Scene PG | May 2016

LOCAL EVENTS AND MUSIC

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Free!

Special Issue

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THE GLOBAL ACTION SPORTS PHENOMENON LAUNCHES ITS BIGGEST TOUR YET LOS ANGELES – Tuesday April 19, 2016 – Nitro Circus Live returned to the United States this weekend with spectacular shows at Shreveport, Louisiana’s Independence Stadium and Little Rock, Arkansas’ War Memorial Stadium, the first stops on its marathon 2016 North American tour.

Anticipation for opening night in Shreveport was clearly running high, as more than 1,400 tickets were sold on show day, adding to almost 10,000 screaming fans in one of the loudest crowds in Nitro Circus history.

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From the opening burst of huge get to see the same huge show BMX tricks through a grand finale that has captivated audiences of incredibly precise FMX trains, worldwide, rivaling the massive the audience was blown away by productions that rock bands take the Nitro crew’s courage, skill and on the road. strength. Ryan “R Willy” Williams “We are thrilled to be back in showed just why he has been North America, the birthplace of dubbed, “the best action sports the Nitro Circus phenomenon,” athlete on the planet,” by the said Michael Porra, Nitro Circus legendary Travis Pastrana as he CEO and creative director. threw down on both scooter and “Opening weekend was fantastic BMX. Bruce Cook demonstrated and there will be much more of how sheer will and determination that excitement to come. We are can overcome tremendous so pumped to be able to bring adversity as he reprised his Nitro Circus Live to new cities inspirational 2015 world’s first: and perform for our fans who the first backflip on a motorbike haven’t been able to experience by a paraplegic. Nitro Circus’ all- it before.” arounders also proved the Nitro Nitro Circus Live will visit the rule that everything with wheels American Southwest next must fly, riding a host of ridiculous with shows at Albuquerque’s contraptions including trikes, a University Stadium this Friday, tall bike, a whiskey barrel and April 22 and the Tucson Rodeo even a body board.

Grounds on Saturday, April 23, Nitro Circus Live is embarking on rounding out the month with a its most extensive tour to date in Colorado Springs show at Falcon 2016, with over 40 dates - all in Stadium on Saturday, April 30. For first-time markets in the United a complete list of North American States and Canada - scheduled shows and to purchase tickets, through the fall. These cities will visit www.nitrocircus.live.

Read the whole story on thescenepg.com

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Kay Pike Can’t Wait FOR FRIENDCON

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By Frank Peebles

Kay Pike’s bags are already packed for Prince George. The professional cosplayer, one of Canada’s most notable costume players, came last year to demonstrate her skills and showcase her art.

She has been all over the nation doing this, and didn’t want to miss this city’s first fan event.

She swears now she will never miss another.

“Honestly, I’ve been going to comic conventions as a guest, as a vendor, all over Canada for years, and Prince George has by far the best convention.

I’m not saying you’re one of the best. I’m saying Northern FanCon is the best con in all of Canada, period. What stands out, honestly, is they care about their fans. That shouldnt sound rare, but it’s something special P.G. does. There are so many efforts made so everyone has

a good time, the crowds have a positive experience, there is 100 per cent guest satisfaction.”

Far too many conventions have tipped their balance tastelessly to the corporate side of business. Of course every convention has to make money, she said, but you don’t have to fleece people. What Northern FanCon does, she observed, was provide people with all the usual opportunities to buy merchandise, purchase art, pay for up-close celebrity experiences like autographs and photographs, but your ticket price gets you full-value even if you don’t want to go shopping, or can’t afford to.

“Passive entertainment is everywhere at Northern FanCon. That is so important,” Pike said. “The guests - the people who come through the audience doors - are all treated like they are special. They are offered opportunities to be

entertained and have a good time no matter what corner of the con they go to. They aren’t treated like walking wallets.”

That creates a sense of calm, an atmosphere or casual pleasure, she said, and when the audience is at ease, she gets more people chatting her up about her costumes and her art. It also makes for celebrities who are willing to have a better personal time with the patrons, and that is a golden feeling for everyone.

When Michael Hoggan wrapped up his live interview, he yanked on a stray yellow “volunteer” T-shirt and stood by the front door handing out pamphlets to the new arrivals. It was an unheard-of gesture of goodwill and mutual respect, said Pike, “because P.G. is FriendCon. That’s the P.G. magic.”

She is looking forward to the relief of just hanging out with friends she made last year, the genial atmosphere, because

the other 364 days of her year have been at a breakneck pace.

