After visiting Just Us! Coffee Co-op and Grand Pre (Nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status) and several key agricultural leaders, she will attend the Valley Sustainability Showcase at the Wolfville Farmers Market (2:30-4:30) that brings together vendors from the Wolfville, Kentville and Windsor markets as well as a showcase supporting community resiliency and sustainble initiatives currently active in Nova Scotia. Local politicians, business persons and educational faculty from Acadia will be present at this exhibition  of the Annapolis Valley’s dynamism. This event is free and open to the public but donations are encouraged.

From 5 until 6:30 she will attend a fundraising dinner at Tempest Restaurant (117 Front Street, Wolfville). This dinner is open to the public and will be a vegetarian 4 course meal with local wine. Host chef is Slow Food Nova Scotia leader Michael Howell.  The dinner is $59.95 + HST and will support Navdanya and Slow Food’s 1000 Gardens in Africa Project. Please contact the restaurant directly to make a reservation at 542-0588 or info@tempest.ca.

At 7pm that evening Dr Shiva will give an address at Horton High School in Greenwich entitled The Future of our Food.  This presentation is hosted by the Horton Environment Club.  Tickets can be purchased in advance at Box of Delights in Wolfville and are $25 for adults and $5 for students. All proceeds support Navdanya and the Peoples Policy on Global Seed Sovereignty.

For more information on all events please contact Dr. Edith Callaghan at 585-1012

DIRTY DEEDS have built a grand following in The Valley and attracted over 10,000 people to Memorial Park in Kentville for Apple Blossom 2009 and 2010. When they weren’t there last year, the public made it clear that they wanted the boys back. So back they will be, “Back in Black” to be exact.

They are bringing their cannons, their huge bell and a full slew of raunchy Rock classics, so fans of AC/DC are in for a night of fun, cheap drinks ($2.50 beer/hi-balls) and a load of their favourite AC/DC songs, done by the best thing next to the real thing.

Tickets are available at: Everlasting Ink (New Minas), Fanfare (New Minas), Dooly’s (New Minas), Moe’s Music (Windsor), Mama Sofia’s Pizzeria (Kingston) & Box of Delights (Wolfville). Limited amount of advance tickets 2 for $25 or $15 each, $20 at the door…but there’s a good chance it’ll sell out. There will be lots of prizes, including weekend passes for 2 to SMOKIN’ BLUES FEST 2, Everlasting Ink tattoos, Spa packages and much more. $2 off at the door with a food bank item. For more info: 691-4747 / smokinentertainment@hotmail.com

JN: David mentioned that the New Minas Coop was: too big, not attracting young people and not retail focused (it was basically a wholesaler for Coop Atlantic). Older generations understand the benefits of Coop’s but, without the interest new faces, they aren’t sustainable.

KC: Our business model – a consumer/producer partnership is very different than the Kent Coop model other than it will be a co-operative business with the opportunity for people to become owners.  You will not have to be a member to shop or supply the food market.  Our goal is to create a food market that delivers “an experience” for all generations, but with particular focus on the younger generation.  We hope to achieve this by creating a family friendly environment with play area for children, interactive workshops and cooking classes for those interested in learning more about their food and where it comes from.

JN: David also mentioned that a Coop in Port Williams will work because it’ll be a smaller store (1/4th the size), there’s no other grocery in town while still being very accessible within the Windsor – Kentville corridor and it will have a strong focus on local, fresh and NS food. Producers will be encouraged to be active within the store and there will also be a butchery.

KC: Correct, our focus will be fresh and local whenever we can be – so fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh bread, fresh fish and meats and cheeses, all sourced local first.  We realize we will not be able to source local 52 weeks of the year so there will be times of the year that produce will be sourced outside our local market and our plan is to carry items like bananas and oranges that cannot be sourced locally any time of the year.  At the same time, we understand the convenience element of stocking grocery items as well which again will be sourced locally first.  We will look to our owners/partners for direction and input on the items we stock.

- Compiled by, Jeremy Novak

“So, what are you doing in Wolfville?” I asked.

“Roof checks,” he replied, waving a can of fluorescent spray paint.  “We don’t just wing it on the night, you know.  Lots of work.  Still, it’ll soon be over, and then we can kick back.  Blitzen and I are going out dancing New Year’s.  TripALady’s playing the Old O Barn here …”

“Really?  You know about them?”

“Come on.  Santa?  Naughty?  Nice? We know everything.”

