Issue 4 September 2016 Cover art by Anthony Biondi
magazine
Life, death, and art with
Saint Soldier
Editors Anthony Biondi Katie Stobbart Nick Ubels
FRESH curators Alex Rake - Fiction Aymee Leake - Art
Business
Dessa Bayrock - Ad sales Sasha Moedt - Events
Contributors Dessa Bayrock Glen Ess Joel Smart Catherine Stewart Kelly Wong
Raspberry publishes letters to the editor of 150 words or less. Letters should be sent via email to info@raspberrymag.ca. The editors reserve the right not to print a letter for any reason. If you have a tip for arts, culture, or community coverage, let us know.
Contents
Storytelling through visual art Kwantlen artist Brandon Gabriel discusses his influences, muses, and telling the story of the Coast Salish peoples.
p.27
On the cover An interview with Saint Soldier, the inaugural recepient of the FVMA for hip hop.
p.44
www.raspberrymag.ca
Contents Preview of creatiValley p.8
Jubilee Arts Centre p.14
Jam in Jubilee Zine p.18
Claire Sarfeld exhibits at the Reach p.42
Fraser Valley Yoga and Zumba p.58
Columns Spice Train to Scoville
p.23
p.56 Local Harvest: a review of books
FRESH Art by Carla Swope FRESH Fiction by Saint Soldier and Jaimie Innbjor
p.37 p.49
p.61 September FRESH Picks
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Raspberry Magazine
Sponsors Partners
Jam in Jubilee
Published by
red
PRESS
The Red Press Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the growth of the literary arts in the Fraser Valley; publishing works which stimulate local arts and culture, including Raspberry magazine; and promoting awareness and readership of contemporary Canadian literature.
In advance of
Autumn Katie Stobbart Photo by: Oak and Ash / flickr
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A
lthough summer doesn’t officially end for another few weeks, the beginning of September signals a seasonal shift. Not unlike January, it’s an opportunity to start new projects, socialize with people who have been away, and set our gazes a little further in the future. To an extent, September still holds a bit of summer’s glow. There are art and wine walks, community festivals, Creativalley, coffee shop concerts, and other newly starting cultural activities to enjoy. And we’ll continue covering those events. But as the month progresses and the season matures, we’ll be progressing too. We have some exciting partnerships in the works, and are looking forward to increasing our connections in the Valley. So far, we’re excited to report that we’ll be working with the Emerge at the Reach program to publish a monthly column featuring young emerging artists and curators. We have a short article in this issue on Claire Sarfeld (page 42), who is currently showing in the Art on Demand series, and you can expect an official start to the column in October. We’re also working with Gallery 7 Theatre, and you can expect to hear about opportunities to win free tickets to their upcoming performances. The best way to stay in the loop is to follow us on social media for updates. Raspberry will also focus on developing our community coverage. One project we are starting is a gradual exploration of local arts and culture
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funding, or lack thereof, to be published over the course of several issues. Most of us are aware that arts and culture organizations (and they are not alone, these days) struggle to make ends meet: not only hosting the events we enjoy, but employing staff and carrying out basic operations. Why is that? Who is looking out for our arts scene’s survival, let alone its ability to grow and thrive? This won’t be the only theme we explore in depth, but we hope you’ll follow the progress of this project, and take the opportunity to consider your cultural footprint. The buckling-down mindset that accompanies the fall can mean cutting out activities that don’t seem strictly necessary from our increasingly busy schedules. But attending events, supporting artists, and keeping an eye on the health of local organizations are necessary. As we are gradually swept up into a new rhythm, let’s not forget the impact of the audience on the success of a good play. It's hard — and fiscally impossible — to put on a good show for an empty house.
If you have ideas, tips, or are interested in working closer with us, we’d love to hear from you. Send an email to info@raspberrymag.ca.
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Blurring the line between audience and spectacle creatiValley goes to the Garden of Earthly Delights Anthony Biondi
Over 500 years ago, Hieronymus Bosch created the painting he would become most famous for, "The Garden of Earthly Delights." Even though surrealism didn’t exist in the late 1400s, the painting became the inspiration for the surrealism movement 350 years later. But its story doesn’t end there. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" has become the inspiration for The Reach Gallery’s next big event, CreatiValley, to take place during Culture Days, a three-day, Canada-wide movement to host events that take audiences behind the scenes of artistic practice. “Our mandate is to encourage artistic education and appreciation; and what better way than to structure a big cultural event than around a historic painting? Particularly one that inspired a movement about 350 years later,” said the Reach’s curator and executive director, Laura Schneider. It is the second year that CreatiValley will take place, and is taking on an exciting new life.
CreatiValley kicks off Thursday, September 29 with an opening reception and exhibitions. On Friday, September 30, from 7 to 9 p.m., attendees will be given the opportunity to participate in a Surrealist Art Party for adults. “We’re inviting folks to come and create surrealist inspired art, with the help of facilitators. They’re going to have a bit of guidance, and have about five or six tables. And each table will be a guided activity,” says Schneider. There will also be a bar in order to lubricate the creative mind. “And we’ll have a signature drink that surrealism inspired.” The aim of the activities is to create something surreal, yet usable. “There’s a work of art called "Object" by artist Méret Oppenheim, and she took fur and covered a tea cup and saucer and spoon. So we’re going to create some custom glassware, not using real fur, and not covering the inside of the glasses. But we’re going to have some really interesting, like a signature drink in a signature glass that people will be able to take home with them,” says Schneider. This is only one example of
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a style of craft to expect. Schneider also hopes that people will create something that is wearable for a party the following evening. “We want people to drop in. It’s free to the public. It’s cash bar. Come and have a drink. DJ Waxkilla is going to be dropping the sick beats. And people are going to be making crafts.” As Saturday, October 1 takes hold, the surrealism will begin to grow. The day begins with a Surrealist Art Party for Kids that in many ways reflects the one that took place on Friday but for the family. The crafts will also be wearable. “[We] hope parents bring their kids and make similar crafts that are inspired by surrealism and learn a little bit about what surrealism is,” says Schneider. To close the three day event, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, The Reach will be hosting The Garden of Earthly Delights Bacchanal.
“On that night the gallery is going to be transformed into a Hieronymus Bosch party. We’ve invited food producers and vendors from across the valley to come and serve samples of whatever it is they make,” Schneider says excitedly. Though it is not a costume party, it is also hoped that attendees will come wearing the surreal artistic creations they made the night before. “Again, DJ Waxkilla is going to be rocking out for us,” she says. “And we’re going to have some really exciting performances, involving an aerial artist, a belly dancer, a hair artist, [and] a tattoo artist.” The tattoo artist, she explains, will be tattooing "The Garden of Earthly Delights" live onto the thigh of a client. In addition, there will be a flower wall with models body painted to disguise themselves into the wall. “It’s going to be piles of fun and probably something that’s never been seen before in Abbotsford,” says Schneider.
V
2016
V
creati lley at The Reach
The GARDEN of earthly
delights
AN ARTFUL SOCIAL EVENT WITH FOOD, DRINK, MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE INSPIRED BY HIERONYMOUS BOSCH’S PAINTING, “THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS”
FREE ADMISSION September 29 - October 1, 2016 @ The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford 32388 Veterans Way | 604.864.8087 | thereach.ca
Even though the weekend is based Upon the idea of a painting, Scheider insists, “It’s not just an event about this painting. We’re trying to use it as a bit of a catalyst to bring together a bunch of creative types in our community and tap into a certain aesthetic.” She wants the event to bring a demographic to the Reach that doesn’t often go to art galleries, but at the same time, show appreciation for their long-time attendees and visitors “by showing them things that are taking place in their community that they may not know about, but are no less valid as art forms.” “We’re hoping to attract an audience that’s open to the experience,” says Schneider, “and maybe let go of some of their inhibitions and just enjoy the
night. So, there’s going to be opportunities to say, have some body paint done on you, our hair artist is going to bring some head pieces that people can try on.” It’s clear from just a brief talk with Laura Schneider that there is a great amount of passion put into this year’s festivities. “[The artists involved] are so talented, they’re so committed, they’re so giving of themselves,” says Schneider in praise. With a strong artistic team and a very committed and excited staff, this year’s creatiValley may be one of the most exciting and surreal experiences of the year. Be ready for a lot of exciting and strange art, and a lot of fun.
community snapshots
photo by Anthony Biondi
Remnants of the Mill Lake Pokemon scene Following last mont's Pokécraze, Mill Lake Pokémon trainers have thinned. Where close to fifty once sat on the grass near the water park, now only a small handful of dedicated Goers sit and wait at lures, hoping to catch the next biggest and baddest Pokémon.
