Issue 9 March 2017
magazine
Cover photo: Hathi Brewing
Editor-in-Chief Katie Stobbart
Publisher Anthony Biondi
Associate Editor Jess Wind
FRESH Curators Aymee Leake - Art Alex Rake- Fiction
Business Dessa Bayrock - Ad Sales Sasha Moedt - Events
Writers Martin Castro Joe Johnson Aymee Leake Nick Ubels
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
New column debut: reviews of every kind of game Each month, our "geek beat," a team of geek-culture enthusiasts, will play a game and tell you what it's like in our new column: Let's Play!
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On the cover Abbotsford has a new brewer. Joe Johnson interviews Hathi Brewing on their beer with a South Asian flair.
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www.raspberrymag.ca
Contents Open Mosque Day p.8
Concert to Replace Stolen Gear p.14
New album by Kristin Witko p.31
Opinion: Public Art p.34
Special Thanks: Raiseberry p.48
Columns FRESH Picks: March events FRESH Art by Rebekah Brackett
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p.28 p.44 Local Harvest book review p.36 p.46 Let's Play game review
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strong strong bond bond make make strong stron brews brews by Anthony Biondi As Darin Graham of Boardwalk Café once said, describing his business’ relationship with local board game stores: “A rising tide lifts all ships.” For the last few years, the number of craft breweries in the Fraser Valley has been growing exponentially. We’ve become very familiar with names like Old Abby Ales, Dead Frog, Field House, Old Yale, and Ravens. New ones seem to appear monthly. With big labels like Molson, Pabst, Kokanee, etcetera already on the scene, it would seem that there must be a rising level of competition in the hoppy parts of the Valley. However, that is not the case.
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Instead, as we see in this issue with Hathi Brewing, our local brewers have come to form a strong bond with one another. Craft brewing is an art. Just as in cooking, the brewer creates a flavour that fits their designs, mastering it before putting it into bottles and cans. Every brewing company produces different beers, and each one is a reflection of the designer. With Field House, they want an authentic Dutch theme to their beer; with Hathi: a South Asian twist! It’s cultural expression in bubbly, liquid form. The artist determines the vision. No two artists are the same and by looking past the idea of competition, our local community has allowed new and interesting voices to rise up. As Hathi finds its start in the corner of Ravens, living symbiotically with their gracious hosts, they are able to create a whole new flavour that the Fraser Valley has not yet tasted. Putting aside their differences, nay, embracing them, has really helped the beer industry boom in the Valley, giving us a strong selection of amazing beers that whisk us away with glee from the standards of big industry labels. If it is a rising tide that lifts these ships, it’s a carbonated one.
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Open Mosque opens the door to cultural sharing by Katie Stobbart
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Nearly 500 local residents attended the Fraser Valley’s first Open Mosque Day on February 11. The community was invited to visit the Abbotsford Islamic Centre, meet our Muslim neighbours, and learn. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., shoes of all sizes were piled around and crammed into the shelves at the front door. On the main floor, tables and displays were set up on various topics, including Islam, Muslim demographics, women, science and Islam, and islamophobia. At each display, a knowledgeable volunteer was available to answer questions, and many tables were surrounded by groups of people engaged in positive discussion. Downstairs, guests could enjoy samosas, fruit, and desserts; try on a hijab; and have henna done. Guests were also invited to observe a prayer at noon. The focus of the event was to address ignorance and work toward understanding; it was clear from the tone of conversation and feedback that it was also a community-building event, and that many people have only been waiting for an opening.
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“What we wanted to do is bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims,” explains Adnan Bhat, who founded Bridging Gaps, an organization dedicated to promoting community tolerance initiatives. When Bhat first came to Canada, he was unprepared for how wide that gap would be. “I’ve lived in other countries, and I’ve always found that there is a gap between Muslims and non-Muslims,” Bhat says. “When I came to Canada, I didn’t realize there was such a huge gap. Canadian culture is known to be very polite, very kind, and that’s true. However, that gap still exists — in a very subtle manner sometimes.” Khalil Belabbas expressed a similar observation after the January 27 shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City. Belabbas lost close friends and acquaintances to the attack, and told ***BBC World News that there was “‘a certain distance’ between Quebec Muslims and the broader community.” Bhat says the attack came two days after the Abbotsford Islamic Centre decided
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to open their mosque to the community. “So people found it more relevant to attend the event.” Condolences, flowers, and notes of solidarity were delivered to the Islamic centres in Abbotsford and Chilliwack. The open mosque organizers posted on the event page: “For most of us living in Canada, this is something we would have never imagined in our worst nightmares … With acts like these, one questions — am I safe at my mosque? Am I safe at my home? To those who worry in Canada, we say, look around you. There are more smiles than bullets, more compassion than hate, and more friends than foes.” At the display on islamophobia, the photos of the six men who died in the Quebec shooting were posted alongside a range of news stories about islamophobia and related incidents, and prompts to identify and disarm fear and ignorance. While islamophobia and proactive efforts to bridge gaps are relevant everywhere, Bhat says the need to assess our own opinions and
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reach out is especially important in a place like Abbotsford, which has a high Muslim population. He points out that everyone has an opinion about Islam, but we need to reflect on the basis of those opinions: in fact or fear. Rather than basing our opinions solely on what we read, Bhat suggests an approach that is more oriented in community-building: talking to and getting to know Muslims, and developing an understanding of Islam in general: how and why people practice it in their daily lives. “At the end of the day, we can all disagree,” Bhat says, noting that understanding is not the same as agreement. “But our disagreements should still have understanding.” Bridging Gaps and the Abbotsford Islamic Centre are open to talking with the community and answering questions. Bhat asks community members not to wait until the next open mosque—and there will be one, he says—but to email, phone, or visit.
