Okay Hamstown this is an exciting weekend!! Don't miss things. I know, I know it's forecasting rain but come on, we're Canadian. Get out there and do stuff.
#1. The Battle of Stoney Creek
This is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Stoney Creek which makes it extra special. Takes place Saturday and Sunday with Battle Re-enactments June 1 at 3:30pm & 8:30pm and Sunday, June 2 at 2pm. History in your backyard. Go.
#2. The Blues & Roots Festival
The first time a festival like this has taken place in Hamilton. Running in Westdale Village on Saturday June 1st, from 10 am to 11 pm. Guys....Terra Lightfoot is performing so you better get out there and see her FOR FREE before she blows up and charges $70 for a ticket.
#3. Concession Streetfest
Saturday June 1st. Lots of vendors and other neat things. Also I heard tale that there is a bubble blowing competition or something like that taking place as well. If you're not into bubbles there is also a petting zoo.
#4. Brews N Bands
How did I not know about this one. I hope I can go. This is the Casbah's 2nd annual Brews N Bands event. Some talent performing includes: The Sadies, The Wooden Sky, The Dinner Belles (ahhh), Dan Griffin & The
Regrets and many more. $25 per session gets you 10 3oz samples and/or
food vouchers. Tickets available at Casbah, DrDisc (905 523-1010),
Naroma Pizza Bar (905 525-6699) & on-line at www.casbahlounge.ca/UPCOMING_SHOWS.html
Personally I can't decide what I want to do most. Maybe all of it. I do hope that you go check out at least one event in the Hammer this weekend. Get out your wellies and go to town. Have Fun!!!
I have been avoiding writing this but I would feel remiss if I neglected mentioning one of the biggest murder cases in Canada. I feel I need to write about this since what I write about is Hamilton and sadly this case took place in and around the city. It is such a disgusting, weird, twisted case. Everybody in this city is talking about it and I have to admit I'm somewhat over hearing all the theories. From here on out I only want to hear the real facts. I'm intrigued (and I wish I wasn't) as to the real reasons that Dellen Millard and Mark Smich (allegedly) felt that Tim Bosma deserved to lose his life.
You have probably heard about this case. The suspects contacted Bosma about a truck that he was selling on Kijiji. They made plans to test drive the truck, Bosma accompanied them and was never seen again. His truck was missing and a nation-wide search began. His truck was found a week later at the home of Millard's mother. Although the hope was that Bosma would be found alive, his burnt remains were found a couple days later on one of Millard's rural properties. One of the most interesting things about this case was the role social media and the community played in the search. Sadly that doesn't seem to be the case all the time.
The poster seen across Canada.
Since Bosma's death another man has gone missing in Hamilton and there has barely been anything heard about that. I had briefly seen one post about it on Facebook but when trying to find information about it for this post I couldn't find anything about it. It makes me sad that the community doesn't rise up about all of the other missing persons out there. Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad for the sake of the Bosma family that everything (although not the outcome that was wanted) was discovered pretty quickly.
I really hope that everything is found out that needs to be found out and that justice is delivered. At this point I think the Bosma family and even the entire city needs for this to wrap up. This particular murder has left a big grey cloud over the city.
Smich has already pleaded not guilty and it appears that Millard will also be entering a not guilty plea. Only time will tell what brought these two to (allegedly) commit such a monstrous act. Until then that's all from me on this matter.
Dellen Millard, Suspect #1 (His wrist tattoo with the word Ambition lead to his arrest)
Mark Smich, Suspect #2.
The only thing I have left to say is that I wish we didn't live in a world where these stories were so common. It has reminded me that life is fleeting so to hold those you love close and never forget those who have been taken.
The masses came, saw and waited in extremely long lines at Hamilton's Sew Hungry. A food truck rally that has become an annual delight in Hammer Town. The event takes place on Ottawa Street, which is known for it's tailors, seamstresses, and all things to do with sewing...hence Sew Hungry being the name. The Ottawa Street BIA is all to blame for this gastro-riffic day. Thank you.
There are over 40 food trucks as well as local restaurants to choose from. I saw so many interesting choices and I wish I could have tried them all. Unfortunately I only have one stomach and not enough dolla, dolla bills to make that wish a reality. Some of the most interesting ones I saw were Texas Tornado, The Big Chief Fresh Food Company (Native American food), Mike's Dog House, El Gastronomo Vagabundo and Gringo Gourmet. Hamilton's old faithfuls were out as well including Gorilla Cheese and Southern Smoke Truck.
My friend Kristen works on the Food Man and Culture Boy truck. She told me that she is obsessed with the duck tacos so I decided to try that while my friend Jolene had a Portobello Burger at another truck. I am glad that she talked me into that little delicacy. The duck taco had duck confit, mango, fennel, green onion, hoisin and siracha. WOW! What a totally interesting mixture of flavours. It tasted like summer. The weather felt like summer too so that worked out well (minus the sunburn I acquired).
Kristen hanging out/workin hard on the Food Man and Culture Boy truck.
Delicious Duck Tacos.
Me likey.
