New Year's reflections and looking forward to 2024

 As I have done the past few years since being on my own, I thought I would give a brief update on where I am at on my road to recovery, so as the year is about to draw to a close, here we go...

Overall, the word that describes my mindset this holiday season is 'peace'.  I am at peace with myself and where I am in this world.  It has been a tough road to follow since I lost Sophie in the summer of 2020, especially as COVID continued to rage and is not done with us yet.

My first two Christmases were the worst as I was quite literally, left to grieve alone, as we could not congregate and the remainder of my small family lives quite a distance away.  So that was tough.  But last year was better as the family gathered here in the city for Christmas and although I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of people, which I was simply not used to anymore, it was special and I am thankful for that.

This year I found myself on my own again and frankly, I was okay with that.  I felt I could better manage my emotions and the being alone better this year, and I did.  I was, quite simply, at peace.  I have accepted the loss of Sophie and the fact I must move on with my life and chart a new course for myself.

This past September I took a major step in my recovery by taking a tour in England I really wanted to do, and which I know in my heart Sophie wanted me to take for the both of us.  It was difficult at times, being the first international trip on my own in many years, but I was surrounded by good people and all went well, in spite of the fact I came home with COVID for the very first time.

In a sense, I viewed the trip as a signal...a signal to myself and to the world I am back, I am living my life again and I am ready to move on.  It felt good to go and I do not regret the decision one bit.  It was clearly the right move at the right time for me.

Everyone's trajectory when it comes to recovery after a loss is different: some are ready to move on sooner and others, like myself, take longer.  There is no timetable to follow on this, you simply follow your heart. It will tell you when you are ready and mine did, at exactly the right time.

So as I look forward to a New Year full of promise for all of us, what am I hoping for?  More adventures, more fun, and more valuable life experiences perhaps I have not experienced before.  That applies to all aspects of my life now and I am ready for that.

First and foremost, I am putting the failed dating disasters and relationship attempts of the past year or so in the rear view mirror.  They were all valuable life lessons for me and offer insight into just how difficult finding a second great romance can be.

I remain optimistic however, and I am totally open minded as to what form it may take.  I have learned to embrace change and be brave, be optimistic and face what life gives you with clarity and enthusiasm.  If it doesn't happen this year, perhaps next.  It doesn't matter.  I am ready whenever it happens.

In other aspects of my life, I am still reorganizing the house and simplifying my life somewhat, and redefining who and where I am in this world.  Yes, I have become a bit of a dandy now that I am retired and that is not by chance but rather by design.  I am enjoying the fun and sense of adventure (well a little bit anyway!) it brings me.  And in the process a lot of new friends too!

So for 2024 I say:  bring it on.  Let's see what happens.  Show care and concern for those around you and above all else, take care of yourself first.  I do and I feel now I am well taken care of, again, in my life.

Have a wonderful New Year celebration and embrace what the new year has to offer us.  I know I am.

Have a great weekend and Happy New Year!

December 30th, 2023.

It's that time of year again to stand during the Hallelujah Chorus...

 We're now into the Christmas season and yesterday I started listening to Christmas music and decorating the house.  I ignore those who decorate right after Halloween and especially those who leave their Christmas lights up all year...

I'm not a Grinch.  I just feel December is enough, thanks.  I dutifully take the decorations down at Epiphany and that seems just about right.

One of the grand musical traditions at this time of year is to attend a performance of a work actually written for the Easter season.  I'm speaking of course of Handel's celebrated oratorio Messiah.  Handel actually wrote it at a feverish pace in about three weeks and it premiered in Dublin, Ireland in the springtime as a fundraiser.  How it came to be associated with the Christmas season still appears to be a bit of a mystery, but that is what we do now.

There are far too many to list in the southern Ontario area in the month of December, including the biggest of all at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall leading up to Christmas.  So I will just touch on two of my favourites here and hopefully they will whet your appetite for explore more performances elsewhere.

Tonight the Elora Singers under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Vuorinen will present their version of the holiday classic in nearby Fergus at the larger St. Joseph's Catholic Church, rather than their usual winter home at St. John's Anglican Church in Elora.  What I like about this performance is they draw the soloists from the ranks of the choir rather than bringing in special guest soloists for the evening.  Most every singer in the choir could very well be a soloist in their own right, so this will be the night some of them will shine.

If you plan things right you can enjoy a nice afternoon and dinner in Elora at a magical time of year and then head over to nearby Fergus in time for the concert.

Tickets will be tight I'm sure but you can go online to www.elorasingers.ca or call the box office at 1-519-846-0331 to see what's available.

Closer to home, the tradition continues in Niagara with our celebrated Chorus Niagara with conductor Robert Cooper performing the oratorio in Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines later in the month.  Usually they perform Messiah on a weekend but this year it will be a mid-week event, scheduled for Wednesday evening, December 13th.  Partridge Hall is their home base and I know the chorus will sound superb as usual.

I have not attended a Chorus Niagara performance of Messiah in many years now, long before they moved downtown to the PAC, so I might have to look into that this year.  But we'd better hurry as limited tickets are available by calling 905-688-0722 or go online to www.firstontariopac.ca.

Whatever performance you attend and wherever you do just remember to stand during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus, of course...

Have a great weekend!

December 2nd, 2023.

Spamalot at Stratford Festival is lots of fun!

I only made one trip to Stratford this summer to catch a show at the Stratford Festival, and I did it in late September after my trip to England.  For me it was a wise decision; I try to avoid big crowds nowadays since COVID and especially since I caught it upon my return from my trip in September.

When deciding on a show to attend this year I opted for funny above all else.  I promised myself this would be a summer of fun, or as I put it at the beginning the Summer of Mike.  I wanted to put the past heartaches behind me and just have a fun summer by myself.  By all accounts, it was a success!

Monty Python's Spamalot is the brainchild of Python alumnus Eric Idle, who wrote the score with long-time musical collaborator John Du Prez.  Together, they have woven new material mixed with Python classics, such as "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from "Life of Brian'.  It's witty, wacky, nonsensical and brilliant.

Now having said that, I am at a loss to say much about the musical itself, as I must admit I have never been a huge Monty Python fan to begin with.  Oh there have been pockets of their comedy I have enjoyed but most of the time, it just seems too far off the mark for my particular tastes.  That, of course, is intentional, as this is clearly a farce in every sense of the word and in its purest form.  That can be an acquired taste, I admit.

I have nothing but admiration for the cast and crew, their sense of timing and comic acumen.  They are all brilliant.  Still, there were times I just sat there and said to myself, "why?!"  But maybe that's just me.

In a nutshell, Spamalot is a comic send-up of the classic Camelot tale, with King Arthur in search at first for candidates to become Knights of the Round Table, and together they are sent looking for the Holy Grail.  Along the way they encounter an evil bunny rabbit and a bunch of sarcastic French soldiers who toss stuffed cattle from the castle ramparts.

They also encounter the enchanting Lady of the Lake, performed with great zest by Kimberly-Ann Truong.  She thrills the assembled multitude in the dark and expensive forest as well as the audience with both her voice and her stage presence.  Yet in much of the second act, where is she?!  That's when she bursts upon the scene again with the fun number "Whatever Happened to My Part"?, otherwise known as "The Diva's Lament".

All of this nonsense seems to at times be lost on King Arthur himself, played by Jonathan Goad, although he knows a good Lady of the Lake when he sees one...

From top to bottom the rest of the cast is all exceptional as well and even though the set design looks rather low-rent, it is intentional and it all works admirably well.  Director Lezlie Wade and Music Director Laura Burton mine the musical for every ounce of fun, as does Choreographer Jesse Robb.

I would not recommend only seeing Spamalot this year if you can get to more show than one, but if like me you just do the one trip, you will not be disappointed.  But perhaps, like me, you might scratch your head from time to time if you're not a die-hard Monty Python fan, as most in the audience clearly were the day I attended recently.

Spamalot rates a strong 3 out of 4 stars and continues at the Avon Theatre downtown until November 18th.  For tickets and information go to www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Have a great weekend!

October 21st, 2023.

Hello again London, it was good to see you again...

 I returned late last Sunday night from a week-long visit to the U.K., my first visit back since Sophie and I made our Trip of a Lifetime together in August of 2018.  After living through a pandemic and loss of Sophie three years ago, I decided it was time to revisit one of my favourite parts of the world, so that's what I will be writing about here this week.

As great as the trip was and as careful as I tried to be, I did get caught by the COVID bug upon my return, and I continue to spend my days quietly at home as I recover.  My symptoms have not been huge, but certainly of great concern to me and not to be taken lightly.  But I am working through it and although it did not please me, I do not regret for a moment taking the plunge and going on this trip.

Initially I planned to wait until next year to do any international travel, but when our local PBS station, WNED in Buffalo, started advertising a tour of England back in the spring, I was torn.  The tour was through Transcendent Travel based out of New York City, and they were the operators of the tour Sophie and I took in 2018 and it was exceptional.  So I had no qualms about that aspect of it, even though they are not inexpensive.

I was concerned due to COVID primarily, but also because I knew for me this would be my first trip alone internationally since the loss, so for me this would be hard one and rather emotional.  It was, but I knew in my heart I had to do this.

Upon reflection back in the spring I thought it over and realized Sophie, if she were still alive, would be all over this tour just as she was the last time.  And I felt I had to do it for her as much as for me.  Really, she would have wanted me to do this.  But more than that, it was going to be a major stepping stone for me on my road to recovery.  I needed to prove to myself, and everyone else, I was ready for this next big step.

So plans were laid out, the trip was paid for in advance and then the anticipation...and the butterflies...grew.  I admit to being nervous and anxious more than once in the months leading up to the trip but I managed to keep those emotions in check as I went out making sure everything was organized before I left the house.

