Friday, June 15, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
“LAND AWAKENING” COMING TO THE OKANAGAN VALLEY
This just in from Penticton - a feature documnetary premier at OK College in Penticton - June 11
Volunteering at organic farms in the Mediterranean,
Ottawa filmmaker embarks on a journey that will bring him to a life
transformation.
Independent documentary film “Land Awakening” West Coast
premiere, in the Okanagan College, Penticton Campus Lecture Theatre, in
Penticton, B.C.
The Feature Documentary “Land Awakening” will soon have
its West Coast premier in the unique and beautiful Okanagan Valley, June 11,
2012 at the Okanagan College in Penticton, B.C. Doors open at 6:30 PM.
Director Raul Alvarez’ personal journey in organic
agriculture and other food technologies is an inspiring film about the goodness
of food and the generosity of the land.
Friday, April 13, 2012
OZONE DRAMA FESTIVAL May 4th to 12th hosted by Asparagus Theatre
presents
O-zone Drama Festival
Behind the Curtain
May 4th-12th
Centennial Theatre 3305 Pleasant Valley Road, Armstrong, BC
All Shows 8:00pm
Adjudicator: Ted Price
Performance Schedule
Sat May 5th Asparagus Community Theatre (Armstrong)Tamarack by Ed Kuhn. A tragic-comedy
Sun May 6th Powerhouse Theatrical Society (Vernon)
The Woman in Black adapted by Stephen Mallatratt. A ghost story, from a book by Susan Hill
Mon May 7th Shuswap Theatre (Salmon Arm)
If I Were You by Alan Ayckbourn A British comedy
Tue May 8th Theatre Kelowna Society (Kelowna) Perfect Wedding by Robin Hawdon A farce
Wed May 9th Playhouse 25 (Kelowna) Waiting for the Parade by John Murrell A drama
Thu May 10th Bumbershoot Children’s Theatre (Kelowna) The Hundred Dresses by Mary Hall Surface A drama
Fri May 11th Kamloops Players (Kamloops) Dearly Departed by David Bottrell and Jesse Jones A comedy
Important Information
*There is a short public adjudication done after each performance *
“Green Room” is our lounge and social area to visit before and after the show as well as during intermission. It is located in the hall adjacent to the theatre. Your ticket stub allows you to access the green room, featuring, Larch Hills Wines and Crannog Ale on tap. Light snacks available.
*Coffee critique is an adjudication of the performance the night before. It’s from 9:30am-11:30am in the Green Room. It is open to cast/crew and anyone who had a ticket to that show, there is no extra cost, light refreshments available.
*Reservation packages are available to download on ACT’s website www.asparagus.theatrebc.orghttp://www.asparagustheatrebc.org until April 20th.
Reservation packages are also available at our Ticket Outlet “The Guy Next Door” 3450B Okanagan Street, 250 546-0950 until April 30th. Individual tickets will be available after April 30th at our ticket outlet or at the door of Centennial Theatre during Festival, upon availability at $22.00
*No performance Saturday May 12th which is the Awards Banquet. (If you didn’t purchase a banquet ticket as part of your registration package) tickets are$ 40.00 each.
Click here for more info
Friday, April 6, 2012
Meadowlark Nature Festival Best Annual Community Event in South Okanagan
This just in from the Meadowlark Festival!
Meadowlark Nature Festival
15th Anniversary Event
From May 17th to May 21st immerse yourself in the unique natural diversity of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys.
The Meadowlark Nature Festival was once again voted the ‘Best Annual Community Event in the South Okanagan’ by readers of Okanagan Life Magazine, a sign that eco-tourism is alive and well in the southern interior.
The Festival offers over 90 environmental tours and events held under the open sky, which will take people from Canada’s unique desert to the alpine meadows high above the Okanagan Lake. Indigenous cultural tours, horseback rides, canoe trips, guided walks, bird watching tours, geology and history tours, art exhibits, hands-on presentations on astronomy, nature photography, sustainable green buildings and more, are all designed to be fun and informative for people of all ages and abilities.
What started as a small environmental festival 14 years ago has evolved into one of Canada's premier outdoor celebrations of nature. People from across North America and as far away as Europe now come for the tours, lectures, workshops and other activities led by prominent naturalists, educators, artists and scientists.
