Category: arts

Posted on in arts, entertainment, Hobbies, travel

A Shaggin good time

During our recent trip to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Clare and I took shag dancing lessons at Fat Harold’s Beach Club.

Shaggin was born on the beaches of South Carolina and rose in popularity after the second world war as young people returned from the war and found a new outlet and zest for life, stepping and swirling to the boppy beats of beach music. North Myrtle Beach and Fat Harold’s Beach Club became the epicentre for shag.

The dance itself has been called the “swing dance of the south” or a slowed down jitterbug. It’s now the official state dance for North and South Carolina and Myrtle Beach and hosts the national competition every spring.

Lessons are free on Tuesday nights at Fat Harold’s. We pulled into a packed parking lot and sashayed across the dance floor to plant ourselves at a cocktail table at the back of the club on risers. Behind us was a beautiful mural of a sunny day at the beach to get us into the beach music vibe.

Fat Harold’s is “home of the shag” and it felt like we had stepped back fifty years. There was a pool table and burger counter as soon as you walked in (they are known for their cheeseburgers). Inside the main club, a long wooden bar and cocktail tables flanked the wooden dance floor. The walls were covered with funky old beach signs and pictures of celebrities who had visited Fat Harold’s and plaques listing all the shag dance champions over the years.

Dave and Grace sat on the sidelines and ordered a drink, while Clare and I took our places on the dance floor.

They lined us up, women on one side of the floor and men on the other and taught us the basic step of shag which is a six-step choreography, where the partners take three steps towards each other, three steps in the middle, then back two steps so they are constantly moving towards and apart in perfect flow. The goal is to dance as smoothly and synchronized as possible. The instructors took a bit too much time focusing on the basic steps for my liking. I would have liked to learn some of the fancy footwork and spins that shag is known for, but it was still fun.

I assumed most of the people taking the lesson that night came as couples, but it was surprising and fun to see how many singles there were in the crowd when they paired us up. People were laughing and smiling as they counted out the steps with their new dance partner.

We went to sleep that night with the basic steps refrain of “one-and-two, three-and-four, five-six” in our heads. It was a shaggin’ good time.

This week’s #HappyAct is to learn a new dance step. Here’s a throwback. One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was “Busta move” and I shared a link to the shag dancing championships! My friend Dianna who was pictured in that old blog post dancing with me dances four days a week. She was telling me recently that most of the dance classes she goes to are mainly older women, so any guys out there, if you’re interested in meeting women or just finding a good dance partner, go dancing!

Fat Harold's Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach
My family at Fat Harold's with a beautiful beach mural in the background
Fat Harold's dance floor

Posted on in arts, entertainment

Take in the best in Canadian film

Yesterday, they announced the line-up for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

If you’ve never been to this local homegrown festival that features movies and special events that “spark curiousity, ignite discussion and provide a fresh experience of Canadian film”, you’re missing out. It just keeps getting better and better, with screenings in three downtown theatres and other venues with unique live performances.

There are so many things I love about this festival. First, there’s the films themselves. If you’re like me and want to scream every time you see another Marvel or Avengers sequel or prequel or postquel or whatever they’re calling them, the films you’ll see at the KCFF are a refreshing change. They’ll make you laugh, cry and most of all, think.

Over the years, I’ve seen some incredible films, from the insightful and stirring Scarborough about three families in a low income neighbourhood in Toronto, to the drama Norbourg, the true life story of Vincent Lacroix who defrauded investors of millions of dollars in Quebec, to lovely romantic comedies like The Swearing Jar.  

Then there’s the venues and the city itself. The opening night feature film is shown at the Isabel Bader Centre for the performing arts, an amazing venue and The Screening Room in Kingston has done a super job elevating the movie-going experience in an intimate way. The festival is a wonderful excuse to explore downtown Kingston and grab a bite to eat in many of our excellent restaurants.

My favourite part of the festival hands down is the Q&As and guest appearances by the directors, producers, writers and actors. These segments are always fascinating—to see the inner thoughts and workings of the people who bring Canadian film to life and sadly, the barriers and challenges to making films in Canada.  

I’ll be spending the next few days checking out all the screenings, but here are a few you won’t want to miss:

  • The Queen of My Dreams: this year’s festival opener at the Isabel, a moving story about the complicated bonds between a Pakistani mother and her daughter
  • The Movie Man, the story of the Highlands Cinema in Kinmount, Ontario with a bonus short about our local (and now sadly closed) Classic Video store in Kingston
  • Float: a romantic comedy filmed in Tofino, BC
  • The Sadies Stop and Start concert film, followed by a live performance of the Band at the Broom Factory

This week’s #HappyAct is to come to Kingston and support Canadian film by taking in some screenings at the festival.