“I’m working in 20-hour daily scheduling slots,” she said with a laugh.

A lot of that has to do with her new venture, a total hit with audiences. Already famous in the cosplay world for her stellar costumes, the various products she sells, and the personality she injects into any event she is booked for, but she added body-painting in the past year.

As in, her body is the canvas and the paint turns into a thin layer of art-clothing.

“I don’t know if they want me to do that for FanCon, but tell the organizers, I am more than willing,” she said. She added she was almost willing to buy a home in Prince George, so impressed by the city was she, and she can’t wait to arrive for this year’s big event.

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Mewesing About...

Comic Book Connections

By Frank Peebles

There are stars who come to Northern FanCon and then there are stars who would pay to come to Northern FanCon. Jason Mewes got his golden ticket right up onto the celebrity stage before he had to shell out for his own passes, but this is the kind of event he eats for breakfast. Comics?

He loves comics! In fact, he has become a slackerhero because of comics.

He doesn’t forget, now that he is the star of film, TV and internet, that none of it would have happened were it not for a certain older teenager he looked up to as a brother, when he was barely out of elementary school.

“That’s how Kevin and I met,” said Mewes, talking about international filmmaking star Kevin Smith. Mewes and Smith have been making movies together since the early 1990s, and their buddycharacters Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) have become a walk-offthe-screen franchise like few others. They are in Hansen Brothers or Trailer Park Boys territory with JSB. “We went to high school together, but we didn’t talk because he was a senior and I was a freshman.

We weren’t really friends. He worked at a community centre in our neighbourhood and I used to go there after school.

Kevin and Walt (Flanagan) and Bryan Johnson from (reality show) The Comic Book Men used to all work 8

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there and read comic books, and they started giving me their old comics they didn’t want anymore.

So at 13 I started reading comics, and it’s what got me hanging with Kevin.

When he was heading for the comic book store I’d be like ‘please bring me, please bring me’ and he was like ‘look, I’m 18, I’m not hanging out with you’ but he’d still wind up bringing me, and we’d wind up becoming friends.”

After that was a long list of audience favourites: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and the capper was Jay & Silent Bob material (movies, TV shows, and now an ongoing podcast).

Mewes also gathered a huge list of credits on projects unassociated to Smith, but on TV this week - with a special FanCon connection - the two are at it together again. Mewes is one of the visiting costars on The Flash, the episode entitled The Runaway Dinosaur. That episode’s guest director is Smith. It airs on May 10, mere days before FanCon (featuring Flash star Candice Patton).

Mewes has had a hard life as much as a charmed one. That duality will be discussed live on the FanCon stage, with his constant torrent of unfiltered conversation and barrage of jokes.

“It’s all been a blessing, really, from the movies to the podcasts, and again, it all started with the comic books and Kevin and I’s friendship.”

By Frank Peebles

An intoxicating event shines like a gem from the heart of Northern FanCon. The latest book in the Amethyst franchise will be released to the world that same weekend, and founder / head writer Chris Dias will launch it exclusively at FanCon before the rest of the universe gets to see it.

Continued on page 10

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Continued from page 9 “Amethyst is a science-fantasy set in a real world,” Dias explained. “It’s not like Narnia or Harry Potter where there is a convenient doorway between the real world and the surreal world. Amethyst asks a different question: what if a fantasy world came to our world? What if we were forced to interact with this fantasy world? How would that impose choices on us we would have to make?

What ethical and moral issues would that bring up, along with the practical issues of these two worlds interacting?”

Amethyst began in 2001 and by now has almost 10 book-based incarnations. Four of them are rooted on the Dungeons & Dragons rule sets, and there is also a compatible version for Fate, 13th Age and Savage World rule sets.

One of the most compelling elements of the Amethyst series is the lavish artwork.

More than one artist has been

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involved over the years, but the primary painter has been Nick Greenwood of North Carolina.

He and Dias worked together on Amethyst for 10 years, long distance, and did not meet face to face until last year at the first edition of Northern FanCon. The two will both be there again this year to renew acquaintances and share the launch of their creative baby.

The latest edition is something completely different for the Amethyst franchise. It is a softcover novel.

“It is the first of what we hope will be many to come,” Dias said.

“We will have two tables, to sell the new book and also selling Nick’s artwork. He is a Hugo Award nominee, one of the best fantasy artists in the world, and somehow we got lucky and he joined the Amethyst world.”