The Meadowlark Nature Festival is organized by the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) to encourage people of all ages to experience, discover and explore their natural environment. The Okanagan-Similkameen hosts a rare mosaic of natural habitats; among them is one of Canada’s most endangered ecosystems - the hot, dry shrub-grasslands. A springtime look at these shrub-grasslands, known as Canada’s ‘pocket desert’, reveals a riot of colour flourishing in this seemingly harsh environment. This popular 5-day Festival especially celebrates and showcases the unique wildlife and habitats found in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Many distinct types of wildlife habitat are home to some of the most diverse and rare assemblages of plant and animal species in the country.
Walk-in ticket sales for the 92 events begin Saturday, April 14, from 11am to 2pm (doors open at 10am) at Suite 203, 246 Martin Street, Penticton. Tickets will be available online at www.meadowlarkfestival.bc.ca beginning the same day at 2pm. Visit the website for further details about all tours and events.
Get in touch with nature!
Meadowlark Nature Festival
15th Anniversary Event
From May 17th to May 21st immerse yourself in the unique natural diversity of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys.
The Meadowlark Nature Festival was once again voted the ‘Best Annual Community Event in the South Okanagan’ by readers of Okanagan Life Magazine, a sign that eco-tourism is alive and well in the southern interior.
The Festival offers over 90 environmental tours and events held under the open sky, which will take people from Canada’s unique desert to the alpine meadows high above the Okanagan Lake. Indigenous cultural tours, horseback rides, canoe trips, guided walks, bird watching tours, geology and history tours, art exhibits, hands-on presentations on astronomy, nature photography, sustainable green buildings and more, are all designed to be fun and informative for people of all ages and abilities.
What started as a small environmental festival 14 years ago has evolved into one of Canada's premier outdoor celebrations of nature. People from across North America and as far away as Europe now come for the tours, lectures, workshops and other activities led by prominent naturalists, educators, artists and scientists.
The Meadowlark Nature Festival is organized by the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) to encourage people of all ages to experience, discover and explore their natural environment. The Okanagan-Similkameen hosts a rare mosaic of natural habitats; among them is one of Canada’s most endangered ecosystems - the hot, dry shrub-grasslands. A springtime look at these shrub-grasslands, known as Canada’s ‘pocket desert’, reveals a riot of colour flourishing in this seemingly harsh environment. This popular 5-day Festival especially celebrates and showcases the unique wildlife and habitats found in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Many distinct types of wildlife habitat are home to some of the most diverse and rare assemblages of plant and animal species in the country.
Walk-in ticket sales for the 92 events begin Saturday, April 14, from 11am to 2pm (doors open at 10am) at Suite 203, 246 Martin Street, Penticton. Tickets will be available online at www.meadowlarkfestival.bc.ca beginning the same day at 2pm. Visit the website for further details about all tours and events.
Get in touch with nature!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Canadian Indie Folk-Rock Superstar to play April 15th in Salmon Arm
On April 15th, Canadian Indie Folk-Rock Superstar Joel Plaskett and his band Emergency will play in Salmon Arm at the Salmar Classic Theatre at 7:30 pm. Joel will be on tour across the country to promote his new album, Scrappy Happiness; ten songs that he has written in ten weeks, each one featured on CBC Radio 3. It is an ambitious project that combines the best of both worlds - using a decades old approach to getting music to the public quickly and taking advantage of new technology to communicate and interact with audiences. Plaskett will document the process through social media with vlogs, twitter and online chats, which will be available at www.cbc.ca/joelplaskett.
Photo by Tim Brennan
Joel hails from Nova Scotia, where he has been a pop icon for over a decade, winning many awards including a Juno, two Canadian Folk Music Awards and numerous East Coast Music Awards, plus two Polaris prize nominations. In 2009, he opened for Paul McCartney in Halifax and in May 2011, he became the first artist ever to reach one million plays on CBC Radio 3. He writes catchy, infectious, lyrical rock and roll tunes that fill one with instant joy.
