model Express mailed requests for boots like wonders to wear. their merchandise in non- these for men and he “The internet is a just said ‘ohhhhhhh marvelous thing,” he descript brown paper yeah.’” shrugged. parcels, or he might have It seemed at times, at When he knew had some explaining to do the Tuesday morning Kinky Boots was comannouncement, that ing to Prince George at the office. a stiff breeze or even and needed a proper a mild surprise might introduction, he found mean Mikkelsen wouldn’t live to see the Model Express, a Vancouver purveyor of afternoon. He tread carefully, but still had a everything from hosiery to pasties, lingerie fragile stance most of the time. to fantasy footwear. Mikkelsen opted for “It raises the bar of admiration I have for the thigh-high Seduce 3000 boot.

the performers who have to work in high heels,” he said, which called to mind the famous quote by Ginger Rogers when her legendary dance partner Fred Astaire was praised for his smooth skills. She replied with an old Bob Thaves (artist/cartoonist) observation that she did everything he did, but backwards and in high heels.

He laughed that thankfully Model Express mailed their merchandise in nondescript brown paper parcels, or he might have had some explaining to do at the office. He still has to expense these beauties for the work boots they are, in their way.

“I wanted to wait on that until after today, so everyone would clearly know what they were for,” he said.

They are for something kinky. Get the full long look on March 22. Tickets are on sale now through TicketsNorth.

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Calling all female rockers to Metalocalypstick Festival Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

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f you’re a metal queen, a rocker girl, a fierce female of the stage, there’s a spotlight calling for you.

The Metalocalypstick Festival will return this coming summer for its fourth year featuring females.

Founded by former Prince George/Robson Valley rock diva Kaija Kinney of Vancouver metal band Anarcheon, Metalocalypstick doesn’t exclude men but it definitively includes women.

“Taking place in the scenic community of Lone Butte, this two-day festival brings in high quality metal acts from around North America (and beyond) each with at least one powerful female member,” said a statement issued

by Kinney and her team of festival

Anarcheon Handout file photo

Prince George’s Kaija Kinney is the lead singer of Vancouver metal band Anarcheon and the founder of a Canadian rarity, a metal festival dedicated to female performers. organizers. “Camping while surrounded by mountains and great music, it is the perfect setting to enjoy a vast array of talent across

metal, punk and hardcore.”

The next edition happens June 28 to July 1 and submissions are now being accepted to get your

music at that microphone. Some of the highlight acts that have already performed at Metalocalypstick include the likes of Brazil’s Nervosa, Egypt’s Massive Scar Era, Mexico’s Cabrakaan, Hollywood’s The Maension, Valfreya, Scythia, Mortillery and many more.

“Now is your chance to join the ranks of the talented alumni that have rocked the stage at this empowering event,” said the Metalocalypstick team.

“Submissions to play the festival are now open until Nov. 17.”

The application form is available on the event’s website.

In addition to showcasing the diversity of females on the harder edges of rock, the event also raises money for more of that momentum. Proceeds raised by the show have been donated to charities like Girls Rock Camp, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter,

and Earth Protectors plus they sponsor an independent band picked by Metalocalypstick Fest judges.

“This festival means the celebration of both sexes coming together and creating something amazing,” said Kinney.

“People like to say women in metal aren’t a big deal anymore and that we are all the same. I feel that is untrue, this is still a male dominated world and women are still looked upon as lesser. I want to showcase all these bad ass ladies and celebrate the differences of men and woman rather than pretend we are all equal. Truth is we are different why can’t we celebrate that?”

At the same time, it draws positive attention and infusions into the local economy since the festival is attracting international eyes onto the Cariboo region.

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Wilderness vanishing rapidly, mapping project shows Gateway staff

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he world’s last wilderness areas are rapidly disappearing, with explicit international conservation targets critically needed, according to an international team of scientists that includes a University of Northern British Columbia professor.

The team recently mapped intact ocean ecosystems, complementing a 2016 project charting remaining terrestrial wilderness.

Ecosystem Science and Management Associate Professor Dr. Oscar Venter, a co-author on the study based at the UNBC, said the two studies provided the first full global picture of how little wilderness remains, and he was alarmed

at the results.