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Photo: CHO Architects
Abbotsford Arts Council bows out of Jubilee Arts Centre Proposed cultural hub to open without long-planned gallery component Nick Ubels
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On the heels of this year’s Jam in Jubilee concert series, the community can expect another flurry of activity to soon take over Jubilee Park. The Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) will be moving their offices into the upstairs floor of the MSA Centennial Library building early this fall, but they will do so without a long-time stakeholder in the building’s re-imagining: the Abbotsford Arts Council (AAC). The Arts Council had been attached to the Jubilee Arts Centre project from its early stages in 2012 until at least four months ago, when they launched a campaign called Art Matters Here to raise funds for upgrades required to open the centre. The plan was to move the Arts Council’s offices and gallery into the space and introduce new boutique and workshop space. But only $470 was generated from the Indiegogo campaign, well short of its $10,000 goal. Since a final promotional post on the society’s Facebook page on May 30, the AAC has remained publicly silent about the status of the Jubilee Arts Centre. When reached for comment, AAC President Chris Friesen was similarly tight-lipped about the organization’s exit from the project. “At the end of the day, it was financially unfeasible,” he said.
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ADBA President Tina Stewart is disappointed that the project will go ahead without a gallery space and blames the omission on lacklustre support for the Arts Council, an organization that she calls a “great gift to the city.” “If we [as a community] better supported our Arts Council, they would be sub-leasing the building from [the ADBA]. It would be lovely to have a gallery in our building, but at this point, it’s probably not going to happen.” According to presentation documents obtained from an August 13, 2012 City Council meeting, the proposed Arts Centre would have provided the Arts Council with approximately 3,500 square feet of gallery space, a four-fold increase from its current location at the Kariton Art Gallery on Ware St. It is now unclear what will occupy the area originally set aside for the Arts Council.
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Re-juvenating Jubilee Park
After more than four years of fundraising, planning, and renovations, the lights are finally coming back on in the historic building. The modernist structure, built in 1967, has remained vacant since the Fraser Valley Regional Library moved its branch to Abbotsford Senior Secondary in 2012. Architect Ryan Huston has produced new plans for the MSA Centennial Library building that include performance and meeting spaces that community members can book with the potential for other community partners to sub-lease space from the ADBA in the future. These facilities help realize what Stewart says is her organization’s vision for the building: to “give the community a community space.” While the operation of the building is strictly not-for-profit, Stewart says she hopes that any revenue generated from events and other projects in the building can be re-invested in community arts and culture. She suggested that one possible project could be the construction of an amphitheatre in Ju-
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bilee Park to be used for Jam in Jubilee and other performances. Stewart praised the Jam in Jubilee organizers’ dedication to providing a well-attended, high quality event every year on a shoestring budget and was eager to find ways to help cut some of their perennial costs. “They fight every year for every penny they can get to put on a free event,” she said
From library to arts centre
When it was announced that the City would be moving the library to its present location in 2011, a group called Friends of the MSA Centennial Library led by Ken Wuschke petitioned to save the building and transform it into “the hub of Abbotsford’s arts community” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page dated July 7, 2014. In June of that year, two years into the process of negotiations between the City and other stakeholders, the ADBA signed a lease for the building, assuming responsibility for all operating and maintenance costs. Under this arrangement, all other parties would sub-lease their space from the ADBA.
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Then Abbotsford mayor Bruce Banman praised the cost savings that would be passed onto the City budget. In a release issued by the ADBA, Banman states, “[t]he stewardship of the Centennial Library building by the ADBA will not only relieve the City of ongoing maintenance and costs associated with improving the building,but it will also serve to revitalize a historic building and restore Jubilee Park to the jewel it once was.” He continues to state, “much needed additional space will be made available to community groups at no cost to the City and at low costs to user groups.” In the two years since the signing of this agreement, the project has earned several government grants totalling $75,000 plus a $100,000 commitment from the ADBA
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to go towards approximately $350,000 in necessary renovations, according to the Art Matters Here Indiegogo page. These renovations have been quietly taking place behind the scenes and include accessibility upgrades — including an elevator — building maintenance, new tiling, extensive re-organizing and a new window looking out over Jubilee Park. Now on the verge of opening to the public, the Jubilee Arts Centre is the latest in a tradition of community spaces that have occupied a corner of Jubilee Park for decades, dating back to the Jubilee Memorial Hall, constructed in 1927. Stewart said the ADBA hopes the new centre will “help bring some vitality” to Jubilee Park and Downtown Abbotsford.
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That's my
JAM!
Hear from local bands in the Jam in Jubilee zine
This August, we partnered up with one of the most popular local music festivals, Jam in Jubilee, and our mutual friends at CIVL Radio, to produce a weekly zine. There were interviews with local bands and other festival-friendly content. We’re including some short excerpts here, but you can also read each of the four mini magazines in full on our website, raspberrymag.ca. Don’t forget to mark this free concert series on next year’s calendar.
Interviews conducted by Alex Rake Visit raspberrymag.ca for the full Jam in Jubilee zine, with uncut interviews, and hear from Alex Rake and the Leaves, Saint Soldier, the Sylvia Platters, Western Jaguar, and more.
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No oohs and ahs added: Adrian Teacher and the Subs August 11 Alex: In much of punk music, the dominant emotion is anger. With your record, it’s less angry and more analytical, introspective. Is there a philosophy behind that, or is that just what comes naturally to you? Adrian: This record is more overtly political … The songs on the record are kind of looking at what’s happening to Vancouver and what’s happening to the environment, what’s happening all around. And I don’t know. Yeah. It sort of just came out that way.
Alex: Who are your influences? Adrian: Influences like Buddy Holly, garage rock, blues, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and all that stuff. I have this pretty voracious musical appetite. … I don’t really dislike anything unless it’s not honest.
Graphic by: Brittany Cardinal
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“It’s the singing!” The Lonesome Town Painters’ Angelo Eidse on bluegrass
August 11 Alex: Where does [your] name come from? Angelo: I guess it comes from this whole idea of “paint the town red.” … We were doing this song, and somebody said, “Y’know, how about the guy who’s painting the town?” What if we’re the Town Painters, the guys who were going out, staying up late, playing in bars, getting drunk and causing trouble and that kind of thing? Another theme in bluegrass music is lonesomeness; they call bluegrass the high, lonesome sound. … These guys, who are out painting the town, they end up lonesome because they lose their relationships and things of value based on their lifestyle. And thus was born the Lonesome Town Painters.
Alex: What about bluegrass makes you want to make bluegrass? Angelo: It’s the singing! There’s just something about the way the singing comes together; when you have a three-part harmony, that’s the stuff that raises the hair on my arms. I came from this Mennonite church background — I never appreciated it as a kid, I thought it was lame, you know — and you’d have a congregation … singing in perfect harmony. I guess it must have left some kind of deep imprint on me.
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Jenny Banai talks inspiration and simplicity August 18 Alex: A lot of the tags and descriptions you have for your music use the word “inspirational.” What’s that all about? Jenny: Being a musician is funny because people want to put you in a box all the time and try to define you, genrewise. I would say my songs are inspirational in the sense that I didn’t really know I would write songs until I sat and played guitar and sang. A lot of the songs come through prayer, and just feeling close to God and responding through poems and utterances.