Everyone I discussed this with, including my friends, financial advisor and even my doctor, encouraged me to do it and felt the time was right after three years of difficulty.  I just had to convince myself...

The tour, entitled "All Creatures: a Television Focused Tour of England" began and ended in London.  I flew out of Toronto on the Saturday night of Labour Day Weekend, arriving in London around noon Sunday their time.  Tired but undaunted, I took the Heathrow Express train into central London as I searched out my hotel, The Clermont next to Victoria Station.

As is the case with all hotels on Transcendent tours, they are all exceptional and usually five-star rated.  I arrived a day early in order to rest a bit before the tour gathered and got underway on Monday afternoon.  Walking on Sunday evening and again Monday morning through London prior to the tour, I noted traffic is still about as awful as I remember it being in the past, but I noted also you see far more high-end cars on the roads than anything else:  lots of big BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and of course, Rolls Royces and Bentleys.

It turns out those folks are the only ones who can afford to drive into central London now.  The city of about 8-million is so busy now a few years ago a daily levy was imposed on those drivers who still choose to drive into the city, assuming they can even find a place to park, which is no easy task.  So now, all drivers entering central London pay a fee of 25 pounds per DAY to enter, and if your vehicle is not EV or otherwise assisted by hybrid power, you pay a further surcharge of 12 pounds a day.  With the going exchange rate on the British pound, that would amount to over 60 dollars each and every day you make the drive, over and above parking charges and of course, petrol.  Gas prices when I was there was set at about 1.51 or so a litre.  But that's also pounds, so roughly $3 a litre to gas up your thirsty vehicle in order to sit in bumper to bumper traffic.  Yikes!

When you move out of central London you notice due to space limitations and the cost, most people who drive cars own tiny little vehicles, and many of them are not available here.  Also, many more there are EV than here in North America.  Even many of the city buses, even the iconic double-deckers, are all-electric now too.  It's the way of the future, folks, whether you like it or not...

Incidentally, cycling lanes are everywhere and everyone is on bikes in London as you can imagine.  You have to be on your guard of course, as the traffic is on the opposite side of the road than what we are used to here, and drivers over there are very much aware of that fact.  But to their credit, everyone, drivers and pedestrians included, are unfailingly polite and helpful giving directions or gently reminding you to 'look left'.  Many thanked us for coming.  Imagine that!  Try getting that in say, Toronto perhaps?!

The tour took us to Cambridge, York and back again to London before departing on Sunday morning, with plenty of stops every day for sightseeing and walking tours.  I won't go into all the details here, as I have been posting lots of pictures to my Facebook page every day this week, with more to come.

But suffice it to say the food, accommodations and tour attractions were all first class and made every one of us feel very special indeed.  Everyone else on the tour was a PBS supporter as you would expect, so there were lots of stops relating to favourite PBS shows, such as "Call the Midwife", "Grantchester" and most importantly, "All Creatures Great & Small".  That was the part of the tour I most looked forward to and I know Sophie would have as well.

Touring the Yorkshire Dales is simply breathtaking but getting a good picture is difficult as there are not many places to stop on those narrow country roads the English are famous four.  We did make a few stops but really, the pictures I did get don't do the Dales justice.  You simply have to see it to believe it for yourself.

A highlight for me was visiting the James Herriot museum in Thirsk, which is the original home and veterinary clinic for the fabled writer and vet so many years ago.  We were also fortunate enough to have a visit and chat with Harriot's daughter Rose, now a retired medical doctor and still looking good at 76 years of age.

Shopping?  Oh I did manage some of that too.  Lots of food-related items I found along the way and my usual haberdashery finds too.  Socks, a navy blue bowler hat and an exquisite handcrafted brass and wood walking stick from the Yorkshire Dales that just simply took my breath away.  It will always be with me and a constant reminder of a special day in a special place for me...and for Sophie.

So, now back to the routine here at home and continuing my recovery from COVID.  I loved the trip but in all honesty, it is good to be home again.  And the cats missed me!

What more could you ask?!

Have a great weekend!

September 16th, 2023.

Shaw Festival production of Blithe Spirit is spirited fun

I can't remember the 19th-century couple's names I read about quite some time ago but the story has stayed with me.  The wife dies at a relatively early age but just before she goes, she warns her husband he had better find a new wife within the first year of her passing or she will come back to haunt him.  Apparently a true story!

I thought about that story while making my selections for reviewing at this season's Shaw Festival, and how it resonated somewhat with me in my own personal situation.  Mind you, it's been three years now so the one year limit has long since expired.

That said, Elvira in Noel Coward's play "Blithe Spirit" has also expired, and indeed has come back to haunt her husband, Charles.  In this case, wife number one seems not too impressed with wife number two.

This may not be Sir Noel's strongest play, but his work has received plenty of exposure at the Shaw Festival going as far back as 1984's storied production of Private Lives with Fiona Reid and former Shaw Artistic Director, Christopher Newton.  That production still ranks as one of my favourite evenings at Shaw over the years.

The Festival knows how to serve up a Coward play and this time is no exception:  it's stylish, witty and is blessed with a very strong cast.  Even though the plot is rather thin when spread over three hours, it mattered little to the audience at the performance I attended.

Written during the Second World War when humour was hard to come by, "Blithe Spirit" premiered in London in 1941 and proved to be just the tonic a weary public needed, even though Coward took a rather lighthearted look at the subject of death.  He basically says "What if your spouse were to come back and continue to annoy you"?!  What indeed...

The story opens with newly-remarried Charles Condomine and second wife Ruth relaxing in their spacious and stylish country house.  We learn friends are coming over and with them, Charles has invited a local medium to join them over the course of the evening to conduct a seance.  Ruth is understandably uncomfortable with Charles suggestion the medium, Madame Arcati, try to reach out to his first wife, Elvira.

Its all a big joke and much frivolity ensues until the joke is on Charles and Elvira actually appears.  Not to anyone else in the room but to him.  And she sticks around, too.  Charles now has two wives to contend with and Elvira and Charles pick up where they left off with their witty bickering.  And Ruth?  She can't see Elvira but does her best to accommodate the unwelcome spirit into their home.

As mentioned the cast is uniformly strong here, with Damien Atkins' Charles a good foil for the returning spirit of Elvira, played by Julia Course.  Donna Soares' Ruth is nicely drawn, but one has to wonder what the attraction was for Charles after we are introduced to Elvira.  

The visiting guests that evening are Dr. Bradman and his wife, played by David Adams and Jenny L. Wright.  Though good, the two roles are only incidental to the overall story, really.  It's Deborah Hay as Madame Arcati who gets the most laughs with her exceptional portrayal of a more-than-eccentric English medium, offering up such clever lines as "Time is the reef upon which all our frail mystic ships are wrecked."

The set is done almost entirely in different shades of green and even Elvira is green from head to toe, even including her makeup.  Not sure why green was chosen but it is effective.  Many of the costumes are reflective of the well-to-do characters we meet, with both Charles and Dr. Bradmon looking exceptionally glitzy.  It's one of the few times I can remember the men's costumes being more dazzling than the women's.

Sets and costumes are by James Lavoie, incidentally, and the atmospheric lighting is by Kevin Lamotte.  The play is directed by Mike Payette.

Blithe Spirit is perhaps not the strongest show at Shaw this season but it is a very enjoyable ride, and rates a very good three out of four stars.  It plays at the Festival Theatre until October 8th.

For tickets and more information go to www.shawfest.com.

Have a great weekend!

August 24th, 2023.

Three Years...a recovery update

 It has been awhile since I updated you on my progress as I continue my recovery from the loss of Sophie in 2020, so three years in earlier this month, I felt it was time to get this done.

Overall, things have gone well and really for the most part, according to plan.  I was told early and often everyone is different and each person sets a different timetable that works for them. as I have done.  I knew recovery would not be quick, nor painless, and perhaps for me the journey has taken longer than expected.

It was certainly complicated by the pandemic as I was totally alone for the better part of two years save for an occasional visit when conditions allowed.  Even two Christmases were spent totally on my own, which was hard.

On the third anniversary of Sophie's passing earlier this month, I didn't quite know what to expect.  But what happened rather surprised me:  I was largely at peace with myself and where I was at this stage of the journey.  It was less emotional than previous years by a wide margin and I took that as a positive sign.  I felt finally my heart was coming to terms with the loss and I am indeed starting to move on.

But last week, I was surprised again.  On the anniversary of the visitation, which was exactly a week after she passed, I felt much more emotional and reflective and that quite frankly caught me off guard.  Was I relapsing?  I really don't think so; perhaps it was just my heart catching up to my head, in a way.  It was not too bad but the ache in my heart was still palpable.

I have since come to the conclusion that ache will likely always be there.  No matter what happens in my life in the coming months and years, as much as I focus on moving forward with my life, I will continue to honour and reflect on the past.  I am not sure if that is always the case, but I sense due to the quickness of Sophie's illness and how relatively young she was at the time, it may never be fully resolved in my heart.

That's perhaps not a bad thing either.  I have always believed you learn from your mistakes and when the opportunity comes up to try again, you are older, wiser, richer in compassion and understanding, and willing to try even harder to achieve what I have come to refer to as my "happily ever after."  The ache that remains in my heart to this very day serves as a reminder how richly blessed I was for almost 20 years with Sophie and how wonderful life can be again should love find me once more.

And to be honest, I want that.  I will honour the past but I refuse to live in it.  What we had was beautiful; there is no reason in the world the next time cannot be just as beautiful if not more so.  All that stands in the way is a reluctance to move forward with your life and grab the opportunity when it knocks on your door.  Or perhaps when you do the knocking...

