Somehow Paul manages to get seven “nibbles” and arranges seven ‘dates’ in seven days. FISHING is about a week in the bizarre world of internet dating. One in five relationships now start on the internet, but every date arranged over cyberspace is potentially hazardous to your health.

At the end of his seven days, Paul Fisher will definitely never be the same again; but will he have landed the fish of his dreams? Fishing also stars Stacy Smith and is directed by Alexis Milligan.

The play is touring the Maritimes with performances at The Evergreen Theatre (Margaretsville, on May 25) and The Al Whittle Theatre (Wolfville, on May 26, 27, 29 & 30).

www.offtheleash.ca/fishing

Andy and Ariana have cooked up yet another charming extension of themselves: a multilingual, poly-instrumental, über-sweet-sounding musical stew. Their new album, Good to Be Home, is their 8th album recorded together, and with the groove co-op of Chris Robison and Adam Bazinet providing a meaty backbone on most of the tracks, serves up eleven songs of homey goodness, warm and savory until the last note.

Eight of the songs on the album are brand new, and provide the listener with a glimpse of what Andy and Ariana have been up to in the past year. For one, they’ve got a woodstove, immortalized in the first track; ‘The Woodstove’ riffs on an extended metaphor of their fire-powered house as a ship, and has a wickedly dark sound, like a mischief-ridden secret. ‘Oh Baby!’ is maybe the best song on the album, so tender and melodic, about all the new little lives that have popped out around them lately. Ariana lays down an excellent old-timey fiddle performance on this one too.

As a special treat, the album includes a re-release of crowd-pleasers ‘Water’ and ‘Mara Manzoor.’ Newly recorded with all the benefits of Andy’s meticulous studio engineering, these hits never sounded better. They also dusted off an old recording by obscure 1980s Swiss band Chinook; ‘Sweetheart of Stone’ is a solid, awesome song, and has been a wonderful addition to their setlist, with the added bonus of getting to hear Andy sing the lead. We get more of Andy on lead vocals in ‘Uncle Sam’ — a reggae-infused rant showcasing his political bent, as well as in the title track ‘Good to Be Home’, in which he and Ariana trade the lead. This song is fun and heart-warming, and along with their always dead on vocal harmonies, shows off what they do best. It embodies the exuberance of the album and them as a whole.

Like their last album, Good to Be Home is a studio recording. But as an improvement on the quality sound they can produce in that setting, this album achieves more of a band feel, and so provides more of the live energy we love so much about them. The album is quintessentially Andy and Ariana: it contains their signature jazzy elements, Andy’s beat-boxing, Ariana’s woodwinds and mind-blowing vocal prowess — a lyrical blend of funky, folky, world-musicy tunes, with the pleasing addition of more country overtones this time around.

Come hear the new album performed live, and get your copy, at the release concert this weekend. In their own endearing, musical, quirky way, Andy and Ariana make it so great to be home. They are the local music scene’s steadfast rudder and have every reason to rhyme.

The CD release concert is Saturday, April 14th, 8pm at the Al Whittle Theatre. Tickets are available in advance at the Rolled Oat Café for $12, or $15 at the door, if there are any left.

                               ~ Laura MacDonald

Anastasia is an historical drama told through the vibrant choreography of the award-winning BJC Artistic Director, Bengt Jörgen. Hailed by The Globe and Mail’s Paula Citron as “…lyrical, attractive and accessible…a crowd pleaser…a what’s-not-to-like ballet performed by a company that brings high professional standards to its craft,” Anastasia is the mystical story of the seventeen-year-old Russian Grand Duchess as she grows from a playful tomboy to a poised young woman, against the backdrop of Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution. This lavish production takes place over the four fateful years that transformed the Russian Empire and ultimately the world.

“The mystique that still surrounds the fate of the Russian Romanov Grand Duchess Anastasia more than 90 years after her disappearance in July, 1918, is a fascinating story to explore. The fact that her family was closely associated with the evolution of ballet as an art form through their personal patronage of the Imperial Ballet adds particular poignancy to telling this story through the medium of ballet,” explains Bengt Jörgen.

An original, full-sized symphony score was commissioned from the Russian-Canadian composer Ivan Barbotin, who also created the scores for Ballet Jörgen Canada’s The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Velveteen Rabbit, with choreography by Bengt Jörgen.  Award-winning Canadian designers Sue LePage and Bonnie Beecher made their Ballet Jörgen Canada debut with the original production. Bonnie Beecher’s lights illuminate the costumes and sets by Sue LePage that are reminiscent of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 20th century.

Anastasia is on stage Saturday, April 7 at 2 pm at the Festival Theatre on the Acadia University campus in Wolfville. Tickets are $32 ($22 students) and are available at the Acadia Box Office or by calling 1-800-542-8425 or 542-5500.

Associated with Ballet Jörgen’s visit to the Valley is a full program of workshops on April 6. For more information about these educational opportunities, go to  go.acadiau.ca/APA_BJW/info.htm                 

Contact: Peter 585-1282 / peter.smith@acadiau.ca

To Make A Farm, a feature-length documentary film exploring local food and farming, will show in Wolfville March 29^th.  A discussion will follow with members of the local farming community.

To Make A Farm, named one of the ten most popular Canadian films at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) in 2011, depicts the struggles and triumphs of a season on a fledgling farm through the eyes of five young people who have decided to become small-scale farmers, despite having no backgrounds in this demanding profession.   More information at www.tomakeafarm.ca.

The Acadia Community Farm (ACF) began with the vision of providing local, organic produce to the University dining hall, while also serving as a community garden. Entering our fourth season, the ACF has evolved into a community centre for exchanging knowledge about gardening, food, and sustainable agriculture. Membership is free, and open to all members of the community.  Members can cultivate their own plot and/or assist with the university or food bank plots. No experience necessary, just enthusiasm! Visit www.acadiafarm.org for more information or contact jodie.noiles@acadiau.ca.

Screening: Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville, March 29^th at 7pm.  Tickets are $8 with a portion of the proceeds going toward AFC. Available through Box of Delights Book Shop in Wolfville,

542-9511, or by contacting Todd at: 542-9848 / wolfville@katimavik.org.

To learn about Katimavik, please visit: www.katimavik.org                    

~ Thanks for your support!

Six Characters Looking for an Author is a timeless exploration of creativity and the deceptive power of appearances. Set in a theatre in Rome on the brink of Fascism, an acting company is rehearsing a strange new play by Luigi Pirandello. Six characters walk into the theatre unannounced seeking an author to complete their story because they’ve been abandoned by their author in mid-action. The director and his company of actors agree to play out the characters’ drama, but can they settle on the truth of things?

Performances in Lower Denton Hall: March 7-10, and 14-17, 2012 @ 7:30 p.m.

Talkback after the March 14th performance.

Tickets: $12

Students and seniors $10

Groups of 8 or more people $7

Tickets are available at the door or at the Acadia Box Office 542-5500

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