Alex: Your music is simple in the sense that it’s calm. Are you drawn to calmness? Why does that kind of song come out of you? Jenny: I do enjoy rather chaotic sounds sometimes, and I appreciate other people’s creative expressions. But when it comes to me writing music, I find melody is something that I really pay attention to and tends to come easily to me. I guess my voice has a more calming, melodic sound.
Know of an
?
EVENT
If you are an organizer or know of an upcoming event you'd like to see covered, email us at info@raspberrymag.ca to give us the heads up.
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Hey Teen Daze, you from around here? Come here often? August 25 Teen Daze, aka Jamison, is a musician/songwriter/producer from the Fraser Valley, and is fresh off a cross-Canada house show tour.
Alex: How important is positivity in music? Does negativity have a place? Jamison: A lot of my music in the past has dealt with trying to find the positivity in the negative, but the older I get, the less inclined I feel to express that positivity. I like to keep the music as melodic and positive-sounding as possible, while sneaking in a lot of lyrics about depression, cynicism, and world-weariness.
Alex: Your songs tend to refer, conceptually, to places in terms of being home or away from home. What is home? How does being on tour affect your relationship with / concept of home? Jamison: I moved at a crucial time in my life from the Fraser Valley to a small town in rural Manitoba ‌ at the age of 13. I think because I moved at such a formative time, my concept of home got really skewed: I would always think about BC as home, but any time I’d come back to visit, it was obvious that my friends were moving on with their lives. That feeling of home was something I really wrestled with throughout my 20s. I’ve learned that your community, but socially and just geographically, will inform a concept of home.
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Raspberry Magazine
Spice Train
to Scoville By Joel Smart
The business of burning mouths Inside the mind behind the hottest hot sauce in town If you've ever visited the Abbotsford farmers' market, you've probably stumbled across an unassuming booth called Big Mac's Gourmet Specialties. Behind the table you'll meet a hot pepper farmer named Mac MacDonald who creates some seriously special sauces: spicy jams, jellies, and hot sauces that pack a punch you won't soon forget. It's a brand local hot sauce aficionados know by name. We caught up with Mac to learn more about how he got into the spice game.
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Photos by Mac MacDonald
"My interest in spicy foods started while traveling the world in 1970," Mac said. Though he travelled through Hawai’i, New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia, it wasn't until he got to Singapore and Malaysia that fiery foods changed his palate forever. "I tried many Asian-style dishes that were super spicy and liked them a lot." Next was India, which brought the heat in a totally new way. He also recalled the spicy Indonesian food he ate in Amsterdam. "Over the years I progressed — or maybe regressed — to eating hot peppers while having a beer, an American bar fixture in the '70s and '80s." It wasn't until the turn of the century that Mac went from connoisseur to creator. "My wife and I purchased her parents’ property about 15 years ago and it had a very large vegetable garden. We grew every kind of vegetable and eventually included about 20 kinds of peppers," he said. Those peppers ranged from hot Portugal peppers, to red chillies, Anaheim peppers, jalapenos, scotch bonnets, habaneros, cayenne, and even the elusive Thai dragon pepper. Pretty soon he had more peppers than he knew what to do with. "I started with pickling the hot peppers and drying them for spice. Eventually I started researching recipes and making them into hot pepper jellies
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and jams." "My first hot sauce was Bad Karma, which I still produce today." He started giving it away to friends and family members. People liked it. A lot. "I was encouraged to start marketing my products," he said. So he contacted the health department and took food safety courses. His products were tested in the lab, ensuring he only grew and prepared his sauces with utmost cleanliness. With such a successful and well-loved product, the next step might be to consider selling his hot sauces on local grocery store shelves. But that's not an option, currently, and Mac doesn't mind. "I am only able to sell at farmers’ and seasonal markets and am busy enough keeping it at that," he said. Of course, a highlight for Mac is getting to watch the stunned faces of people tasting his hot sauces for the first time. "I love talking to customers about peppers and am happy when I get a glossy-eyed, ‘holy smokes’ reaction," he said. His most popular hot sauces at the markets are Pain and Terminator, but he added that his hottest sauce, Fear the Reaper, is gaining ground. Fear the Reaper is a hot sauce made with Carolina Reaper peppers, which holds the Guinness World Record for hottest pepper. Where an ordinary jalapeno has a heat
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rating of around 5,000 on the scoville scale, the Carolina Reaper sits alone at the top with an average of 1,569,300 scoville units. But Mac has tempered the heat, adding mangos, carrots, and some less spicy peppers to the mix to keep the focus on the flavour. Still, at home, he tends to stick with Terminator. "It just has the right combination of heat and flavour that goes well with most dishes." When Mac is hankering for a hot sauce he hasn't made himself, three particular ones come to mind. "My personal tastes when buying hot sauces tend to be of the not over-the-top variety. I like Sophie's hot sauce, from Sophie's Cosmic Cafe in Vancouver; one from Mexico called Litibu, a red habanero sauce; and Yahualica salsa Encino, also from Mexico, which has stoneground chilies." Sophie's, Mac explained, is a basic sauce made with scotch bonnets. "It's very balanced and not overpowering," he said. The Litibu is a habanero sauce that is very spicy. "It's great with anything," he added. The Encino is the most unique. "It's got a very smoky, very fresh taste of the different stone-ground peppers." But while Mac has been feeling the burn for many years, he foresees a future where he passes on the torch to the next generation. "I’ve enjoyed this sideline very much and hope that in a year or two I may sell my business, with recipes and know-how to a young chili head to carry it on and bring it to the next level."
You can find Big Mac's Gourmet Specialties at the bi-weekly Abbotsford Farmer's Market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., located Downtown at Montrose Ave and George Ferguson.
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community snapshots
photo by Katie Stobbart
The Fountain at Salish Park Once upon a time, in 1910, there was a tramline that went from Chilliwack to Vancouver. The line turned around close to Downtown Chilliwack, at Young Rd. and Cheam Ave., and that location is now Salish Park, right next to a branch of the Fraser Valley Regional Library. The fountain was provided in the '70s by the Rotary Club of Chilliwack.
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Counter-Narrative
Brandon Gabriel on becoming a visual storyteller and the power of decolonial art
Nick Ubels
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Brandon Gabriel is an internationally acclaimed mixed-media artist from the Stó:lō Coast Salish community of Kwantlen. His vivid creative work lends a critical eye to colonial processes that have attempted to relegate his culture to history books and museums. At 37, he has already amassed an impressive body of professional work that spans over 20 years and includes photography, painting, drawing, illustration, graphic design, public art installations, and architecture concepts. “Threshold,” Brandon’s first solo exhibition, wrapped up at Centre 64 in Kimberley this summer. It’s a testament to the political potency for which his work is being recognized that he was invited to exhibit his work to draw attention to the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort, which threatens a highly sensitive Grizzly Bear migration corridor. In addition to his work as a sessional instructor at universities throughout the Lower Mainland and other artistic endeavours, Brandon is preparing to co-curate an exhibition at the ACT Gallery in Maple Ridge to coincide with Canada’s 150th anniversary of confederation that will provide “a critical perspective on what this colonial birthday means to indigenous people.” I had the opportunity to talk to Brandon about his formative experiences as a visual artist and how his work has become more politically and socially engaged as his career has progressed.
Photos courtesy of Brandon Gabriel
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What first sparked your interest in visual arts? My interest started a long time ago when I was a child. I recall just drawing everything, even going so far as graffiti-ing the walls of my grandparents’ and my parents’ home when I was a little kid. My grandparents and parents recognized that I really did like doing what I was doing so they encouraged it, they were like, “you know, maybe we should get this kid some colouring books.” That was my earliest memory of me loving art. It was something that I carried with me all through childhood and adolescence. It was when I was going into high school that I realized I actually had an aptitude for it that was more advanced than most of my peers, and it became something that I was actually serious about pursuing. I knew at a young age it was what I wanted to do with my life and it became my passion and my goal.