Having said that, I will be careful.  The past year or so I have dipped my toes into the tepid waters of the senior dating world, and I wish I could say the results were promising but unfortunately, they were not.  Oh, there was a tremendous amount of happiness shared in both cases initially, but I guess I had not taken into account the fact not everyone is as ready to also move on from the past and look to the future as perhaps I have been.

Let's be clear though.  I have nothing but good memories about both special experiences I had and will always feel that way.  I have tremendous respect for both individuals for taking a chance on love with me as I know full well how difficult that level of trust can be to achieve.  Both experiences were also valuable learning tools for me going forward and perhaps, it will be third time lucky for me.  We'll see.

But if, and this is indeed a possibility I am prepared for, I end up living the remainder of my life alone, I am fine with that too.  I met Sophie when I was 44 so I had plenty of experience with living on my own and I am quite prepared to do that again.  Will I worry about it?  No, not at all.  Whatever will be will be, and I will make the best of my life no matter what unfolds in the future, or with whom.

The important thing now is to focus on living my best life, which I am concentrating on doing this summer and I know that is what Sophie would want for me.  I am blessed with good health, financial independence and a love of life, so the future is bright no matter how things play out.  A friend once said my Dad raised retirement to a fine art, and I intend to do the same!

I have taken baby steps in getting back out into the stream of things, as well as some larger ones, such as a return trip to Ottawa for my birthday back in June.  I have another even bigger adventure coming up later this year and I will write about that when I return, you can be sure.

Right now I am concentrating on day trips and making new memories in some familiar places I want to return to, and that will continue off and on as time permits.  There are so many great memories I will never forget and mixing those with the new seems to be a remedy I need right now to help me move forward in a positive spirit.

Before I go, I would be remiss if I did not offer sincere and heartfelt thanks to all the friends, colleagues and acquaintances who have reached out these past three years to check up on and help support me.  Your help is invaluable and I hope you all know that.  No man is an island and that has been proven to me time and time again over the years.

A special mention of gratitude must go out to those I refer to as "Sophie's Angels"...her close circle of friends who all helped with her final weeks and afterwards, have all been there for me as well.  So in no particular order, I offer thanks to Kathy Brophy, Norma Chan, Denise & George Papaiz, Mary Kudreikis, Sheila Krekorian & Joe Skura, and Lisa Raham.  If I have forgotten anyone please forgive me, but your considerable efforts towards both of us cannot be overstated or appreciated enough.  Thank you all.

So, onwards and upwards I say.  Fasten your seatbelts...the best is yet to come.  I am ready for my next great adventure!

Have a great week!

August 16th, 2023.

Bed & Breakfast a fun tour-de-force show

 I used to go to a lot of summer theatre in my earlier days covering the arts, going as far as the Red Barn Theatre up at Jackson's Point or down to the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover.  It's always a very casual setting with minimal sets and costumes, but the entertainment is almost always fun and entertaining.

I thought this summer, since I was trying to do more fun things as I start to feel a little more normal now, I should try a summer theatre outing again and have some fun.  So yesterday, spur-of-the-moment, I booked a ticket to the afternoon matinee performance of the Lighthouse Festival Theatre's current offering in Port Colborne, Mark Crawford's Bed & Breakfast.

The old Showboat Festival Theatre was taken over a few seasons back by Lighthouse, which now uses both Port Dover & Port Colborne locations to showcase their annual summer theatre lineup.  While one show plays in Port Dover, the previous show moves on to Port Colborne.  It's a clever way to get more mileage out of a production and reach a larger audience.

The current show in Port Colborne closes tomorrow, so you only have performances this evening and again tomorrow afternoon to choose from, but the show is well worth your time should you choose to do as I did and act spur-of-the-moment.

Playwright Mark Crawford has crafted a fine & funny play about opening a Bed & Breakfast in a small Ontario town, and the many, many obstacles facing those that do.  It's not as easy as it looks, and I can tell you from years of B&B stays the burnout rate for owner/operators is high.  The average lifespan of your average B&B is apparently 7 years, although some close sooner and some go much longer.  It all depends on the owner/operator really.

In addition to the usual trials and tribulations associated with a B&B, in the case of this particular play the two owners inherited the house from a late aunt and as they are gay men living in Toronto, it is more than a little bit of a culture shift for them.  And for the town they land in.

That said, the play deals with the many troubles the two face with wit, compassion and a very forthright outlook on how society deals with those who choose a so-called "alternative lifestyle."

The two men in question are Brett, played by Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, and Drew, played by Warren Macaulay.  They can't afford to get into the real-estate market in Toronto but when the house literally falls into Brett's lap when his Aunt Margaret passes away, leaving the house to him, they explore their options together.  At first they want to sell quick, but then decide on renovations and open a B&B they run themselves.  

How difficult can it be?  Don't ask...

Unexpected delays, contractor problems and then...well, they soon realize not everyone in the community is as understanding and open-minded as the two men thought.  Coming home from a birthday party one night in November, they find the Christmas lights torn down and cut, and the wreath they fashioned for the front door destroyed.  In its place a very ugly term is painted on the door.

A little heavy for summer theatre but the two actors handle the situation with such skill they easily win over the audience at the performance I attended, and go on to open a successful business, even if they hit some more unexpected bumps in the road.

There are a myriad of characters in the play but only two actors, and although sets and costumes are at an absolute minimum, each actor performs each role with great precision and move at lightning speed at times.  I found myself in the second act trying to keep up with all the character changes they are so quick!

The play is directed by Stewart Arnott and the set is simply yet effectively designed by William Chesney.  Both provide a perfect vehicle for these two talented actors to work in, and they each grow into their respective roles as the play moves along at a brisk pace.

There's plenty of coarse language in the play but most in the audience yesterday didn't seem to mind.  I did see a couple leave at intermission, so I am not sure if it was the language or the subject matter they were not happy with, but it's their loss.

Bed & Breakfast is an absolute winner for Lighthouse Festival Theatre and you should catch one of the final two performances tonight or tomorrow afternoon if you can.  I give the show a strong three out of four stars.

The theatre is located on Fielden Avenue in the Roselawn Arts Centre complex, and there is plenty of nearby parking.

For tickets call or visit the box office at 905-834-0833 or go online for Lighthouse Festival Theatre.

Have a great weekend!

July 29th, 2023.

Shaw Festival's On The Razzle offers some dazzle-dazzle

 My second trip to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake this month took me to the cozy confines of the Royal George Theatre for Tom Stoppard's light-hearted take on 19th-century Viennese society, "On The Razzle".  Based on Johann Nestroy's "Einen Jux will er sich machen", the play is really a departure for Stoppard, known perhaps more so for more weighty offerings such as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

Stoppard himself described "On The Razzle" as a 'lark', and in his Director's Note, Craig Hall rightly posits after three tumultuous years of the pandemic, "a bit of harmless fun sounded right up my alley".  Ours too, as we return to some semblance of normalcy in this beleaguered world we find ourselves in.

The play dates from 1981 and premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival, before moving to London's National Theatre.  That production starred Dinsdale Landen and Felicity Kendal, and those of us who loved the short-lived gardening-themed mystery series on British telly called Rosemary & Thyme will be familiar with Kendal.  I must admit to having had a 'thing' for Felicity after watching that series!

But I digress...

This new production takes a pretty brisk pace bordering on farce yet not quite achieving that breakneck speed, but it comes close.  Director Hall has harnessed considerable talent in this new production and they all perform admirably, even if some of the many, many puns and double-entendres might get missed in the mad rush of things.  There is really no let up from the send ups it seems...

The original Nestroy story also inspired The Matchmaker years ago which spawned Hello, Dolly! of course, and it probably receives a better treatment in those vehicles than in Stoppard's play, but still, this is as he reminds us, really just a lot of mindless fun; a romp, if you will.

Basically the proprietor of a successful Viennese dry-goods store, Zangler, is full of himself and not shy about showing off just a bit.  In the opening scenes we see him squeezing into a new military uniform his tailor has made for him, tactfully suggesting the tighter fit is what's popular at the time rather than stating the obvious.

That being said, this particular tailor should be bound up in his measuring tape for leaving the sleeves on the old man's jacket simply too long.  It is a small slip up in this production but one I couldn't help but notice.

Zangler also cares for a young ward, Marie, and is not too keen on the young man she has her eye on, Sonders.  From there this pretty thin plot goes from scene to scene with mistaken identities, missed opportunities and general mayhem as they all rush headlong to the final curtain.

The cast is uniformly first-rate, as is usually the case at the Shaw Festival, and it is nice to see veteran actor Ric Reid have a ball in the plum role of Zangler.  His tailor, who also shows up in lesser roles throughout the play, is Jason Cadieux.  His role is rather thankless frankly but he makes the most of his opportunities in his assortment of roles.

The two key roles belong to the two clerks who run Zangler's shop for him, and when he leaves in full ill-fitting military regalia for a parade after telling them they will soon be promoted, they promptly close up shop and celebrate.  They hit the town or, as they would say perhaps, be out "On The Razzle."

Weinberl and Christopher are the two clerks and they steal scenes between them throughout the play, trying all the while to avoid coming in contact with Zangler while on the lam.  Reliable and always clever Mike Nadajewski has great fun as Weinberl, and his young assistant Christopher is played with great affection by Kristi Frank.  She imbues the role with a waif-like quality that instantly makes her an audience favourite.

Rounding out the strong cast is Drew Plummer as the suitor Sonders and Lindsay Wu as his love interest Marie, the ward of Zangler.  Both are solid but Marie's role especially is pretty thin.