“A century ago, only 15 per cent of the Earth’s surface was used by humans to grow crops and raise livestock,” he said.

“Today, more than 77 per cent of land – excluding Antarctica – and 87 per cent of the ocean has been modified by the direct effects of human activities.

“It might be hard to believe, but between 1993 and 2009, an area of terrestrial wilderness larger than India – a staggering 3.3 million square kilometres – was lost to human settlement, farming, mining and other pressures.

“And in the ocean, the only regions that are free of industrial fishing, pollution and shipping are almost completely confined to the polar regions.”

— see ‘CANADA IS, page 11

Handout image

This map shows the amount of remaining wilderness area by country around the globe.

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BC Bus North winter schedule in effect Gateway staff

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C Bus North will be running on a new schedule for the winter.

The travel days during the week will remain the same but starting Monday, they will arrive earlier and waiting times at layover points are being reduced to make sure trips are completed as much as possible during daylight hours, BC Transit said.

The trip from Prince George to Valemount will begin at 8:30 a.m., or 90 minutes later, and arrive in Valemount at 12:25 p.m.

The return trip departs at 1:25 p.m. and arrives in Prince George at 12:25 p.m.

For Prince George-Fort St. John and Dawson Creek-Fort Nelson, all times will be

on Mountain Standard Time and departure times at most points en route will be earlier, Gateway file photo reducing overall travel time by a half hour.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena was in Prince George to launch the BC Bus As for Prince George-Prince Rupert, the North service in July. bus leaves at 8 a.m. at each end but arrives at 7:25 p.m. or 25 minutes earlier and some departure times en route are earlier.

Customers are urged to visit bcbus.ca to get the full details and to be at their stops at least 10 minutes ahead of the arrival times.

Reservations are required. They can be booked online at bcbus.ca or call toll-free: 1-844-564-7494.

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‘Canada is at the coal-face of this issue’ — from page 9 Professor James Watson, the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature, said the world’s remaining wilderness could only be protected if its importance was recognized in international policy.

“Some wilderness areas are protected under national legislation, but in most nations, these areas are not formally defined, mapped or protected,” he said.

“There is nothing to hold nations, industry, society or communities to account for

We have lost so much already, so we must grasp this opportunity to secure the last remaining wilderness before it disappears forever.

— James Watson, lead author long-term conservation.

“We need the immediate establishment of bold wilderness targets – specifically those aimed at conserving biodiversity, avoiding dangerous climate change and achieving sustainable development.”

The researchers insist that global policy needs to be translated into local action.

“Canada is at the coal-face of this issue, as we have more wilderness remaining than any other country except Russia. One obvious intervention is to prioritize establishing protected areas in ways that would slow the

impacts of industrial activity on the larger landscape or seascape in Canada,” Venter said. “But we must also stop industrial development to protect indigenous livelihoods, create mechanisms that enable the private sector to protect wilderness, and push the expansion of regional fisheries management organizations.

“We have lost so much already, so we must grasp this opportunity to secure the last remaining wilderness before it disappears forever.”

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Vern Martel holds up a sign for Arm Nation, the 13-episode documentary series he is featured in, at his home on Oct. 27.

Up in arms Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

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here might be a lineup of actors squaring off to play Vern Martel in his biopic. A screenwriter couldn’t have written a better script than what really happened when the longtime arm wrestling champ made his comeback in Halifax at the national championships. At the bottom of his reach, his opponent pressing the back of his hand within a wafer breadth of the elimination table, a surge of emotional

Arm wrestler featured in documentary film

power overcame him and like a mythical hero on the brink of destruction, he halted the forces pushing against him, reversed the flow, and inch by inch his arm climbed the golden arch every arm wrestler lives under. The wily veteran drew on some instinctual history and reversed the flow of that moment’s energy. Micro movements turned into a tide of muscle. His opponent had no answer and gradually succumbed to Martel’s unrelenting reversal.

He had come back to win the match, like he had come back so many times before.

— see ‘I HAD A, page 15

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‘I had a very inspiring moment there’ — from page 14 Once, he came back from a motorcycle crash that took away the use of his left arm – an arm most athletes in his sport use as their main leverage weapon.

