Burlesque Fest

KEEPING THE “BUR” IN BURLESQUE: Scarlett James

Burlesque fest turns two

Get out your pasties! The second annual Montreal International Burlesque Festival, running from today, Thursday, Sept. 23 through Sunday, Sept. 26, brings the best of bur lesque to the city. Organizer Scarlett James, the “Countess of Burlesque,” promises this year’s program features all sorts of naughty goodness.

Tonight, there’s an “O-Canada” burlesque show. “I really wanted to make the point that in Canada, we have amazing artists. I want the world to recognize that,” says James. That’s just the beginning.

Other acts include “boy-lesque” (male striptease). “The girls will be thrilled over this, and gay men will be in love with these performers!” says James, who adds, “they have god-like bodies.”

Industry legends in attendance include burlesque icon Satan’s Angel. She performed in Montreal back in its ’50s heyday as an international burlesque capital. At the age of 66, she can still light her tassels on fire with the best of ’em. “I’m very excited about the legends,” says James. She believes it’s important for performers from burlesque’s golden age to remind Montrealers of our city’s saucy history.

For more details, visit montrealburlesquefestival.ca.

James guarantees a good time, saying, “It’s impossible not to fall in love with burlesque!”

Car-Free Mile End

Car free conclusion

Montreal’s first ever Car Free Week wraps up on Sunday, Sept 26. The week’s activities included a Monday afternoon flashmob performed at a red light at Parc and Milton’s intersection, and a Wednesday “Die-In” to protest violence against cyclists.

For one grassroots group, it’s the perfect opportunity to wrap up a summer experiment in alternate modes of transport and community living. Car-Free Mile-End has shut down four blocks of St-Viateur, from Jeanne Mance to St-Urbain, one Saturday each month since July, with the last taking place on Sept. 25. In place of cars, the street has been filled with children’s activi ties, local artisans and kiosks of local community groups.

“It was fun just bringing people to the streets,” says organization co-founder Mathieu Vick. “People would meet and talk, instead of just sitting home and watching TV, or taking their cars from one place to another.” Vick says reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and hopes to repeat the experiment next year. They are going out with a bang. Saturday’s events include local musicians, free yoga and a park(ing) contest. Contestants compete to transform a parking lot into a green space, using real sod. Activities run from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. To learn more, visit carfreemileend.com.

—ELISABETH FAURE

BIXI piece for the Examiner

Mayor Trent in favour of BIXI, but says ‘it’s complicated.’

A remark made by city councillor Helen Fotopulos has touched off a debate about who is responsible for the BIXI bike system spreading west of downtown.

Published on September 20th, 2010

Elisabeth Faure

The City of Westmount and the adjacent borough of CDN/NDG are engaged in a war of finger-pointing over a lack of BIXIs.

Topics :

CDN/NDG , CDN/NDG borough council ,Executive Committee , Westmount , London ,Montreal

A remark made by city councillor Helen Fotopulos has touched off a debate about who is responsible for the BIXI bike system spreading west of downtown.

At a recent CDN/NDG borough council meeting, James MacLean presented a petition with over 1,000 signatures, in favor of bringing the BIXI system to NDG.

Fotopolos caused audience laughter when she asked if the petition's author had plans to re-create his project in Westmount. Fotopolos then claimed that Westmount's lack of a BIXI system was a "stumbling block" for BIXI coming to CDN/NDG, as the system requires docking stations every 300 meters. Therefore, if Westmount doesn't adopt BIXI, NDG faces problems.

Westmount Mayor Peter Trent disagrees. He says he’s in favor of bringing a BIXI system to Westmount, and met with BIXI officials in June to discuss logistics. Mayor Trent says he is still awaiting a quote on how much the plan will cost. As Westmount would be the first de-merged suburb to get BIXI, there are questions about how the system would be paid for.

Trent says that he has not heard an overwhelming demand from Westmounters to get BIXI. "I've gotten three or four emails," he says.

The Westmount Walking and Cycling Association isn’t convinced, “We've been trying since last fall to get the city to act on it (BIXI)," says VP Marilynn Gillies, who says the group has already circulated a petition and raised the issue at council meetings.

Trent disagrees that Westmount presents a stumbling block towards NDG getting the BIXI system. He says Fotopulos should have called him to discuss her concerns directly. "This is what gets people upset, when politicians have spats like this," he says.

Furthermore, he says, "(CDN/NDG) Mayor Applebaum is the Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee! They are the ones who decide who gets BIXI."

Mayor Trent says that, while he is in favor of BIXI, he doesn't want Westmount to get stuck with a hefty price tag, like London. "It's complicated - you can't wave a magic wand and say, 'BIXI comes tomorrow.'"-

"As Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee, my role is to serve the needs of all of Montreal," counters Applebaum. "It's not because I am on the Executive Committee that NDG will receive BIXIs before anybody else." He says he is pro-BIXI, and wants the service to come to his borough.

