WHO: Students at the International School of the Kootenays (ISK)

WHAT: PeaceJam “Global Call to Action “ international youth peace conference

WHEN: September 11 – 13, 2008

WHERE: Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California

DETAILS: A group of high school students from Nelson, Kaslo, and Argenta are busy fundraising this summer to pay for their conference fees to attend the “PeaceJam Global Call to Action,” an international youth peace conference to be held in September in Los Angeles. The students are among the first graduates of an elective peace studies course, “PeaceJam Ambassadors,” offered through the International School of the Kootenays. The course, as well as the conference, aspires to create a new generation of young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world by studying the inspiring examples of Nobel Peace Laureates. For info on PeaceJam visit www.peacejam.org.

The “PeaceJam Global Call to Action” conference will bring together 3,000 young people from more than 37 countries for sessions and workshops led by seven Nobel Peace Prize winners including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, Rigoberta Menchú Tum of Guatemala, and Betty Williams of Northern Ireland. The conference will contribute to a growing international youth peace movement, the Global Call to Action, which sees young people the world over designing their own projects to tackle the ten core issues which Nobel Laureates think are critical to the future of our planet including ending racism and hate, social justice and human rights for all, and rights for women and children.

The students have identified their own Global Call to Action that they’ll present to a Laureate in Los Angeles then embark upon after returning from the conference and to their studies at ISK for PeaceJam II. They will work on advancing peace education for primary, secondary, and high school students in the Kootenays.

To help defray the costs of participating in the conference, the students are fundraising to pay their conference fees. The public is invited to support the students’ efforts by making a tax-deductible contribution to the International School of the Kootenays. To donate or for more information, contact ISK at 250-354-1310 or go to www.iskhighschool.org.

Join us every Saturday at Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History

Saturdays, 11am to Noon

Stroll back in time with the Heritage Walking Tour. Nelson is a city with ornate and grandiose High Victorian style architecture. To fully experience the history of the buildings in this beautiful town, take advantage of the guided tours offered by Touchstones Nelson: Museum of Art and History. Tour guides will share their expertise and stories of Nelson as you leisurely walk through historic downtown Nelson.

Heritage Walking Tours partner with the Nelson Summer Performance Festival! Tours are led by performer and storyteller, Stephen Fowler, adding a whole new aspect to these fun and informative tours.

Guided tours will leave Touchstones Nelson lobby Saturdays at 11:00 am.

$15 – Walking Tour and Adult Admission to Touchstones Nelson

$12 – Walking Tour and Senior/Student Admission

$10 – Walking Tour Only

$5 – Touchstones Members

Touchstones Nelson is located at 502 Vernon St. Please call 250.352.9813 or email info@touchstonesnelson.ca for more information.

Strap on your sneakers, bring your skateboard or ride your bike. Everyone is welcome to join in the event. You don’t need to collect pledges to show your support and join in the walk.

A post-walk party follows back at Rotary Park. Join us for a BBQ, music and entertainment.

AIDS Walk is Canada’s largest single day event for HIV fundraising and awareness. 100% of the proceeds from the walk are used to help individuals living with HIV/AIDS in the West Kootenay Boundary Region.

You can participate as an individual, team or volunteer. Together we can make a difference!

For more information contact the ANKORS office at (250) 505-5506 or 1-800-421-2437, or email aidswalk2008@ankors.bc.ca.

This exhibition aims to show the many facets of John Cooper that have been hidden by the passage of time, new interests and directions.  John began his arts career in the early sixties and his energy hasn’t abated over the last almost half century.  Born in Missouri, John studied at Phillips University in Oklahoma and completed his master’s degree at University of Washington, Seattle in 1965.  The beginning of his career was marked by the tumultuous sixties and the transition in art from the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock to the pop art Andy Warhol.  John drew his influence from many of his contemporaries before he settled in the Kootenays in the early seventies.  Since that time he has become known as a master of colour in both his painting and his teachings.