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After the Open Mosque After the event, dozens of attendees shared their experiences and takeaway from the event on Facebook. Here is a selection of their feedback.
Matthew Atkins Thanks for the invitation to visit your Mosque today. Even though your door is always open, and people are welcome to visit, not everyone knows that or feels comfortable dropping by just to see what it’s like. It can feel to some like we are intruding on your sacred space. So having you invite everyone to the open house was very welcoming and took away any feeling that we would be doing something disrespectful by coming to look. (...)
Nancy E. Wrenshall Thank you for such an informative and welcoming experience. I was particularly touched that you allowed us to stay and watch as you prayed. Thank you again for your generosity and hospitality.
Jessica Lauder A tale as old as time
Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Tim Rice Book by Linda Woolverton Originally Directed by Robert Jess Roth Originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions
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GALLERY 7 THEATRE production of Disney’s
It was such a gift to be with your community today, and to be so thoroughly welcomed. It was wonderful to learn, to connect with many of you, and to have our children learn and widen their perspectives. Thank you for a wonderful and meaningful time.
Shelagh Niblock My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to visit the mosque today. We also really appreciated the chance to chat with the folks that were manning the booths. In particular I enjoyed talking to the delightful young woman at the “kid’s table” who would like to become a pediatrician some day. That young girl is going to make her family proud.
Nicole MacCarron MAR 24 & 25, 29 – APR 1 , 2017 @ 7:00 MATINEES MAR 25 & APR1 @ 2:00 ABBOTSFORD ARTS CENTRE 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford www.gallery7theatre.com Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com.
Thank you for welcoming us today! I’m looking forward to sharing what I learned with my kindergarten students. I’m sure they will be quite taken with the henna.
community snapshots
photo by Katie Stobbart
March past winter At least before the most recent snow deposit, the Valley was treated to creamy pastel sunsets and springlike weather, making for clean commutes and lifted spirits. But don’t let the winter get you down— now that we’ve had a taste of what comes after, let’s enjoy the last chilly gusts, the last front-yard snowmen, and the last days of mandatory mittens. (Photo taken from Hwy 11 overpass at Immel St.)
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appy to give Abbotsford bands join forces in fundraiser to replace stolen gear >> raspberrymag.ca
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by Nick Ubels Photo: Cheap High
Call your dads! The songs of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Creedence Clearwater Revival will come back to life at the Abbotsford Rugby Club on March 24, starring Harma White, Blessed, and Loans. Blessed frontman Drew Riekman jokes that the bands seem ripped straight from “a kid in grade eight’s jean vest,” but that’s all part of the fun in this show meant to help a fellow musician recover from a devastating loss. On a cold October night in Saskatoon, Cheap High played what was undoubtedly their best show yet. At least that’s how the night started. 16
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“As far as sound, crowd, the reaction from people after the set, it was probably the best show we ever played,” bassist Derek Goyer says. “But it ended the worst show.” The Abbotsford band was on a short run of shows with comrades Blessed to celebrate the release of their debut LP just a week earlier. After the set, Goyer decided to move his bass and amplifier to his car rather than leave it with the rest of the gear stashed by the back door of Amigo’s. But when his brother and Cheap High guitarist Justin Goyer returned to the car at the end of the night, it was clear something was wrong. “Everything I brought on tour was basically gone,” says Goyer. His battle-worn white and gold Fender American P-Bass and Fender Super Bassman 300-watt amp head were missing along with his backpack, jacket, and a cooler full of food for the tour. More than anything, Goyer says he felt the loss really personally. “[The bass] had all these road scars from the shows we played and basement shows with our old band,” he says. “It was all me; I bought it mint condition.” According to Nic Mendonca, Goyer’s bandmate in Cheap High who helped organize the fundraiser, it will cost nearly $5,000 to replace the meticulously cared for and customized gear. “He modded out his bass, he put in different pick-ups, he changed the tuning heads, he painted it, put in a different pickguard,” Mendonca says. “Of course it happens to the guy who springs for the best. That was his mindset: get the best and I’ll have it for years. If it breaks, I’ll fix it.” Goyer is a dedicated member of the Abbotsford music scene, so much so that he has a You Say Party
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tattoo above his knee. According to Riekman, “it just made sense” to put something together to help him. The organizers hope that other than raising as much money as they can to help replace Goyer’s stolen gear, shows like this can strengthen the community of musicians in the Fraser Valley. “It’s so easy to feel apathetic about everything in the world right now,” Riekman says, “but effecting positive change at a local level is so helpful for everybody.” “People in the community shouldn’t be afraid to reach out for help.” Loans and Cheap High drummer Nic Mendonca says to expect a laid back show with lots of room for fun. “We just want to have some drinks and get money together for the guy. It’s less about anyone ripping a killer set and more about having a laugh and hanging out with everyone.” As for Goyer, he’s financed a new Fender P-Bass, but it’s hard to conceive of replacing the lost gear, even with the much-appreciated support of the local music community. “It’s going to take a while to build up everything,” he says. “I won’t even buy the same amp again. I just won’t be able to afford it.” The theft has waged a personal toll as well. “It was harder to deal with than I thought. It takes a lot out of you,” Goyer says. “Now that it’s months later, I’m getting over it, but I still think about it all the time.” Harma White (as Led Zeppelin), Blessed (as Black Sabbath), and Loans (as Creedence Clearwater Revival) play the Abbotsford Rugby Club March 24. Admission is a minimum $5 donation to Derek Goyer’s gear replacement fund.