As you pursued this interest and passion, who were your mentors or influences?
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Barbara Boldt was my first formal art teacher when I was only 12 and she introduced me to the concept of mixing colours and putting it onto canvas. I think that was the first person I admired directly, in a direct presence, but I was a huge fan of X-Men, and I remember collecting all the comics. I didn’t realize it then, but I was doing figure drawing and really exposing myself to a wide array of different types of movements and the composition of the human figure on a canvas and stuff like that. As I progressed and became more aware of my artistic abilities, there were a few artists that I apprenticed with. One of them is Xwalacktun, his name is Rick Harry, from the Squamish nation. He was an early influence, as was Richard Baker and Chuck Sam, all of whom were really influential in the First Nations-style art that I started to do as a youth, and they continue to be inspirations for my work today. They were my teachers then and now they’re my peers, so it’s kind of cool how that all came about.
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Absolutely. How would you describe your artistic identity? That’s something that I’ve always had trouble defining because I see myself as somebody who is able to really adapt to different styles of art. Having trained in a classic Western style of portraiture and landscape painting and having that artistic vocabulary under my belt, and even learning more of that as I went through my university education at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Emily Carr University, I was able to adapt to those art forms really well and also having a strong graphic design background through those formative years of my studies in addition to having studied under great West Coast Indigenous artists. I always thought that my work was a fusion between all of those things, the classic Western style with really strong graphic design elements, like Western design elements informing my contemporary Indigenous style that I developed over the years. It’s kind of hard to name it—I just do it.
You work in quite a wide range of mediums and projects; is there any sort of artistic work that you most enjoy doing? I’ve had the pleasure of being able to try different types of work, different types of media. From my earliest memory of wanting to be a professional artist, it was just about being really good from a technical perspective. There was not much energy or time that I invested into the conceptual construct of my work, like having a social voice or a political voice or an environmental one. That stuff was really off to the wayside.
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As I grow into who I am as a human and as an artist, I think whatever medium I’m choosing, whether it’s working with metal sculpture or working with glass and light or working in concrete or wood and paint and graphite or photography, the medium is important, but I find it’s the narrative aspect of the work that I’m more conscientious of and interested in. The medium is used as a tool to tell the story. Bearing that in mind, I’m always trying to place my work within a context of history, my place in the history of my community, what I’m trying to communicate, and how that is speaking on behalf of the community that I come from: my First Nations community, my Kwantlen heritage. I’m always trying to assert that in my work. That message is as much a statement as the visual part of it.
Do you find particular themes are recurring in your work or are there places you often turn to for inspiration? I think it varies. When I was still an undergraduate at Emily Carr, a lot of the work I was doing at that time was really looking inward. I was doing a lot of work that was looking at my dreams as a place to tell a story or try to make sense of something that I couldn’t make sense of and those artworks are really reflective of those surreal fantasy landscapes. A lot of the work that I’m doing now is really focused on these processes of colonialism that have wrought havoc on our community over the course of 200 years. I’m looking at that chronology and trying to insert myself and what I think about those processes and what they’ve done to our community into that story somewhere. I’m really trying to capture
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people’s attention, like saying, “What if we look at it from this perspective?” Because you’ve always heard it from this perspective, why not hear it from this side of the fence? It’s often overlooked or it’s spoken about for us or about us or by somebody else interpreting for you and so forth and so forth. There’s all these interventions that take place or these different interpretations of who we are and the spaces that are left for our own community members or artists within our community to say something critical or integral about the community are kind of an afterthought, right? The task that I always challenge myself with is how do I mitigate that or how do I work against that or how do I work with it? It keeps the work challenging because the work is never really done. I think when your work positions itself within the context of a social justice construct or a decolonizing gaze, there’s always work to be done. It’s a process that is fraught with conflict and all these other issues that are at the forefront, but there’s lots of other contemporary artists who are also out there doing that work as well. I’m thinking about artists like Brian Jungen, or Sonny Assu, or Susan Point, or Jane Ash Poitras, or Marianne Nicolson. There’s a number of First Nations artists I could list off who are doing that type of work that’s really critical. I think I aspire to do that kind of work.
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"I always t creating a I’m adding t of stories to be told… In light of that, what role do you think art can play in this decolonizing process, or play in society at large in terms of changing people’s perceptions? Going back to that whole idea of taking ownership of narrative, I can just sit back and be okay with this common narrative that my community was wronged by the society that established what we now know as Canada or what we now know as the Province of British Columbia, or even looking on a more local level here in Langley, the idea of Langley becoming this community. I can just look out my window and be passive about those processes and how they’re playing out. There’s a common misconception that Indigenous communities have benefited from the society that’s established itself here, but the reality of it is that our community came out from under the rug
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of those processes because there were no spaces where equality was, from an economic or social standpoint, part of the plan. And so where an opportunity for the arts to speak to that is saying, I’m here, I’m not just going to sit by and watch this happen. I’m actually going to say something within the work that gives another story or adds another layer to that story and offers an alternative perspective that can add something beautiful to it, something intrinsic in the telling of that story that’s been missing and say, “Don’t you think it would be a shame to not have that story told by us?” There’s all these nuances that are missing. I always think that by creating a work of art, I’m adding to this pile of stories that need to be told. It’s not just folklore, these are stories that actually have a historical value and an educational value. That’s my goal with the work. That’s the most important part of the artwork.
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think that by a work of art, to this pile that need ‌"
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“that’s what de-colonial work does. It gives people an The opportunity to reshape cer- How would you say that your opportunity to look at things tain narratives. work reflects or interacts with traditional Kwantlen or Stó:lō from more perspectives techniques, symbols than or meaning, mixed with some of the other contemporary they’d influences you have? the one perspective been bestowed with.” Yes, and that whole idea of the word decolonizing is really important in understanding where I’m coming from. It’s going back to that: the settlers came here, they brought Christianity, they brought Western concepts of technology and then the First Nations history ended and then a man landed on the moon and now we have the Internet and all these things and their story ended and ours began and this is the story that needs to be told. That’s a really oversimplified version of that narrative, but the gist of that story is told over and over again and I think people become complacent in that mindset, this idea that our story is part of this so-called bygone era. Yet every time I walk out my door, I’m seeing contributions from my community that are still being played out in our day-to-day lives that are not seen so much. I think that’s something that’s really important to me, that is like, okay, no just hold on a second here, there’s this part of the story here, this idea of nation building would not be complete without our part in that story somewhere. There are a lot of negative things about it, but there’s also a lot of positive things and I think it’s important for us to be critical about all those things, not just one or two things. I think that’s what decolonial work does. It gives people an opportunity to look at things from more perspectives than the one perspective they’d been bestowed with.