The Joel Plaskett Emergency Concert will be benefit for the Shuswap Environmental Action Society and will help with the project to raise funds to help purchase the property adjacent to the mouth of the Adams River, home to the world famous sockeye salmon run. This concert would not be possible without the generous support from these local sponsors: Askews, Salmon Arm Observer, Travelodge Salmon Arm, Barley Station Brew Pub, Mediability, Acorn Music, Salmar Community Association, and Earthtone Studios. Tickets are at Acorn Music in Salmon Arm (832-8669) and are available online at www.ticketbreak.com.
Joel hails from Nova Scotia, where he has been a pop icon for over a decade, winning many awards including a Juno, two Canadian Folk Music Awards and numerous East Coast Music Awards, plus two Polaris prize nominations. In 2009, he opened for Paul McCartney in Halifax and in May 2011, he became the first artist ever to reach one million plays on CBC Radio 3. He writes catchy, infectious, lyrical rock and roll tunes that fill one with instant joy.
The Joel Plaskett Emergency Concert will be benefit for the Shuswap Environmental Action Society and will help with the project to raise funds to help purchase the property adjacent to the mouth of the Adams River, home to the world famous sockeye salmon run. This concert would not be possible without the generous support from these local sponsors: Askews, Salmon Arm Observer, Travelodge Salmon Arm, Barley Station Brew Pub, Mediability, Acorn Music, Salmar Community Association, and Earthtone Studios. Tickets are at Acorn Music in Salmon Arm (832-8669) and are available online at www.ticketbreak.com.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
This just in ... No credible review of Cdn Environmental Assessment Act...
This press release just came across my desk and I thought it worth sharing
Parliamentary Environment Committee’s ‘Paint by Numbers Report’ Fails to Produce Credible Review of Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
Source: Canadian Environmental Network Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus
March 13, 2012: (Ottawa) Conservative MPs on the Committee reviewing the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) have set out recommendations that follow the party line to further gut the federal environmental assessment process while failing to consider expert testimony to improve it, according to environmental groups from across Canada.
“Today’s report from the House of Commons Environment Committee failed to meaningfully reflect any of the ten principles for a healthy, secure, and sustainable Canada released last month and now endorsed by nearly 50 civil society groups,” said MiningWatch Canada’s Jamie Kneen, co-chair of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus of the Canadian Environmental Network. “The Committee is clearly just painting by numbers on a page given to it by the Prime Minister’s Office.”
“Instead of a Parliamentary committee hearing from a full range of experts and the people with real-life experience, Canadians have had to listen to Minister Joe Oliver repetitively asserting that the public can’t be allowed to interfere in decision-making that will affect generations – not because we’re not qualified to comment, but precisely because we are. What should have been an informed deliberation has turned into a predictable and ideological attack on one of Canada’s key environmental laws,” Kneen added.
Lawyers and environmentalists point to an abruptly truncated and procedurally unfair review process as evidence the Committee has not undertaken a comprehensive review of CEAA that considers the submissions of all witnesses and views of all Committee members.
“This is a core area of federal responsibility, but Committee members barely had time to familiarise themselves with the terminology, never mind look into the range of experience of affected communities, proponents, and even government agencies charged with carrying out assessments,” said Rachel Forbes, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law. “There were a lot of organisations, First Nations, and even federal administrators that the Committee didn’t hear from. Without having obtained sufficient information and input through a fair process, we don't think there is a basis for claiming that this is a credible or comprehensive report that takes account of or upholds the values of democracy, health, and sustainability that Canadians hold dear.”
“It’s deeply disturbing that the government is willing to make serious policy decisions, without giving them serious thought,” commented Kneen. “Experts and grassroots groups alike have been working for years to develop a rigorous, responsive, and participatory environmental assessment process.” The Caucus, a national network of environmental groups seeking to improve environmental assessment since 1985, has published an extensive series of papers on various aspects of its design and implementation.
Both the Liberal and NDP members of the Environment Committee have issued dissenting reports highlighting the inadequacies of the parliamentary review process and concerns with a number of the report’s recommendations.
“Re-opening the statutory review process, as proposed by the NDP, is the only reasonable solution,” said Stephen Hazell, Ottawa-based environmental lawyer and law professor. “It is not too late for the Committee to discard shopworn ideologies and engage in an informed deliberation on how to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of federal environmental assessment.”