Special mention must go to another Shaw veteran Patrick Galligan, who goes over-the-top with great style as both the Coachman and the Scotsman, always eying the ladies and looking for action.  Galligan more often than not is the gentleman on stage but here, he is anything but.  I can imagine his glee when offered the role...

Sets and costumes by Christina Poddubiuk are suitably Viennese although the sets are rather sparse in order to maximize the tight space on the Royal George stage.

So even though this is all mindless fun, is it worth your time? Yes, so long as you realize this is akin to what a situation comedy TV show would have been like in the 19th-century, had there been one.  It goes nowhere fast, but the journey is more than half the fun.

"On The Razzle" continues at the Royal George Theatre until October 8th and rates a three out of four.

For tickets, contact the Shaw online at www.shawfest.com.

Have a great week!

July 24th, 2023.

Revisiting the Elora Festival

I wrote last time in this space about the 44th annual Elora Festival, which was set to get underway last weekend in the picturesque town of Elora, Ontario, and the fact I would be returning for that first weekend for a performance.  It would be my first time back after the pandemic and after the loss of Sophie in 2020.

Last Saturday I made my way up for an afternoon performance that proved to be everything I hoped it would be:  informative, entertaining and for me personally, soul-soothing.

I got away from the house not as early as I had planned, but I stopped in Guelph for a picnic in the park along the way, even though storm clouds were looming in the distance.  No matter, the concert was inside the cozy confines of St. John's Church in the heart of Elora, so I wasn't worried.  Sure enough, the rain came just as I was parking for the concert, but I packed my trusty umbrella and all went well for a short stroll on the main drag before the concert was set to begin.

I purposely chose an afternoon concert for my return visit as I only wanted a day trip for this very first visit on my own; an overnight stay at our favourite B&B might be easier to handle next year.  So I decided on a delightful recital of the music of Clara Schumann, in a program curated by Confluence Concerts' Larry Beckwith.

Entitled Clara Schumann Letters, words and music are interwoven to tell the life story of a remarkable 19th-century woman who, although well-known during her lifetime, has rather faded from the pages of history since her passing, and that is such a pity.  Clara was of course, the wife of troubled fellow composer Robert Schumann, who was somewhat older than she was.  But she was also a gifted composer in her own right and a virtuoso pianist as well.  In fact, her talents at the keyboard really helped to keep food on the table for the Schumann family, which was quite a large one by today's standards.

Clara gave birth to children that numbered dangerously close to double digits and lost one in infancy.

But it is her own compositions that were celebrated in this recital, performed alongside letters she wrote that were read from the stage by Alison Beckwith, and narration for the concert was provided by the always-informative and genial CBC Radio host Tom Allen.  Taken as a whole, the words and music provided an illuminating afternoon of music and information about her life.

The musical performers were all first rate, starting with pianist Angela Park.  She did Clara's keyboard works justice, including her "Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann, Op. 20" that closed out the first half of the concert.  Accompanying Clara's songs was pianist Christopher Bagan, and both he and Angela teamed up on a bravura performance of her "Wedding March in E-flat Major".

All the lieder was performed by talented Canadian singer Patricia O'Callaghan, who often moves from classical to contemporary music during her regular concert appearances, and here she felt perfectly at home yet again.

All in all it was a delightful afternoon of music beautifully performed in a church I look forward to returning to each and every year I attend the Festival.

This is the final weekend, and up today is a performance of choral and vocal music written by Larry Beckwith's famous father John Beckwith, performed by The Elora Singers.  That's at 1:30 this afternoon at St. John's Church in Elora.  Tonight the cavernous Gambrel Barn on the outskirts of town is the venue for The Elora Singers teaming up with singer Sarah Slean and the Art of Time Ensemble at 7:30 pm.  Everything from Brahms to Leonard Cohen is on the bill for tonight's performance.

Tomorrow for the final day of the Festival there are three performances scheduled, beginning with the New Zealand String Quartet performing music by Farr, Mozart and Shostakovich at 1:30 at St. John's in Elora; The Gryphon Trio celebrates 30 years of music-making with a performance at the Gambrel Barn at 4 pm; and the day wraps up with another concert at the Gambrel Barn entitled Music of the North, featuring music from Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and of course Canada.  Performers include The Elora Singers conducted by Mark Vuorinen accompanied by Richard Burrows on vibraphone and percussion.  That final performance takes place at 7:30 pm.

If all this inventive music-making is tempting you to go, then great!  Call the box office for tickets at 1-519-846-0331 or go online at www.elorafestival.ca.  

Thanks again for the opportunity to return to the Elora Festival again this year; it was time and I was thrilled to be in the town again.

Have a great weekend!

July 15th, 2023.

Summer Music Festival season is upon us

 The summer brings lots of things with it, including music for those so inclined, and I thought we'd begin the month of July with a look at one of the finest summer music festivals in Ontario.  The Elora Festival begins this Friday for their 44th season and continues until July 16th.

I've had a long history with the Elora Festival going back probably 30 of those 44 years, although due to the pandemic and my own personal situation I had not been back to enjoy a performance since the summer of 2019.  It was always a summer destination for Sophie and I for either a day trip or more often than not, a weekend getaway.

I will be attending this year's Festival for part of the opening weekend on a day trip, my first since losing Sophie three years ago.  This is something I know I have to do and what's more, Sophie would want me to as well.  Last summer I returned to both Stratford and Shaw Festivals, so Elora is next on the list and frankly I am excited about it.

Opening weekend kicks off Friday July 7th with conductor Mark Vuorinen and The Elora Singers and Chamber Ensemble filling the warm acoustic of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Fergus with music by Bach and Brahms.  Entitled Spirit and Soul, the concert features the majestic sounds of J.S. Bach's motets "Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf" and "Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied", as well as Brahms' hope-filled "Human" Requiem in a special chamber arrangement provided by Joachim Linckelmann.  The concert begins at 7:30 pm.

The weekend kicks into high gear on Saturday with three performances scheduled, a morning family concert featuring Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf in a score reduced to five woodwind instruments at 10:30 am at Melville United Church in Fergus; a concert that tells the remarkable life story of 19th-century virtuoso pianist and composer Clara Schumann at 2:30 at St. John's Church in Elora; and a return to St. Joseph's Church in Fergus in the evening at 7:30 pm for a performance of Frank Martin's much-loved 1922 Mass for Double Choir, along with works by Messiaen, Poulenc and others.

Sunday of opening weekend will see a performance by Constantinople with The Elora Singers at 3 pm at St. John's Church in Elora, in a concert entitled "In the Footsteps of Rumi", referring to the great poet and mystic Rumi, born way back in 1207.  In the evening the male chamber group Cantus will perform at St. Joseph's Church in Fergus in a performance of music by the likes of Sibelius and Saint-Saens paired with such contemporary composers as Andrea Ramsey, David Lang and Christopher H. Harris.  There will also be a new work specially commissioned for Cantus by composer Libby Larson.

Weekend Two of this year's Elora Festival actually kicks off early with a Wednesday evening performance at 9 pm at St. John's Church in Elora entitled "The Elora Singers at Twilight", followed Thursday evening at 7:30 in the spacious Gambrel Barn by the JUNO-nominated Canadian Chamber Choir making their Elora Festival debut with special guest, Cree-Dene singer and composer Sherryl Sewepagaham.  

Also Thursday evening at 9 pm there will be an organ recital at St. John's Church in Elora featuring Jonathan Oldengarm featuring everything from rustic 16th-centtury Dutch folk dances to music by young American composer Brenda Portman, along with works by Canadian composer Derek Healey, Sigfrid Karg-Elert and Calvin Hampton.

Friday evening at 7:30 in the Gambrel Barn The Elora Singers present their ever-popular Unplugged programme with a bevy of Broadway classics on tap.  Then on Saturday there are two performances scheduled, with The Elora Singers and Larry Beckwith presenting a tribute concert to Larry's father, Canadian composer John Beckwith at 1:30 pm at St. John's Church in Elora and the Art of Time Ensemble joined by Sarah Slean and The Elora Singers perform in the evening at the Gambrel Barn at 7:30 pm.

The final day of Week Two on Sunday, July 16th kicks off with the New Zealand String Quartet at St. John's Church in Elora at 1:30 pm, followed at 4 pm in the Gambrel Barn with the Gryphon Trio celebrating 30 years of music-making in Canada.  The season wraps up Sunday evening at 7:30 with The Elora Singers presenting a concert entitled Music of the North in the Gambrel Barn with music from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

There are also subsidiary performances such as Choral Evensong and the lovely Sunday Services with The Elora Singers at St. John's Church as well as Music in the Village and Music in the Woods.

Want more information and tickets? It's as easy as calling the Elora Festival box office at 1-519-846-0331 or going online to www.elorafestival.ca.

It should be a great festival and I am looking forward to returning this year.

Have a great week!

July 3rd, 2023.

Shaw Festival production of Gypsy well worth the wait

 Once upon a time our celebrated Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake decided to headline their new season with the powerhouse musical Gypsy, with the equally powerful Shaw veteran Kate Hennig in the lead role.  Then the pandemic happened.  And continued...and continued...

So finally this year, the show is on and it has proven to be well worth the extended wait.  

I still have vivid memories of the last Shaw production of Gypsy back in 2005 with Nora McLellan in the lead role, and oddly enough Kate acted as occasional fill-in for that production.  Nora was magnificent then; Kate is equally magnificent now.

It's a very tough role and takes a huge, larger-than-life stage presence a lot of stage actors simply do not possess.  But with Kate you have someone who explores the driven mind of the ultimate "theatre mum", pushing first her youngest daughter June into the spotlight on the fast fading vaudeville circuit and when she bolts, pushing even harder to get her daughter Louise to not only fill that role but run with it.