The work in the exhibition includes a film by David Churches called Harris Grocery that stars a youthful Cooper and begins to explain his life long relationship with objects.  Like Picasso, Cooper can never just see an object without seeing another and another until a hat stretcher becomes the head of his alter ego Walter Williams or a chair leg becomes a nose.  Unfortunately, due to a fire, much of his work from the sixties was lost.  The images that remain have been transferred to digital media and are also presented along with many paintings, sculptures and objects.  All of this Cooper-billia brought together in one place only begins to tell the story of a life of richness and beauty.

Join us at Touchstones Nelson for this opportunity to explore the works of one of Nelson’s most renowned artists.  Members are invited to the opening reception on Sunday, August 3rd, 1 to 3pm.

A group of Nelson youth will present ten hours of live music at Lakeside Park on Wednesday, July 30th. The fundraising concert for War Child Canada kicks off at noon and continues non-stop until 10:00 p.m. This is the third annual community based event, and is entirely organized by youth. Almost $20,000 was raised for the work of War Child in the past two years.

There is no admission fee for the concert and all ages are welcome. Funds are raised through pledges collected, through an on-site silent auction and donations are welcome during the event.

According to Laura Metcalfe, one of the event organizers “We have three goals for Keep the Beat. The first is to raise money and help war-affected children. We also want to provide an annual community event that brings people together in Lakeside Park for a fun day together and our final goal is to give young people the experience of working together to organize a major event. So far, we’re pleased with what we’ve accomplished with all three.”

While some acts are yet to be confirmed, this year’s line up includes favourites such as Gemma Luna, James Lamb & Emily, the Nelson Marimba band, Lazy Poker Blues, Alex Scott , Booke, Zoey Ockenden and Laura Metcalfe. Aspen Switzer and Thistledown, fresh from a second CD release will perform as will up and coming Vancouver-based Mother Mother, who will headline the program. The Globe and Mail recently awarded their album Touch Up with four stars. Reviewer Chart Attack remarked that listening to Mother Mother is like reading Hunter S. Thompson – you end up in a place where reality has been delightfully skewed. The band is exciting and eccentric and will close the show.

War Child Canada implements humanitarian programs in war-torn communities around the world providing education, livelihoods training, legal, and psychosocial support to vulnerable children and their families in both emergency and post-conflict settings. War Child Canada currently provides humanitarian support to communities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan (including Darfur and southern Sudan), Uganda, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sri Lanka and Georgia. War Child Canada also generates awareness, support and action for children’s rights everywhere and has domestic outreach programs in schools and among youth across Canada. For more information about War Child Canada visit www.warchild.ca.

Lori Johnston, Manager of Youth Programs for War Child Canada, will arrive in Nelson from Toronto several days before the concert, to promote the organization, to support the local volunteers and to offer a workshop for educators on Global Classrooms.

Supporters of this year’s Keep the Beat include the Columbia Basin Trust, the Osprey Foundation, the Nelson IODE and Quiznos.

For more information on Keep the Beat or the educator’s workshop please contact: Zoey or Gary at 352-0188 or ockenden@netidea.com

When?
Saturday August 16th.

What should I do?
Invite your summer guests to join you on Aug 16 at Sunshine Bay Beach.

Time?
9am to midnight

Kids?
For the whole family! Kids’ creative & fun activities, races & games, and Parade

Music?
All day long musical entertainment…

Night?
Live dance bands and the most spectacular fireworks display on the Lake!

Food?
Gourmet breakfast at 9 plus good eats all day long

Adult?
Licensed covered beverage garden

Cost?
Free entry

Where?
Beautiful Sunshine Bay Beach Park…halfway between Nelson and Kaslo, take
the Harrop-Procter 3 minute Ferry.

If I missed last year’s party?
Join the great company who didn’t, and are coming back for seconds!

Can I volunteer for a couple of hours or more?
Call John : 250-229-5402

Net proceeds from event go toward improving the community buildings,
grounds and infrastructure of Harrop, Procter and Sunshine Bay.

Anything else?
Mark the date, tell your people, forward this to others.
Thanks and see you on the 16th Aug at Sunshine Bay!