Applebaum maintains the final decision on BIXI rests with Stationnement Montreal. And while they were the ones to initially say Westmount presented a BIXI problem for his borough, that's no longer the case.

"I've been through this discussion with Stationnement Montreal, and it's no longer a stumbling block," says Applebaum. His borough is exploring ways to bring BIXI bikes in that may not affect Westmount.

Applebaum admits that Westmount does face unique funding challenges when it comes to BIXI. "It's a de-merged residential area, with different rules," he says, and likened the situation to the city of London, which recently bought the BIXI system.

Mayor Trent says that, while he is in favor of BIXI, he doesn't want Westmount to get stuck with a hefty price tag, like London. "It's complicated - you can't wave a magic wand and say, 'BIXI comes tomorrow.'"

Trent says he hasn’t owned a car for decades and would love to see bicycles become the main mode of urban transit. Applebaum says he hears strong demand from NDG residents for BIXI, who appreciate the environmental benefits of cycling. But neither can say for sure when BIXI will arrive.

Conversation may well continue. When asked outside the council meeting if he would indeed take councillor Fotopulos up on her suggestion of a Westmount BIXI petition, James MacLean grinned and chuckled. “That’s certainly an idea,” he said.

Unbanning pit buls - Montreal Mirror

Unbanning
pit bulls

The pit bull controversy in NDG is cooling down.

Peter McQueen, city councillor for Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, is re-thinking his call made last week for a ban on pit bulls in his riding following a flurry of complaints from angry residents.

The call followed a July 19 pit bull attack on 24-year-old Amanda Gatti. She was bitten repeatedly by a neighbour’s dog in her apartment on Clifton. The dog in question has since been euthanized.

“I was personally involved,” says the Projet Montréal councillor of his reaction to the attack, which occurred down the street from his home.

But McQueen says reaction to his plan has convinced him that a breed ban is not the way to go. He says he’s been flooded with evidence that such bans are ineffective, and that misbehaviour in aggressive dogs can usually be linked to bad owners. McQueen says his party is now looking at other ways to deal with irresponsible dog owners, including higher licence fees.

That’s good news for the SPCA. Tara Garland, director of the emergency shelter, says, “Our position would be opposed (to a ban). It’s not an effective solution to a larger problem, which is ownership.”

ELISABETH FAURE

Deeg loves Empress - Montreal Mirror

A new grassroots group in NDG is renewing the fight to save the neighbourhood’s Empress Theatre. The group, Renaissance Empress, will hold a public meeting on Monday, Sept. 13 at the KoSA Arts Centre (5325 Crowley) to try to renew dialogue about the theatre’s future.

Once a famed vaudeville house, later home to Cinema V, the building has been largely unused since a 1992 fire. Today, the Empress’ future is uncertain. Of late, speculation has renewed that the city may expropriate the building to build luxury condos. In response, Renaissance Empress has been circulating a petition.

“We want to say this really does matter, and there’s a lot of people in the community that really do care,” says spokesperson Paul Scriver. He estimates that 80 per cent of NDGers want the Empress restored as a community cultural space. The group disagrees with borough Mayor Michael Applebaum’s warning the Empress could become a “white elephant.” So they’ve adopted a mascot, Ellie the Empress Elephant. The papier mâché pachyderm got a rainbow coat of paint from kids at recent local arts fair, and Renaissance Empress says her colourful appearance stands for what the Empress could become.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Ellie will be in attendance.

—ELISABETH FAURE

O What a Knight!

I recently wrote a cover article for the Montreal Mirror - here's the link:

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2010/081910/lifestyle1.html

Enjoy!

Two women unite to help cancer patients

It all began with Amanda.

“She was the first person who ever taught me about cancer,” says Debbie Magwood, co-founder of the West Island Cancer Wellness centre.

“I watched her live with it, laugh with it, cry with it, and experience it. And, unfortunately, die of it.”

Amanda was seven years old.

Amanda was the daughter of Magwood’s best friend. Watching Amanda’s brave fight with cancer was an experience that would stay with Magwood for the rest of her life. And it’s an experience that would come back to her forcefully when she was diagnosed with cancer in her early twenties, shortly after Amanda died.

Suddenly Magwood was dealing with cancer from a different perspective. “At that moment, you’re going through the medical system, and you start to notice that there’s gaps in it,” says Magwood. Magwood’s journey within the medical system was a long one - her cancer went into remission and then returned before she was able to beat it.

Magwood’s experience taught her that the “gaps” in the medical system stemmed from a focus on the disease, not on wellness. “Wellness” is the concept of, “teaching people that are living with cancer how to feel empowered - how to survive with cancer, how to live with it, how to work with it,” explains Magwood.

