Stripped: A Naked Fashion Show aims to give a boost to sex education classes

The Sexual Health Network of Quebec (SHNQ) has come up with a very novel way to raise some funds to promote sex education in high schools and get everyone’s attention. On Thursday evening, June 26 (7 p.m.)  at Galerie 203 (227  Notre-Dame Ouest)  in Old Montreal they will present Stripped, a Naked Fashion Show aimed at showing the true beauty of real men and women who have bravely  volunteered to appear nude as for the cause. 

“We need to start a real conversation about the importance of sex ed,  which should incorporate critical topics like consent, readiness, body image, self-esteem and other  pressing issues beyond the basic fear-based tactics of STI’s and unwanted pregnancy,” says SHNQ  President and  the host of CJAD’s Passion,  Dr. Laurie Betito. 

The evening will include hors-d’oeuvres, an open bar, gifts from the sponsors, an  art exhibit and show clearly unlike something anyone has ever seen. For tickets, which are $125 a person,  log on to   http://shnq.ca. The SHNQ is a registered charity that is affiliated with the  Canadian Federation for Sexual Health. The SHNQ strives to advance sexual health through public education and awareness campaigns, the development of programs and services in Quebec, and the promotion of sexual education, with liaisons to local, regional, national and international organizations.

Valerie Claveau

I spoke with Valerie Claveau, who by day is the operations manager at a Montreal shipping company. She has agreed to be one of the nude models at the request of her friend Frank Mondeose. “My first reaction was to ask myself ‘Am I really going to do this?’ But Frank explained to me the cause, that there will be no cameras and how it is all about the beauty of the human body,” she said. “I asked my boyfriend. He was okay with it, so I agreed. I even convinced one of my friends to do it to.”

Claveau said there are no rehearsals and clearly no costume fittings needed. “We will show up two hours in advance,” she explained. “We are to wear no makeup , no jewelry and no nail polish. Just our smiles. I believe we need to provide more sex education to our teens. So I think this cause is a good one. I have two young children of my own and I am thinking of them as well.”

Mondeose says that  when the SHNQ came up with the idea they needed to first   find out if there was anyone daring enough to stand up and walk the catwalk for the cause.  “At first it's usually met with hesitancy,” he explained. “The fear of being naked and vulnerable in front of a room of strangers really strikes everyone. Then i ask them to recognize that fear and ask them if it is really acceptable to feel this way and why. Its only a naked body. We all have one and we all think we are imperfect Then i ask them to imagine what kind of message we send if 20 or so models all walk the catwalk together. At what point does the naked body just become another naked body? I address their desire to be leaders, paradigm shifters, and trend starters. With so much commercialism and materialism being promoted all around us, how cool would it be if together we can create a new trend: that of self acceptance and it all starts with breaking down the taboo of the naked body needing to be covered, adorned, or botoxed for that matter.” 

 

Frank Mondeose

Putting his money where his mouth is, Mondeose will be modelling nude himself.  “I tell them that I would love to have them walk with me,” he says. “That usually gets them in. No one wants to be used as a tool, but if the organizer is bold enough to come up with the idea and walk, well then it somehow makes it more appealing to them. They see the importance and that they don't have to be afraid to walk on their own This is definitely a team accomplishment and its only as a unit that we can accomplish passing the message.”

Mondeose says he hopes that the number of models continue to grow every year “until we have 50 or more models walking one day. Then the idea of watching another person model naked will just become another naked body. At that point our message will not only be made, but integrated in the psyche of the attendees. And that’s what we are trying to do. Show people that we are all the same when we are  stripped naked!"

Lyric Theatre's Forever Broadway is a real winner

After operating out of the Oscar Peterson Hall at the NDG Loyola Campus of Concordia University for many years,  the award-winning Lyric Theatre Singers have relocated downtown to the DB Clarke Theatre. I attended opening night of the 2014 production Forever Broadway! and there is no question that the group has another winner on its hands.