“Oh.”  I paused, momentarily disturbed.  “Yeah.  Right.”

“ It should be a good time.  I love those twin fiddles.  There you are, bopping along to Human League – we all dig that stuff, everyone in the shop had Walkman’s, back in the day – and then … Whoosh! The reels kick in.  Or they hit some harmonies.”  His already-bright eyes glittered.  “It’s a blast.”

“That does sound like fun,” said I.

“And it’s good for the soul to dance on New Year’s.  The hustling’s all done ” – he rattled the spray can – “and dancing makes you joyful to be alive!  You go out with people you love, and celebrate future and past.  It’s an act of hope.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.  Besides,” he added with a sudden leer, “I heard Lee Aaron was at their Hallowe’en Dance.  Well, anyway, happy New Year to ye.”

“Merry Yule to you!”

And to you all.

TripALady plays the Old Orchard Inn Heritage Barn in Greenwich on Saturday, December 31.  Doors open at 9 pm, with music carrying on past midnight.  Tickets are $15 advance, $20 at the door, available from Box of Delights in Wolfville or from Aspinall Pottery at the Wolfville Farmers’ Market.  697-2271 for more info.  This is a licensed event!

Caleb Miles plays with his hat low and his fire high. It is a sensory experience to hear him perform the song ‘Silver Spoon,’ a dark blues in the murder ballad vein, about a servant girl hanged for allegedly stealing a piece of prized cutlery. Picking it on his shiny National Reso-phonic steel guitar, he and the song seem to exude wet storyteller smoke and ancient outlaw wisdom. This song along with eleven others make up his new album Strange Weather, and are a stunning arsenal of dark, lyrical, playful, wickedly good songs, set to be performed live at his CD release concert on December 17th.

Caleb wrote every song, sings and plays every single instrument on the album, and even recorded and mastered it himself. Far from sounding indulgent or cut-and-pasty, the songs instead achieve the radiant cohesiveness and robust energy of a live band. Caleb Miles is a masterful musician and songwriter, with his songs huddling conspiratorially around a rich subject area of Jericho and the jack of diamonds, black moons and gin, honey and jive. His lyrics are clear and classic while at the same time cerebral and poetic.

The album seems to cover every vintage sound of 60s and 70s music, from psychedelic rock and dreamy jazz, to feel-great pop and folky roots numbers. It sounds like The Beatles dressed in leather, Tom Petty on peyote, Led Zeppelin in the good ole days. Caleb proves himself to be a twelve-trick stallion who runs the gamut of musical styles and moods, covering with tasteful wit the themes of death, lust, and the apocalypse.

The music rocks hard with tracks like ‘Long Way Down,’ gets funky with ‘Story Never Told,’ is haunting and primal on ‘Oh Sadie,’ is achingly catchy, and orchestral at times; it descends into madness with ‘Ace of Spades’ and ‘Voices in Your Head,’ and rises sweetly at the end with the arrestingly gorgeous ‘Laughing Water.’ His songs creep up on you in the best way, and have a way of filling out a room, dripping green rhythms into every nook and cupboard.

In order to perform the album, a band of surrogate Calebs will join the real McCoy for his CD release concert: Ryan and Scott Hupman, Bob Federer, and Mike Carroll. To hear Caleb Miles’s songs, you’d swear he’s sold his soul to the Devil, or at least made some deal with the Prince of Darkness at the crossroads of Albuquerque and Portland. But see him live, and it’s obvious the soul is still present. Maybe he just sacrificed some voodoo juice to a passing desert oracle, or is channelling some mountain moon prophet. Either way, the show is sure to be one of the best of the year.

The CD release concert is Saturday, December 17th, 8pm at the Al Whittle Theatre. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at The Rolled Oat Café, or online at www.calebmiles.net. CDs will be on sale at the concert for a special price of $10.

That energizes her. “And, where else do adults get to tap into their inner child by playing dress-up and make-believe.”

She plays the storyteller in this year’s panto Snow White & the Seven Dudes. Ray Baltzer, who used to play Mr. Fezziwig, says that “the rush of seeing this overwhelmingly complex and confusing imbroglio come together in the last seven days before the curtain goes up, year after year, is enough to keep me coming back.”

“So many people working on different aspects, but all working together in a common cause to achieve a most worthy goal is quite impressive and extremely exhilarating,” he says.

The 17th annual production of the Fezziwig Society, a hilarious new pantomime for family audiences, runs in Wolfville from Nov. 17 – 19.