To get a look at the details of the Amethyst world, Dias has a comprehensive website at www.diasexmachina.com.

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By Chris Dias

On a cursory glance, one might offer Kelsy Polnik a wide berth, crossing streets upon his approach, expecting him to offer something illicit.

He sports straightened brown hair, a demonic goatee, and various heavy metal tattoos—the type of mug cast as an extra in an episode of Sons of Anarchy. And then he opens up about his Pokémon cards. You can’t judge a book…

Granted, he still loves his Judas Priest. Kelsy is now the face of a growing community, a pillar even. As the owner/ operator of Game Quest, Kelsy has turned a niche into a brand, a recognizable landmark after only three years in operation. Kelsy has kept his dream close to heart, and despite expanding into new grounds, has abandoned neither his roots nor his customers since opening.

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Continued from page 12 Previous to last year’s Northern FanCon, Game Quest was a modest social center catering to used video games. Following customer wishes, it later embraced popular board and tabletop war games. Through it all, a key element of the business was its pay-by-hour arcade, where customers could pass the time without the pesky annoyance of dropping coins in a machine. At 2015’s FanCon, they increased their number of machines, and this year, it’s expected to grow further. Still unsatisfied, Game Quest began hosting and sponsoring video game tournaments, populated by players of Twitch-level skill.

That last part was not a random assortment of words—ask your kids.

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Every few years, a business like Gamquest emerges to rally gamers both traditional and electronic, offering an outlet for their various passions.

This community has started fundraisers like Power Up Prince George, where a simple tournament showcasing the perennial favorites Super Smash Brothers, Streetfighter, Mario Kart and Counterstrike ended up raising over 3500 dollars for the Child Development Center.

Game Quest is becoming less a business and more a lifestyle.

Kelsy and company will be returning to Northern FanCon this year, certainly bigger than ever—more games, more fun, and more…I don’t know, hair?

Seriously, Kelsy has amazing hair.

I’m bald, so I’m totally jealous.

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Artists and Creators Tom Hodges – Star Wars, Simpsons, MidKnight.

John Gallagher –Illustrator for Flash & DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Nick Greenwood - Hugo award Best Professional Artist of Orson Scott Card‘s Ender series and an array of projects from Prince George’s own Dias Ex Machina.

Sandra Macdougall – A contemporary surrealist, Sandra Macdougall blends the creepy and the cute.

Amie Stolz – Northern BC artist of pop culture in water colour, acrylic and digital.

Leo Liebelman –Photo realistic oil painter Heavy Metal magazine, Turok Dinosaur Hunter.

Andy Poon –concept artist for Arrow & DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

Mike Lilly – Artist: Annihilation Conquest, Quasar, Vampirella, Nightwing, Batman, Detective Comics, Marvel Knights, Punisher, Catwoman, Green Lantern, X-Men Unlimited, and Dungeons & Dragons.

Diana Greenhalgh -BC-based comic book inker and illustrator whose work includes Taran Killam’s The Illegitimates, and Nova, Herc, and X-Men Legacy.

Johnni Kok - Illustrator, best known for reinterpretations of geek culture favorites.

David Tuff (Hectic Art) Freelance comic book / pin-up artist.

Molly Nemecek (Jakface)– Artist: Woo Hoo!, Insane Yeti Squirrel, Even Death May Die!

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Captain Canuck Creators Richard Comely, Kalman Andrasofszky, Fadi Hakim, Tony White

Aryn Fiylon – Prince George based Graphite/charcoal artist.

Mike Rieger – Canadian pixel pusher!

Lacy Jae – Alberta based portrait artist and metalsmith.

The Witty Case – original and up-cycled hand crafted mixed media artist.

Carla Aubichon Joseph – Prince George Based Artist.

Elaine M Will - Freelance illustrator and Xeric Awardwinning cartoonist of the mental illness drama Look Straight Ahead.

Alison Spokes – (Ethereal Art)BC based digital media faerie artist.

Erin Giesbrecht – Prince George based artist.

Mark Allard-Will -Author: Saskatch-a-man.

Adam Dreece -Author: the Yellow Hoods, the Wizard Killer.

Jason Starr -Author: Wolverine Maxx, Ant-Man Natural Enemy , the Pack, Savage Lane, Punisher Maxx, First Wave Special.

and more!

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PAINTER AMIE STOLTZ

Is Splattering FanCon with Empire Force

By Frank Peebles

If Northern FanCon has a house artist, the title would belong to Amie Stoltz.