The show features a great set and costumes.

While I love the Peterson Hall, DB Clarke definitely seems like a better fit. Most noteworthy is the large screen with a rolling set of scenery to go with the different themes. Every seat  in this theatre is also a good one.

There are three more shows on June 13 and 14. They feature  a cast of 40 vocalists, backed by five musicians in a   high-energy musical revue!  Forever Broadway! is a tribute to the composers and creators of the musical theatre stage. It combines well known classics with favourite songs from today’s hottest shows.  The local Broadway dream-team of Bob Bachelor and Chris Barillaro, have compiled a crowd-pleasing,  eclectic mix of music that will captivate audience members of all ages. Long time collaborator,  choreographer Mary Sarli, rounds out the artistic team to put the Singers through their dancing paces! 

 

Numbers like this one are real crowd pleasers.

The audience thorougly enjoyed selections from Ain’t Misbehavin’, Guys and Dolls, Cinderella and Thoroughly Modern Millie,  along with ever popular songs from Little Shop of Horrors, Godspell, Avenue Q and Mary  Poppins.

Bachelor added some selections from the popular, but now cancelled, tv series Smash. He even came on stage and spoke about the show. Those three numbers were definite highlights of the evening.  “These songs are very special, wonderfully written and
are a perfect fit with the other material we have chosen for this show," Bachelor said.

Lyric Theatre is a well oiled machine, offering the type of quality musical entertainment Montrealers are not often exposed to.

Big numbers like this show what efforts go into putting this type of show on.

 

If you want to buy tickets here is what you need to know:

Remaining Show Dates and Times
Fri. June 13 8PM
Sat. June 14 2PM & 8PM

Venue
DB Clarke Theatre
Concordia University
1455, boul. de Maisonneuve, (corner Bishop St.)
Guy-Concordia Metro – Parking
Reserved Seating - Wheelchair Accessible

Tickets
$34 Regular
$30 Students / Seniors
$17 Children 12 and under
$28 “Student Friday”
$26 Groups of 15+

Box Office
514-743-3382
On-line: www.lyrictheatrecompany.com
Email: lyrictheatreboxoffice@gmail.com


Donations of non-perishable goods will be gratefully accepted for the NDG Food Depot.
 
 

Bees attack my car downtown and how I survived the experience

I guess there is a first for everything and today I had one of the strangest experiences of my life.

Downtown for a meeting, I was so excited to find an available parking meter at the corner of President Kennedy and McGill College. An hour later, as I approached the vehicle, I saw a "swarm" of people (and you will see what I mean by the word "swarm") taking photos with their phones.  There was a "swarm" of bees resting on the top of my trunk and all the way down across my license plate - onlookers guessed they numbered at least 5,000.

Take a look at the bees at the back of the car.

I backed away quickly and called 9-1-1. The operator did not seem to know how to respond. "I will send the Fire Department," she said.

A few minutes later four firefighters arrived on the scene, walked towards the car and declared: "This is not for us. You need an exterminator."

Seconds later two police cars appeared. The officers were required to keep all of the gawkers away with their cell phones. Someone from a nearby office building brought me the yellow pages and I began calling exterminators. "We cannot kill bees," the last one I contacted told me. "It is not allowed. You need a bee expert."

Why are bees important? Read this to article for some answers.

The Fire Department called for their supervisor. He made some calls and managed to track down some bee experts. "They will be here in about an hour," I was assured.

In the meantime, all of a sudden I started hearing people call my name: a neighbour whose legal practice is in a nearby building, a friend who works in the same building and a resident of my community who recognized me.

Experts remove the bees safely.