For Louise it is not an easy transformation, as she is the shy, more reticent of the two daughters, very much aware the younger June steals the limelight and as a result, much of her mother's attention.  But in the second act when this transformation occurs, we see Louise change from that shy, reserved girl into a seductive, very sexy burlesque performer clearly revelling in the ability to get noticed.

But for Mama Rose, she still can't rise above the poverty level it seems and finally, via either daughter, be a showbiz success.  Set in the dirty 30s when rubbing two cents together might be the highlight of one's day, Mama Rose struggles to keep things going and remain positive.  That being said, throughout the show we see an impressive array of costumes for both daughters and their retinue and you have to wonder how in the world she could afford to get all that fabric and get the outfits made for them all.

Ah, the lure of musical theatre...sorry I forgot to check my reality at the door...

While not perfect, this production of Gypsy, directed by Jay Turvey, hits all the right notes.  He allows all the characters to grow as much as the musical and Rose will allow.  There is depth to most every role save for one of the pivotal ones...that of Rose's long-suffering manager and husband-in-waiting, Herbie.  Jason Cadieux does an admirable job with the role, presenting a Herbie full of gentlemanly qualities.  Still, one wonders how the role could have been beefed up somewhat to counteract the bombastic nature of Rose.

Perhaps it's just me, but Herbie, what do you see in this woman anyways?!  Ah love...

Without exception the cast is uniformly strong, leading of course with Hennig in the demanding role of Mama Rose.  Cadieux is likeable, as is Drew Plummer in the lesser role of Tulsa.  Baby Jane and adult Jane, played respectively by Ariana Abudaqa and Madelyn Kriese are well suited to their roles and provide just that right amount of nauseating positivity needed to keep the "show" Mama Rose has crafted for them on the rails.

But the second act belongs to Julie Lumsden as daughter Louise, pushed into the role vacated by sister June.  Her charisma grows, she learns how to tease and titillate the patrons without getting carried away, and develops the confidence needed to cope with an overbearing stage mom.

But with all that success, what becomes of  Mama Rose?  The answer comes late in the second act when Hennig gives us a tour-de-force performance of Rose's Turn.

That's just one of the fine musical numbers crafted by June Style and the young, up-and-coming Stephen Sondheim.  It is full of endlessly optimistic numbers everyone knows almost by heart now, including Let Me Entertain You, Small World, All I Need is the Girl and of course, Everything's Coming Up Roses.

Oh and special mention must go to the gravelly-voiced Jenni Burke as the large-and-in-charge burlesque performer Mazeppa, singing You Gotta Get a Gimmick.  What a treat!

The orchestra under the direction of Paul Sportelli is in fine form and the choreography by Genny Sermonia is inventive and fun.  The sets are sparse but what's there is just right, and as mentioned earlier the costumes by Cory Sincennes are just wonderful.

There's lots to like in this production of Gypsy, and yes, it was indeed worth the long wait.  It rates a strong three out of four stars and runs at the Festival Theatre until October 7th.

Call the Shaw box office or go online to Shawfest.com to book your tickets.

Have a great day!

June 26th, 2023.

Looking for some musical inspiration this weekend?

 The wondrous thing about this time of year is you have music all around you wherever you go, thanks to the birds from morning to night.  Some may not like it, but I love it, especially as I am an early riser.  But having worked the night shift for many years I do commiserate with those trying to sleep during the day, especially at this time of year.

That being said, if the birds are inspiring you to find some music elsewhere this weekend and you don't mind being indoors for a couple of hours on a beautiful spring day, The Gallery Players of Niagara have just the ticket tomorrow afternoon.

The Players present the Odin Quartet in a performance of string quartet music composed over the last 225 years.  The group promises to cover a lot of ground from Schumann to Schickele, Dvorak to Price in what they call an Odin-Edition anthology bridging that very long period of time.  Personally, I think the price of admission would be worth hearing the music of Schickele, which is certainly wanting these days in recital halls.

The Odin Quartet is made up of Alex Toskoy, violin; Tanya Charles Iveniuk, violin; Matt Antal, viola; Samuel Bisson, cello, and Alexander Panizza at the piano.  Okay, the piano is a special addition at this concert of largely string quartet music, but what a nice addition he is!

The spring concert season largely comes to a close with this concert, and indeed this will bring The Gallery Players' entire season to a close.  They will be announcing the new season for 2023/24 come August.

The concert featuring the Odin Quartet along with pianist Alexander Panizza takes place tomorrow afternoon, May 28th at 3 pm at St. Catharines Mennonite Church at 335 Linwell Road, where I have attended many a concert over the years and in fact during my mail carrier days at Canada Post I delivered that particular route quite often.

For tickets, go to the Gallery Players website or pick them up at the door.

With the start of June we really get into the summer music festival season announcements, so I will offer some of those as the month progresses, as well as some of the summer theatre performances I attend this season at both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals.

But for now, out to chase some sunshine...

Have a great weekend!

May 27th, 2023.

Looking for an early Mother's Day surprise?

 It's Mother's Day weekend and that means lots to see and do in Niagara, including of course hitting up your local market for some home-grown goodness as I did this morning, and of course, flowers!  Either bunches for sale or head out with Mom to the Niagara floral displays along the Niagara Parkway this weekend.

It's the traditional weekend for the Pelham Art Festival too, which draws fans - and Moms - from far and near and has been for years.  If you are planning to head down to the Pelham Art Festival today there is another, musical, reason to go.

I received word the A Capella Niagara spring concert is happening this afternoon at 2 pm at Fonthill United Church at 42 Church Street in the heart of Fonthill, and it promises to be a great outing for you and Mom.

A Capella Niagara is a male chorus singing a wide range of repertoire, all unaccompanied, throughout the Niagara Region.  The spring concert is called "It's a Good Day for Singing a Song!" and indeed it is.  And joining the chorus this afternoon is renowned jazz singer and St. Catharines resident Juliet Dunn, who of course is also Executive Director of the TD Niagara Jazz Festival.  That festival has come to define jazz music in Niagara pretty much year-round, with concerts in venues both large and small throughout the Region.

I have not met up with Juliet in person for some time now, but in spite of losing her beloved husband and business partner Peter not that long ago she keeps busy with music and of course the jazz festival she has fronted for several years now.

There is no program listed in advance of the concert but it promises to be varied and more than a little jazzy at times, I suspect.

Tickets are available at the door this afternoon for only $20 and children under 12 years of age are admitted free.

Take Mom, enjoy the drive and the Pelham Art Festival, and some great music this afternoon as well!

Have a great weekend!

May 13th, 2023.

Three for the show this weekend in Niagara

 It's a grey, dreary weekend in April, so by way of a diversion this weekend I have an arts-related menu of two performances to perhaps tempt you out of the house...

Tonight at 7:30 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines the Bravo Niagara! TD Jazz Series continues their spring season with a performance by jazz/fusion band Yellowjackets in Partridge Hall.  

The group has been around for 43 years now and have recorded 26 albums, snagging 18 Grammy nominations along the way and winning two.  The group always seems to keep re-inventing themselves in order to move with the times, which is no doubt a major contributing factor to their longevity.

The current group comprises Russell Ferrante on piano and synthesizers, Bob Mintzer on woodwinds and EWI, Will Kennedy on drums and Dane Anderson on bass.

The performance tonight will feature a good measure of music from their latest Grammy-nominated album, Parallel Motion, released last year.

Tickets should be available through the PAC box office either in advance or at the door, or by going to the Bravo Niagara! website.

Over in Niagara Falls tonight, local theatre is alive and well with the current Firehall Theatre season well underway.  Last night was opening night for The Drowning Girls, written by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskalic.  Directed by Jerome Black, the play stars Claire Freel and Margaret, Daisy Hollohan as Alice and Heidi Nickel as Bessie.

The haunting play carries an important message while these three cast members tell their stories.  Based on the individual and shared histories of real-life women, The Drowning Girls tackles a number of very current topics including the violence and manipulation of women and by extension, the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women in our society.  The Drowning Girls won the Betty Mitchell Award for Best New Play.

The show continues tonight at 8 and performances continue until May 14th at the Niagara Falls theatre.  More details and tickets are available by going to www.firehalltheatre.com.

There you go...no reason to stay inside if you don't want to!

Have a great weekend.

April 29th, 2023.

A couple of events coming up this week in downtown St. Catharines

 At this time of year it is difficult to stay inside for any length of time, especially if you can't wait to get out into the garden, but if you need a break at some point over the next week I have a couple of arts events coming up you might be interested in.

First off, tomorrow afternoon at 3 Gallery Players of Niagara host "La Stravagante", an intimate ensemble drawn from Toronto-based baroque orchestra Tafelmusik.  Tafelmusik of course has gone on to international fame in their own right, first recording for the Sony Classical label back in the 90s.  Those heady days are now gone, as they are for many recording ensembles dealing primarily in classical music now, but Tafelmusik still performs and records regularly so quite frankly, they ain't going anywhere...

But the smaller ensemble is in Niagara this weekend, and it is made up of Patricia Ahern and Christopher Verrette on violin, Patrick G. Jordan on viola, Keiran Campbell on violoncello, Lucas Harris on lute and Charlotte Nediger on harpsichord.

The term "stravagante" means quite literally, "extravagant", and the the style was all the rage in 17th-century Europe, where performers were encouraged to embrace a, well, extravagant or exuberant style of playing of music.  It fit quite well the music produced during the Baroque era too, and can also be seen in the often elaborate costumers both male and female performers would don for the performance.  Not to mention the powdered wigs back in the day...

Anyway, the extravagant style will be on full display in The Recital Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines at 3 pm tomorrow.  Tickets should be available at the box office on your way in or in advance by going on the Gallery Players of Niagara website.

