The Westport Arts Council

The Westport Arts Council’s third annual Writers Reading at the Westport United Church, 1:00 to 5:30 p.m., Sunday, September 19, 2010 features Ed Broadbent, Trevor Cole, Helen Humphreys and Roy MacSkimming.

Ed Broadbent, PC, PhD, CC, is a social democrat and political scientist. He is a former Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. Following graduate studies at the London School of Economics, he obtained a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toronto in 1965, after which he joined York University’s political science department. He entered politics as an NDP Member of Parliament in 1968, and was elected leader of his party in 1975, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. He made a brief return to Parliament as the Member for Ottawa Centre in 2004-2006. In 1990, he became the founding President of the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development (now Rights and Democracy). He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993 and a Companion in 2001. He has lectured at, and/or been a Fellow of, many universities including McGill, Harvard and Oxford, and is currently a Queen's University Skelton-Clark Fellow. Professor Broadbent is the author of The Threat to Democratic Citizenship, among other publications. He lives in Ottawa.

Trevor Cole is the author of three novels: Norman Bray In the Performance of His Life, The Fearsome Particles, and his soon to be released third novel, Practical Jean. Both Norman Bray (2004) and The Fearsome Particles (2006) were short-listed for the Governor General’s Award for Literature, and long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, a rare double achievement. Norman Bray was also short-listed for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best First Book (Canada and Caribbean), and, along with The Fearsome Particles, has been adapted for radio and optioned for film. In addition to his novels, Trevor is a veteran magazine journalist and editor. He worked for 12 years in senior editing positions with the Globe and Mail, following which he spent three years as a senior writer for Report on Business Magazine. He has received numerous awards for his journalism, including his features in Toronto Life, and his satirical columns in Canadian Business. Trevor lives and writes in Hamilton.

Helen Humphreys is the acclaimed author of five novels, four books of poetry and one work of creative non-fiction. Her first novel, Leaving Earth (1997), won the 1998 City of Toronto Book Award and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her second novel, Afterimage (2000), won the 2000 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, was nominated for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her third novel, The Lost Garden (2002), was a 2003 Canada Reads selection, a national bestseller, and was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Wild Dogs (2004) won the 2005 Lambda Prize for fiction, has been optioned for film, and was produced as a stage play at CanStage in Toronto in the fall of 2008. Coventry (2008) was a #1 national bestseller, was chosen as one of the top 100 books of the year by the Globe & Mail, and was chosen one of the top ten books of the year by both the Ottawa Citizen and NOW Magazine. Helen’s non-fiction work, The Frozen Thames (2007), was a #1 national bestseller. Her collections of poetry include Gods and Other Mortals (1986); Nuns Looking Anxious, Listening to Radios (1990); and, The Perils of Geography (1995). Her latest collection, Anthem (1999), won the 2000 Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry. Her work has been published in many languages. Helen was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England, and now lives in Kingston.

Roy MacSkimming is the author of four novels and three works of non-fiction. His latest novel, Laurier in Love, due for release on September 18, follows hard on the heels of Roy’s notable success with his novel, Macdonald, in which he recounts the final days of Laurier’s great predecessor, Sir John A. Macdonald. The Globe and Mail described Macdonald as “an engaging novel handled with imagination, sympathy and verve, making a hugely enjoyable read.” Political historian Peter C. Newman, called it “a singularly well-crafted novel that deserves top place among the books on Canadian history that matter.” MacSkimming’s non-fiction work The Perilous Trade was a National Business Book Award finalist and a Globe and Mail book of the year. He has written two other critically praised novels, Out of Love (1993) and Formentera (1972), both translated into French. Roy has been a book publisher, books editor at The Toronto Star, and policy director of the Association of Canadian Publishers. He lives in the country near Perth.

Tickets are $20, including refreshments, available from Murphy's Barber Shop, 5 Church St. (273-2145), at The Cove, 2 Bedford St. (273-3636 or 1-888-COVE-INN), or at the door, if available.

Additional author information available at their respective websites:

Trevor Cole: www.trevorcole.com

Helen Humphreys: www.hhumphreys.com

Roy MacSkimming: www.roymacskimming.com

CONTACT: If you would like more information about this event please contact Norman Peterson, Westport Arts Council, at npeterson@rideau.net. www.westportartscouncil.ca

The Westport Arts Council’s fourth annual music festival on August 14 will repeat the successful formula of previous years. Nine bands will perform outdoors throughout the afternoon on three stages located across the village: beside the pond at The Cove Country Inn on Bedford St., on the front lawn of A Victorian Reflection B&B on Church St., and at the SOHO property on Bedford St. The Cove will host an indoor performance at 8 p.m. Admission is free at all outdoor stages, with a $5 cover charge for the indoor performance.