Just within an hour, an old car with its mirror strapped on with red electrical tape, arrived. Two men and a woman wearing no protective equipment got out of the car with a special box to put bees in. They were from an organization called Miel Montreal

 I was told that a Queen bee had decided to land on my car and bring her entire colony along. The bee patrol used towels and brushes to gently move all of the bees into the box and then some kind of smoke concoction to empty the last of them. Apparently the bees are worth a lot of money in the honey they will produce.  But one of  Miel Montreal's objective is to protect the bee population. They did not charge me a penny for the work they did. Miel Montreal operates as co-op with the city of Montreal and give a lot of workshops in the community and at schools on biodiversity.  I never knew they existed, nor it seems did  police, fire or 9-1-1 authorities. They have only been in operation formally since  the spring of 2013. It is time we give them some applause.

Here is a report on CBC TV.
Here is my interview with CJAD's Barry Morgan.
Here is footage of the bees on my car from CTV.
City Montreal coverage.

Making Impact: A visit to Saputo Stadium is a satisfying experience

Some of the action I caught on my camera.

I attended my first Montreal Impact game of 2014 on June 4 at Saputo Stadium and I did not go home disappointed. This has been a frustrating season thus far for our franchise in Major League Soccer, with a disappointing 2-6-4 record. On this night they defeated Toronto FC 1-0  in the Amway Canadian Championship final. By virtue of a 1-1 draw in game one versus Toronto, a hard to understand formula meant that Montreal only needed a scoreless draw to advance to the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, the annual club competition featuring 24 teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

This was the type of game that makes one want to return for more: end to end action, lots of physical contact, a rowdy crowd and excellent ambience. There is a rivalry between Montreal and Toronto and it showed. Head coach Frank Klopas looked as if he was behind the bench for the final of the World Cup, pacing back and forth and repeatedly berating the officials for missed calls. And why not? Advancing in an international tournament is a shot in the arm for a team performing poorly.

It was a player who just goes by the name “Felipe,” who scored a sensational goal at the 90 minute mark that lifted the crowd to its feet after sniper Marco Di Vaio had hit the crossbar. Felipe broke the rules when he pulled off his shirt to celebrate, receiving a yellow card from the official.

With the Canadiens season over and the Canadian Football League possibly looking at a strike, the Impact may be the only game in town. If you have not seen a game yet, you are doing yourself a disservice. The stadium, which has been refurbished since its original opening in 2008, is gorgeous and worth attending a game for all by itself.  If the Saputo family had owned the Montreal Expos, baseball would have still been here for they would likely have built their own stadium here. Joey Saputo is as a dedicated a team owner you will find. His family poured $7.5 million alone for the construction and then came up with the countless millions necessary to enter the MLS.

As CTV’s André Corbeil shared with  me before the game, “this is just a great place to come sit down for a few hours with a friend, chat, watch the game and enjoy. And you will probably want to come back.”

The in-house entertainment are the Ultas fan club. They sit behind the net near the entrance to the stadium, chant en masse the entire game and even light flares at a certain point.

For this game it began to rain during the second half. Many of the seats are covered by overhangs so in the case of my group, we did not get wet at all.

I would like to see the Impact have a living human being sing the national anthems and come up with a way to enhance their physical presence in the West End of town where many, many potential fans wait to be courted.

Saputo Stadium is directly next door to Olympic Stadium. There is plenty of parking and a slew of restaurants to choose from along Sherbrooke Street East. One of those is the first Dallas BBQ franchise in the city. It is on the site of a former Scores and has a very similar format and menu. I urged the manager Tim, who resides in Snowdon,  to take a look at Sherbrooke Street West in NDG and some vacancies. A Dallas BBQ would look pretty good there.

The Impact’s next game is June 11 (7:30 p.m.)  when they host D.C. United at Saputo Stadium.

World Cup of Comedy coming to the West Island

Franco Taddeo

Why is it that the West Island does not have a regular dose of stand up comedy? Well, for two nights at least the Holiday Inn Pointe Claire will be the home to two extraordinary shows headlined by the one and only Franco Taddeo.  The Saturday,  June 21 program is sold out and it likely that tickets for the following evening won’t last long either.