Next Friday evening the Big Time Fundraiser will be held at the Oddfellows Hall on James Street downtown, in support of local charitable arts organization Suitcase In Point as they raise $5,000 as part of their $12,000 annual donor campaign.

The evening begins with a Silent Auction Reception from 6 to 8 pm which will feature music by Juno Award-winning artist Sammy Jackson beginning at 7.  The reception will be followed by a comedy show at 8 featuring performances by such people as Deanna Jones, Rob Feetham, Edwin Conroy Jr., and others. The evening will wrap up with DJs Dave Stiles and Chance Mutuku as the dance floor opens up.

Hosts for the evening will be Brian Foster and Natasha Pedros.

Tickets to the fundraiser are $50 and includes access to the Silent Auction Reception with light refreshments along with the comedy show and DJ Afterparty.  If you just want to attend the afterparty from 9:30 onwards it is a pay-what-you-choose event at that point.

Suitcase in Point heavily relies on the generosity of donors and contributors, and monies raised will go directly towards artists and arts workers tied to their original productions, which includes of course the annual In The Soil Arts Festival each June.

If you have silent auction items to donate email tamara@suitcaseinpoint.com.

As there is limited capacity it is recommended you get your tickets in advance by going to the Suitcase in Point website, and remember to dress for a party, whatever you might want to interpret that to be!

Have a great weekend.

April 15th, 2023.

Two for the road this weekend in downtown St. Catharines

 It may be a rainy Saturday in the city but at least it's spring now, so things can only get better...right?!  Ah the early spring, ready to spring a surprise on us all at a moment's notice!

No surprise we have a wealth of entertainment options this weekend in Niagara, but I'll focus on two this weekend in downtown St. Catharines that might interest you, both taking place at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on St. Paul Street.

Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts kicks off their spring season as part of the TD Jazz Series with a performance by Juno and Grammy Award winner Alex Cuba tonight in Robertson Hall.  Cuba is, oddly-enough a Cuban-Canadian singer-songwriter performing music that reflects his many and varied Latin and African influences, fused with a mix of funk, jazz and pop.  

This will be an intimate solo concert and will highlight music from his recent Grammy Award winning album "Mendo".  The concert begins at 7 pm tonight and tickets are limited, but you can log on to www.bravoniagara.org to see if there are still tickets available if you do not already have them.

Also at the PAC tonight and again tomorrow afternoon in the spacious Partridge Hall the Niagara Symphony Orchestra presents their final POPS! concert of the current season, with a concert entitled "The Music of Phil Collins and Genesis".

The NSO comes by their affinity for the music of Genesis naturally, it seems, as Music Director Bradley Thachuk often performs the music of Genesis with the band's original guitar player, Steve Hackett.  In fact, after the Sunday concert Brad travels to Europe to perform again with Hackett in both England and Germany.

In the recorded world, Bradley and Steve collaborated on the release "Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited Band & Orchestra:  Live at Royal Festival Hall".  Filmed in London, the concert features Thachuk's own arrangements of many of Phil Collins' solo hits as well as many Genesis classics.

While Hackett will not be in attendance for the performances this weekend at the PAC, Bradley and the NSO welcome and all-star band to join them along with vocalist Jeremy Saje.

Tickets might be hard to come by for this evening's 7:30 performance but for both that and tomorrow afternoon's 2:30 matinee performance you can contact the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office for tickets or if you dare, just turn up at the door prior to the performance.

Music is in the air this weekend in downtown St. Catharines...

Have a great weekend!

March 25th, 2023.

Warm up this week with a couple of arts-related events

 Spring officially arrives on Monday afternoon, but you'd never know it from what I am looking at outside my office window this morning...cold, windy and snow flurries.  Take heart, better weather is coming I'm told, but until it does here are a couple of arts related events coming up this week you might be interested in.

Gallery Players of Niagara present their next concert in the current winter season tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm in the friendly confines of Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines at 366 St. Paul Street.

The concert is entitled "Inside the Music" and will feature the Eybler Quartet and Suzanna Clark, who is Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University.  Professor Clark will be hosting a conversation with members of the Quartet, exploring essentials such as harmony, phrase structure, and the social significance of the works on the programme including Haydn's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20, and the Mozart "Hunt" Quartet in B-flat major, K. 458.  This latter work was famously dedicated to "my dear friend Haydn" and indeed they were good friends during Mozart's relatively short professional life.

The Eybler Quartet consists of Julia Wedman and Patricia Ahern on violins, Patrick Jordan on viola and Margaret Gay on cello.

The concert is available both in person and online as it will be recorded tomorrow and available online from March 21st to the end of July.  

You can purchase tickets to both in person and online virtual events through the Gallery Players website, or if you are going to the concert, at the door as well.

Later this week when the weather promises to be a little bit warmer, you can journey through a guided tour  of downtown St. Catharines, with a focus on site-specific audio, visual and performance installations that it is hoped will allow you to re-imagine a variety of downtown St. Catharines public spaces.  Offered by our local arts theatre group Suitcase in Point, "Metanoia:  The Experience" is an evolution of "Metanoia: The Mixtape, bringing various artistic interpretations of change to life in the heart of the city.

This is largely an outdoor event, running evenings starting at 8 pm each night from this Thursday, March 23rd to Saturday, March 25th.  There is a limited capacity for each tour, which will be about 40 minutes in length as participants trek to outdoor locations within just one downtown block of St. Catharines City Hall.  Those who attend will also be able to enjoy the after show lounge each evening at Wandering Spirits, located right downtown at 31 James Street.

The evening is produced by Suitcase in Point with contributing artists including Sodienye Waboso Amajor, Roselyn Kelada-Sedra, Shannon Kitchings, Mayumi Lashbrook, Heryka Miranda, Chance Mutuku, Phil Davis, Deanna Jones, Alex Ring and Lauren Garbutt.

Tickets are available in advance by contacting Suitcase in Point.

Have a great weekend and stay warm!

March 18th, 2023.

The Niagara Symphony and The Foster Festival are both taking to the stage soon

 After another snowfall in Niagara you may be ready for an arts-related diversion or two, so I'll offer up a couple of ideas for you to consider as you head through your snowy Saturday...

The next Masterworks concert for the Niagara Symphony takes place this Sunday afternoon at 2:30 at their home base, Partridge Hall at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.  There are two large works making up the programme tomorrow, one by a Sri Lankan-born Canadian composer and the other by a Russian composer from the last century.

Dinuk Wijeratne is a Juno and multi-award-winning composer, conductor and pianist who is equally at home working with symphony orchestras such as the NSO as well as string quartets, tabla players and even DJs.  The TorQ Percussion Quartet will be performing along with the NSO in the orchestral world premiere of Wijeratne's Invisible Cities, which is described as being full of bold and invigorating percussive colours.

Mr. Wijeratne will be in attendance for the concert tomorrow afternoon, giving a pre-concert talk in Partridge Hall beginning at 1:45.  The concert itself begins at 2:30 pm.

The second half features one of the most romantic of symphonic works from the last or any other century for that matter, the popular Symphony No. 2.  The work has inspired many performers and other composers over the years, including infamously Eric Carmen back in the mid-70s.

Rachmaninoff was really a throwback to the era of Romanticism in classical music, almost old-fashioned in the first half of the last century when he and his family emigrated to North America and settled first in New York City and then due to declining health relocating to Beverly Hills, California.  He only became a US citizen shortly before his death in 1943.

Tickets for the performance are available through the FirstOntario PAC box office either in advance or at the door prior to the concert tomorrow afternoon at 2:30.

Meantime rehearsals are currently underway for the world premiere of the play Danny & Delilah by Norm Foster, which opens this coming Wednesday evening by the Foster Festival.  The Festival, dedicated to producing mostly plays by Norm Foster, also offers world premieres of most all of his works now, and the Festival has been tremendously successful since it began about a decade ago.

Danny & Delilah tells the story of high school student Delilah who goes to live with 72-year-old Daniel and his guidance counsellor daughter Sherry for a month.  Needless to say there is a generational and cultural clash between the two D's before they forge a solid connection.  The newest Foster play is one of friendship in the unlikeliest of places and is full of Foster's trademark humour.

The play stars Taran Bamrah, Erin MacKinnon, Peter Millard and Karen Wood.  These latter two veterans have done extensive work in theatre for many years, most notably at both the Shaw and Stratford Festivals.  

Marcia Kash is the director of Danny & Delilah and I was pleased to see an old acquaintance of mine, Alexa Fraser, is the costume designer for the production.

Performances begin Wednesday and continue until the 26th of March at the Mandeville Theatre at Ridley College, where parking is free.

Tickets are available by contacting The Foster Festival directly or at the door prior to the performance.

Have a great weekend!

March 11th, 2023.

Two destinations to get out of the house this weekend

 We seem to have weathered the latest blast of Old Man Winter, which arrived late yesterday and finally blew itself out earlier this morning.  Here in my part of North Niagara things are really not bad at all, although the snow we did get is rather wet and heavy.  But it won't last, as we have some milder weather on the way and besides, it is early March, so how much more of this will we get?  Not bothering to consult with the groundhog for obvious reasons.

Other parts of Ontario seem to have been hit harder than most of us here in Niagara, so be careful while venturing outside today.  

If you get a bad case of cabin fever and want to escape for a bit, I have a couple of performances this weekend that might be of interest to you, one here in Niagara and the other in one of my favourite little corners of the world, Elora, by way of Kitchener.

Tomorrow afternoon at 4 the Elora Singers will continue with their winter season with a concert entitled "Baroque Meditations" at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church at 54 Benton Street in Kitchener.