The Prince George painter was one of the first supporters of the inaugural convention, and if her work was a good fit for the event before last year, it is now tailored to a pristine finish. Her new paintings have embraced the FanCon spirit and taken it up a notch as only a visionary artist can do.

Even though Stoltz recently moved away from P.G., she stayed in close contact with organizers and is going to once again envelop the event in 20

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prime colours.

“Prince George will always be my hometown and FanCon was such a success last year that I can not only afford to come back as an artist but it gives me a very nerdy awesome opportunity to visit my friends and family,” she said. “Prince George has needed something like this for a long time and Norm (Coyne, principal organizer for Citizen Special Events) and his posse of organizers did not disappoint. They support local artists to the extreme and I can't thank them enough for all they have done, so if it

means attending every FanCon from 1 to 1-billion, I will be there to support them and our community to the best of my ability.”

She is looking forward to meeting new friends and renewing previous relations.

In her profession, inspiration is fuel, so FanCon is high octane.

“I believe FanCon opened up opportunities to showcase art on a grander scale,” she said. “FanCon has given us the opportunity to let our inner nerd and geek flag fly. We have created a movement bigger than we know, bringing FanCon to Prince George. As

an artist I feel Fancon has and will continue to encourage PG artists to market in a broader demographic and build upon the edgy art styles artists in PG strive to create. FanCon accepted us for who we were and pushed the envelope to be further from the norm as ever.”

Stoltz will have original paintings for sale, prints, unique apparel, home décor and many other items to entice the eye. You can also stop in at Shagg before the convention and enter to win an Amie Stoltz FanCon proze package.

The DC Empire’s New Clothes

By Andy Poon

By Frank Peebles

Andy Poon was scribbling away at his teenage hobby. Life as an extra in the movie industry is interminable boredom, most of the time, and this was only Day 1 of a five-day shoot for the second X-Men film.

Thankfully his passion was a portable one, sketch art, and he was focused on a likeness of Wolverine.

“Where’s mine?,” said a voice over his shoulder. There, admiring his pen-on-paper scribbles, was James Marsden, the actor who would portray Cyclops in four of those flicks.

So Poon went home that night and did one for Marsden.

When the actor showed it around to the cast, Poon got hired to NOT be an extra.

He spent that time inside the actors’ inner circle doing caricatures for the principal cast.

And Poon’s art would continue to be noticed, all the way into the back rooms of costume and character and set design for shows like Smallville, to begin with, then Arrow, Flash, and the exciting new hit series Legends of Tomorrow that is fixed on that DC Comics universe as the former shows.

He now works closely with head designer Maya Mani on how each of those heroes and villains will look.

“Stormhawks was the first show I art directed,” he said.

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“I went to the Toronto fan expo for that, and I saw some cosplayers dressed up as the full Stormhawks team, and you can’t imagine how that feels as the artist, to see that.”

Poon will bring his art and his creative mind to Northern FanCon this year, adding a whole new depth to the superhero side of the conversation.

That conversation cannot include the stuff coming up in the year ahead yet to be seen by the global audiences now watching his creations. He said there is a fanboy inside him “that really wants to namedrop” but he has to let the various shows unfold on their own.

He is also stroking away at characters and costumes nobody has ever heard of, including TV and film producers.

“I’m at a point in my career where I’m getting control of more of my own intellectual property that one day I may be able to pitch. I’m slowly building up my knowledge, so I am more production-savvy, so when I get there I know how to do it right,” he said.

He would be happy to talk about that, he said, with any aspiring artists or art designers who happen to wander into Northern FanCon, a large portion of which is Andy Poon’s universe.

GREAT WHITE, FAN HEADQUARTERS

If there is one merchant in Prince George ready-made for Northern FanCon, one store to rule them all, it is Great White.

The Pine Centre Mall hobby boutique is loaded with comic books, collectables, roleplaying games, pop-culture curios, and much more - right in FanCon’s wheelhouse.

Proprietor Cameron Stolz is putting his own extra efforts in to match the growth in FanCon this year over last year.

“It’s mind-blowing how much bigger FanCon has expanded in just one year,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for the fans to be able to experience the shows and games and comics, firsthand, that they’ve been watching and enjoying on TV and theatres and computers for a long time. They have the opportunity to interact with the actors and designers, have the cosplay experience, and share all that with one another. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere, and we are so excited to be part of that.”

