Writing

Cabin Radio

An independent internet radio station & online newsroom designed to keep residents of the Northwest Territories informed.

New slo-pitch division finds teams happ-E to be there

There’s no I in team and there was no E in slo-pitch – until some Yellowknife slo-pitch teams proved themselves bad enough to earn it.

The Yellowknife Slo-Pitch Association announced mid-season it would add a new “enthusiast” division, one rung below the existing D division, to keep games competitive and maximize playing time.

The consequence is that some teams who already thought they were in the worst available division have been told they are, in fact, even worse than the previous ranking s

Voter registration begins for Yellowknife municipal election

Enumeration cards have been mailed out ahead of the City of Yellowknife’s municipal election this fall.

The cards are used to collect the names of eligible voters in order to put together a list in advance of their arrival at the ballot boxes. Yellowknife households can expect to find cards in their mailboxes at some point this week, the city said.

Voters will be heading to their local post office rather than to the polls this fall — this election will be an entirely vote-by-mail affair. With

Gamers can 'find' their way into northern gaming convention

What’s 4ft tall, flat as a board, and worth hundreds of dollars? A sighting of Sir Ptomas, if you’re lucky.

Over the next three weekends, a cardboard cutout of the noble Ptarmicon gaming convention mascot will be hidden around Yellowknife to promote this year’s event.

Stationed with a Ptarmicon volunteer present for two hours at a time, everyone who successfully seeks out Sir Ptomas in person on July 10, 17, and 24 will be entered to win the prize of the week.

This week, eagle-eyed fans who s

New restaurant brings Indo-African flavours to Yellowknife

Yellowknife has a new restaurant – Safari Foods Family, which features Indo-African cuisine ranging from familiar favourites like butter chicken and samosas to palak paneer and chapati with beans.

The restaurant and lounge opened in downtown Yellowknife in early July in the former Savannah’s Family Restaurant space, and will be open every day from 11am until 11pm.

“The name Safari means ‘journey’ in Swahili. I want to make people travel, even if they’re sitting here, when they eat the food,” s

Over 13,000 photographs by Bern Will Brown now publicly available

Over 13,000 photographs taken by Bern Will Brown have been made publicly available this week via the Northwest Territories (NWT) Archives, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment announced.

The collection consists largely of pictures showing northern life over Brown’s decades of living in and travelling the territory.

Brown was a painter, filmmaker, journalist, dog-musher, and pilot, among other vocations. Born in Rochester, New York, he came to the north in 1948 as a young priest

Rogers networks down for hours, including Interac terminals

Rogers Communications is currently working to resolve a major outage across their wireless, fibre, and cable transmission networks that is affecting users across the country, including the NWT.

This outage is impacting not only cell phone service, but also debit terminals across the country.

“There is a nationwide Rogers outage that encompasses all their business and consumer network services. This is impacting Interac Debit and Interac eTransfer. Interac Debit is currently unavailable online

Mosquitoes take a bite out of the NWT, but no more than usual

As the warm summer weather returns, so too do the mosquitoes.

This year, however, there’s been a buzz around the presence of the pests – or rather, a lack thereof.

Some northerners have noted anecdotally that the blood-sucking insects have been less troublesome so far this summer than they have been in past years.

With a seemingly increased presence of dragonflies circulating in the capital area, a rumour began flying about town that the City of Yellowknife imported dragonfly larvae to help c

Maazes announced as surprise guest at Warm The Rocks 2022

Folk on the Rocks announced on Tuesday that Maazes, Yellowknife’s newest two-piece ensemble, will be the surprise guest performing at Warm The Rocks Long Lake on Friday, July 15.

The music from band members Nick Sowsun and Shea Alain can be described as dark electro dream-pop, mixing sampled drum machine layers with spaced-out guitars, washed-out synths, and melodic vocals.

Alain stopped by Cabin Radio to talk about this new coalition and his next chapter.

“It’s definitely a band you’ve never

Family dog left off Canadian North flight

A family trip got off to a rough start for one NWT family last week when their four-legged friend was left behind – unbeknownst to them.

Jo Kelly, the owner of Qimmiq Dog Day Camp & Boarding Kennel, said this sort of separation has been happening more than usual in recent weeks.