The concert begins with the haunting and rarely-heard "Stabat Mater" by the early baroque Italian composer Agostino Steffani, composed in 1724 for six voices and Orchestra.  It was a later work for the busy composer and was presented along with some madrigals to the Academy of Vocal Music in London on the occasion of his being elected their Honorary President for Life.  It didn't last long though, as Steffani died on a trip to Frankfurt, Germany four years later.

Steffani, who was born in 1654, was an ordained priest as well as a prolific composer, eventually attaining the title of Kapellmeister at the Court of Hanover.  It was in this position he met and befriended a young George Frederic Handel in 1710, helping the younger composer early on in his career.

Speaking of Handel, his familiar "Dixit Dominus" rounds out the Elora Singers concert tomorrow afternoon, and was written while he lived briefly in Rome at the beginning of the 18th Century.

Tickets for the concert can be picked up at the door or in advance by calling the box office at 1-519-846-0331 or online at www.elorasingers.ca.

Closer to home, the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake has already started previews of the World Premiere of a long-awaited South Asian epic in two parts at the Festival Theatre.  The production, in collaboration with Why Not Theatre, gets the 2023 Shaw Festival season underway on an epic journey.

The production, "Mahabharata", is a contemporary adaptation of the four-thousand-year-old Sanskrit epic written and adapted by Ravi Jain and Miriam Fernandes from an original concept developed with Jenny Koons, and uses poetry from Carole Satyamurti's "Mahabharata: A Modern Retelling".  Jain and Fernandes are also directing the production, 

The presentation is in two parts:  "Karma (Part One)" and "Dharma (Part Two)" and there are performances of both parts along with "Khana", a community meal with storytelling, on March 4, 5,9,11,12,16,18,25 and 26.

The World Premiere was commissioned and will be presented by the Shaw Festival through to March 26th.  The production is by Why Not Theatre in association with the Barbican in London.

For tickets and more information go to www.shawfest.com.

Have a great weekend!

March 4th, 2023.

Two more local events to celebrate Black History Month in Niagara

 With Black History Month set to come to a close for another year later this week, just a quick reminder about a couple of local events happening in downtown St. Catharines that are very worthy of your consideration.

The always adventurous Suitcase in Point theatre is partnering with BlackOwned 905, Niagara Artists Centre, Meridian Credit Union and Future Black Female to host a variety show for Black residents to showcase their talents in recognition of Black History Month.

Residents who participate will get paid to do so but the show is free admission if you wish to attend as a spectator.  The deadline to apply to perform is now passed but you can still catch the show later today from 4 to 7 pm,   There will also be a vendor market hosted by BlackOwned 905 in addition to the talent show.

If you're interested in going, stop by the Niagara Artists Centre on St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines this afternoon.

Next Saturday, March 4th, although technically after the end of Black History Month, will be the evening you can catch an important film screening at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

The film is The Scar of Shame, directed by Frank Perugini in 1929 and featuring an all-Black cast.  Produced by Colored Players Film Corporation in Philadelphia, the silent film is a social melodrama about an impoverished young woman who escapes her abusive father and is rescued by an aspiring composer.

This is a co-production with the Film House at the PAC and our local professional chamber ensemble Gallery Players, and the players will actually perform live improvised music during the screening, much as it would have been back in 1929 when the film first premiered.

This is really a lost art form and when you come right down to it, the musical success of such a venture comes from it not actually being noticed, as it is just a seamless package.

Performers for the evening will be Douglas Miller on flute, Eric Mahar on guitars, and Penner Mackay on percussion.  Local film critic and curator of the Movie Night series, Joan Nicks, will provide the introduction to the performance at 6:45 pm next Saturday evening.

For tickets or more information go to either the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre or Gallery Players websites and you should be able to link up from there.

Have a great weekend!

February 25th, 2023.

Black History Month events continue downtown at the PAC

 I know Tuesday is Valentine's Day and all, but it's a manufactured holiday and I will be spending it alone again this year anyways, so why bother writing about it?!

Instead, I thought I would update you on the events still to come this month at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines relating to Black History Month.

There's been plenty to take in already and the next week or so will continue with several events planned, beginning with a couple of Film House presentations this evening.  

At 6 pm there will be a screening of the U.S. film from 2018, "Sorry to Bother You", the debut film for director Boots Riley.  It's an R-rated film starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson and Jermaine Fowle and is presented by The Film House in collaboration with the Brock University Communication, Popular Culture and Film Student Society.

This is part of the Essential Cinema program designed to bring student-led programming to Niagara and basically form part of a list of films deemed to be must-see.  Each film in the series will be preceded by a short presentation by the student programmers.

"Sorry to Bother You" follows Cassius "Cash" Green as he starts a new job at a telemarketing company.  The film comments on race, class division and the dark side of American business, and the role of Green proved to be a breakout role for Lakeith Stanfield.

Reserved seating can be booked by contacting the PAC box office; tickets are general admission and there is a discount for Film House members.

At 9 tonight there is the second of three screenings this month of another Film House presentation, Saint Omer, with the final screening coming up Thursday of this week at 2 pm.  Directed by Alice Diop and rated PG-13, this film came out just last year and is in fact France's official Oscar entry this year.

Starring Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda and Valerie Dreville, Saint Omer follows the novelist Rama, who attends the trial of a mother accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her on a beach in northern France, leaving her to fall victim to the rising tide.  But what comes out at the trial it turns out shakes Rama's convictions and calls into question our own judgment.

Seating is once again reserved with a discount for Film House members, and the film is in French with English subtitles.

Moving over to Partridge Hall for a live music event, the PAC presents the acclaimed Nathaniel Dett Chorale in a programme entitled "Harriet Tubman:  When I Crossed That Line to Freedom".  It's a two-act opera that tells the story of Harriet Tubman, the legendary Underground Railroad conductor who began life as a slave herself.  The story is told in the context of Tubman's tight-knit family of lively characters, based on recent biographies of Tubman.

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is Canada's first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles and was founded and is still directed by Artistic Director and conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.

Their namesake, of course, had close ties to Niagara.

The performance takes place a week from tonight, February 18th at 7:30 pm and tickets are available through the PAC box office.

Finally on Sunday, February 19th at 2 pm there's another Film House presentation at the PAC, the U.S. film from 2021 entitled "In Our Mothers' Gardens", directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis.  Rated NR, the film celebrates the strength and resiliency of Black women and Black families through the complex and often humorous relationships between mothers and daughters.

The film stars Tarana Burke Tina Farris and Shantrelle P. Lewis.

This is a free screening and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Moderator Sodienye Waboso Amajor, a Dora-nominated Nigerian/Canadian artist living and working here in Ontario.  Panelists are Katwe Henry, Nicola Hasmatali and Chidera.

There is lots to discover this month celebrating Black History Month, both at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines and various other locations around Niagara and indeed Ontario as well.  Take the time if you can to see what you can discover this month and throughout the coming year!

Have a great weekend.

February 11th, 2023.

The case for human interaction at the checkout

 I decided to take a detour from arts reporting again this week since January is a little lighter on events most years, and offer up a minor rant this weekend.  Not quite up to my usual visits to the High Rant District as I call it, but close.

First, let me offer up a bit of history on me.  I hate self checkouts.  Full stop.

For most of my life I have avoided the things, along with bank machines and any other automated replacement for human contact.  Why?  Because I value human contact, and by extension the humans who provide it.

Time was, I paid my bills at the teller at my bank.  I didn't have to of course.  But I got to know my tellers at the local branch and it was more of a social call than anything else, mixed in with a bit official business to make it, well, official.  Then COVID hit and human interaction was not only avoided but most often not allowed.  

I made do and still do by dutifully using the bank machine since my local branch still does not serve customers for ordinary transactions as they once did.  I'm used to it now and will probably just keep going on paying my bills online as I have done the last couple of years or so.  But a small part of the human element is missing and I for one do in fact miss it.

Funnily enough, when I was unceremoniously let go from my radio job after a very long time I still had to work to pay the mortgage and such and decided to put my well-established customer service skills to good use.

I applied for a teller's position at that very bank where I now use the bank machine.  Oh, they call them Members Services Representatives but we all know what that means.  We were tellers.

I may have struggled with the sales aspect of the job which ultimately lost me that position after a year and a half of stress, but I excelled in the customer service department.

Why?  Because I love interacting with people.  I give respect and hopefully receive it back in kind.  I got to know a lot of the people I served by name but also found out about their lives and what made them tick.

Perhaps it was all those years in radio as an interviewer that prepared me for this aspect of the position.

On one memorable occasion a young lady came in rather stressed and as I always did I asked how she was that day.  She teared up as she told me she had just found out her young son was diagnosed with autism.  It just so happened some months before I had done a fascinating interview with a gentleman who lived with not one but two autistic sons and he went on to found an online resource for other parents in the same boat and not knowing where to turn.

I took the time to relay as much of that information to this young lady as I could, thankful there were no other customers waiting in the line to be served at that moment.  Afterwards she heaved a sigh of relief and said she was glad she came in that day and I had served her.

I was lousy at sales but I didn't care.  That moment and her comment made my day.  Heck my entire year!

When I am served at a checkout, be it grocery store, my local pharmacy or wherever, I often try to establish a rapport with the person serving me if I see them on a regular basis, which is often the case.  So I would always make it a practice to address them by first name if I knew it.

For me, it was showing respect and appreciation for that person for services rendered, in a setting where more often than not they are subjected to more vitriol than kindness.

It takes so very little effort and yet, it is becoming an increasingly rare commodity.  Kindness.

