Meaford International Film Festival & An Interview With Ralph Nader

August 29, 2007

Meaford International Film Festival Logo
This weekend Meaford is holding its first ever International Film Festival. There will be four films screened and live interviews with the directors will be a part of the show. Three of the films will include interviews with the directors via iConference, including a discussion between local Green Party leader Shane Jolley and Ralph Nader, American political maverick. The films will be showing from Thursday August 30th to Sunday September 2nd at the Meaford Hall. There will be a catering and alcohol served at the hall, along with an after-party to be announced after each showing. The films are $18 each or $25 with the after-party included. Passes for all four shows can be had for $65 or $80 with the after-parties included. There will be matinee screenings of the movies held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a ticket price of $10.

The first film being presented is “An Unreasonable Man”. It is a documentary about the life of Ralph Nader who is famous for his work in consumer advocacy and American politics. As a result of running as an independent in the 2000 federal election and possibly splitting the democrat’s votes, many blame Nader for eight years of a George W. Bush presidency. He is a well-spoken advocate for true democracy and his live discussion with Shane Jolley via iConference will be well worth listening to. We will be recording the interview and posting it on the site in the near future. The interview will also appear on the Green Party Web Site.

For more information about the Meaford International Film Festival, please visit their web site.

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Written by adam · Filed Under Meaford, Movies, theOwen

Meghan Fitzsimmons- Local Artist Profile

August 29, 2007

My name is Meghan Fitzsimmons. I was born and raised in Owen Sound, Ontario and after attending University I was proud to return to my home town where culture is abundant and the sense of community is strong. I graduated from the Honours Visual Arts program at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario in 2003 and headed home to set up my studio and to get involved in the arts community that motivated me to become an artist in the first place.

I started everly art productions in the spring of 2004 with the goal of creating and showing not only my own artwork, but to make sure the art community will remain strong with the presence of a new generation of up and coming artists. Since returning home I have had a hand in a few projects aimed to give emerging artists a chance to show their work in events such as Special Blend: Art Exhibit and Coffee House(July 2004), and City Hall Art Crawl, an event that has been adding colour to downtown Owen Sound since the summer of 2004. I will also be entering my 2nd year as co-chair for Art Town in 2006.

For my whole life I have either had a crayon or a pencil in my hand, until I picked up a paintbrush while at university. I guess I loved the colours of the wax, and the precision I could get with the graphite, but the freedom I felt with the paint was like nothing else. I no longer felt like I had to confine my ideas and images to a flat surface. I started looking for a new “canvas” because I wanted my work to actually exist in my space, to have volume. I was drawn to the form of the chair because of its close connection with the body, it has been used somewhere else in time and place, supported many people, seen many stories unfold. I also like that it is a functioning piece of furniture, it is part of life, part of the background. When I put paint on it, I define all of its surfaces, it becomes sculptural, no longer just a benign piece of reality. It has become important to me and to my career that my work can be a part of other peoples lives, they can live with it, use it and appreciate it for what it is, what it has become.

Although I have a strong base of ideas that I find reoccurring in my work, my style and subject matter are still evolving, and likely will for some time. The idea of layers of life, of hidden stories, passing of time and experiences, and proof that there have been many lives before the one I live fascinates me. I look forward to the future, to examining life around me and letting my experiences manifest themselves in my artwork. My inquisitive nature will always keep me searching while my love for art will always keep me creating.

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Contact Meghan

Meghan’s Web Site

Email: everly_art@rogers.com

Phone: (519) 376-0433

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Written by adam · Filed Under Visual Artist Profile, theOwen

The Corbet Foundry Demolition

August 24, 2007

Earlier in the week we covered the Corbet Foundry fire. Since that time 1st Ave West between 10th and 11th has remained closed and under police supervision. At around 4:00 this afternoon demolition began as the structure was obviously deemed unsafe and unworthy of restoration efforts.

There is likely more story to be told here but it’s late on Friday and I’m tired so the images and video will have to suffice. If Adam where here you would likely get a better story but he’s currently en route to Kentucky as an embedded reporter traveling with the Brian Moniz Band.

Look for updates on that story over the weekend.

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Written by Ryan · Filed Under Photos, The City, Community, Video

An interview with Brenda Scott of the GBFS

August 24, 2007

summerfolk audience I had an opportunity on Sunday evening to have a short conversation backstage at Summerfolk with Brenda Scott. Brenda is the president of the Georgian Bay Folk Society and Chair of the Summerfolk committee. We talk a bit about the festival this year including the new stages, the vital role of volunteers and how you can help to support the folk festival and society throughout the rest of the year.