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community snapshots
photo by Katie Stobbart
Concert at Carport The local music scene is thriving, and we’re enjoying the regular shows at new venues cropping up in the Fraser Valley. This photo features the Sylvia Platters, who performed Saturday, February 25 along with Casinos and Villain Villain. To catch the next concert at Carport Manor, search and follow the venue on Facebook.
ew bre n e w h t
Hathi brings new flavour to local craft beer culture Joe Johnson
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A new craft brewery in Abbotsford is emerging. Hathi Brewing (“elephant” in Hindi, pronounced hahtee) currently has three varieties of beer, with more styles and flavours in the works. Founders Aman and Paul Sidhu are taking cultural cues from Abbotsford’s South Asian population to create an infusion of Indian tastes, craft beer, and community. Hathi is working hard to become temporarily operational out of Ravens Brewing, while progressing towards its own facility. You can look forward to getting a taste of Hathi beer this summer.
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JJ: Tell me about your background. Where does your passion for beer come from? PS: I’ve always enjoyed good beer. I was that guy, back in the day, before the craft brew thing took off: drinking something different, always wanting to try something. For the rich history of beer, there’s so many different styles. Every mood that you’re in, you can basically have something else. AS: It was just about trying something new, something different and really— it was good. When you look around, it’s just people sharing memories. But they’re sharing those memories over a glass of beer. Craft beer has built this culture and community sense around it, so I think that’s where it took off. JJ: What sparked the idea for an actual brewery to happen? AS: For us, it’s this niche that we saw: a lot of people are doing cool, funky, things with beer, but no one’s touched on that cultural piece. There’s this South Asian population in Canada, in BC, but no one’s done it yet and [we thought], “What can we do? How can we do it? What would it look like?” PS: We started visiting a lot of the breweries that were opening a few years ago, including Field House, and every-
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body had their own way of expressing themselves. We’re young guys, how do we make our mark? How do we contribute? How do we communicate to the world around us who we are and what we want to be? Some people start a blog, some people start a YouTube channel. We decided, “Why not beer?” JJ: What makes Hathi unique? AS: I think for us, our twist, it’s the Indian twist. One of the first beers we did was the India Session Ale. That goes back to the British. They hopped up their beers to store it better so it could last through travel. For us, that was a big piece of it. The Coriander Pale Ale—coriander is an ingredient used in a lot of Indian dishes. It’s a very common spice. Even the mangos that are used in our Mango Bango Hefeweizen are native to India. It’s very sweet. And for us, it’s to put that little twist on it. We’re Canadian but there’s that Indian twist to us. It’s the same thing to our beer. PS: It was drawing on heritage. Field House here, you see it reflected in their beer names and whatnot, they draw upon their Dutch heritage and the farming heritage to influence their beer styles and influence the flavours that you taste in their beers. Our thing is, you look at India, it’s such a populist country, it’s been around
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for thousands of years. You have so many influences, starting at Alexander the Great coming all the way along to the Mongols and into the British, Portuguese down south… Christian, Jews, Muslims, so you have this kaleidoscope of cultures and with that comes a kaleidoscope of flavours. How do we translate that into beer is our question. That’s what we want to do, that’s something that makes us unique. I think you’ll see some real funky stuff. AS: That’s a good point that Paul has. You look at a lot of these new, kind of hip, Indian restaurants — it’s a fusion between east meets west, and we’re doing that with beer. We bring our background and history to it. PS: We’re just adding what we grew up with.