– 30 –
See “A Checklist for Strong Environmental Laws” and the list of endorsing organisations at envirolawsmatter.ca/
See the Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus’ “Resources” page at rcen.ca/caucus/environmental-planning-and-assessment/resources
For more information contact:
• Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada, (613) 569-3439 or (613) 761-2271 (cell), jamie@miningwatch.ca
• Rachel Forbes, Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law, (604) 601-2508 or (604) 345-9129 (cell), rforbes@wcel.org
• Stephen Hazell, Lawyer with Ecovision Law and Law Professor, (613) 422-1107 or (613) 724-1908 (cell), stephendhazell@gmail.com
Parliamentary Environment Committee’s ‘Paint by Numbers Report’ Fails to Produce Credible Review of Canadian Environmental Assessment Act
Source: Canadian Environmental Network Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus
March 13, 2012: (Ottawa) Conservative MPs on the Committee reviewing the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) have set out recommendations that follow the party line to further gut the federal environmental assessment process while failing to consider expert testimony to improve it, according to environmental groups from across Canada.
“Today’s report from the House of Commons Environment Committee failed to meaningfully reflect any of the ten principles for a healthy, secure, and sustainable Canada released last month and now endorsed by nearly 50 civil society groups,” said MiningWatch Canada’s Jamie Kneen, co-chair of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus of the Canadian Environmental Network. “The Committee is clearly just painting by numbers on a page given to it by the Prime Minister’s Office.”
“Instead of a Parliamentary committee hearing from a full range of experts and the people with real-life experience, Canadians have had to listen to Minister Joe Oliver repetitively asserting that the public can’t be allowed to interfere in decision-making that will affect generations – not because we’re not qualified to comment, but precisely because we are. What should have been an informed deliberation has turned into a predictable and ideological attack on one of Canada’s key environmental laws,” Kneen added.
Lawyers and environmentalists point to an abruptly truncated and procedurally unfair review process as evidence the Committee has not undertaken a comprehensive review of CEAA that considers the submissions of all witnesses and views of all Committee members.
“This is a core area of federal responsibility, but Committee members barely had time to familiarise themselves with the terminology, never mind look into the range of experience of affected communities, proponents, and even government agencies charged with carrying out assessments,” said Rachel Forbes, a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law. “There were a lot of organisations, First Nations, and even federal administrators that the Committee didn’t hear from. Without having obtained sufficient information and input through a fair process, we don't think there is a basis for claiming that this is a credible or comprehensive report that takes account of or upholds the values of democracy, health, and sustainability that Canadians hold dear.”
“It’s deeply disturbing that the government is willing to make serious policy decisions, without giving them serious thought,” commented Kneen. “Experts and grassroots groups alike have been working for years to develop a rigorous, responsive, and participatory environmental assessment process.” The Caucus, a national network of environmental groups seeking to improve environmental assessment since 1985, has published an extensive series of papers on various aspects of its design and implementation.
Both the Liberal and NDP members of the Environment Committee have issued dissenting reports highlighting the inadequacies of the parliamentary review process and concerns with a number of the report’s recommendations.
“Re-opening the statutory review process, as proposed by the NDP, is the only reasonable solution,” said Stephen Hazell, Ottawa-based environmental lawyer and law professor. “It is not too late for the Committee to discard shopworn ideologies and engage in an informed deliberation on how to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of federal environmental assessment.”
– 30 –
See “A Checklist for Strong Environmental Laws” and the list of endorsing organisations at envirolawsmatter.ca/
See the Environmental Planning and Assessment Caucus’ “Resources” page at rcen.ca/caucus/environmental-planning-and-assessment/resources
For more information contact:
• Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada, (613) 569-3439 or (613) 761-2271 (cell), jamie@miningwatch.ca
• Rachel Forbes, Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law, (604) 601-2508 or (604) 345-9129 (cell), rforbes@wcel.org
• Stephen Hazell, Lawyer with Ecovision Law and Law Professor, (613) 422-1107 or (613) 724-1908 (cell), stephendhazell@gmail.com
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