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One of the things that’s important to acknowledge there is that because the Kwantlen people were situated in a location that the global mercantile enterprise had it’s eyes on, when Fort Langley was established, it was ground zero of the colonial mandate in British Columbia. It’s where British Columbia got its name, it was where the proclamation of British Columbia was signed. It was literally the first lands to be usurped from Indigenous peoples in what is now the province of BC, and the Kwantlen people suffered greatly because of that onslaught of that endeavor and 100 per cent of our artwork and all of our cultural regalia and the visual culture of our people, 100 per cent of it, now sits in the basements of museums all across the world, leaving a huge deficit of identity and cultural knowledge, historical knowledge, even diminishing concepts of family and self-respect, self-esteem, you name it, gender roles, roles of men and women in the home and in the community. That needs to be said. Part of the work that is being done in my community and other Stó:lō communities is saying our culture really didn’t disappear with colonialism, it’s stored away in some basement of some colonial institution who doesn’t really give us access to see those things because it’s more
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valued as part of the past than part of the present. There’s a whole political agenda that’s sitting idle in all that as well. I think any artwork that has been created within the community — whether you’re doing graphic design or painting, or even moving into the realm of poetry, creative writing, autobiographical work, performance art, like so many other artists are doing; even hip hop is becoming a big thing in Stó:lō communities — those kinds of expressions are a result of that onslaught of exerting power onto our communities and wiping the slate clean of our cultural identity. I think that’s the work our artists are doing now. I’d like to think and it’s my desire to have my work fit into that realm somewhere, saying “You didn’t finish the job” because these brilliant artists, we’re all are still here and we’re all still saying these amazing things about our communities and we still have that spirit in us. But it’s not just the spirit, it’s the assertion. It’s a political act. There’s a social justice aspect to it. I think when you look at the whole spectrum of expression coming from our
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communities, it’s flying in the face of 200 years of oppressive policies on our communities and it’s basically saying, to hell with you guys, we got this. We are taking control of what we’ve always known to be true about us, that we have a sustainable vision for our communities that we would like to re-insert and reinvigorate into our communities. The best vehicle for those ideas to come forth is through the arts and it transcends and it goes to different realms. At least how I see it in our community, whenever there’s an event where our community is asserting its sovereignty to the government of Canada or British Columbia or big corporations that seek to exploit resources from our community, art is represented front and centre. I’ve been fortunate enough to have my work taken into that realm and used as a tool for that by leaders in the community. In the history of our people, that is a high honour and one I am so grateful to be part of because it’s about moving our people forward and putting our interests where they belong, in the spotlight. I think that’s where we need to be moving.
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Is there anything else you wanted to add that I didn’t touch on? In the last three years, the pace of things has really picked up for me and my work. There’s been a lot of attention coming my way, which I’m really thankful for. The people who are interested in my work, they’re interested in the critical aspect of it, these concepts of decolonizing, looking at things through a more critical lens, which I appreciate. That’s a realm I want to be in, but it’s a place I never thought I’d be so it’s been quite a journey as an artist. It’s just picking up now and things are going pretty good. I’m looking forward to the next little while and I think it’s going to be really fruitful.
This interview has been edited and condensed. You can find out more about Brandon Gabriel and see additional examples of his work at gabrielconcepts.com
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fresh art Carla Swope Carla Swope’s passion for creating unique jewellery is something she’s possessed since she was young. Inspired by our natural environment, she draws her design ideas from the mountains and valleys where she lives in Chilliwack, BC, and beyond. The jewellery she creates is constantly evolving: she loves to work with unusual colour and shape combinations, and these change with the seasons. Mother Nature is Carla’s muse, with all of her pieces balancing the elegant feminine with Earth’s elements. Impeccable high-quality craftsmanship and a keen eye for detail have helped her to build a successful business over the past 15 years. Carla has participated in many juried art shows, community craft shows, markets and events. She was also the owner of Beadifferent bead shop in Hope until 2010, as well as being a certified yoga instructor. She teaches jewellery design at the University of the Fraser Valley, as well as at local arts councils, community centres, and schools.
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I work primarily with semi-precious stones and metal; however also incorporate glass, crystals and wood into my designs. I use a non-soldering technique that complements each stone, preventing marring or scratching. Each design combines hand tools, strict tension, extreme patience and an ever-steady hand. I wrap each stone, texturizing the wires as I go. Many of my stones are locally picked and hand cut from the mountains where I live. Where possible they are truly "Made in Canada." Stones that are not
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locally mined are sourced from all over the world; I pick the most unique and unusual that I’m able to find. I have a strong eye for stone quality! One thing that sets me apart from many jewelry artists is that I also love to teach. I always have an easy to understand step-by-step showcase at my booth. This allows potential customers to view the process and intricacy involved in the making of their pieces. I’m always happy to show people how I do what I do.
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Interested in having your FRESH art featured in Raspberry magazine? Visit raspberrymag.ca/Fresh-submissions to view our submission guidelines.
Artist Claire Sarfeld exhibits at the Reach Kelly Wong Born and raised in small town southern Ontario, visual artist Claire Sarfeld moved to the West Coast after graduating with a Fine Arts degree from OCAB University in Toronto. Her training focused on drawing and painting, with a minor in creative writing. Sarfeld’s work is influenced by Abstract Expressionism, with juxtaposition between order and chaos, static versus dynamic. The artist also draws inspiration from the natural world with colours embodied in the outdoors: forest greens, ocean blues, and woody browns. Her media of choice is acrylic on canvas, however Sarfeld is unafraid to step out and incorporate other forms of storytelling like newsprint, ink, and graphite. “Line and Form” marks the artist’s debut exhibition in this province. Her work is on display at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford as part of Art on Demand 2.2, the museum’s second season of showcasing rising Fraser Valley artists. The exhibit is on display until September 11. Sarfeld’s work can also be seen on exhibit in Mission’s Rock Family Gallery from August 2 to August 20. For more information on future exhibits or to contact the artist directly, go to clairesarfeld.com
Starting in October, you can follow the progress of emerging artists and curators with our new column, as part of a partnership with the Emerge @ the Reach program.
community snapshots
photo by Katie Stobbart
Apple-picking at Willow View Farms Fresh local apples are now ready for picking at a few local farms. We checked out the apples over at Willow View Farms, where u-pick apples, pears, and plums are 99 cents per pound. Store staff have maps available with highlighted sections for which apples are ripe — then it's up to you to hunt for the very best apples. The crop this month includes Jonagold, Spartan, Fuji, Cox Orange Pippin, and later on, Ambrosia apples.
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It’s not my
art, it’s my
practice Saint Soldier on life, death, and hip hop
Glen Ess
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It’s been a successful summer for Abbotsford’s preeminent rapper. The past three months have seen him win the first ever Fraser Valley Music Award for Hip Hop, open the annual Jam in Jubilee concert series, and perform at the Envision Concert in the Park series. With the release of his first album in over two years looming, 2016 seems to be Saint Soldier’s year. He was gracious enough to sit down with me for an interview, calmly striding into the room and filling it with his quiet, yet charismatic self. Our conversation was a varied one, broaching many topics beyond his music. Over the course of 55 minutes, Saint Soldier’s thoughts on Abbotsford’s growing creative community, his own career path, and his philosophical leanings all came to light.
photos used with permission from Saint Soldier
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It’s been an exciting summer for you: you won the inaugural FVMA in Hip Hop, you performed at Jam in Jubilee. How does that feel? How was it?
It feels awesome. 2016’s been such a great year for me. I spent the winter in Mexico and I came back, and in the first week or so my manager Charlie asked me if I was down to host an open mic night and that was something I wanted to do for years, so we started the open mics at SippChai. WIth Jas [the proprieter at SippChai]; he’s awesome, too. On the first night we had about 20 artists show up and it was such a powerful vibe. We’ve been doing that once a month. And the FVMA was just so awesome, I got to meet so many other artists as well and so many people wanted to jam and make music.
Does that mean we can look forward to some new collaborations?
Definitely. I’ve been jamming with Harma White. We were jamming for two nights and we came up with four songs. At the Spotted Owl I’m holding Spoken Word Sundays every Sunday. Slam poetry: we’ve got some elder members form the Fraser Valley Poets Society. They come in regularly and share their poetry; they’ve been writing for 30, 40 years, and it’s so cool to have them come in and share that vibe. It’s slowly increasing; we usually get eight or nine poets every Sunday.
All of these community and creative events are relatively new to us, right?
It’s totally new in Abbotsford. In my whole music career, I’d be out in Vancouver’s open mics. I used to go to a place called Yanza Club for like eight years,
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and when Richard [Murphy, the Spotted Owl’s manager] started the open mic nights at the Owl, well I’d rather spend the night in Abby instead of driving to Vancouver.
Why do you think there’s this trend in Abby?
I think it’s the collective mind, the collective drive of all the creativity in Abbotsford. That’s how I feel. I feel like I’m a part of it. I see it and everybody around me, all the artists and me, and there’s so much humility in everyone That’s the most beautiful thing: everyone sort of wants to make music together and we appreciate each other’s art. It’s not competitive, you know? That’s what I love about it. I think there’s no limit to what we can do here in Abbotsford with that kind of attitude.