JJ: Do you think the culture of Abbotsford’s shifting right now? PS: It is shifting. Abbotsford, for the longest time, growing up, was known as the no-fun bible belt. That’s starting to shift now just due to demographics. It’s getting younger, people are moving out from the city. They can’t afford [it], or they know for the price they’re paying for their two-bedroom condo in Yaletown, they can afford a 5,000-square foot house on a third of an acre out here and raise a
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"TH FU WE UP W CHA
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HAT NOUN CITY E GREW WITH IS ANGING NOW"
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family. You’re getting that influence from the city, metro Vancouver coming out, and just in general most of the people here, most of the ownership of the local breweries... a lot of us grew up here. A lot of us grew up in Abbotsford. We’ve seen that change. Some of us might be a little older than others but we’re making the changes we want to see. Not only for ourselves but for future generations. AS: That’s a huge point to make. When I graduated from Mouat everybody couldn’t wait to get out of Abbotsford. Me, coming from a small town of 20,000 people, I was like, “no, this is big enough for me; I’m close enough to Vancouver but far enough.” I like that [about] Abbotsford, that we’re big enough but we’re small enough at the same time. I can run to the grocery store or wherever, go to the farmers’ market on the weekend, I can run into somebody I know who I haven’t seen in however many years. You can’t get that in Vancouver. For us, that no-fun city we grew up with is changing now. There’re things to do in Abbotsford. People from the city now come out to Abbotsford to explore things, like the Tulip Festival, The Hop Fest, [and] Beer-B-Q, to come try out all the breweries here in Abbotsford. There’s some great things happening in Abbotsford and it’s not just beer — it’s culture related.
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JJ: It seems like all the breweries in Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley are community-minded. Do you share the same kind of identity? PS: Without a doubt. We’ve both been involved in the community at various levels over the years. Going forward we’re contributing to that. We will be contract brewing out of Ravens Brewing, and they’re something else showing community. Ravens, instead of looking at us as potential competitors, are allowing us to enter their space, helping us out, getting us off the ground until we can establish our own space. That’s an important thing about the brewery collective in Abbotsford: everybody helps each other out. AS: Any success that another brewery has, it’s not competition. Their success is our success. The more people that come and try craft beer or try something in Abbotsford… they might come out here for a drink and then find a restaurant that they really enjoy or find something else to go explore. There’s a lot of cool things to do here and I think it ties in nicely as a post-work thing or a post-trip out to the valley thing, and there’s a lot of community in the beer community.
JJ: Ultimately, you’re building the market up.
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PS: We are. We’re not competing necessarily with each other. People go to Field House and they like the beer, but maybe they’re on a brewery tour and they want to see everybody else. On the flipside, somebody comes down here and they have a couple nice beers and they want to get some food. They’ll visit some of the new, local, restaurants that are opening and aren’t big chains. It’s all about supporting local at the end of the day.
JJ: How long have you been brewing as Hathi? PS: We incorporated a little over a year ago. We were initially doing some test batching out of another local brewery over at Old Abbey [Ales]. Just very small batches to develop flavour profiles and get to a couple of festivals last year, seeing if there was a market for what we wanted to do. There clearly proved to be a market really quickly. That’s when we decided, in terms of Old Abbey, it just couldn’t provide the scalability we needed to get to a commercial amount of beer that we could sustain some sort of business on. So, we decided to step back over the winter months and ordered some porter tanks. We got them in, now we’re at Ravens under a contract arrangement. We’ll be able to produce, approximately, about
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8,000 litres a month in terms of total liquid. Depending on how we divvy that up between bottles, kegs, everything else, we’re able to produce quite a bit of beer. That’ll allow us to distribute to the masses and get what we want to contribute out there. AS: When we released our India Session Ale, on the bottle Paul and I put our names on there. We’re proud of this and we’re proud of it even going down the drain because we did it right until we got it right. Now, going forward, there’s going to be a lot more capacity for us to start brewing.
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JJ: Do you guys come up with the recipe yourselves or do you have a brewer? PS: We come up with the ideas ourselves. We go through the basics of what we’re thinking of for a recipe between us and then we rely on the brewers and their background knowledge of brewing. Our knowledge is rather limited at best, so we go to them with our idea, and then go back and forth with what we [should] do, how we do it, and we try a small test batch of a couple hundred litres and see how that turns out. If it turns out completely horrible it goes down the drain but that’s the way
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it is. Once we’re at that point we let the brewers go over from there. They scale it up to a large volume and then it’ll hit the market.
JJ: What does the future of Hathi hold and what kind of timeline are you guys looking at? PS: Literally today I stood up the tanks, two fermentation tanks and our bright tank right inside Ravens space. That’s a couple weeks out for testing. As soon as they’re operational we’ll be brewing on that system. We’ll be doing somewhere about 8,000 litres a month. That’s probably going to persist through the summer. Most of the locations we’re looking at, their availability ranges from this coming October into the winter months. Depending on where we’re at, and what location becomes available, [that’s a] decisions we make then. We’ll lease or purchase, then we’ll keep looking at ordering the rest of our equipment. Landing that: renovations, building up a tasting room and everything else. We’re hoping by late next spring, early next summer, we should be able to have a full-on tasting room, our own brewery operational.
lines, government approvals, so on and so forth, equipment build times. It may be longer than that. If it is, we’ll still be producing through Ravens. In the meantime, it’ll still be our beer. If you really enjoy something, you’ll still be able to get it. The sooner we can get it operational, we will. It’s something that we’re looking forward to, as well.
