Montrealers Nic and Sabrina continue to thrive on Amazing Race Canada

Montreal couple Nic La Monaca, 22, of Anjou and Sabrina Mercuri, 32, of Lachine had another strong showing on  CTV's The Amazing Race Canada this week while Vancouver co-workers Susan Hayre and Sharnjit Gill became the second team eliminated.

Engaged couple Hamilton and Michaelia used their Express Pass to win the leg in Santiago, Chile, earning them premium economy tickets from Air Canada to Delhi, India, plus six months of free gas from Petro-Canada. Nic and Sabrina used their multilingual talents and ability to converse in Spanish to their advantage and came in fourth place.

For  Susan and Sharnjit, the most recent episode was an emotional one. The Vancouver-based correctional officers quickly found themselves in last place after losing their bearings during a mural road block in Santiago, Chile. They became the second team eliminated at the Pit Stop at one of the best views of the city, beautiful Cerro San Cristobal.

“This was the most amazing experience ever,” said Susan. “Today was just a day that we will take back home and never forget.” 

“I just hope we made our kids proud,” added Sharnjit. “I want our kids to look at this and say ‘yep, that’s my mom’ and ‘yep, that’s my aunt – and they did it.’” 

From the Pit Start in Toronto, 11 teams travelled more than 8,600 km to Santiago, Chile in hopes of winning two Express Passes. Once in Chile, teams travelled to the Geoaventura Parque for their first Road Block, a paragliding challenge. Teams then made their way to the San Miguel borough, where they took selfies in front of five murals spread throughout the neighbourhood. For the second part of the challenge, teams helped local children paint a mural. Hamilton and Michaelia successfully found a dancing couple in the Bellavista neighbourhood, earning them two Express Passes. Then, at the Detour, teams chose between learning a difficult dance routine or memorizing and reciting verses of a Spanish poem. Hamilton and Michaelia decided to use their Express Pass early, skipping the Detour, and ultimately winning the leg. Host Jon Montgomery greeted them at the Pit Stop in Cerro San Cristobal with their leg prize – premium economy tickets from Air Canada to Delhi, India, plus six months of free gas from Petro Canada™.

Next week teams race to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where racers begin at the Plaza Canada Totem Pole, before getting tripped up on the field in a game of blind soccer. That just happens to be Nic's sport. He has played professional in Italy and currently coaches an elite soccer club in Laval. Of course he does all this with his eyes wide open.

The episode will encore this Saturday, July 18 at 7 p.m. ET/PT and Sunday, July 19 at 5 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO – and is also now available on demand at CTV GO. All-new episodes  air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO. CraveTV™ subscribers can stream new Season 3 episodes a week after the broadcast premiere. Previous seasons are also currently streaming on CraveTV.
 

Nic and Sabrina in the heat of the action.

Besides Nic and Sabrina and Hamilton and Michaelia from Centreville, NS, the 10 remaining teams competing for the biggest grand prize in Canadian television history are:

• Brent and Sean – Brothers –       Musquodoboit Harbour, N.S.
• Brian and Cynthia – Married – Winnipeg
• Dana and Amanda – Co-workers – St. John’s, N.L.
• Dujean and Leilani – Exes – Toronto and Halifax, N.S.
• Gino and Jesse – Brothers – Hamilton  
• Neil and Kristin – Father and daughter – Burlington, Ont.
• Nick and Matt – Wrestling Teammates – Newmarket, Ont. and Stouffville, Ont. 
• Simi and Ope – Father and daughter – Burnaby, B.C. 

Cheryl Besner to spice up Just For Laughs Relationship Show

In the early years of the Just For Laughs Festival I always had the Relationship Show on my radar screen. It was just one of the innovative themes Andy Nulman, Bruce Hills and their team thought up to go with the Nasty Show, the Bar Mitzvah Show, later the Ethnic Show and much more.

The 2015 edition takes place on July 21 and 22 at Metropolis with story tellers  Brent Morin, Orny Adams, Debra DiGiovanni, Tom Papa and host Jim Breuer banding together to recount everything from their most cringe-worthy dating experiences, to the highs and woes of marriage, to the inevitably hilarious moments that come with raising a family.  

Now enter Cheryl Besner and her popular weekly "relationship" show on CJAD called Solo in the City. On July 21 at the Quartier des Spectacles next to Place des Arts and close by Metropolis. Solo in the City and Just for Laughs will take the Relationship Show to the next level, with a night of schmoozing, speed-dating and laughter.

Cheryl Besner

JFL and Solo, along with many of Montreal’s matchmaking and dating companies, will welcome solos (and couples too!) to a 5à7 featuring a meet-and-greet with Relationship Show comedians, a round of live speed-dating featuring some of those comedians and a host of fun activities to tickle your funny bones, and maybe some other bones too.Some lucky audience members will even land a date with an eligible comedian – but they’ll have to let everyone in the Quartier de Spectacles VIP tent watch!

Guests will also be part of a Solo in the City Radio taping and will weigh in on the issue of the week during a round table discussion: Why laughter is an essential part of any relationship. Solo in the City takes a multifaceted approach to meeting new friends and potential partners. Besner, one of Montreal’s top socialists, a certified dating coach and motivational speaker, aims to take the pressure out of awkward blind dates by simply connecting Montrealers on a human level first, through events or designated meetup locations across the city.

Besner's motto is simple:  encourage singles to be, above all, sociable in order to  maximize their chances of making new friends and eventually finding love. The platform features weekly event listings, a dating app, blogs and content geared toward Montrealers looking for love. Solo in the City Radio airs on CJAD 800 on Saturdays at 10 pm and episodes are available on SolointheCity.tv as a podcast. 

Guests will  receive a 15 percent discount for The Relationship Shows by using a custom promo code for each dating company to help promote the community of Montreal to… Get up, Get out and Get Social!

For ticket information on the Relationship Show and others go to www.hahaha.com.