A lot of the time though, it’s the same crowd who attend these events.
It’s the same crowd because we love that environment so much we want to catch it whenever we can. Every time we’re doing this, it’s slowly growing and evolving. More people are hearing about it. Like you say, it’s new this year, and there’s a lot of younger people who are still shy. They do their music at home. They’re not ready to share on the stage or come to an open mic. I remember being there when I was younger. First time I stood on a stage my hand was shaking like I had a problem. I think slowly this is going to grow. I have no doubts because we have so many young people, all kinds of people, who just want to be a part of the music.
Could you maybe tell us about your first time performing?
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I started writing when I was a kid in elementary school. In high school I kept writing, but I wouldn’t share with anybody except my sister. She always said, “you’re getting pretty good, share it with people.” I did, with one friend, and he told me to go to open mic nights, but I was still too shy to share that kind of stuff. The first time I shared publicly was on Speaker’s Corner. You know: those cameras on the corner street that you put in a dollar and it records you for a minute and it was on on Much Music or whatever. So, I shared some rhymes on that and I dropped my email address at the end and when it aired like two weeks later I got a flood of emails, some hate mail.
one more time and got the nerve to go to a open mic night that The Beat hosted, someplace on Cambie, and I ended up doing that open mic and I won a Beat t-shirt for that night, so they liked it. I met some buskers downtown and asked them places to go, and they directed me to ANZA Club and that was a place that really opened me up. It was full of love and it was a very nurturing environment, and that’s what we’re trying to recreate here at the Owl and at SippChai, make it like that, how it was when I started: a noncompetitive environment where we just support each other, and show love, whatever level artist you think you are. We just appreciate your art and the fact you’re willing to share it with us.
Hate mail for one minute? That’s terrible!
I noticed that in your latest single, “A Stray”, the beginning is a news broadcast about a fatal shooting. What was the reason behind that?
I’d say the hate mail was only about 15 per cent of the emails.
Still, what the hell!?
I guess they’re all keyboard warriors. But I’d rather focus on the 85 per cent of positivity, a lot of people saying they connected with what I was saying and they wanted to hear more and I was like, Wow, me and my insecure state. Wow, I really liked that. So I did that
That news clip you’re talking about actually inspired the song. That incident inspired the song. It was right in my neighborhood, I live in the Townline Hill area, and I’ve been working on an album with DJ Hark [Duality, out next month] and we were in the middle of working on some songs, and he sent me this beat
and I said “Let me sit on it.” The next day that shooting happened where the elderly gentlemen was killed by a stray bullet. And it was something different. I felt a wave of emotion come over the city. It wasn’t one of the gangsters getting killed or something, it was somebody innocent. He was gardening. It was powerful, it was emotional. I had that beat and it had that emotion, and the day after that shooting I sat down and I wrote the lyrics to that song. I got back to Hark and he said “yeah, let’s lay this down.” I have the most awesome team, all of my friends are part of it. The videographer Rav is one of my best friends, and the video editor Paul is one the guys who’s had my back since high school. He pushed me to get on stage. Everybody got together and we got the actors and we put the project together and it went smoothly.
Do you think things will change in our community after that incident? After all, we were still known as Stabbotsford only a few years ago.
When I put that song [“A Stray”] out, over the course of two months I got a lot of messages from young people, some saying that the song had inspired them to change their lifestyle, but most of those people aren’t from Abbotsford, they’re from across Canada. I can’t say. I think I feel the same way about it, it just keeps happening. I thought I heard gunshots in bed last night and it was like “there’s another one.” I don’t expect much change in these people, it’s sad to say. I feel like that’s the reality of it.
During your Jam in Jubilee performance, one of the spoken word pieces was inspired by someone passing. After losing someone so close, death became such a real thing. Not only for my-
self but for everybody, everybody I love, and it also became an essential thing to accept. To make reality. That’s what that spoken word piece was about. We make a taboo of death, but it should be embraced in every moment, that’s the only way to appreciate life. To realize the reality and realness of death. How it’s actually always there. I heard an analogy like: Death is like a sword hanging over your head on a fine thread. You don’t know when it’s going to snap, and if you live like that then you’ll live fully. Not wanting to be lazy or complacent. I found that, as time has passed, a lot of the time I’ll write, and I’ll be like, “Okay, this is so personal” but when I share it, it resonates with so many people, so many people are going through the same thing. I just share it all. Why hold it? Why hold it in? I don’t feel like it should be held back. A lot of the time, me and my artists friends, I put my pen to the paper and I start writing, but there’s no thought that goes into it, I’m just opening myself up to a higher power, for the universe to flow through me, and my musicians say the same thing, “When I hold my guitar and jam, I’m not thinking what strings to pluck, it’s just the moment,” so why should I take pride in my art? It’s not my art, it’s my practice. The longer I’ve spent writing, the faster my brain is able to put words together, but it’s not me writing, it’s just writing. It’s the more practiced that pen is, that hand is, the more fluent it will write. That’s how I feel about that, no need to take pride in my art, it’s just what it is.
To hear the full interview with Saint Soldier, you can listen to the August 26 broadcast on CIVL Radio's The Shuffle Spot at civl.ca.
fresh fiction A selection of poems by Saint Soldier and Jaimie Innbjor
Coconut Tree
Saint Soldier
Close your eyes and put aside your pride as you enter your center. The mentor you need is indeed your center so heed his intent and you’re never defeated. Conceited, you’re sent to repent and you will — the aim is restraining your brain and being still so take what you will from the words I recite. They come from my center. They’re meant to dispense and I say them despite if you like or resent them. I pen them with ink and I write with no thought so don’t care what you think. I don’t flinch and the third eye don’t blink. It stays open.
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I’m hopin’ you’re soakin’ this in ‘cause the game don’t begin til the token is in. You can press the start button but nothing will happen. Connect with the Buddhas and Saints who be rappin’. That happened to me in the past, man. I’ve seen it, devoted my life to this truth — now I’m being it: I live it. I love it. I give it my all. If I ever look back then I pivot and fall. So I never look back and I’m always going forward and upward and onward and never go slower. The more you think the less you are present; that’s why it’s a gift and some might call it heaven. At sixes and sevens with tricks of the reverends and priests and the pastors who take you for fools— and you treat them like masters?
Image by: Gloria Cabada-Leman
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Bastards. But your master is One like the earth has the sun. Your master is humble so we should be too like the nature of water. (Bruce Lee said it.) (And he’s cool.) (And you’re awesome, too.) Not to inflate your ego but dwindle it down. Give me a hug when this Hindu’s in town. The symbols are found on foreheads of those who are kings with no crowns. We don’t hang with no crowds. I rap when I’m happy and sing when I’m down So nothing that happens is bringing me down. Keep your arms and your heart open to me and close both your eyes when you’re hopin’ to see. All of this wisdom was spoken to me as I wrote this rhyme under a coconut tree.
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I Bruise Easy Jaimie Innbjor I bruise easy, but I heal fast In every way you can imagine. It doesn't take too much To make the blood pool up to the surface And leave a noticeable mark. But in what seems to everyone else As a blink of an eye It's like it was never there to begin with. It hurts for a few days, And before I know it, I have new ones. Most of them, I don't even know where they came from. But I always forget about them quickly. It takes quite a bit to make me bleed, and that always takes a bit longer to go away. When I bleed, I bleed a lot. It's darkly funny to admit I used to do it to myself on purpose. And the scars that you would think Would stick around for a lifetime Usually just fade into my skin. It's the little nicks here and there That I didn't expect That end up showing years later. When I go to parties and I drink too much Or get a little bit too high I decide that it's a good idea To kick box with everyone who will let me And the next day the collection of bruises Is something we laugh about.