Harrop-Procter Party Central

Summer is here and it’s time to pick your summer reads. It takes only one good book to create a “passionate page turner.” Whether you read for inspiration, information, relaxation or indulgence, there are others who share your love of books. Reading and discussing what you read can open up new avenues of thought and ways of looking at the fascinating worlds within us and around us. Come share your insights or simply enjoy the company of others who love to read.

The books up for discussion this year are:
“The Rug Merchant” by Meg Mullens. This is a moving, intelligent portrait of an Iranian immigrant as he struggles with the adjustment of life in New York, an improbable and powerful romance and his vision of the “American dream.” It is a melancholy story about shaking free from disappointment and finding connection and acceptance in whatever forms they appear.

“To All Appearances a Lady” by Marilyn Bowering. A many layered and carefully choreographed novel about a half-Chinese boat pilot and his reluctant journey of self-discovery through his family’s murky past. The secrets are slowly unveiled as the story shifts between Canada, China and California from the 1880’s to the 1950’s.

“Divisadero” by Michael Ondaatje. This novel explores a family living on a farm in Northern California in the 1970’s and the events that splinter the family when the young daughter becomes involved with a farmhand. The writing is both rhythmic and jarring and intertwines the inner and outer worlds of the characters with the “history-soaked” hills of California. Quietly underscoring this is the theme of the importance of memory and the need to preserve and revisit it within an inner space.

And “Broken Ground” by guest author, Jack Hodgins. A rich, complex and riveting exploration of the presence of the First World War in the lives of the inhabitants of a “soldier’s settlement” on Vancouver Island. It is a powerful novel that immerses us in the lives of an entire community and provides a profoundly moving affirmation of life and a declaration of faith in a century that has severly tested humanity’s spiritual resolve.

Guest author Jack Hodgins will be speaking on Sunday, September 21st at 11:00 am.

Perfect summer books. Read and come join us at the 5th Annual Kootenay Book Weekend, being held September 19, 20 & 21st in Nelson at the Best Western on Baker Street.

For more information visit our website at www.kootenaybookweekend.ca, call Victoria at 352-6197 or email kbw@kootenaybookweekend.ca.

You may not be ready for Dancing with the Stars but you will be a few steps closer to that dream if you attend the Slocan Lake Dance Camp in New Denver this summer.
Scheduled for July 25 to 28 the dance camp offers workshops in Swing, Latin, Smooth & Country dance styles throughout the day. Each evening a shorter class is offered followed by a practice social dance after dark.
Workshops are two hours in length, designed to allow mastery of the basics and for the advanced dancers to refine new patterns.
Proctor resident Flavia Elias said, “We signed up for a lot but we were able to do it because the schedule was well-paced with generous spaces to enjoy the beautiful area in between workshops”
The smooth styles of Foxtrot and Waltz will be taught along with the popular East and West Coast Swing as well as Two-Step and the Latin dances, of Cha Cha and Rumba. Highlights include the popular Argentine tango, quick step, Viennese waltz, hustle and double shuffle.
Two venues will run concurrently with workshops specifically for young people all four days. Some bursaries are available for the teenagers and some volunteer opportunities exist as well.
Saturday night of Latin day the evening event is billed as a Polka-dot Party, a dress up dance including dance demo, a Tango performance and doorprizes. Sunday a catered dinner in the historic Bosun Hall is planned.
Last year the demographics revealed that there were more single people than couples registered in advance for workshops and more dropped into the evening dance.
In addition to potential romance, social dance can burn up to 300 calories an hour and proves to be excellent for sustaining mental acuity. Side effects include a great cardio workout and elevated endorphin levels.
So come celebrate summer in New Denver. Load up the canoe, your camping gear and water socks along with your dancing shoes, grooviest Hawaiian shirt or silky dance dress and join your new friends on the floor at the Slocan Lake Dance Camp. Visit www.dancingbeat.org for a registration form and a full schedule of workshops.

Paul Edney, co-author of Change the World for Ten Bucks and Don Nash, a local resident, recently launched a new initiative to inspire Nelsonites to use their everyday actions to make a difference.