JJ: Would you guys prefer to be on tap or sell it through cans or bottles? PS: We’ll be focusing mainly on bomber bottling in the beginning. We may do a canning run, we may not. We’re looking at the options of going into the smaller bottles, the standard size, just to allow easier access to restaurant markets and whatnot so we can be at more locations. Our focus, in terms of tap base, is going to be on specific taps in bars and restaurants that specialize in craft beer and are known as craft beer locations just due to our relative limited production at this time. We can distribute over a wider umbrella and to more people if we focus more on bottle sales.
But this is all dependent on other time-
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FRESH picks Community Mar. 4 at 7 - 9 PM
Raiseberry fundraiser and gala A little shameless plug — you should definitely join us at The Reach for our first big fundraising event! There’ll be performances, live painting, a video game demo, art, writing, a silent auction, and refreshments. Admission by donation. For more details and to RSVP, visit raspberrymag.ca/raiseberry. The Reach Gallery Museum 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford
Mar. 6 at 3:!5 - 4:45 PM
Food Bank Skate Glory in this (hopefully) last stretch of winter with an afternoon of Canada’s favourite traditional winter past-time: ice-skating. Admission is one non-perishable food item — but hey, there’s no maximum. So have a good time and help people in need. Twin Rinks 5725 Tyson Rd., Chilliwack
Mar. 11 at 10 AM - 2 PM
Mission Farmers Market: Seedy Saturday As well as new and returning vendors, visit the Farmers Market in Mission for a seed exchange and cookbook exchange. Look up the market on Facebook for more details. Clarke Theatre Lobby 33700 Prentis Ave., Mission
Mar. 11 - 12 11 AM - 5 PM; 11 AM - 4 PM
The Agora Market Visit the Arthouse on Mill St. for their first agora market, which will showcase local artists and artisans. Check out a selection of amazing local photography, jewellery, paintings, body products, woodturning, and more. Free admission. The Arthouse #2 - 9360 Mill St., Chilliwack
March 2017 Visual Arts “Sketch” Exhibition: Reception The Mission Arts Council is hosting a new exhibition at the Rock Family Gallery: “Sketch” by Alexander Yegodaev. Join them in the afternoon on the 1st for the opening reception. If you can’t make it, the exhibit is actually available as of March 28. Free admission.
Mar. April24 1 at at PM 17:30 - 4 PM
The Rock Family Gallery 33529 1st Ave., Mission
Music Concert for a Cause with Local Bands On a tour of Western Canada, Derek Goyer of Cheap High had his bass gear stolen—a major financial and personal loss. Harma White, Blessed, and Loans will play as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Creedance Clearwater Revival respectively. Profits will go toward replacing stolen gear. Admission $5, 19+.
March 24 at 7:30 PM
Abbotsford Rugby Football Club 31929 Mercantile Way, Abbotsford
Food & Drink Fraser Valley Cider Festival A crisp and refreshing fundraiser for the Chilliwack Community Arts Council, featuring hard cider tastings, food samples, live music, silent auction, and 50/50 draw. 19+. Tickets available for purchase.
Sept. 17 to Sept. 18
Location Address, Chilliwack
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"I just let it rip."