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But once in awhile I look at my bruises, and my cuts, And I see that there's a lot. Sometimes I wonder How long it will be Until I have none at all. Or if I will always have a few. I know I'll always have a bruise somewhere I've given up on attempting To keep an even tone to my skin. But what sticks with me are the few people, so far just the one who sees them and says "Woah, you've got to be more careful" And when I try to kick box them They hug me instead.
Interested in having your FRESH art featured in Raspberry magazine? Visit raspberrymag.ca/Fresh-submissions to view our submission guidelines.
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Jekyll & Hyde Jaimie Innbjor Jekyll is the man That makes me laugh more Than I thought could possibly Come from just one person. Jekyll is the man That with a whisper in my ear Can make me melt Into his favourite couch, And he does. Jekyll is the man That holds me up talking Even when we both know I have to go back home At some point. Jekyll is the man That can't wait to show me Every movie that he loves And actually listens When I show him My favourite music. Jekyll is the man That I speak to In borderline gibberish Because everything we say Is a hilarious inside joke. I wish it were that simple.
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Hyde is the monster That sits, stares forward And doesn't talk For what seems like hours. Hyde is the monster That after hearing I have Low blood sugar That I have to eat And I'm hungry Says "I have to save my food" Hyde is the monster That shows up to an event I've been looking forward to For a week Falls asleep on the bench, Leaves early, And doesn't come back. Hyde is the monster that insults me And picks at me And then makes me feel weak For not taking a joke. Hyde is the monster That sometimes makes me wonder If Jekyll is really still in there At all. Hyde is the monster That I see more and more And all I want Is Jekyll To fight through And come back to me.
Interested in having your FRESH art featured in Raspberry magazine? Visit raspberrymag.ca/Fresh-submissions to view our submission guidelines.
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Local harvest Home grown Westcoasters Dessa Bayrock and Jess Wind bringing you some local literary flavour. We review works set in the valley, written by authors from the valley, or that have that British Columbia, Fraser Valley vibe. Come back each month to see what the Fraser Valley has to offer.
Generation A by Douglas Coupland Generation A is a weird one, but then again, all of Coupland’s novels are weird to some extent or another. The novel opens on a globalised and overwhelming consumer-capitalism-driven world that looks remarkably like our current one, Dessa Bayrock with a few key differences thrown in. Notably, bees are extinct — making fresh fruit and vegetables prized and rare — and most of the world’s population is addicted to a brand-new designer drug named Solon, which makes time feel as though it’s going faster and makes the taker happy to be alone Coupland’s five protagonists hail from a series of far-flung places: we meet Sam, in New Zealand; Julien, in France; Harj, in Sri Lanka; Zack, in America; and Diana, in Canada. At first, these characters seem to have little in common, except for two things: first, that none of them have shown any interest in Solon, and second that each character is impossibly stung by a bee. Scientists and government agents
quickly descend, whisking each of them away to research facilities where scientists attempt to draw some correlation between the five protagonists. What drew the bees to them in the first place? What is the significance of being stung? Once these characters are released from their comfortable antiseptic prisons, the world seems different: its citizens are more addicted to Solon than ever, and the five protago-
nists are more dissatisfied with the elusive (and illusive) connections promised by digital media and a globalised world. Each of them slowly realises they no longer belong in their old lives, and maybe not even in the world as a whole; in search of answers, purpose, and meaning, they come together in a remote Haida Gwaii village, where they begin to grapple the mysteries of their lives. Anyone familiar with Coupland’s novels will recognise this plot arc as a quintessential Coupland format: a small group of characters recognise the poisonous nature of the world and attempt to transcend it. But it’s at this point that the novel goes slightly off the rails: rather than directly discuss the world’s problems or their own strange and sudden status as the bees’ chosen people, the protagonists sit around and tell stories to one another. The result: nearly a third of the novel is dedicated to the faithful inclusion of every bizarre campfire tale the characters invent. Themes begin to repeat and recur: murder, celebrity, the search for meaning. This is the core of the novel’s weirdness: does this weirdly long section illuminate what Coupland is trying to say about the world, or merely serve as a
dumping ground for all the figments and fragments populating the far reaches of an odd author’s brain? And this is where the novel ends: on one hand, we have five characters telling stories on Haida Gwaii and slowly melding into an ominous, self-described hive mind, and on the other, a world of people addicted to a drug which severs community ties and makes the user happy to be cut off from everyone and everything around them. There is no real conclusion or resolution—only this overriding tension between two unlikely poles. This is not to say that the novel isn’t entertaining, and honest, and funny—because it is. It’s just also impossible to shake the feeling that Coupland intends Generation A as a critique of the present, and yet can’t quite figure out how to go about sharpening the argument. As a result, Generation A is a great sort of beach read—not too serious, plenty of fun, and more than a little weird. It plays the role of light-hearted reading really nicely—but this is also sort of a tragedy, when you stop to consider how else Coupland might have focused the novel into something truly critical and engaging.
X, Y, Z: Explore Yoga and Zumba Two fun, public options to minimize stress and work out this fall Catherine Stewart
The end of summer means busier schedules for everybody. Kids are going back to school, parents are remembering the lost art of packing lunches, and university students are bracing themselves for the impact of a full course-load. It can get messy. There will be days you’ll be so tired you won’t even be able to take your shoes off before falling asleep. However, for those who would like to keep up an exercise routine, or even get one started, there is hope. While exercising on your own can sometimes be un-motivating and boring, fitness classes are there to set you straight. Exercising in a group helps to motivate and, challenge you, and you’ll get to learn new exercises. Since each fitness centere offers a variety of different classes, I’m focusing on the two mostre popular options: yoga and Zumba.
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Zoom into Zumba Drop into dance any day of the week Zumba was created by Colombian dancer and choreographer Alberto Perez in the 1990’s. Since then, it’s grown in popularity all around the world, and there are even some places that offer Aqua Zumba, which takes place in a swimming pool. Zumba is a high-energy dance class designed to make you sweat, but to have fun doing it. Although it’s technically dancing, you don’t need to have good coordination. In fact, Zumba is not only good for cardio, but also provides many coordination benefits. The intensity of the classes varies depending on which instructor you have, but the instructors are all welcoming and ready to have fun. At the beginning of each song, the instructor will give a quick run-down of the main moves you’ll be repeating. All you have to do is watch what they’re doing and follow along. It doesn’t take long before you get the hang of it. And, if you screw up, nobody will judge you. Chances are they won’t even notice, they’re too busy trying to follow along too. It’s a rewarding class that’s worth checking out at least once. Zumba is offered at almost every fitness center. The ones mentioned here are just a couple of options to get you started.
MRC
ARC
3106 Clearbrook Rd. Abbotsford (604-855-0500)
2499 McMillan Rd. Abbotsford (604-853-4221)
Mondays: 6:45-7:45 PM Wednesdays: 7:30-8:30 PM Thursdays: Aqua Zumba 8:00-8:45 AM Fridays: 11:45-12:30 PM Sundays: 10:00-11:00 AM
Mondays: 9:15-10:15 AM Tuesdays: 6:00-7:00 PM Wednesdays: 10:30-11:30 AM Thursdays: 10:30-11:30 AM & 6:00-7:00 PM Fridays: 9:00-9:45 AM & 6:00-7:00 PM Saturdays: 1:30-2:30 PM
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Is yoga for you? Goodbye stress, hello good posture If you’re looking for something that doesn’t focus mainly on cardio, Yoga is a great option. Yoga originated in India over 5,000 years ago. It’s said to do all kinds of things for your physical, mental, and spiritual health. If you stick to it, on top of being stressfree, you can also expect a healthier immune system, better sleep quality, improved flexibility, and toned muscles. Even if you just want better posture, Yoga is the choice for you. Over the years, many different types of Yoga have been developed. Some of the more common ones are Hatha, Bikram, and Kundalini. Hatha Yoga is a great beginner choice. It generally focuses on physical posture, and gives you an introduction to the most basic yoga poses. This class typically doesn’t leave you too sweaty, but you do feel looser and more relaxed. With Bikram Yoga, expect to sweat a lot more. The rooms are artificially heated, designed to make you sweat even if you feel like you’re not working too hard. Then you have Kundalini Yoga, also known as Laya Yoga, which focuses on your spiritual energy. It’s sometimes called “the yoga of awareness”. It aims to improve who you are as a person, and to bring positive energy to others.