He had to come back from a broken hand bone that took him out of the sport for two years.

This time, Martel had come back from cancer, a bout that had him heading toward that final tap-out just like his opponent that Halifax day, but when Vern Martel rallies, there’s no human force that can stop him, even when it’s within himself.

If only cameras had been rolling for that last victory. What an epic film finale that would have been.

But wait.

There were cameras.

A documentary crew from Picture This Productions was in the process of filming some of the key athletes on this Canadian underground battlefield. One of the competitors they were told to focus on was

Prince George’s “One Armed Bandit,” one of the most decorated figures in the history of the arm wrestling sport (three world titles, plus innumerable Canadian successes). When someone wins as many national titles as Martel, that stands out, but when you come back from a nearly fatal illness to do it again, that’s another level.

“I’ve won everything out there. I had nothing to prove to anyone else,” Martel told The Citizen.

“But despite cancer knocking me down, being able to get back to the table was a big victory for myself personally, and they (Picture This Productions’ crew) followed me through that right to the Canadian championships in Halifax. I had a very inspiring moment there. It was almost like slow motion, when it was happening, and the crowd went crazy when it ended. Even the camera guy had tears in his eyes and David (Finch, director and co-producer) told me he could not have written a better script. And I was so drained, so emotional,

to discover I could still have a moment like that after what cancer did to me.”

Martel’s story now forms part of the documentary series Arm Nation that is showing on APTN. The weekly half-hour show follows a number of arm wrestling stars from Canada, with special attention given to athletes like Martel who come from Aboriginal backgrounds.

“They are trying to change the view people have of arm wrestling, showing its family side, the generations that get involved in it, and all the countries that get involved,” said Martel. “It’s a sport that’s really taken off on a global level but isn’t in the public eye in Canada. I’m hoping Arm Nation can change that a bit. At the last world championships there were actually more countries taking part than at the Olympics, and it is also really Paralympics-friendly. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has been made aware of that over in Europe.”

Few can demonstrate these traits of the sport like Martel.

“I think finally, Canada is getting a look at Canadians being involved in the sport because of Arm Nation,” he said. “I think the quality of the series is really high, there will be a good-sized audience for it, and that will lead to other opportunities for broadcasting on more networks. I’d love to see someone like Netflix pick it up. And if arm wrestling could ever get a sports network to televise it, that would be huge.”

As much as being an ambassador for his sport, and an emissary of inspiration, Martel is proud to always make it plain that he did it all from Prince George. He is already a member of this city’s Sports Hall Of Fame and now he will be seen by a nationwide audience on APTN. Arm Nation airs at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays in the Dene language. English language versions are aired Mondays at noon, Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. (Pacific Time).

Episodes in the series that have already aired can be viewed at will on the APTNwebsite.

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Red Green returning to P.G. on possible final tour Gateway staff

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Canadian actor Steve Smith, also known as Red Green, poses for a photograph in Toronto on Oct. 25, 2017. Smith will bring his This Could Be It tour to Prince George on Sept. 26.

ot every performer gets to go on touring forever like the Rolling Stones. Red Green has always been a practical thinker. He knows that one day even duct tape loses its stick, so he’s giving his fans fair warning. His latest comedy tour is called This Could Be It. “This might be your last opportunity to catch Red Green live before he takes a long look at his birth certificate and decides not to keep pushing his luck,” said the tour organizers for this beloved Canadian writer, actor and standup comic.

“The latest one-man show features some brand new handyman projects, advice to married guys and teenage boys, tips on getting old, an apology to the world on behalf of all baby boomers, with special contributions from Harold and a couple of other cast members talking animals, and a final wish from Red Green to all of his loyal fans.”

This Canada/U.S. coast-to-coast joke junket comes to Prince George’s Vanier Hall on Sept. 26. The 35 American tour dates are already nearing sellout status. The Canadian branch are sale at the CN Centre box office and online at the TicketsNorth website.

For decades, the Red Green character has transcended popular fiction and become a friend and neighbour via the half hour Red Green Show where handymen get all their best ideas. Well, they get ideas, anyway.