The music begins at noon with a children’s show on the Cove stage, 2 Bedford St., with the Perth-based trio Bald Like Dad. With their fun repertoire of songs about everything from trucks to dogs to math—suitable for children of all ages—Marty Crapper, Dave Balfour and Steve Hanna are the first musicians in four years to return for a second festival appearance. Montreal’s Sunfields follow at 1:45 p.m., with their own Indie Folk Rock sound, “with psychedelic undertones,” soon to be heard in broad release on their CD Palace in The Sun. The quartet includes Jason Kent, known to Westport audiences as a member of Spoon River, and bandmates Phil Burns, Chris Wise and Chris Roberts. Ladies of The Canyon take the stage from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Currently finishing a Western tour, the quartet make their first appearance in Westport just a day before they perform at the Ottawa Folk Festival, and less than a week before they open for Great Big Sea at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. Montreal-based and influenced by their favourite bands, The Eagles, The Band and Fleetwood Mac, the soaring harmonies of these four singers, songwriters and musicians—Senja Sargeant, Maia Davies, Jasmine Bleile and Anna Ruddick—is showcased in their full-length album Haunted Woman. The Ladies are joined on stage by guitarist and Delta-native Eric Lawrence of Bullmoose, a band he formed with Westport musicians Jeff and Seamus Cowan.

The acoustic stage of A Victorian Reflection B&B, 16 Church St., opens at 12:30 p.m. with Pete and Anne, the husband and wife duo of Peter and Anne Svenson of Maryland and Traverse Lake near Jones Falls. They perform a mix of original, traditional and cover songs from genres ranging from folk to rock and country. They’re followed at 2:00 p.m. by singer-songwriter Christine Graves who brings the award-winning folk/jazz sounds of her own highly original songs and interpretations of other songwriters such as Tom Waits and Fred J. Eaglesmith. A native of Halifax, and long-time member of the a cappella quartet Malaika, Christine lives in Lanark County. Her two most recent full-length albums are Stray (2001) and Wreckless Daughter (2006). Kingston’s country roots rocker Rueben deGroot performs from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. A Sunday night regular at Kingston’s The Mansion who has also performed at the Cove, Rueben released his fourth album Hey! in 2009. A productive and frequent collaborator, Rueben was a member of the alt country-jazz band The Seams. They released a CD, Castaway Motel, in 2004 and toured it across the country.

The festival’s newest stage at SOHO’s, 43 Bedford St., welcomes its first act at 1:00 p.m. with another Kingston-based musical powerhouse, the Tom Savage Trio. Influenced by Neil Young and Towne Van Zandt, among many others, Tom, Geoff Chown on bass and Sandy Mackenzie on drums, together create music that one observer has called “dirt road rock and roll.” The son of Westport music teacher Anne Savage, Tom has a large fan base in the area. His albums include The Country Line and Tom Savage Live @ the Acoustic Grill. The Brock Zeman Trio—with Brock on vocals and guitar, Blair Hogan on guitar and mandolin, and special guest Keith Glass of Prairie Oyster on vocals and guitar—follows at 2:45 p.m. with the signature alt country style they’ve brought to audiences across both Canada and the United States, averaging 250 to 300 concerts a year. Still in his twenties, this native of Carleton Place, has released seven albums of original music to wide acclaim, winning praise from critics and fellow performers alike. Juno award winner Lynn Miles has written, "Brock Zeman is a master songwriter, who writes with a maturity far beyond his chronological age. He belongs on stage with the big boys." The Peterborough-based indie band, The Spades, wrap up the Soho venue and the festival afternoon with a performance from 4:45 to 6:00 p.m. The trio of James McKenty, Tommy Street and Josh Robichaud describe their music as “gut wrenching rock and roll, catchy melodies and impassioned delivery.” They have toured across Canada, appearing with bands such as the Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, The Trews, and The Sam Roberts Band, among others. Their recent album, Subatomic, which features the single The Revenge of Johnny Laundry, is charting on rock stations across the country.