The Inspire Nelson initiative uses the simple actions from Change the World for Ten Bucks to encourage individuals in the community to take action. With a combination of live events, partnerships with local businesses to promote positive action and the Inspire Nelson website (www.inspirenelson.ca), the initiative will run four campaigns over the next year. The first campaign runs through July and is based on Action 28 from the book: Hang your washing out to dry. It’s aptly called “Hang it out to dry in July”.

The inspiration for starting the initiative came during a conversation between Nash and Edney. Said Nash, “We were discussing the issue of carbon footprint and the recent phenomenon of paying on-line to offset your footprint. We both felt that if we were going to spend money on an initiative, we should spend it in our local community, after all, this is the area we impact.”

Added Edney, “So we started with the idea of a website where Nelsonites could simply track actions they are doing individually to make a difference and then see how together their actions create BIG change. We quickly realised that to make this a success we needed to harness the power of parntership, so we started approaching local associations and businesses to see if they would support the idea – we’ve been delighted by the response.”

Support for the initiative so far has included:

• The Columbia Basin Trust, the Nelson and District Credit Union and The Kootenay Country Cooperative have all supported the initiative with grants
• The Co-op is promoting the first campaign throughout the month of July, with a launch event outside the Co-op on the 4th July. They’ve also provided a prize for the most ‘artistically’ hung washing in Nelson – residents can submit photos for the competition on the Inspire Nelson website www.inspirenelson.ca
• Both locations of Home Hardware are offering 20% off all clothesline related products for the month of July
• The EcoSociety have offered their full support and have given space at the Wed and Sat markets to promote ‘Hang it out to dry in July’
• Oso Negro, the Nelson and District Credit Union and many other local businesses will promote the campaign to customers throughout July
• ilovenelson.com will promote the initiative on the website with articles and free advertising as well as a link to the online Inspire Nelson Action Tracker

“A big part of this initiative for me is the emphasis on community,” continued Edney, “The book has done fantastically well with over 31,000 copies sold in Canada, it’s great at inspiring and empowering individuals. And this initiative closes the circle for me, bringing the actions to life within the community and through the online Action Tracker, showing how individual action can really add up to create profound change. My hope is that following the success of the initiative in Nelson, we can bring it to other communities across Canada and beyond.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PAUL EDNEY 250-825-3457; paul.edney@simplychange.org

“One bare stage! Two very funny women! One epic Broadway musical! Too, too many laughs!” raves Golden District Arts Council director, Bill Usher. “A Broadway musical sensation like you’ve never seen before. Relying on an abundance of old-fashioned charms, a whirlwind of costume changes, and two big beautiful voices, these women storm the barricades to tell an ancient tale and capture our hearts in the process!”

A life-long lover of musical theatre, Robyn Lamb trained in the Classical Voice Performance program at Vancouver Community College (VCC). Fresh off dominating the stage as a lead in the original pop opera “Nothing Fails”, Robyn teaches singing, musically directs plays (Rocky Horror Show), and performs live. Robyn memorably starred in “Orpheo & Eurydice”, “The Fantasticks”, “Shakespeare Shorts”, and countless other productions. Since she was a child, Robyn has had a life-long love affair with the “Les Ms.” source material, and is overjoyed to perform not only one of her favourite roles, but many.

Lisel Forst has been gracing Western Canada’s theatre scene for over two decades, yet “Les Ms.” is the first showcase of her vocal and musical abilities. Like Robyn, Lisel spent many hours singing the songs and playing all the roles from the famed Broadway musical that inspired “Les Ms.”. A student of theatre her whole life, Lisel trained with Studio 58’s renowned drama program, the University of Victoria’s theatre department, and respected drama connoisseur, Scott Swan. Having starred in dozens of challenging plays, this exceptional actor’s highlights include “Sylvia”, “Romeo & Juliet”, “Joan of Arc”, “Raz”, “Leave”, and “Fore-play”. Even with such an impressive list of memorable characters, “Les Ms.” is the most fun Lisel has had on stage to date.

Performances of “Les Ms.” are at 8pm, July 2nd to 5th, 2008, at the TNT Playhouse in Nelson (Ward & Carbonate). Tickets are available at the door in the half hour before the show, for the fringe festival price of $10. Support these fabulous artists and get a taste of the revolutionary excitement heading the big cities’ way.