Posted on in arts, Food and drink, holidays

Enjoy a homemade Christmas

homemade Christmas wrap

I’ve decided each year I’m going to try to resist the trappings and wrappings of the commercial side of Christmas and embrace a homemade yuletide celebration. Here are some easy, simple ideas to bring Christmas home:

  • Make your own egg nog. If you’ve ever had homemade egg nog, you’ll know it’s the BOMB! Check out Jaime Oliver’s egg nog recipe.
  • Try making a gingerbread log cabin or house from scratch instead of buying a store-bought kit.
  • A great craft to do with kids is making glass Christmas ornaments. Buy a dozen basic plain glass balls and a selection of paints. Pour the paint in the balls and swirl it around so it covers the whole surface, then turn them upside down to drain in egg cartons. If you choose any colour mixed with white, you get a beautiful hand-blown glass look.
  • Go for a hike and cut down some grapevine and cedar to make your own wreaths and garland.
  • If you’re not a great baker or cook, you can still make some simple yummy homemade treats to give as gifts. Check out this recipe for Spicy coated nuts and my recipe below for homemade caramel corn that Dave and I make every year
  • Be environmentally friendly and make your own holiday wrap using up that stack of plain brown paper bags sitting in your back closet. Make them festive by gluing pretty pictures from a magazine or old Christmas cards on them or spruce them up using sprigs of pine, ribbon or candy canes.

I’m not very crafty, but here are some of the treasured things I’ve made over the years for Christmas that bring me joy. Happy holidays!

Homemade Caramel Corn

2 cups popped corn (to make 30 cups of popcorn)
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pop the corn and place in two large roasting pans. In heavy saucepan, combine the rest of the ingredients. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves about 5 minutes. The butter won’t look like it’s blended in, but don’t worry about it. Remove from heat and stir in baking so it foams a bit. Pour over popcorn, stirring constantly, then place in a 250 degree oven for 45-60 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.

glass ornament
homemade cedar garland
Christmas tree made out of willow
Posted on in arts, holidays, inspiration, pop culture, travel

Lessons on life and happiness from It’s a Wonderful Life

Me and Leslie with Beford Falls sign

This summer, my best friend Leslie and I toured the “It’s a Wonderful Life” Museum in Seneca Falls, New York. I fell in love immediately with this wonderful little museum said to be the inspiration for the town of Bedford Falls in the Christmas classic.

As the story goes, Frank Capra, the film’s director visited Seneca Falls in 1946 after returning from the war. He loved the town with its beautiful bridges so much, he based Bedford Falls on it.

While in town, Capra no doubt also heard the story of Antonio Varacalli, a young 19-year old Italian man who jumped off one of the town’s bridges in 1917 to rescue a woman from drowning. While Varacalli successfully saved her life, he drowned, sacrificing his own life for another.

There is a plaque dedicated to Varacalli on the bridge and today people from around the world place bells on the bridge helping to give angels their wings in tribute to the film and its message of hope, friendship, love and self-worth.

Plaque on bridge in honour of Antonio Varacalli

The museum, which is currently in a temporary location on the main street as the main building undergoes renovations has photos, memorabilia and quotes from the film and the actors. Every year, the museum hosts a “It’s a Wonderful Life” Festival weekend on the second weekend of December with gala dinners, the chance to meet cast members and people associated with the film, special screenings, parties and more. The dates are Dec 8-10 this year and you can see the full list of events here.

What struck me the most as I was wandering around the exhibits and listening to the marvelous old songs from that era was the lessons on life and happiness from the film, both woven into the dialogue of the movie itself, but that has also become part of the lore and culture surrounding It’s a Wonderful Life.

Old Man Potter in the film says, “I am an old man, and most people hate me. But I don’t like them either so that makes it all even.” Lionel Barrymore, the actor who played Mr. Potter was quoted as saying, “The older you get, the more you realize that kindness is synonymous with happiness.”

From Angel Clarence: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends” and “Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”

George Lassos the Moon drawing

In an interview of the film, Capra once said, “It’s a Wonderful Life sums up my philosophy of filmmaking. First, to exalt the worth of the individual. Second, to champion man, plead his causes, protest any degradation of his dignity, spirit or divinity. And third, to dramatize the viability of the individual, as in the theme of the film itself. There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see, and to see we only have to look. I beseech you to look.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to watch this holiday classic in the next month and make plans to visit the museum in Seneca Falls (you won’t want to miss the National Women’s Hall of Fame and Women’s Rights Museum which are also undergoing renovations).

I’ll leave you with a famous interview Capra did in 1976 that beautifully summarized the meaning and appeal of the film.

“I like people. I think that people are just wonderful. I also think people are equal in the sense of their dignity, their divinity; there’s no such thing as a common man or uncommon man.

To me, each one is actually unique. Never before has there been anyone like you. Never again will there be anyone like you.

You are something that never existed before and will never exist again. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that something pretty exciting? So I look at you as something that plays part of a great whole, an equal part of everything, or else you wouldn’t be here.” – Frank Capra

piano in museum
Leslie on the bridge
Author in front of museum entrance
bell on bridge
Posted on in arts, Hobbies, photography

An unexpected gift

artwork of trees

This week, I received an unexpected gift. It was a beautiful piece of artwork of red leaves in the fall sent to me by our good friend Jon Begg.

Jon lives in the Great White North but always comes for dinner and a fish whenever he is back in southern Ontario. On his last visit, we talked photography and he showed me pictures on his phone of images he had taken of the fall foliage that he had photoshopped to look like artwork. They were simply stunning.

Fast forward to this week, and I now have one of his beautiful creations hanging in my dining room. I’m not sure if that will be its permanent place of honour but every night at the dinner table, I find myself admiring this unexpected gift.

This week’s #HappyAct is to bring some joy to someone special by sending them an unexpected gift. Leave a comment and share what you did. Here’s another one of Jon’s treasured gifts, a mock magazine cover of one of the boys’ 2008 fishing expeditions on the Moira River.