Providing an event in which fans can satiate their geekdom without having to travel to a far-off location is a public service Cameron felt compelled to support. He is looking forward, just like all the patrons coming through Photo Credit: Christos Sagiorgis

the door, to interacting with all the merchants and artists and services on the floor of the Trade Show.

He is making sure his booth is stocked with the latest items in the comic and gamer realms. He’ll have a four-foot Wookie by his side as he does so. The staff, and even his own family, will be decked out in cosplay costumes. Great White will host on-site Magic: The Gathering gaming sessions (leading to an in-store MTG Grand Prix tournament later this spring).

It will be an enhanced satellite location for Great White during the FanCon proceedings. It means a lot of prep work by Stolz and the staff, but they thrive in this environment.

Mark Zanolini, the assistant manager, said, “People have to understand this isn’t just about comics or sci-fi or fantasy or movies. This is a cultural shift.

People are now appreciating that the things used to be considered nerd-like are now mainstream culture, and that is being accepted across all of society.”

Stolz said he has seen the shift, and the year-round FanCon influence, at the Great White home base. Customers are more plentiful, more involved in their collections and hobbies, more encouraging

of others, and more knowledgeable about these avenues of interest. It makes FanCon into a highlight of their year, where they can let their best be seen, and where the customers interact with them as peers and as fellow nerds.

“The staff puts a lot of energy into making sure we have a

creative display and a load of engaging, fascinating merchandise and activities.

Some of the product will be never-before-seen in the store,” Stolz said. “We all love seeing how people aren’t as shy anymore about being a fan of something.”

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AARON HARRISON Is Building Up To FanCon

By Frank Peebles

Aaron Harrison is like the guideoutfitter of the Canadian film and television industry.

The Vancouver-based industrial artist is a go-to costume builder and props creator for shows like Arrow, Legends Of Tomorrow and many others.

He played a major role in judging the cosplay contests last year at Northern FanCon, being the unofficial mascot last year as Punch Drunk Batman seen (and heard mumbling semi-nonsense) all around the convention, among other interactive tidbits he provided.

This year he is coming back with a Hollywood blockbustertype vengeance. He is bringing loads of props and costume 24

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items from actual film projects, more anecdotes, some tools of the trade, and his charming personality.

“I absolutely loved it,” he said about the first edition of FanCon. “The organizers were great, the guests were great, for a first-time convention it was spectacular – better than a lot that’ve been around a long time.”

The term “cosplay” had scarcely been uttered in Prince George prior to FanCon, but closeted character buffs strode through the front doors and discovered an army of other costume fiends just like themselves. Harrison gave that first cosplay debutant ball a standing ovation.

“I was really impressed with

what P.G. cosplayers had going on,” he said. “I’m always interested in seeing how cosplayers build their suits and props, the materials they try, the techniques they figure out. Usually it’s all done alone in your basement or your back room. Even within the industry, that’s how it’s often done.

Sometimes I envy cosplayers because of the time they get top spend on one costume.

Guys like me get called and we’re told we need a certain looking helmet, it has to have such-and-such a look, and we have to smash it against a tree in four days. Film is a bit more thought out, but in TV, a lot of it is on the fly.”

The only time it becomes a chore, he said, is when he has to

make a matching set of quivers and scabbards for a fictitious garrison, or something like that. “But don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’d ever want to do anything else,” he said.

Being on the team to do firsttime costumes like they did for Deathstroke is a thrill, he said, but so is simple innovation that makes the production team as happy as the viewers at home.

“You don’t need space shuttle tiles from NASA to make armour, you can get great effects from placemats you got for $1.99 at Wal-Mart,” he said.

True story. Just one of many he’ll be telling at his second Northern FanCon.

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e… s u o H e h T n I I s P WB

e s u o H o Caribo

By Frank Peebles

Northern FanCon is cracking a cold one with one of Canada’s oldest and largest craft brewers.

Like the event itself, it is made in Prince George. Pacific Western Brewery has poured itself into this year’s pop culture extravaganza by becoming the official beer supplier of Northern FanCon, but also stamping their brand on two crucial activities that weekend: the after-parties on Friday and Saturday. Both are under the popular Cariboo House umbrella.

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Presents

Northern FanCon

After Party

prEsEnTs

house

Northern FanCon

After Party

FRI MAY 13 9:00 - 11:00 pm

nerd vs. Geek TriviA & GAmes

hosTed by GArreTT wAnG

Cariboo House • May 14

Bring in your team to ComPete For Prizes in sCi-Fi & ComiC triVia and Challenges!