I was reminded this morning how my Mom and Dad, when they moved down to St. Catharines from Toronto, made new friends in a new city.  Dad made new friends everywhere he went as he was always out going somewhere.  Mom was more of a homebody but every Thursday morning had to go to the local A&P to do the week's grocery shopping.

It turns out Mom developed a real rapport with one cashier in particular and would see this lady every single week for years, and they became friends.  When Mom passed away this lady attended the visitation.  I was touched, because I knew Mom had touched that lady over the years and she was paying it back in kind.

That's what humans do.  Or at least should do.

Why am I bringing all this up today?  Two reasons really.

This week I had to stop at my local Canadian Tire to pick up a couple of things and when I reached the checkout I was dismayed to find there were no service checkouts open.  NONE.  I was forced to use the self-checkout or not buy what I needed.

I reluctantly opted to use the self checkout but cursed silently whilst doing so.  

Now I know it was a weekday afternoon and retaining staff is harder now and blah, blah, blah.  I get that.  But you are in the business of service customers for heaven's sake!  Can you not afford to have ONE service checkout open?!  

This unfortunately, is becoming the rule rather than the exception and I am very much dismayed by it all.

The second reason I brought this up today is because I heard a report on CBC Radio this morning about a North Edmonton Sobey's that has opened what they call a Slow Checkout Lane.  When opened, the friendly cashier takes the time to actually chat with the customer and get to know them.  They are encouraged to take the time with the customer.

How novel an idea is that?!  The manager says the idea came to him after hearing about a store in the Netherlands that did the same thing and he decided to think outside the checkout lane, as it were, and try it.

Turns out it is becoming a hit.  Not with everyone of course and I can't say if I am in a rush I would go into that lane if there were others to choose from.  But to have the choice to do either is so valuable and I dare say, needed more than ever today.

One of the many sad truths about the pandemic is we have lost a great deal of human contact, initially out of necessity and now perhaps, out of habit.  People need human contact, plain and simple.

We live in an increasingly automated age.  Self-serve gas stations are the norm now, for example.  But you usually still have to go to pay someone unless you opt to pay at the pump, which I never do.

Can we not find the time for a little human interaction now and then?  Take the time if you can and wish that person serving you a pleasant day.  I guarantee you they will appreciate it.

Not all interactions will be like the one I had with the young mother of an autistic child but it doesn't matter.  Human interaction is an increasingly rare commodity in today's society and I think we're all the poorer for it.

The Slow Checkout Lane.  An idea whose time has come...again.

Have a great weekend!

January 28th, 2023.

Change of conductor for the Niagara Symphony concert this weekend

 We're getting into that quieter time of the winter season when all the holiday concerts are done and you have a little less choice for live performances.  There's always things going on in the area, of course, but it is much easier to avoid getting overwhelmed as is often the case in November/December.

The highlight this weekend is the next Masterworks concert with the Niagara Symphony, taking place Sunday afternoon at the customary 2:30pm at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines.

The concert, entitled Gilbert Conducts Dvorak, will not in fact be conducted by guest conductor Dina Gilbert.  Due to what are termed "unforeseen circumstances", Dina Gilbert will not be in town this weekend, but her place on the podium will be taken instead by Martin MacDonald.

MacDonald is turning out to be one of Canada's more dynamic young conductors and was recently named Music Director of the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra in East Toronto.  He has travelled across the country conducting orchestras in Victoria all the way across the country to Newfoundland.  That is one of the perks of guest conducting, of course, you get to see a lot of the country and meet a lot of great musicians along the way.

The downside of course is you don't necessarily have a home base to which you return to conduct, although that is now remedied with MacDonald's more recent posting in East Toronto.  Many conductors still travel and guest conduct while away from their home base, of course, and some even prefer to just travel and guest conduct and simply not have to deal with all the administrative duties that come with being a Music Director or Artistic Director.

Different strokes for different folks, as they say...

Anyway, Martin MacDonald, who hails from Cape Breton now makes his home in Toronto so he is certainly within commuting distance to Niagara to take up the baton this weekend.

On the programme this Sunday will be Dvorak's Symphony No. 8, along with Fung's Pizzicato and Vasks' Viola Concerto.  The soloist will be Canadian violist Marina Thibeault, and that means both conductor and soloist will both be making their debuts with the NSO this weekend.

While this can be nerve-wracking for some, coming in to conduct at the last minute, it does happen quite often.  The NSO's own Music Director Bradley Thachuk was recently in Buffalo to pinch hit as conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic.  And history is full of last-minute fill-ins:  one of the most famous in the last century was when Leonard Bernstein took the podium in the 50s to fill in for an ailing Bruno Walter.  That guest stint ultimately led to Bernstein assuming the position of the New York Philharmonic on a permanent basis in 1958 and he held the position until 1969.

So you never know where a guest spot can take you.  It's rarely a good idea to say "No thanks" in a case like that...

Tickets are still available for the Gilbert Conducts Dvorak without Gilbert concert this Sunday afternoon.  Just call or visit the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office or pick them up at the door prior to the performance at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.  As always, this will be in the home of the NSO, the lovely Partridge Hall.

Have a good weekend!

January 21st, 2023.

Tailoring the past in the present

 I have written recently in this space about my desire in 2023 to up my personal style quotient while lamenting the increasing lack of gentlemanly elegance in both dress and manners in today's society in general.  So this week I wanted to continue that theme somewhat as I take another New Year's detour from my usual arts reporting in this space, if you will indulge me...

Last Saturday, rather than write my regular post here, I headed down to the Hamilton area for the afternoon on a tailoring pilgrimage of sorts.  I embraced both the past and the present while there and it was an opportunity for me to finally connect the dots on a unique purchase I made last summer here in St. Catharines.

You might recall if you follow my social media feeds I came away with a real gem of a find at my local Value Village in July.  Scanning the rack of men's suits and jackets rarely presents a diamond in the rough, but it did this day.  I caught a glimpse of a pair of bright silver silver sleeve buttons, and had to investigate further.

What I found was an exquisite blue blazer that obviously had performed a ceremonial function for a well-dressed gentleman many years ago.  The silver buttons, imprinted with "F.D." suggest it was perhaps the dress jacket for the member of a fire department many years ago.  There obviously were no official emblems or patches, which would have had to be removed once the garment was discarded.  I thought about changing the buttons but so far I have let them remain as they really are special.  I will investigate further the origins of the blazer when I can, but the origins of its manufacture is the real story here.

I always check the inside pockets for any information and right there is a label saying it was manufactured by Firth Tailoring of Hamilton, and inside the pocket was the valuable information it was custom tailored for a gentleman in April of 1967.  This garment I'm holding is now 56 years old!

It is in perfect condition and slipping it on, the fit is perfect as well.  Not a thing needs to be changed.  Amazing.  

It is heavier than your normal blazer and a bit longer, so I chose to utilize it as a fall and early spring coat, over a sweater or turtleneck for warmth.  It cuts quite an elegant look to be sure.

The price?  $21 plus tax.  I felt I had won the lottery!

I love history as well as fine tailoring, so finding both in one garment at a bargain price is for me almost a dream come true.

I took it to my tailor and had an elegant breast pocket patch I picked up years ago as well as a white cotton handkerchief tucked inside added to the breast pocket to personalize it a bit.

So now, the search for the history began.  I found a website documenting the amazing history of Firth Tailoring in downtown Hamilton and discovered the story is an interesting one.  I tracked down a Firth offspring who administers the site, and even sent her pictures of the blazer.

It turns out the company was established in 1890 by tailor and designer Norman F. Firth.  His brother John later joined the company and it became Firth Brothers Tailoring.  The first location was the old Opera House at 106 James Street North in Hamilton, later moving to more spacious location at 144 James Street North, which enabled the company to grow into a thriving retail and wholesale manufacturer.  At its peak in 1959 the company had more than 600 dealers across the country.

Along the way they outgrew the second James Street North location and moved operations a short distance away to a brand new store with adjoining two-story plant at 127 Hughson Street at Cannon in the heart of downtown Hamilton.  

As well as supplying made-to-measure suits, the company supplied as many as 3,000 greatcoats per week for troops serving in the Second World War.

After the war they went back to civilian tailoring and things continued to thrive through the 50s and 60s.  Alas, the advent of cheaper offshore ready-to-wear suits in the 70s largely eliminated the market for fine tailoring for all but a small clientele, and by 1978 the glorious history of Firth Tailoring came to a close.

The building at 127 Hughson Street in Hamilton was then occupied for many years by another men's clothing manufacturer, but eventually they moved on as well and the grand building has sat vacant for many years now, still with the stylized "F" in the front facade at either end of the building.  It has since been bought by a developer and as it is designated a heritage property it will have to be preserved going forward and that is good news.

Last Saturday I had to drive down to see my friends at Stoney Creek Tailors to pick up a small order and afterwards drove into downtown Hamilton to find that now-abandoned Firth Tailoring building.  It is a mere shadow of its former self now of course, but still looking stately and elegant with lots of windows still intact and such a story to tell of the history of men's tailoring in downtown Hamilton.

I stood there on Hughson Street looking across at 127, wearing my Firth Tailoring blazer of course, marvelling at the fact people in that very building put countless hours into the tailoring of this very garment I am now wearing, still looking great 56 years later.

This is what I love about exploring history and how the story evolved.  In a way, I am now a small part of the story as well, I guess, and proud to be so.  This blazer will certainly last the remainder of my lifetime, and that can't be said of many items we have in our collective closets now I bet.

It's funny how a chance encounter in my local thrift shop brought me on this pilgrimage last Saturday afternoon in Hamilton.  That's history.  And that's fascinating.

I will continue to proudly wear my Firth Tailoring blazer and celebrate a great Canadian success story.

Have a great weekend!

January 14th, 2023.