 

The World Cup of Comedy will also feature TSN 690’s Tony Marinaro, Sébastien Bourgault.  “For years now I have had club, hall & location owners offering me their rooms to star  and  produce a show in,” Taddeo says.  “I have been too busy touring and doing shows for others. I felt now, the time was right. I wanted a theme show that was fitting for the time of year  and  created buzz. What's bigger and  engenders more passion than the World Cup? Having it on the West Island was just the icing on the cake - it is accessible,  always has parking and  is an under served comedy market.Win Win & Win!! Here is a YouTube preview.  Check the poster below.

Which players will not return to the Canadiens next season?

Members of the Montreal Canadiens can hang their heads high for an amazing playoff run.

So what can we expect next year? Who won't be back?

Peter Budaj has one more left on a contract which pay him $1.4 million as a backup. I cannot see how he can return in that role given the amazing performance of Dustin Tokarski. Look for him to be traded, put on waivers or possibly bought out.

Travis Moen

Travis Moen  represents one of GM Marc Bergevin's worst moves. Soon after Bergevin's arrival he handed Moen a four year, $7.4 million contract. He has two years left and I do not see too many takers for him.

Douglas Murray was brought in on a one year contract. He barely played in post-season play. Off he goes.

Francis Bouillon is 38 years old. Look for him to retire and be hired in some capacity by the organization.

Brian Gionta completed the final season of a five year, $25 million contract. He could return at a much lower salary. My guess is he will end up back in New Jersey to finish his career.

We are stuck with Daniel Briere for one more year at $4 million. Another questionable move by Bergevin.

George Parros is "gone, gone, gone." He was brought in to be a policeman, had an unfortunate accident in his first game when Colton Orr flipped him over on his head and onto the ice and he was never really the same again. 

Thomas Vanek is gone. Bergevin made a good move acquiring him. He helped in the playoff run, but tanked in the Rangers series.

Andrei Markov is a question mark. Will his asking price be too high?

Will prospect and former first round draft choice Louis Leblanc be released or traded?

Acquiring Dale Weise and Mike Weaver on waivers were Bergevin's best moves. They should be signed.

  

Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi are likely to make the team for real next season.

The three Tramley siblings and their outstanding takeoff on Habs Rock The Sweater video

Rapper Annakin Slayd’s latest Habs video, Rock the Sweater, has already gone viral on YouTube.  It is inspired by Roch Carrier's classic cartoon The Sweater. 

As the Habs continue in post-season play (with perhaps one more game left), there are a number of new videos coming out using Slayd’s song. A case in point are West Island siblings   Elyssa, Pryor and Brynn Tramley, aged are 11, 9 and 6. Judge for yourself. This is a fantastic piece.

Steve and Desta minus their singing trio.

“My three kids put this together on their own,” says mom Desta Klemm. “This was.100 percent kid created, from choreography to editing. Elyssa was behind most of it I suspect. She takes competitive dance quite a few hours per week and loves to make up these videos with her dance and school friends. As you have seen, she also likes to perform with her brother and little sister. I was gardening that afternoon in the rain and and they came out to get a short clip of me with the dog. My husband was in our home office working when they begged him to come out and make an appearance. So they likely spent half a day on it.

“Pryor is a hockey player and is likely the Habs’ biggest fan and supporter. He was more than happy to take part in the production and supply props like the Stanley Cup and the flag. All three kids have watched every game of the playoffs to some degree. It has been so exciting to watch that it is getting harder and harder to get them to bed before 8  p.m on those school nights ! We at least picked a good one to let them stay up to the very end ....the last game in the series against Boston. This is what gave them inspiration to take their favorite song of the season and put together a video using Video Star. In the end it was a birthday  gift for their Uncle Ryan and cousin Reid. My husband Steve and I thought they did a great job on it. It is a Hallmark moment for us when the three of them cooperate and get along so nicely without us intervening in any way. We are lucky they get along so well and enjoy doing this type of thing. Hopefully it sends good vibes to the Canadiens, who we will be rooting for.”

Rock the sweater go habs go!