9:00 - 11:00 PM | Nerd Burlesque

11:30 - lATe

live music FeAT.

milky river

FEAT | BoTToms Up BAring BUrlEsqUE

supporT by

dJ Tyco

milky riVer Features memBers oF the matinee & dallas smith Band Playing all your FaVourites Plus a sPeCial seleCtion oF soundtraCk songs.

Milk Ri er

spEciAl gUEsT | chErry on Top Live show featuring sci-fi and comic themed burlesque

11:30 - late | lIVe dJ’s

AdvAnce TickeTs $30 AvAilAble on evenTbriTe.com or AT one boArdshop (sprucelAnd mAll) (or Free with FanCon ViP and deluxe tiCkets)

For inFo cAll niGel @ 250-981-1292

FEAT | skiiToUr Funky & Electro beats all night long from one of the top Canadian DJ Duo’s. Costumes encouraged!

www.FAncon.cA 3609248

adVaNce tIckets $25 aVaIlaBle oN eVeNtBrIte.coM (or FrEE wiTh FAncon Vip TickETs)

For INFo call NorM @ 250-640-6670

3609248

The May 13 after-party happens in two parts. The first is a game of nerdy trivia from 9-11 p.m. hosted by Star Trek’s Ensign Kim himself, celebrity guest Garrett Wang, supported musically by DJ Nige & DJ TyCo. The second half is a dance concert by live band Milky River (ft. members of the Dallas Smith band and The Matinee) doing popular songs including tunes from FanCon movies and TV shows requested by the audience.

On May 14, the Cariboo House after-party features visual stimulation by the Bottoms Up Baring Burlesque troupe doing a special nerd-lesque show starring soloist Cherry On Top. After that burst of energy, the music spins over to hit deejay team SkiiTour with their “Music Mountains Magic” showcase.

Additional music support will be provided by DJ Nige, and all in partnership with Northern Lights Entertainment.

“After the FanCon party all day at the convention, we keep the party going at night,” said Kyle Sampson of PWB. “Cariboo House got big for us during the Canada Winter Games, the city loved it, so we’re keeping

it going with FanCon. It helps the community enjoy some great live entertainment that is presented with a unique feel and atmosphere. It’s a different experience for people than just a night out at a regular nightclub.”

All the Cariboo House afterparty festivities take place downtown at Heartbreakers.

“FanCon is great for the community, and it’s a perfect event for us to partner with,” said Sampson. “We have a number of products, we are rooted in Prince George, and we want everyone in the region to have a sense of who we are as a local company.

FanCon gets us in touch with a wide diversity of people.

That’s the best part for me: seeing all the different kinds of fans who come to this event.

Some people come for the celebs, some come for the cosplay, some come for the comics and the games, but everyone accepts one another and celebrates all of that together under one roof. We love being a part of that. I wish I could clone myself so I could be in all those rooms at once, because I love it all, too.”

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The Power of Positive Presence

By Charelle Evelyn

From a young age, Chelsea Gibson knew she had the power to help people.

As a child, Gibson may not have understood what that power was, but she knew people were hurting and she wanted to make them feel better.

“I was really aware of how much pain there was in the world,” Gibson said. That’s a tall order for a 10 year old, who was meditating and asking philosophical questions before she knew what any of those things were.

Now an adult with a trail of degrees and certifications to her name, Gibson has found a way to put that lifelong understanding of the human condition and healing touch to good use.

For the past five years, Gibson, 29, has made it her mission – and now her profession – to help people.

Her Wild Rose Wellness alternative health spa (1092 Fourth Ave.) offers Photo Credit: Brent Braaten

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coaching, reiki, access bars, past life and tarot reading and meditation.

But don’t call her a guru.

For Gibson, it’s not about what she can do for people, but about what they can do for themselves.

If someone comes to her for coaching, Gibson said her first question for a client is about what they want to change.

“I’m not here to judge then and tell them what’s ‘wrong’ with them,” she said.

Bubbly and buoyant, Gibson said her approach can take people off guard.

“If you take a playful approach to anything, it lightens it,” she said.

This includes playing with how you look or how you see the world.

Gibson expands on that philosophy as a contributor to an upcoming book, The Energy of Play.

Gibson is one of 11 people from across the globe contributing to the Happy Publishing compilation.

Read the whole story on thescenepg.com

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