Kristin Witko takes us through the creation of debut Union Martin Castro A new pop-flavoured player has emerged from the folk, punk, prog-rock melting pot that is the Fraser Valley’s music scene. On February 17, Kristin Witko released her debut record, Union, through Simon Bridgefoot’s record label, Raccoon Moon Records. The record reflects sundry influences that Witko herself admits are wide-ranging. “I tend to create stuff that jumps around genre-wise,” she says. While Union is definitely eclectic, it gravitates for the most part towards production that’s electronic in nature. “Blue Light,” one of the tracks on the record, is a synth-driven bar-room croon that manages to toe the line between pop sensibilities and a moodier, more melancholy aesthetic. “It's arguable whether my project really represents a pop sensibility,” Witko says. “It’s pretty confrontational, [but] it’s not like, noisy.” After a second, she
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seems to change her mind. “Well, no. It’s sort of noisy. It’s got an attitude. It’s spiritually punk.” Tracks like “Pegasus” have a definitively feminist overtone while still retaining an electronic, pop-driven attitude. And while that pop sensibility might have been intentional, Witko explains that the narrative and thematic lyrical content of the record came about organically. “I don’t have a genre or message I’m aiming for, I don’t have any targets,” says Witko. “I just let it rip. I try to have my brain turned off as much as possible [when writing.] The songs that I’ve written that I think are the best, I wrote in five minutes.” “Later I’ll [realize,] oh, this song had a particular meaning.” That meaning, Witko explains, has gravitated towards gender. “Probably because it’s a big source of feelings of alienation for me,” she says. “Not in the sense that [it’s hard to be a
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woman.] It’s more that it’s kind of horrifying to be a woman. There’s something intrinsic to it, the biological realities of being a woman.” Despite struggling with feelings of adversity rooted in gender, Witko is sure of her place within the music community. For Witko, agency is paramount. “The active attitude of somebody choosing to be seen, be heard [is very important to me.] Even if they feel like they might be in the minority in terms of what they’re doing.” “I will work with the guys in Blessed,” who she worked with at the Kariton Art Gallery. “I will do shows with them and act as if I belong there. That’s how you start to carve out spaces. I feel like, not exactly as if the onus is on me, but I have the ability to take responsibility for how much space I’m taking up.” Witko is sympathetic to artists who might feel isolated within the community. “It’s not good to place the onus on people that feel marginalized to make spaces for themselves,” she says. But in carving out space for herself, Witko has carved out, perhaps unwittingly, space for others. She is also not without a sense of humour. “I’m the kind of person who jokes about everything. I get in trouble for it
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a lot.” Witko’s humour is most apparent in “Hausfrau,” a track that’s immediately focused on relationship dichotomies. Tacked against the background of shimmery electronic pop hooks and a wafting siren, the lyrical content of the track is highlighted to almost jarring, comical effect. Working with Simon Bridgefoot (The Parish of Little Clifton), Witko says, was a process that challenged her to break out of her comfort zone, particularly since she had up until then been recording material privately. “Now we’re making music in the same space together, and using different sounds.” “[That interaction was] totally revolutionary in terms of my music-making. Simon really smoothes out my rough edges, and he does tend to be someone who conceives of the end product before he sets out, whereas I never do.” Union, on top of blending a staggeringly broad range of influences, constitutes a sharply combative, yet sonically carefree and unrestrained addition to the musical soundscape of the Valley. Union is available for streaming or purchase on www.kristinwitko.bandcamp.com
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community snapshots
photo by Katie Stobbart
First doughnuts; now pizza The popular Duft & Co. Bakehouse in Abbotsford’s downtown area, after a long wait, has finally opened the doors to their new Brickhouse location, where they’ll serve pizza and other entrees well into the night. Like the Bakehouse, Brickhouse does not take reservations—first come, first served. Want to know more? Check out our interview with owners Cassie Crocco and Tyler Duft at raspberrymag.ca.
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OPINION image: Tourism Abbotsford
A lack of plaques makes public artists
anonymous by Aymee Leake
Over the years, the Fraser Valley has blossomed into an area full of public art and culture. Statues have risen, murals added, and cultural difference welcomed with open arms. With growth comes new businesses, families, and artistic opportunities which should be given proper credit.
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Abbotsford in particular stands at the forefront of public artistic expressionism. Although growth was slow, between 2001 and 2013 we welcomed new murals and beautiful statues that reflected who we were as a city to locals and visitors. All these years, local artists have been commissioned to help beautify the urban panorama of our hometown— but can you name one of them? Who are the artists that have created this work? Where are the history and educational opportunities we can learn from? How do we know who created something, and when? There are no plaques, no signs, no information through City staff that can tell us about these amazing people and their inspirations. Everywhere you look around the city you will see a common name, Dean Lauze. Lauze has painted murals for years around Abbotsford and has become a well-known artist among businesses looking to jazz up a blank or graffiti-covered wall. But if it wasn’t for his large and prominent signature, we wouldn’t have any idea of his amazing achievements. We should be supporting our artists—our neighbours—in their passionate fight to show their soul through their work. Many artists don’t see creation as a choice, it's
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something they have to do and it can be agonizing. Why don’t we honour this struggle with information we can share? This shouldn’t be something that gets pushes to the side and forgotten, only to be taken down or painted over when someone else buys that land, which is what happened to the viking mural that once graced the side of the Ford dealership on South Fraser Way. Or the “Cry for Africa” mural on the same major road that has been there for a decade. What was the meaning behind these murals? “Cry for Africa” was fairly specific, but what did it mean to the person who commissioned it? It was there for so long and yet there is no public info. Who built the raspberry statue? Or the brick salmon off Old Yale Road? Moved from its original Mill Lake Park location, the rumour is that it was one of Abbotsford’s first art installations, but nobody really knows. If it is one of the firsts, who was the artist? Who created it? Recognition of someone’s work and achievements matter, and when art is placed in the public eye, the public has the right to know. Let’s learn about our surroundings and give our artists credit.