Now in her forties and cancer-free for many years, Magwood has made it her mission in life to fill those gaps. Last year she teamed up with longtime friend, Jill Boileau, to create the Wellness centre from scratch. The two have known each other 15 years. Both are married mothers of two. Together, were to embark on a remarkable journey.

Boileau has her own history with cancer. While she has never suffered from the disease, “everybody in my family whom I’ve lost, I’ve lost to cancer,” she says. That includes both of her parents, all her aunts and uncles, and a cousin who was in her forties. Boileau also lost her high school best friend to cancer. When Magwood approached her with the idea of starting the Wellness centre, Boileau jumped at the opportunity to help a good friend’s dream come true.

The women jumped in with both feet. They soon quit their jobs - Magwood was a hospital psychologist, and Boileau worked in the field of communications and non-profit work. Creating the centre became their new full-time job.

Its creation was a daunting task. They were immediately faced with a mountain of paperwork, and an immense amount of research was required.

“It’s kind of funny - when we called the government to find out about starting a non-profit centre, they said that normally, it takes 18 months,” recalls Magwood. “And we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Well, they haven’t met us yet!’.”

She was right - within four months, the centre had its charity status.

Speaking with the two women, it's not hard to understand how they were able to overcome these obstacles. While they are both friendly and courteous, it's clear that when it comes to causes that matter, they won't take no for an answer.

Magwood and Boileau attribute their success to hard work and stubbornness, but say that the biggest reason the centre was able to get off the ground so quickly was that its services were so needed by the cancer community.

The Wellness centre opened its doors in October of 2009, although it had already been assisting many patients through a pilot project for months. “The need was so great, we couldn’t wait,” says Boileau.

Magwood handles the centre’s programming, and Boileau handles fundraising and communications. Their personalities are well-suited to their roles - Magwood speaks in the quiet, soothing voice of a therapist, while Boileau has a raucous laugh and bubbles with enthusiasm when describing planned fundraising events.

Today, the centre aims to treat the mind, body, and soul of cancer patients in a way that hospitals don’t. Services offered include yoga, tai chi, counseling, cooking classes, and art therapy. The centre also helps the family and friends of cancer patients to cope with the effects of cancer.

The centre is located on a quiet stretch of the lakeshore inside a cozy house with a wraparound balcony and a large, beautiful garden (the centre offers gardening classes, and the organic produce is used for cooking classes. The house’s rooms are flooded with light, and a calm, soothing atmosphere pervades throughout.

Other women move in and out of the room during the interview. Magwood and Boileau explain that the Centre is largely run by volunteers. One volunteer's story truly stands out for them.

"This young woman had breast cancer, and wanted so much to become a volunteer," says Magwood. The Centre has a policy that no patients can be volunteers. "We want them to focus on their own recovery," says Magwood.

But this woman was determined. As soon as she was cancer-free, she returned to the centre and asked once again to volunteer. She was welcomed with open arms, and Magwood and Boileau think that her goal of volunteering at the centre may have motivated her during her recovery.

It's easy to see why patients feel so at ease here. Everything in the centre is designed for comfort - the colors are soothing, the couches are comfy, and the air is noticeably free of perfume or chemical odors.

Everything was also free - each piece of furniture, fitness equipment, or computer hardware has been donated. “Our donors have been incredibly generous,” says Magwood during a tour of the house. “We couldn’t have done this without tremendous support from the community.”

The centre receives no government funding, and relies exclusively on fundraising and its donors. Hundreds of donor names are written on the over a dozen framed lists that hang on the wall by its entrance.

Today, the centre helps over 125 cancer patients and their families. Everyone is welcome - “No one is too old, too young, or too sick to come here,” stress Magwood and Boileau.

And no medical referrals are needed. “Just pick up the phone and call us,” says Magwood. “If we don’t offer the service you need, we’ll refer you to a place that does,” adds Boileau.

The centre is looking forward to expanding ints services this year. Magwood and Boileau make a formidable team - it seems as though when these two women put their heads together, there's nothing they can't do.

More than two decades after Amanda’s death, the centre is helping another seven-year old girl who is fighting cancer. Both Magwood and Boileau say her story stands out for them.

“When she came here, she was so scared, holding onto her mother’s leg,” remembers Magwood. “She was so fed up with hospital situations, and she thought this would be another.”

But after exploring the house and playing with the toys and art supplies in the children’s room, her mood changed. “She said, “Mommy, I don’t want to leave!”, says Magwood with a huge smile. “That was always our goal, to make this place feel like a home for people.”

“Later on, she was doing art therapy one day,” says Boileau. “She had to make drawings in different boxes - ‘this is your “Sad” box, this is your “Scared” box’ - and when she got to the box for “Joy”, she drew a picture of our logo.”

Both women are obviously touched, and pause. “That’s the first time I’ve told that story without crying,” says Boileau. There is no question that, given these two women’s remarkable commitment to helping cancer patients, that her tears were tears of joy.