There is a lot more than just food trucks to go check out. There are lots of unique little shops and vendors on Ottawa and what would a food truck rally be without the host of the food network's, Eat Street, James Cunningham. He is hanging out down there and doing a book signing for his new book, Eat St.
If you're reading this and it is still May 3rd, 2013 you are in luck. You have not missed out on this event just yet. It runs from 4-8pm tonight so now you know where you're going for dinner. You're welcome. Enjoy.
"Oh my God, oh my God you guys"... Legally Blonde the musical is playing at Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius! I ventured out in the drizzly evening with my mother and my grandmother. I really wanted to stay dry indoors, wrapped up in my blanket with a tea and my book but I powered through and I am glad I did! It was the best production I have seen at Theatre Aquarius to date, and I've seen quite a few. This (and my "THEATRE" friend Amanda who suggested it) have lead me to this post. Community theater VS. Professional theater in good old Hamont!
Bruiser
Here is where "blonde" Elle Woods decides to go to Harvard Law!
I am lucky enough to have many friends in the theatre community and therefore have been to lots and lots...and lots of performances. I also just plain old love theatre. I was in a couple of plays in high school and I swear to God I still have dreams about it. It was such an amazing experience. The lights, the costumes...sigghhh...
Aquarius usually can be depended upon to put on some great plays, but I've seen a couple that weren't AH-mazing, but usually those were non-musicals and seemed how many would think "community theatre" is. Slow, boring, abstract. Luckily I can honestly say I have yet to encounter a community theatre production in Hamilton that has met any of the stereotypes.
To me there is such a small divide in Hamilton theatre. Everything is pretty top notch, even the low budget shows have been so full of life with talent that it rings through. The last "community" show I saw was Hamilton Theatre Inc's Godspell. I had never seen Godspell but was very intrigued (and scared) by it. I'm not religious by most accounts but I know the bible stories and Jesus Christ Superstar is actually my favourite musical. Still, I was nervous that I would be somewhat out of the loop with this one.
I recognized many performers from other community theatre shows and was blown away by the amount of talent in the room. Small stage, tiny set, home made costumes but overall an incredible production. Although it was about Jesus and his disciples it never got too "God-y". It was fun and had lots of great voices. It was nice to see almost everybody in the cast get some kind of solo and they really worked well with the small space they had.
Jesus is my homeboy...
Wonderful cast of "clowns" aka. disciples!
Other than musicals a couple of my favourite community shows have been Black Box Fire's Pride and Prejudice (HUGE Austen fan right here) which took place at HTI's space and Black Box Fire`s awesome production of Dracula (also a big vampire fan :P). They were both SO good. Dracula played at The Staircase Theatre and had a very small cast but nothing about it looked cheap. The actors were great and it was a wonderful version of Dracula.
I guess to sum up I would just like to say that there is so much talent in this town that you can't really go wrong when choosing which theatre productions to attend. Just remember more expensive doesn't always mean better. There are great shows for every budget. Even some high school productions (ahem...like Hill Park's 2002 production of OLIVER...) are captivating.
Here is a list of some amazing theatre companies in the Hammer where you could potentially go see some stellar shows:
Do you remember in December when my friend Laura and I went to be a part of the Arkells music video? No? Well we did that. The video is finally OUT!
Laura and I both made the cut and are in it which is very exciting. If you want to see me you can watch it below. Even if you don't want to see me you should probably check it out anyways since Arkells are an amazing band!
This video is great! I love how they incorporated their fathers into it and how they always stay true to the Hammer! Wicked stuff! My dream of being in a music video has come true. I can scratch it off my bucket list and move on with life :P
I've never really been aware of the entertainment that Hamilton has to offer the LGBT community. I have many friends who are a part of that community, but being straight I guess I just never had the inclination to look into it.
That all changed on Thursday night. I didn't change. I'm still straight, but I was introduced to some awesome Hamilton LGBT fun! I went to embassy for the very first time!! Embassy is one of the gay clubs in Hamilton. I didn't even know that there was another one but apparently The Werx is a good place as well. I mean it can't be bad...it has a leather bar in the basement. Awesome!
My friends David, Ian and I at our first drag show! Exciting! (Ugh not a good hair night :P)
I think the idea that you can go somewhere and not worry that people are judging you or criticizing you is very liberating. Even though I'm straight I felt completely comfortable there and wasn't afraid to be myself (not that I'm usually afraid to be myself...not at all. BUT there have been instances at certain "clubs" where I felt too fat, not fashionable enough or too old to fit in). Of course in a perfect world everybody would feel comfortable everywhere and not be judged. Sadly that is not the world we live in so it is nice to have somewhere people can be themselves and not worry about being hassled.
To my absolute delight Thursday night was drag night at Embassy. It was very entertaining. The ladies would get up on stage in their beautiful outfits and do a dance or lipsync (for your life). Some real talent was seen. Some of the drag queens made me feel super unfeminine because they were just so lovely. Not only that but there were also drag kings in the mix and that was nice to see them being included as well. There was one imparticular (I'm sorry I can't remember his name) who was an insaaaane dancer. He was all over the place. Chris Brown eat your heart out.