It’s family friendly, it’s as comfortably familiar as the grey on your favourite adhesive, and no matter where the Possom Lodge holds its meetings feels like home.

You know, a bit musty and in need of cleaning.

“The Red Green Show is a hilarious insight into men, their dreams, and their obsessions,” said tour organizers. “It’s a show for anyone who thinks God created man to give the rest of the world something to laugh at.”

— see SMITH, page 19

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Legal pot rollout needs to be fair

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he date for legalization of cannabis has come and gone in Canada and touched every community, including Prince George. Legalization marked a big shift in how our society operates, touching upon many institutions of Canadian life. From public safety, to retail services, to transit and labour law, the impact of legalizing cannabis will continue to require coordination among all levels of government.

Prince George’s city council is the level of government closest to your daily lives and as a result, we’re on the front lines of cannabis legalization. Our city is a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which has been helping communities get ready locally while engaging with the federal government in Ottawa. Municipalities cannot manage the impacts from this national change alone.

The key elements of a safe and effective rollout of cannabis legalization require clear cost-sharing of a potentially hefty bill.

While much has been said about the revenue potential of cannabis sales in Canada, too often we forget about the new costs.

Legalization has real operational and cost implications for a wide variety of municipal departments. Right now, in Prince George, you as local taxpayers are on the hook for all these new bills, and that’s not fair.

Among the new costs Prince George city hall will be responsible for are the cost of the police resources required to manage this new reality. Local governments already pay for more than 60 per cent of all policing costs in Canada. In Prince George, as in most of B.C., 100 per cent of our policing is contracted to the RCMP. Fortunately, the federal government recognized the key role of municipalities in a successful transition to a legalized cannabis regime. In September of 2017, the Government of Canada committed $81 million towards helping police services prepare for legalization including training and technology to tackle drug-impaired driving. That said, we are still waiting on details of how this $81 million will be allocated from the provincial level to our local level, despite the fact that local costs have started to be incurred and continue to mount.

Through our nationwide efforts with the FCM, the federal government released half

Guest Column Garth Frizzell Prince Geroge city council of its own cannabis excise tax revenues to the provinces, specifically to support municipal governments on the front lines of legalizing cannabis. To date, however, B.C. has not revealed plans to share those funds with local governments. Too many communities like ours do not yet have any clarity on how cannabis costs will be covered through provincial revenue-sharing frameworks. As the lead on cannabis legalization, the Government of Canada will need to ensure adequate revenue-sharing plans are in place and municipalities are made whole for the costs of this federal policy.

Clearly, there is still more work to do and the lack of information on revenue-sharing for many local governments is worrying.

Worse yet, some provinces have even indicated that they will not allow the portion of federal excise tax revenue designated for municipalities to flow to communities. This is unacceptable.

Municipalities are calling on the provinces to bring forward a clear path to uphold their end of the deal. They must provide support to municipalities to address local challenges around cannabis legalization. This also means the federal government needs to ensure provincial plans for revenue sharing are finalized and implemented. Prince George has been hard at work changing bylaws, ensuring local police services are equipped and engaging citizens. But getting this right requires municipalities getting all the committed resources they need.

In summary, while cannabis legalization moves forward, you can count on Prince George to continue moving forward to adapt to the challenges ahead. Across Canada, citizens can count on their local governments to respond. But the one challenge we can’t fix alone is ensuring local costs incurred by the new legalized cannabis regime are fully and sustainably covered as committed.

Let’s work together to get this right.

— Garth Frizzell is a Prince George city councillor and second vice-president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities

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Canadian actor Steve Smith, also known as Red Green, poses for a photograph in Toronto on Oct. 25, 2017.

Smith a Canadian icon — from page 16 Canadian comedy/theatre icon Steve Smith plays “the acerbic, dry-witted Red Green, lodge leader and host of the show that takes special aim at the yet unexplored humorous side of the male ego and other inflatables.”

Each live performance brings past fans and other breakers of wind into that colourful world – assuming that the only colours are red and green.

Explosions may occur, but the only injuries are usually associated with belly laughs and funny bones.

