HOECUS POCUS Halloween Drag Show
If you thought that Halloween events were canceled this year, you were wrong! The Queen’s, located in downtown Nanaimo, is hosting two Dark CarniEvil themed drag shows put on by Divine Girl Productions on Friday, October 30. The first show runs from 5:30–7:30 pm and the second from 8:30–10:30 pm. Both shows are hosted by … Continued
Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of loving the cooler weather fall has brought us here on the Island. It means more indoor time to bake and sit by the fire (or heater, in my case). I recently made these bad boys and needed to share them. They are oh so gooey and … Continued
Music to Help You Focus
I think we can all agree that staying focused and on-task is a little hard these days. Being alone in a house with no other people is a little eerie at times, but then having the TV, a podcast, or the radio on can be too distracting. On the other hand, if you live with … Continued
ImagineNATIVE Festival
ImagineNATIVE Festival is a film, media and arts festival that is will be fully online this year. It will be available worldwide from October 20–October 25. ImagineNATIVE is usually held live in Toronto, but not this year, because, well, you know—COVID-19. In this case though, there is a huge silver lining. For the first time, … Continued
Boarder X
Boarder X is the Nanaimo Art Gallery’s newest art exhibit highlighting Indigenous artists from across Canada that surf, skate, and snowboard. The exhibit shows how surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding can be used to challenge the status quo and start conversations around Indigenous issues. The exhibit is originally from Winnipeg and was organized and circulated by … Continued
Lurk:
Street art has always been highly criticized, feared, and polarized by communities around the world. Maybe because it’s “out there” for everyone to see; maybe because it evokes newfound emotion and conversation—who knows? In my mind, it allows a person’s creativity to bring life to a previously mundane wall or building. Street art is instrumental … Continued
Pop-Up-Shop Art Show
Shawnda Moufette of Moufette Arts is a contemporary mixed media artist, poet, and writer who attends Vancouver Island University. She will be hosting a pop-up-shop sale of her artwork October 9–October 10 from 1–4 pm each day at the Vault Café in Nanaimo. Her newest work is inspired by Montreal, the city where she grew … Continued
Queen & Slim
The film Queen & Slim written by Lena Waithe and produced by Melina Matsoukas is a provocative, timely drama of crime pursuit. It is a fearless reflection of the present day issues of race in America. The movie’s opening scene is at a diner in Ohio where the main characters, Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim … Continued
Lantzville Flowers
Last summer Jenny Dawson began her journey selling self-grown, organic flowers from her farm in Lantzville. Her enthusiasm for finding a balance between business and sustainability was obvious when I spoke with her on her farm. “It’s a hobby that will take me into retirement,” Dawson said to me as we strolled around the eleven … Continued
Meditating the Anxieties Away
2020 has been an unforgettable year, and it’s not even over yet. The entire world has been shaken up on account of COVID-19, not to mention the murder hornets, protests, and wildfires (to name just a few). This crisis has left everyone feeling vulnerable and helpless, myself included. I don’t know how the new academic … Continued
Isolation Playlist
Well, I can’t believe the academic year has gone by already. With COVID-19 taking over the spring semester (and everything else), I think it’s been hard for any of us to concentrate, particularly on our studies. But we’re almost there. March felt like a bajillion years long, but now we’ve finally hit April; and sadly, … Continued
Pinnacle Internalization
When confronted in life with two options, to choose the road used over and over again or the road less travelled, what will you choose? Will you choose to follow in your mentor’s footsteps and model yourself after the parts of your icons that resonate with you? Or will you create your own runway and … Continued
I Went to the Sun Once
Rufus woke up and something was very wrong He could feel it in his bone, still wet yet somehow smoking in his mouth. He thought, gosh how long have I been asleep? Is it summer already? And why can’t I just dream of sheep? He peeled open his little eyes, to take a look around … Continued
Compassion Fatigue
Resentment looks a lot like Narcan in a sharp and feels like it’s forcing out my will. I grab them both; Naloxone and the tarp, the outcome undetermined by my skill. Same guy, same place, same drug; third time today, his unresponsive body cold to touch. Compassion has fatigued and crawled away, when I see … Continued