Smooth Moves
After the show (which was raising money for charity) there was dancing and it was it was a fun night all around. Seriously it really made me realize how few "comfortable" places or acknowledgment the LGBT community really has in Hamilton. I mean two bars in the entire city. What if you aren't into the club scene?
There are some things that go on during "Pride Season", including a Pride Festival and even a Pride Service at the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton. But is that enough? Why aren't there events all year? I guess it's a good start, I just didn't realize how little was going on in this area.
I would definitely go back to Embassy, and I'd like to go to The Werx as well. The atmosphere at Embassy was just fun and happy. Check out the Hamilton Pride website for more information on pride events in Hamilton.
This post has nothing to do with Hamilton OR travel. I just have to share because I think people may get a good laugh out of it. That laugh will be at my expense but I think I'm secure enough to join in the giggles as well.
Alrighty then, here goes the story. This is possibly one of the most embarrassing things to ever happen to me and that is crazy because I usually embarrass myself at least once a day. Let's add some pretext to this story shall we? I'm sure you've all seen that curling hair tutorial where the poor girl (Tori Locklear) burns off a piece of her hair? Well if you haven't I will share it with you right here.
Okay so this video went viral a couple of weeks ago and I will admit that when I watched it I laughed my butt off. I also said things like, "how would you ever manage that?" and, "what an idiot!".
The laughing stopped last Tuesday. Abruptly.
My friend Danielle gave me this handy dandy waving iron. I had never used one before or even seen one for that matter. To be honest I'm not the most girly girl out there. I can't do hair or nails without messing up. I rarely even blow dry my hair. Anyways I had this iron for a couple of weeks and I hadn't had a chance to use it yet. Then last Tuesday my work sent me home early. I had a whole afternoon off. Time to try this thing out, I thought. This is where karma sat, waiting for me.
When I turned on the iron it smelt kind of funky. I just assumed that my friend had used product or something and it was smelling because of that. I now know that maybe it was malfunctioning or something more of that nature. I proceeded to wave my hair. I did half of my head and although the smell continued I thought it was looking pretty awesome. Then it happened. The very last piece that I curled burnt off. I freaked, but it was hideable so I calmed down pretty quick. Brushed my hair, threw it in a braid and went out for dinner with my friends. If only I had known the horror had just begun.
Later that night I came home and decided to have a shower. As soon as I got in I knew something was wrong. My hair was falling out. I was pulling out enormous chunks of it. I started to cry. This continued for about 20 minutes. My hair just kept coming out. By the end there was a huge pile of hair and I knew I had to be bald. I kept picturing that scene in the movie, The Craft, where Ben Stiller's wife is crying in the shower and her hair is falling out. That was me. That was my awake nightmare.
This is how I imagined I looked while I was in the shower.
"Now Derek Zoolander will never marry me!"
When I got out and brushed it, a lot more hair came out, but I forced myself to look in the mirror and somehow, by some miracle I was not bald. I had lost a ton of hair though and a lot of it was in the front and not easily hide-able. I decided I was not going to go to work the next day and would go for an emergency haircut but in reality it was pay week and I didn't have a lot put aside for an emergency cut. So, I hid my hair shame the best I could and continued on with my week as usual until I could go get it fixed on Friday. It was a horrible week. I couldn't stop worrying about it but also my hair smelt SO bad.
I assumed they would cut all of my hair off. I've had it short before so I wasn't worried that it would look terrible but I was really upset because I've been growing my hair out for over 2 years and I didn't want to start all over again.
I loved my hair short, don't get me wrong but I didn't want to do it again this way.
I enlisted my sister to come with me for moral support while I got my hair cut. Somebody had recommended Total Image in Jackson Square and I had been there for a trim before so I went there and met Felma, my hairdresser/hairfix guru/miracle worker.
She was sympathetic and only laughed a couple of times but she also said the most beautiful words I'd heard all week. "I can save a lot of it."
By doing all kinds of crazy layers and bangs she managed to keep quite a bit of my length. I wasn't sure how I felt about bangs but it's been a week now and I am starting to really like them and have got tons of lovely compliments. A lot of people just think I wanted a style change. They don't know the terrible truth.
I wanted to share this story so that others out there might avoid this fate. If you don't know how to handle hair devices, don't. If something seems off about them, don't use them. If you're unsure of how hot things should be, don't use it!! It's not worth it. I lucked out but even though it's fixed it was still damaged and I am going to have to work really hard to get it back to a really healthy state.
Right after leaving my hair angel, Felma. I was more relieved then I let on.
One week later I'm really into the bangs and learning how to wear it funky ways.
The moral of the story is this, beware when you laugh at others misfortunes. Karma may just come and hit you upside the head. Tori Locklear...I apologize for laughing uncontrollably at you for burning off one piece of your hair. After burning more than half of mine off I can appreciate the turmoil you must have felt...but still...both situations are kind of funny. At least you got YouTube famous thanks to it. If only I had been fiming myself in the shower. Wait...what? No.
Thank goodness I've always been pretty good at laughing at myself otherwise this really could have been a much more traumatic experience.
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