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FRESH art Rebekah Brackett
Rebekah Brackett was born in Calgary, Alberta and belongs to the Piikani Nation. She was adopted by her loving parents, Margaret and Dennis. She moved with her family from Kelowna, British Columbia to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. It was there that Rebekah fully developed her love for the arts. Her mother was very passionate for genealogy and would bring Rebekah to various museums and libraries. It was there that Rebekah would draw picture after picture which would become a lifelong habit. Rebekah and her family eventually moved from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, where she completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of the Fraser Valley in 201,1 with a focus on painting and drawing, sculpture, and
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new media arts. Rebekah was fortunate to reconnect with her biological family in 2011 in Calgary, Alberta and grow and maintain a relationship with them. Rebekah mainly works in pen and ink, pencil, and new media arts and her main influences are pop culture, music (Radiohead, Morrissey, and The Cure), the great outdoors and of course, her family. In 2016, Rebekah had her first solo show at the Rock Family Gallery entitled, ‘The Blue Blanket Period’ which focused on the work she completed during the first two years after the death of her beloved mother. Rebekah currently teaches art (painting and drawing) at Lifetime Learning Centre and at the Mission Arts Council and continues her practice from her home in Abbotsford.
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Linus on Life 8" x 10" | Pen, Pencil Crayon, Pencil | 2014
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The Greatest Teacher 8" x 14" | Pen, Pencil Crayon, Pencil | 2014
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A Beautiful Annoyance 8" x 10" | Pen, Pencil Crayon, Pencil | 2014
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artist statement 42
I currently work mainly in pen and ink with integrations of pencil, pencil crayon, and watercolour. Through this mixture of mediums, I find that there is a greater scope to artistically explore. I am heavily influenced by pop culture, music, nature, my family and also by interactions and relationships. I try to use different mediums within one piece as a way to visually express these relations. In January 2016, I had a solo exhibit entitled The Blue Blanket Period, which comes from both Picasso’s Blue Period and Charles Schulz’s character Linus’ beloved blue blanket. After the death of Picasso’s friend, Picasso fell into a state of depression and anxiety. During this period, he turned to art. People find security in many things, some a blue blanket, other people, and art. “Picasso believed art to [be] the son of sadness and suffering, that suffering lent itself to mediation and that suffering was fundamental to life, if we demand sincerity of an artist, we must remember that sincerity is not to be found outside the realm of grief.” – Jamie Sebartes, Picasso’s friend. I mirror the Sebartes’ notion that as an artist, in a quest to be sincere to myself and to my viewers, I may need to reach into darker emotional places (i.e. grief and anxiety) to fuel my creative endeavors. Ironically, through this process of exploring my own anxieties, depression, and grief, I have been able to find joy and hopefully, have brought joy to my viewers.
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art on the wing To get a sense of some of the styles that will be present in the next Art on Demand exhibition, we're including some links to work by the two of the three artists to be featured. However, the screen doesn't compare to the real thing, so be sure to swing by and see what curator Christina Carne has selected and assembled. They might even show something totally different!
Andrew Booth Abbotsford andrewbooth.ca
Amanda Vergara
Maple Ridge amandavergaraphotography. wordpress.com
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.
McPoems by Billeh Nickerson Jess Wind Customer service. For many of us it was our first job, for many of us it is still our job. It’s flipping burgers, scooping popcorn, pouring coffee. “Hi there welcome to —. What can I get for you?” Billeh Nickerson’s McPoems delivers a full value menu of what it’s like to put on a nametag and punch orders into a POS day in and day out. My first encounter with Nickerson was at the Mission Writers Festival in 2011. I was working for the siren slinging her coffee, steaming milk to scalding temperatures, and thank-you-have-a-niceday-ing. I needed this collection. If you have ever worked in customer service, experienced all of its peculiarities, you need this collection. Nickerson takes you through four tenants of a mission statement: quality, service, cleanliness, and value, and pulls back the curtain — or steps behind the counter — of each one. Characters come to life for both their uniqueness and their total familiarity. We’ve all met the exhausted mom who needs you to answer questions, not ask them. We’ve all raised an eyebrow at the customer who orders
the non-fat drink and the full fat food, with extra sauce. We all have a one-of-a-kind unicorn. McPoems effectively captures both sides of customer service: the ridiculous and the rewarding. In “Things People Have Asked You to Search for in Garbage Cans” the list ranges from plausible to outlandish, but one thing is for certain — each item begs a story. Perhaps he put his wallet on his tray. He enjoyed his nuggets, watched his kid play in “The Ball Room” and then dumped everything into the trash. It was under the Happy Meal bag. He didn’t remember it was there until he tried to buy gas at the next stop. Maybe she was taking her elderly neighbour out for a milkshake. He doesn’t get out much now that his wife died and his family lives far away. He wrapped his dentures in a napkin so she didn’t have to stare at his teeth while they sucked back on the triple thick shakes through “Wacky Straws” She cleaned up the garbage and with it went the denture filled napkin. She tossed the pregnancy test, and then immediately regretted it. Whatever the story, they all share in that they were tossed, and subsequently searched for by the narrator. Items with
no connection to each other are equalized in the trash. And then, as soon as we rally behind a quirky situation, or thankless encounter, ready to throw in the apron, Nickerson humbles us. He brings us back with “Gloria.” For every frustration behind the counter, there is a Gloria. There is a customer with story to tell, and you are the only person in her day who will listen. McPoems is as much about the dayto-day of customer service, as it is about people. Underneath the mascots and minimum wage is a lens through which all become equal. There is no discrimination among the wedding in the parking lot, the 14 fish burgers ordered on Fridays for crop pickers, or the pickle sundae pregnancy reveal. There is no rule about who gets to order, or what, or why. This collection is for anyone who works (or has worked) in customer service in any capacity, either grudgingly or enthusiastically. Pick it up the next time you want to laugh, when you’re looking for a fresh dose of nostalgia, or when you want a level view of the world — it’s all the same coming off the grill.