There are a slew of princes, all attempting to wake Snow White, while the seven Dudes, played by both well known and lesser-known local dudes (and a dudette) all pine with love. Halifax actor Jeremy Webb has delivered a brand new take on a familiar fairy tale story that will be sure to delight audience members of all ages.

Children and youth from the area support the adult cast. Snow White, herself, is double cast with Sonya Marinkovic and Kate Corrigan sharing the central role. The production will include songs and dance numbers in a variety of pop styles.

Show time for Snow White and the 7 Dudes in Wolfville’s Festival Theatre, will be 7 p.m., with a matinee Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students/seniors and $12 for adult seats, available at Box of Delights in Wolfville or at the door.

“This three-day festival offers cinephiles, foodies, chefs, students and food lovers from all walks of life a chance to see all kinds of films about food and wine; shorts and feature lengths films, locally produced and international favourites, new films and classics.”

29 FILMS, 13 COUNTRIES, FILMMAKERS ATTENDING FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

Make it a gastronomic weekend with great food from local restaurants, farm markets in Greenwich, and the Wolfville Farmers Market every Saturday morning and Wednesday evenings. Visit Atlantic Canada’s culinary epicentre here in Wolfville, NS

The inaugural event (held in 2009) attracted over 1,000 participants and early indications are that the 2011 fest will be larger in terms of attendance.

TICKETS FOR ALL SCREENINGS AND SPECIAL EVENTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT TICKETPRO.CA OR TICKETPRO LOCATIONS IN ATLANTIC CANADA. VISIT WWW.TICKETPRO.CA TO PURCHASE TICKETS

For a complete schedule:  www.slowmotionfilmfest.ca

Gaspereau Press – Printers and Publishers in Kentville, Nova Scotia – will open its doors to book lovers of all ages during its twelfth annual wayzgoose and open house. This year’s wayzgoose features wood engraver George Walker (Toronto, ON), authors Norman Ravvin (Montreal, QC) and Sean Howard (Main-à-Dieu, NS), and musician Heather Kelday.

The day will begin with morning workshops in printmaking and bookbinding, an author’s salon at Wickwire House Bed & Breakfast and an offcut paper sale at the Gaspereau Press printing works.

The open house takes place in the afternoon at the printing works of Gaspereau Press. The event showcases the press’s unique range of modern and antique printing and bindery equipment and offers the public a chance to meet artists and authors associated with the press, including this year’s special guest George Walker. Visitors to the open house will have a chance to “pull the devil’s tail” on an 1833 Albion hand press, beat cotton cloth to hand-make paper and and cast type from molten metal as the staff demonstrate the various aspects of book production.

Festivities continue with the annual book arts evening at the Kentville Civic Building, featuring music by Heather Kelday, readings by Norman Ravvin and Sean Howard, an illustrated talk by George Walker entitled “Printmaking and the Visual Narrative.” The evening will also feature short tributes marking the recent deaths of two important figures in the Canadian book world: poet and librarian Douglas Lochhead, and typographer and book designer Glenn Goluska.

OCT 20th, 8PM   The festival opens with stand up comedy …featuring Catherine Robertson, Windsor’s own Jillian Allen and the musical musings of Anna Denova.  Hosted by master storyteller Wanda Carroll.

FRIDAY, OCT 21nd, 8PM  The Vajayjay Monologue is a play that asks the question “How did we go from vagina to vajayjay in 10 short years?” Written by Lindsay Burns, it has performed to sold out houses at both the Winnipeg and New York Fringe Festivals.  At WTF it will be presented by Wanda Carroll, Trudy Fong, and Erin Lawless. If you   liked The Vagina Monologues, you will love the Vajayjay Monologues

SATURDAY, OCT 22ND, 8pm  Beyond the Gravelled Road is a collection of humourous stories from the life of Wanda Carroll, a Newfoundland writer/performer based out of Sheffield Mills. This show is the follow up to Wanda’s hit show The Road Less Gravelled, which last year sold out at WTF!

$10 students/seniors, $15 Adult

Tickets: Box of Delights, 466 Main St. Wolfville

Or online at ticketpro! Or at the door!

Location: Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville

WTF…….Wanda’s Theatre Festival…welcomes its first local sponsor, Joe’s Food Emporium. 

With presentation of a WTF ticket between Oct 20-22^nd you will receive a 15% discount. Thanks Joe!

Don’t miss this opportunity for some fun entertainment…