The Cove Country Inn hosts an indoor performance by The Souljazz Orchestra at 8:00 p.m. ($5 cover charge). Based in Ottawa, the six-member orchestra—Kakari Frantz, Steve Patterson, Ray Murray, Pierre Crétien, Philippe Lafrenière and Marielle Rivard—surprises with its exotic tropical jazz/world music mix of soul, afro, and latin rhythms. The orchestra has a large international following for both their live appearances and their many albums, including Freedom No Go Die (2006) and their newest, Rising Sun.

Throughout the afternoon, a trio of roving musicians, Westport’s own King of the Swingers, comprised of Marty Crapper, Dawson Willsey, John Main and Stuart Pike, will perform at various locations around the village.

Rain or shine, come enjoy the music and the village of Westport on Upper Rideau Lake at the top of the Rideau waterway.

The second annual “A Brush with the Highlands” – Ontario’s Premier Plein-Air Art Festival, will be held July 31 - August 2, 2010. The registration deadline is June 15th, 2010.

"A Brush with the Highlands" - Ontario's Premier Plein-Air Festival is seeking participants. Last year over 32 of Ontario's finest Plein-Air Artists partcipated in this unique and prestigious event. Last year, artist David J. Sharpe took home Jurors Choice and over $1000.00 in awards and sales from this unique event. Click here to download a brochure, call for artist and registration form. Be a part of this unique event - come for the day, remember for a lifetime.

On Thursday February 18, the Council held an “Appreciation” wine & cheese event at The Cove Country Inn to say thank you to the dozens of sponsors and volunteers without whom many of our programs would not take place. We plan that this will be an annual event.

The first of numerous events planned by the Arts Council for 2010 was held on Sunday March 14 at Westport’s Royal Canadian Legion Hall. The 2nd Annual Kitchen Party with an almost full house had the tapping of feet and clapping of hands from the 2:00 pm start, till the curtain came down at eight o’clock with non stop music by the following groups of talented musicians and singers: Plastic Patty, Celtic at Heart, Romeria, StringTease and the Celtic Rabble Band. A good old fashioned Irish stew was served at dinner time.

The Annual General Meeting of the Westport Arts Council will be held at the Cove Country Inn on Wednesday May 5, 2010 at 7:30 pm. The annual report from the Chair, financial report, the election of officers and the appointment of an auditor, are the main items on the agenda. The public is welcome and refreshments will be served.

The 2nd Annual Good Times Party “DISCO MANIA” will take place on Saturday June 5, 2010 at the Cove County Inn from 6:30-11:30 pm with DJ Dale Vandusen. $40.00 per person includes a roast beef dinner, desert, coffee, tax and gratuity. Reservations recommended. Please call the Cove at (613) 273-3636. This event is in support of MUSICwestport August 14.

Negotiations are taking place to present a special outdoor program at the Westport Lions Club beach in June. We will keep you posted.

See us at the Westport Heritage Festival Saturday June 26, 2010

On Saturday August 14, 2010 the 4th Annual MUSICwestport festival will take place starting at noon. Nine bands plus wandering minstrels will again perform at three outdoor stages located at A Victorian Reflection B&B,
The Cove Country Inn and SOHO’s. Once again, this will be a free event.
An additional band will play indoors at the Cove in the evening. $5. cover.

The 3rd Annual “Writers Reading” will be held at the Westport United Church on Sunday September 19, 2010. More information to follow.

The Arts Council is negotiating with a production company to bring what may be the first musical theatre performance to play in Westport. An October date is planned. More information will be in our Fall Newsletter.

Poetry Night - April 2nd at 7:30 pm at the Cove Inn

An evening of poetry featuring:

• Jacqueline Larson from Toronto
• John Brantingham from Los Angeles, California
• Sarah Yi-Mei Tsiang from Kingston
• Bob Mackenzie from Kingston
• Audrey Ogilvie from Westport
• T. Anders Carson from Portland

Music will be provided by String Tease

Free Admission

Poetry and Pastries - April 3rd at 2:00 pm at the North Crosby Hall

The children will be reading their winning poems at the Hall. This year the theme will be climate change. Last year there were over 400 entries. The poets who will attend and read at this event are

• Jacqueline Larson
• John Brantingham
• Audrey Ogilvie
• T. Anders Carson

Admission $5

The Westport Arts Council’s first event of 2010 is a Kitchen Party planned for the Westport Legion on Sunday, March 14.