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Sunset Theatre developing talent in Wells Frank PEEBLES Gateway staff fpeebles@pgcitizen.ca

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Sunset Theatre proprietor Karen Jeffery (centre) now has two staff members to help run the Cariboo performance space. Acclaimed theatre figures Julia Mackey (left) and Dirk Van Stralen (right) have been hired to develop the Wells arts operation.

he sun seems to be rising on the Sunset Theatre.

The longtime performing arts space is prominent in downtown Wells. It has a colourful and twisty history that makes for a prime connection to the next door living history facility of Barkerville.

Now the Sunset is going to burn even more brightly. The operation has received a Strategic Initiative Grant from the BC Arts Council that will allow for the hiring or two new administrative positions.

It will take the organizational pressure off of Karen Jeffery who, with her husband Dave, owns the building and operates the programming inside. Programming has been ramping up year over year since she and Dave bought the place in 1999, embarked first on a major renovation of the structure, and then started to use it as an

important tool for music, film, oration and drama.

Two of the Cariboo region’s best box office names, Julia Mackey and Dirk Van Stralen, will take up professional residence there. It’s helpful that they already live and work in Wells and had a tight preexisting bond with the Sunset Theatre.

Mackey will become the director of presentations, while Van Stralen will be the director of production, while Jeffery remains artistic director.

“This is a dream come true” said Jeffery.

“I couldn’t ask for two better people to help move the next phase of the company’s growth forward. Julia and Dirk have been stalwart volunteers, exceptional ambassadors of the theatre from the beginning and respected professional theatre artists across the country.”

Mackey and Van Stralen are best known as the creative team behind the internationally successful play Jake’s Gift.

— see The SUNSET, page 21

gatewaynews

‘The Sunset, however, remains my favourite, in no small part because of its unique setting’ — from page 20 The pair also helped Jeffery operate the facility on an interim basis a few years ago.

“When Dirk and I ran the theatre for Karen back in 2011, it was that experience that solidified our desire to move to Wells and become part of the community, and we realized how much we loved being part of the everyday operations of the Sunset,” said Mackey. “We are so grateful to the B.C. Arts Council for supporting this next phase of development for the Sunset, and we are thrilled to jump on board and help move this beautiful theatre into its next chapter.”

Van Stralen said Jake’s Gift was part of the inaugural re-opening of the Sunset Theatre, and was a member of the Sunset’s Exploration Series development program in 2006, before they lived in the Cariboo.

Their play got its first public reading on that stage.

“As a result of the success of Jake’s Gift, we’ve had the privilege of working in dozens and dozens of spectacular venues from coast to coast to coast in this country,” he said. “The Sunset, however, remains my favourite, in no small part because of its unique setting in historic Wells, B.C., an astonishing pool of local professional talent to draw from, and its intimacy as a venue that allows room for great ideas to run wild.”

According to the Sunset Theatre Society, one of its operational agencies, “the building in which the theatre operates is itself a marvelous piece of Wells’ history. First built in 1934, it served originally as a movie house. It went through several more transformations over the decades, functioning as a dance hall, a gambling house and even a morgue. In the late ‘70s the Wells Historical Society operated it as a movie house, but it eventually fell into disrepair. (Karen and Dave) restored the 100-seat historic theatre

We are so grateful to the B.C. Arts Council for supporting this next phase of development for the Sunset, and we are thrilled to jump on board and help move this beautiful theatre into its next chapter.

— Julia Mackey beyond its former glory. This little gem of a theatre offers two full dressing rooms, green room, concession, box office, an impressive costume and prop inventory and a technical infrastructure that rivals most regional theatres.”

Becoming one of those regional professional theatres is the looming goal before Jeffery, Mackey and Van Stralen. The next phase on the drawing board, now that a complement of staff is in place, is, said Jeffery, “growing into a year round professional theatre and performance space for the community of Wells. Our goal is to nurture the creative endeavours of the many talented local artists and artists across BC and beyond.”

In addition to Jake’s Gift, other notable productions have gotten off the ground at The Sunset like Danette Boucher’s and James Douglas’s play The Fred Wells Show, Morag Northey’s 17, Marcel Gagnon’s the Drum Is Calling You Home, Kym Gouchie’s Her Blood Runs Through My Braids, among many others.