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Game Reviews from the Geek Beat by Jess Wind It doesn’t matter if it’s board, mobile, video, role-playing, or card — games are a way to bring people together, to learn and hone new skills, and to collaborate on elaborate world building. They are for first dates, family fun nights, team-building, or any other social gathering. Take a step into the new Boardwalk board game café in Abbotsford and it can’t be denied there’s a game culture thriving right here in the Fraser Valley. So what are we playing? With so many ways to play, it can be daunting to pick up and learn a new game. We’re here to help you along as we play new games, or discover classic favourites. We’ll even tell you where you might find these games to play yourself. 46
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Takenoko Players: 2-4 Play time: 45 mins Takenoko is one of those games I’d seen on the shelf and admired the artwork, but never ventured under the lid. I opened it up this time looking for a good two-player game. Inside there was an adventure in growing bamboo and a hungry panda waiting to be fed. Takenoko is a territory building game reminiscent of Settlers of Catan. As the story goes, a long time ago a Japanese Emperor is gifted a panda, and entrusts his gardeners (the players) to care for it. Your task is to cultivate and irrigate bamboo plots, move the panda around the board to eat, and complete objectives. Objectives consist of building a
map in various configurations with coloured hexes, growing bamboo to specific heights, and contending with weather and a changing panda diet. Chances are you’ll spend the first round figuring out the benefits of planting versus eating, and building versus improving land. The mechanics are all explained logically: you irrigate land because bamboo needs water to grow. You roll a dice to determine weather, because weather is random. After a couple play-throughs you can start to prioritize different actions and narrow down your strategy. This game works well for 2, but also plays up to 4 nicely. Between map building, dice rolling, and objective selection, it is never the same game twice. This provides decent replay value in varying groups. You can test it out at Boardwalk or pick up a copy at Nerd Haven both in Downtown Abbotsford.
On March 4, Red Press Society, the non-profit organization that runs Raspberry, is holding a fundraising event called Raiseberry at the Reach Gallery Museum. As well as raising funds for this magazine's continued operations and our goal of going to print, the event features a silent auction, and performances, demos, refreshments, and displays by local artists. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our event sponsors and all the people who have contributed their time and love to this event. These are people, businesses, and organizations who not only recognize the value of a thriving local arts and culture scene, but do their best to make it happen behind the scenes.
Thank you.
Venue
Event supplies
Facebook Advertising
Refreshments
Raiseberry 2017 Events Committee
Silent Auction
Anthony Biondi Aymee Leake Sasha Moedt Katie Stobbart Jess Wind
Volunteers Kory Alden Martin Castro Jennifer Hickey Joe Johnson Aaron Levy Keith McQuade Joel Smart Alex Rake Ben Stobbart Nick Ubels
Local Performers, Artists & Demos Corey Primus The Sylvia Platters Western Jaguar Saint Soldier Shannon Thiesen Extinction: Archaic Genesis
Carla Swope Jewels Clayburn Copperworks Small Inklings Art Blessed, Cheap High & Sylvia Platters
Our contributors 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 Jess Wind somehow managed to earn two degrees by writing about zombies. She holds a BA in Creative Writing from UFV and an MA in Communication from Carleton University in Ottawa. Jess is an ex-editor of The Cascade, is published in The Louden Singletree and has been known to blog about entertainment media and culture. She likes her coffee black, her video games retro, and her sports local. Joe Johnson is keenly interested in exploring new creative outlets and has always been drawn to photography and the arts. Having been through the rigors of working at a student newspaper, coming to Raspberry magazine is a natural progression for him. Other passions of his are found in writing, running, and the outdoors. He also has his roots in web operations and digital marketing. 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. Martin Castro is an emerging poet and proud purveyor of hip-hop, rap, and music generally. He hails from Mission, which, in the glow of sunset, is perhaps perfect fodder for a Bob Ross painting. Martin is the current Arts in Review Editor of The Cascade, the University of the Fraser Valley’s student newspaper, as he completes his Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Nick Ubels is an editor, musician, and event planner living in Abbotsford with his wife and three 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. 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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