A lively mix of musicians will perform throughout the day from 2-8 p.m. The program includes return performances by local groups String Tease, and Gerry André and his Plastic Patty Band. New this year are the bands Romeria, Celtic at Heart, and The Chaffey’s Locks Celtic Rabble Band, with still more to come. If you play an instrument, please bring it and join in. The more the merrier.

A “kitchen party” is a time-honored way for friends, neighbours and families to enjoy each other’s company by sharing music, dance, stories and food, in part as a way to fend off the final murky weeks of winter.

The Legion’s cash bar will be open during the day. A traditional meal of homemade Irish stew, bread and biscuits, a selection of deserts, and tea and coffee will be available from the kitchen later in the afternoon for just $7.

Tickets are only $10 per person, and are available in Westport at Murphy’s Barber Shop and at the door of the Westport Legion on County Road 10 on the 14th.

The kitchen party is a fundraiser in support of the Arts Council’s fourth annual music festival scheduled for August 14. A second fundraiser to help meet festival costs is a “Disco Mania” good times dance party planned for June 5 at the Cove Country Inn.

Come out and join the party.

If you would like more information about this event please contact Norman Peterson (613-273-7781) or Brin Jones (613-273-8333).

The party season kicks off on March 14 as musicians from all around converge on the Legion for another day of jamming, dancing, and hearty Irish Stew. Fun for the entire family, with proceeds going to the 2010 MUSICwestport. Don't miss it!

Canadian mystery novelists Giles Blunt, Barbara Fradkin, Mary Jane Maffini, and John Moss will read from their work at the Westport Arts Council’s second annual Writers Reading at the Westport United Church, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday, October 25, 2009. . Click here to see the poster in high-resolution.

Giles Blunt is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His seven novels include four in his Detective John Cardinal series: Forty Words for Sorrow (2001 British Crime Writers’ Macallan Silver Dagger Award), The Delicate Storm (2004 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel), Black Fly Season (shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis, and a 2005 Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year), and By the Time You Read This (shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the most prestigious crime fiction award in the world). His other titles include his first novel, Cold Eye; last year’s highly acclaimed No Such Creature; and this year’s Breaking Lorca, a disturbing look into the horrifying world of torture. Giles grew up in North Bay and later spent more than two decades living in New York City where he wrote many scripts for television shows, including Law & Order, Night Heat and Street Legal. He now lives in Toronto.

Barbara Fradkin is an Ottawa-based short-story writer and mystery novelist. Many of her themes and insights are inspired by her professional career in child psychology. Her stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including Storyteller and the popular Ladies Killing Circle series. Her six published detective novels feature Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green. Fifth Son, the fourth novel in the series, won the 2005 Arthur Ellis Award for best Novel. She received the award again in 2007 for the fifth book in the series, Honour Among Men, and released the sixth book, Dream Chasers, the same year. The most recent, This Thing of Darkness, is due for release in September 2009. She is a past president of Crime Writers of Canada, and a member of the writers’ groups Sisters in Crime and Capital Crime Writers.

Mary Jane Maffini has been a librarian, a bookseller, and a former president of Crime Writers of Canada. Her stories have appeared in magazines as varied as Chatelaine, Storyteller, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, and have been anthologized in collections such as The Ladies Killing Circle, Cottage Country Killers, and When Boomers Go Bad (2005). She won the 1995 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story, for Cotton Armour, and was a double nominee for the prize in 1999 for her first novel, Speak Ill of the Dead, and the short story, Kicking the Habit. Titles from her three mystery series include The Icing on the Corpse (2001), The Devil’s in the Details (2004), Too Hot to Handle (2007), and Law and Disorder, due this fall. She lives in Ottawa.

John Moss is a professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, a former literary critic, and the author of two-dozen books, including Invisible Among the Ruins: Field Notes of a Canadian in Ireland, the short-story collection, Being Fiction, and the two-volume critical anthology, The Canadian Novel. He has published two books in his new Quin and Morgan mystery series: Still Waters and Grave Doubts. Three further books in the series, The Gibraltar Coordinates, The Dead Scholar, and I See England, I See France will be released shortly. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a scuba diver (now reluctantly retired), an endurance athlete (he has run the Boston Marathon eleven times), and an inveterate traveler. He writes out of a stone farmhouse in Peterborough, Ontario.

Tickets are only $20.00, refreshments included, and available in Westport at: Murphy’s Barber Shop, 5 Church St. (273-2145), Stillwater Books & Treasures, 17 Church St. (273-2727), The Pinecone, 23 Church St. (273-7788), and The Cove Country Inn, corner Bedford & Main (273-3636 or 1-888-COVE-INN).