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MRC
ARC
3106 Clearbrook Rd. Abbotsford (604-855-0500)
2499 McMillan Rd. Abbotsford (604-853-4221)
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 7:15-8:00 AM & 1:00-2:00 PM Wednesdays: Gentle Yoga 10:45-11:45 AM (Suitable for beginners and seniors)
Mondays & Wednesdays: Yoga 101 9:15-10:15 AM & Kundalini Yoga 7:15-8:15 PM Fridays: Hatha Yoga 10:30-11:30 AM
Mission Leisure Centre
Jubilee Hall
7650 Grand Street, Mission (604-820-5350)
7989 Bradner Road, Abbotsford *Bring your own yoga mat
Mondays & Wednesdays: 10:45-11:45 AM & 5:30-6:30 PM Fridays: 10:45-11:45 AM
Tuesdays: Hatha Beginner Yoga 7:30-8:30 PM
If you’re a student at UFV with a U-Pass, you’ll be able to get into the ARC, MRC, and Mission Leisure Centre for free. However, drop-in yoga at Jubilee Hall is $6.00 per person. At ARC, MRC, and Mission Leisure Centre, drop-in rates go by age group.
MRC &ARC Teen/Student: $4.20 Adult (18-60): $5.90 Senior (60+): $3.90
Mission Leisure Centre Youth (13-18): $3.52 Adult (19-59): $5.62 Senior (60+): $4.67
These facilities also have monthly and annual passes available if you decide to become a frequent visitor.
It’s easy to get swept up in a busy lifestyle with the changing of seasons. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are options in your community to help ease the stress off your shoulders.
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fresh picks Music The Binz, Loans, and Part-Time Miserables Sept. 9 at 9 PM
Don't miss local rockers Loans alongside UK punks Part-Time Miserables and Vancouver heavies The Binz, whose latest record is available as a digital download card attached to a bottle of hot sauce. Gator's Pub 33790 Essendene Ave., Abbotsford
Mighty Speck Records Revue Sept. 10 at 8 PM
BC record label Mighty Speck Records brings five of its artists to Abbotsford's Spotted Owl for a special night of musical variety featuring: Eleanore (Trans-fronted alt/art rock), Herokah (Blueeyed Soul & Indietronica), Gas Covered Planet (roots rock), Brahma Blue (alternative), and Wickaninnish aka James Kasper (roots noir). The Spotted Owl 33790 Essendene Avenue, Abbotsford
You Knew Me When
Sept. 22 at 7 PM
Formerly of Nashville, Tennessee, this husband and wife folk duo have given up the comforts of home to live the troubadour life for the past four years. Don't miss them as they roll through the Fraser Valley on their never-ending tour. Tractorgrease Cafe 48710 Chilliwack Lake Road, Chilliwack
Literary Arts Spoken Word Sundays Sept. 11, 18, 25 at 7:00 PM
Every Sunday, you can find a welcoming group of poets and a warm audience at Spoken Word Sundays, hosted by Saint Soldier. If you've always wanted to check out a slam or reading but not drive for an hour to get there, here's your chance! Spotted Owl 33790 Essendene Avenue
September 2016 Visual Arts Workin' It with Watercolours Join instructor Pat Gerlach for this two-part introductory series teaching you the basics of watercolour painting, including dry brushing, laying in a wash, and texturizing.The class costs $35 and registration is available at chilliwackartscouncil.com
Sept. 20 & Sept. 27
The Art Room 20 - 5725 Vedder Rd, Chilliwack
With A Muse on My Shoulder Get some inspiration by visiting this exhibit featuring the work of the Fraser Valley Watermedia Society's artists. You'll see a wide range of subject matter and media represented as each artist is invited to draw on what inspires their creativity.
Runs until Sept. 27
Kariton Art Gallery 2837 Ware Street, Abbotsford
Food Chilliwack Garlic Festival Enjoy musical performances, a community market, and beer garden, or bring the heat at the Fantasy Farms Chili Cook-Off. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children under 16. 9423 Gibson Road, Chilliwack
Sept. 17 to Sept. 18
Feast of Fields Experience this four-hour gourmet harvest festival now in its 22nd year featuring live music and gourmet creations from BC top chefs, farmers, fishers, ranchers, food artisans, vintners, brewers, distillers and more!
Running until September 5
Laurica Farm and Fraser Common Farm 25775 12 Avenue, Aldergrove
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Our contributors Alex Rake is a musician from Mission, where
he has a great view of the mountains and eats poems for breakfast, which is said to be beneficial to one’s level of metaphor in the viscera. He recently masqueraded as Shakespeare dragging a corpse. Alex did not write this bio, but gave us permission to make stuff up. We didn’t. Anthony Biondi is an artist and writer living in Abbotsford. He has been previously published in The Louden Singletree, and served four years on The Cascade’s editorial board as Art Director and Production and Design Editor. He is a humourless crab, and fundamental contrarian, whose cholesterol may be higher than his IQ. www.anthonybiondi.com Catherine Stewart is a writer/editor/peach ring enthusiast from Mission. While attending UFV for media and communications studies, you can usually find her in nature fighting off bears or indulging in way too much Greek food, so that she turns into a walking garlic clove. She will not say no to an arm wrestle, just know that she has noodle arms and a tendency to cheat. She's also owned by a squishy hairless cat named Ali who will one day rule the world. Dessa Bayrock is an ex-journalist with a soft spot for the Fraser Valley. She currently lives in Ottawa and studies the apocalypse as part of her M.A. in English. You can find her reviewing books online at Bayrock, Bookrock and for Ottawa Review of Books. If you rearrange the letters of her name you can spell “abyss croaked,” “as bark decoys,” or “brocade as sky,” all of which describe her in one way or another. @YoDessa www.bayrockbayrock.wordpress.com Glen Ess is the host of The Shuffle Spot on CIVL Radio, which airs every Friday at 4:00 p.m. He was the culture editor and managing editor at The Cascade newspaper, and is currently attending UFV.
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Joel Smart is a UFV alumnus and former copy editor at The Cascade. He can usually be found perched on an exercise ball in front of his computer, or burning his taste buds off with extra spicy home-made salsa. He cares about human rights, the environment, and snuggling his little baby cat so tightly that she makes a tiny squeak.
Kelly Wong is a born-and-raised Abbotsfordian who is an ardent supporter of the arts. Whether taking in live music, checking out opening exhibitions, or attending plays, she is at home in creative environments. Kelly is happy to contribute to Raspberry magazine and looks forward to being a part of the Fraser Valley’s growing arts and culture community.
Katie Stobbart is a writer and editor from Abbotsford. She has edited The Cascade newspaper, Louden Singletree literary magazine, and the Pacific Rim Review of Books. She is also a member of the PWAC (Professional Writers Association of Canada) Fraser Valley chapter. A selection of her poems will appear in a co-authored chapbook soon to haunt local library shelves, dentists’ offices, and hotel lobbies: It looks like a chicken. Katie is also working hard to improve her patio gardening game.
Nick Ubels is an editor, musician, and event planner living in Abbotsford with his wife and two cats. He loves black coffee and tennis but is terrible at both. His life story served as inspiration for the events of Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Contribute to magazine To contribute writing, art, or photography to this emerging Fraser Valley publication, contact info@raspberrymag.ca
Raspberry magazine is a monthly Fraser Valley magazine devoted to arts, culture, and community life. Established in June 2016, Raspberry publishes reviews, event coverage, and other arts-friendly content online as we work toward our goal of publishing in print. You can follow us on social media for updates on our progress, information and insights on the Fraser Valley arts and culture scene, and fresh arts coverage.
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