It is also home for the Sunset Cabaret, now in its 12th year, along with the Sunset’s concert and film series.

Classifieds Online www.pgcitizen.ca

Thursday, November 15, 2018

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Foods with enhanced nutrition growing in popularity

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or the majority of consumers, price and taste have always been the most important deciding factors when choosing a food. In recent years, additional factors have begun to drive consumer preferences.

This change has likely been triggered by shifting demographics, a desire for convenience, growing environmental concern and the motivation of the average consumer to know more about the food they’re eating. In 2015, the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada summarized trends in the food industry and found that foods with innovative ingredients were

Food for Thought Kelsey Leckovic growing in popularity.

An increasingly health-centric population has likely fueled the drive to develop foods with enhanced nutrition. The food industry is now attempting to attract certain segments of the population with three approaches: biofortification, fortification and supplemented foods.

Biofortification refers to the process of increasing the nutritional value of plants or animals through conventional selective breeding, genetic engineering, or by adjusting animal feed. For example, mushrooms are now being grown using pulsed UV light to boost the vitamin D content.

Fortification is the mandatory addition of vitamins and minerals to select staple foods. Health Canada requires that certain foods be fortified or enriched with nutrients to replace those lost in processing, or to address a public health requirement.

For example, vitamin D is added to milk to prevent childhood rickets and folic acid

is added to white flour to promote proper fetal development of the brain and spinal cord. There’s some controversy surrounding mandatory fortification, since some people believe the consumer should be given the choice whether or not to take in the nutrients added to commonly eaten foods. Supplemented foods are marketed as having added substances, such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbals and bioactive ingredients, with the intent of providing a health benefit beyond the general public health requirements addressed through fortification.

— see ‘SUPER’ foods, page 23

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Thursday, November 15, 2018 CP file photo

Roger Pelissero sorts through eggs as they exit the hen barn at his egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on March 7, 2016. Eggs fortified with omega-3s can be part of a healthy diet, but may not be worth the extra cost.

‘Super’ foods not a substitute for eating a balanced diet — from page 22 This type of nutritional enhancement is meant to appeal to certain segments of the population.

Water with added vitamins would be an example of a supplemented food. Health Canada does not require that bottled water manufacturers add vitamins to their water, but some companies do so in an attempt to appeal to a certain demographic and tout the additional, potential health benefits associated with their product.

The demand for functional foods, a type of supplemented food, has grown at an increasing rate, and is outpacing that of the traditional processed food market.

All foods are functional to a certain extent, whether providing energy or other nutrients essential for life, but a functional food has other components, not considered to be nutrients that can provide positive health benefits.

Health Canada defines functional foods as foods that are enhanced with bioactive (biologically active) ingredients and which have demonstrated health benefits, such as yogurt with probiotics or pasta with added pea fibre.

Canada produces a number of bioactive ingredients used in functional foods including omega-3 and other essential fatty acids from marine and plant sources, fibre from soy and oats, and antioxidants from blueberries, cranberries and Saskatoon berries.

In Canada, more than 750 companies specialize in functional foods and natural

health products, accounting for more than $11 billion in revenues in 2011, with current profits likely to be much higher.

Functional food research is an exciting area of food development, with functional foods having the potential to improve the nutritional intake and quality of life for consumers. Although, at this point, any related research must still successfully establish the bioavailability (the proportion of a substance that is able to have an active effect) of the bioactive ingredients in these enhanced foods.

The addition of these functional ingredients allows food manufacturers to make health benefit claims. The consumer can be led to believe that by eating more of that margarine with plant sterols, they’ll lower their cholesterol, or by eating a sugar-laden probiotic yogurt they will drastically improve their digestion, which is not the case.

Bottom line, no single food, no matter how “super,” can take the place of the important combination of nutrients from all major food groups. Functional foods can contribute to a healthy, balanced diet but are often not required. Eggs fortified with omega-3s and margarine with phytosterols can be a part of a healthy diet for most, but the additional cost of these niche-market items may not be worth the potential health benefits, especially when these ingredients can be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

— Kelsey Leckovic is a registered dietitian with Northern Health working in chronic disease management.

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