Writers Reading is co-sponsored by Stillwater Books & Treasurers, Westport.

Additional author information available at their respective websites:

Giles Blunt: www.gilesblunt.com

Barbara Fradkin: www.barbarafradkin.com

Mary Jane Maffini: www.maryjanemaffini.ca

John Moss: www.johnmoss.ca

MEDIA RELEASE


-- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- July 29, 2009


Westport Arts Council announces 2009 music festival lineup


The Westport Arts Council’s third annual music festival will be held on August 15. Repeating the successful formula from previous years, nine bands will perform throughout the afternoon on three stages located across the village: beside the pond at The Cove Country Inn on Bedford St., on the front lawn of A Victorian Reflection B&B on Church St., and in a new location this year at the SOHO property on Bedford St. In the evening, two bands will perform indoors at The Cove. Admission is free to all outdoor stages, with a $5 cover charge for the indoor performances.


The music begins at noon on The Cove stage, 2 Bedford St., with a children’s show featuring Shari & Jerry Tallon. These talented, multi-instrumentalists are singers, songwriters, playwrights and international children’s recording artists who draw from a wide variety of musical styles. The Doherty Brothers from Smiths Falls, one of the bands featured in this summer’s “Life Along the Rideau Music Series,” follow at 1:30 p.m. with their own blend of Blues and Rock. Emily Fennell and Sugarplum take the stage from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Their driving mix of alt-country, pop and roots is well known to Kingston area regulars at the Merchant Tap House, and increasingly to new and larger audiences through their concert and festival appearances. Their four CDs include “Sugarplum” in 2008, and this summer’s release of “Miss Twisted.” Emily has opened for major acts such as Jann Arden, The Jim Cuddy Band, Sass Jordan, Steppenwolf and Buffy Saint-Marie.


The acoustic stage of A Victorian Reflection B&B, 16 Church St., opens at noon with Westport’s own gypsy-to-blues quartet StringTease. They’re followed at 1:30 p.m. by solo guitarist, and Mallorytown resident, Oliver Kilian, with his spirited, unique interpretations of classical, bluegrass, jazz and folk music. Ottawa-based Acacia Lyra, the harp and voice duo of Susan Sweeney Hermon and Janine Dudding, perform at 3:00 p.m. They sing in English, French, Spanish and Gaelic from a repertoire ranging from the islands of Scotland to the mountains of Peru.


The new third stage at the SOHO property, 43 Bedford St., welcomes its first act at 12:30 p.m. with the Fifties and Sixties a cappella sounds of the Kingston group, The Marcatos. At 2:15 p.m., Spoon River, with their self-described “woodsy soul” sound, bring their three- and four-part harmonies and evocative harmonica and piano riffs so clearly influenced by the iconic sounds of early Neil Young and The Band. Westport residents Jeff and Seamus Cowan are members. The final and featured act of the afternoon, at 4:30 p.m., is the Toronto-based band, Mr. Something Something, 2007 Juno Award nominees for their second album “The Edge.” The infectious rhythms of their Afrobeat, pop and jazz sounds are a favourite with world music audiences from West Africa to North America. A track from their CD “Deep Sleep” was featured in the British CD compilation “The Rough Guide to Afrobeat Revival,” released in more than 50 countries earlier this year. Their newest CD is “Shine your Face.” The Arts Council is delighted to welcome the band to Westport in the midst of their Canadian tour, and before their US tour this fall.


The Cove Country Inn hosts indoor performances by Spoon River at 7:30 p.m., and dance favourites Mumbo Jumbo Voodoo Combo at 9:30 p.m. Based in Ottawa, Mumbo Jumbo surprises with their exotic mix of can’t-sit-still New Orleans party sound—featured in this month’s release of the band’s fourth CD, “Mardi Gras Dans La Boite”—with side trips into Zydeco, Creole, R&B, and more.


Throughout the afternoon, a father and son duo of roving musicians, Mario Mario Cubano, will bring their traditional Cuban songs to a variety of other locations around the village.


Rain or shine, come enjoy Westport on the shore of Upper Rideau Lake.


For more information about this event please call Norman Peterson at (613) 273-7781(npeterson@rideau.net), or Brin Jones, at (613) 273-8333 (BrinJones@cmsinc.ca).

A good time was had by all as music and dance and home made Irish stew was dished up all day long.

Click here to see the photos from the party