On June 30, Jennifer Pitt flew from Yellowknife to Inuvik along with her four kids and senior dog, Trina, via Canadian North.

“We came up here to visit my partner and to visit family, and the dog is part of our family

In pictures: Canada Day 155

With a plethora of firsts for organizers and visitors alike, there’s no denying that this year’s Canada Day was one of the most memorable in recent years.

Aside from being the first Canada Day parade since the pandemic began, this year’s procession also boasted both a new route and a new format.

The parade ran down 48 Street and southwest along Franklin Avenue, finishing at the community arena parking lot. It also began with a running race for the first time.

A selection committee judging the

Hay River apartment complex, set back by flooding, to open next year

A new apartment complex being built in downtown Hay River is now expected to open this time next year, with a waitlist growing for the 44 units available.

Situated along the Hay River, the complex at 66 Capital Drive will consist of one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites. It will include an underground parking lot, the first of its kind in the town.

The project, led by Rowes.ca Realty in partnership with Rowes Construction, was originally projected to open in fall 2022. However, flood damage and o

Memorial fund established for late Yellowknife teen Milo Martin

A fund that helps Yellowknife youth has been created in memory of Milo Martin, a teenager who passed away suddenly earlier this year.

The Yellowknife Community Foundation announced the fund on Tuesday. In a press release, foundation chair Laurie Gault said establishing the fund in Milo’s name was “an honour.”

“So many Yellowknifers knew Milo and are friends or acquaintances of the McCann/Martin family. We hope that this fund will be a tribute to Milo and uphold the joy for life that was so evi

New awards recognize YK1’s Indigenous student leaders

Yellowknife’s YK1 school district has issued its first awards dedicated to the recognition of Indigenous students’ achievements.

The Sacred Feather Indigenous Student Awards were created this year to honour Indigenous students who “model strength and commitment in the pursuit of their personal education paths.”

Students are nominated by their peers, teachers, Elders and other members of the educational community. Winners are selected by a committee.

YK1 said recipients were chosen for their “

Indigenous fashion festival a ‘huge’ opportunity for NWT artists

There was a strong NWT presence at the Indigenous Fashion Arts Festival (IFAF) in Toronto earlier this month.

The biennial festival, hosted by multi-platform non-profit organization Indigenous Fashion Arts, celebrated Indigenous-made fashion, craft and textile arts with a market, runway show and workshops.

Four artists from the NWT had tables at the market: Mishelle Lavoie of Capital M Beading, Inuk360, Taalrumiq, and Dorathy Wright of Willow Crescent Quilting.

The NWT Arts Program had a tabl

Helmets for Hardy marks 10 years thanks to new partnership

Ten years on, the mission remains the same: keeping kids safe, one helmet at a time.

The Helmets for Hardy helmet giveaway has been held each year since 2012 in honour of Yellowknife teen Josh Hardy, who passed away after suffering a head injury while skateboarding without a helmet.

While his parents Jackie and Ed Hardy usually plan the event, this year’s giveaway will be run by the Interact Club from Josh’s alma mater, École St Patrick High School.

Before retiring to Alberta last year, Jacki

Hand games tournament brings rhythm, energy and joy to Dettah

At this week’s Dettah hand games tournament, players young and old from across the NWT and as far as Alberta are competing on 36 teams for a prize pot of around $100,000.

Hand games “brings joy, it brings happiness,” said Randy Baillargeon, a volunteer with the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning and a player in the tournament.

“This game is all for fun. If you win, that’s good. That’s great. But win or lose, there’s always a fun game.”

As a player, it’s easy to live in the moment in a

Funding announced for 15 seniors’ programs across the NWT

$367,000 will be invested into 15 NWT community-based projects through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program .

Projects range from a senior-led initiative to “rebuild a sense of community” at a Fort Smith Anglican church after the Covid-19 pandemic to a subsidized curling program in Yellowknife.
• an Elders’ council run by the Knowledge Keepers of Tulita;
• cultural activities such as berry picking and spending time on the land through the Tuktoyaktuk Community Elders program;
• a senior

Yellowknife gardener invites seniors to get active

Sometimes, the best way to get active is to get your hands dirty – literally, if you’re Lone Sorenson.

Sorenson is the founder of Northern Roots, a Yellowknife-based organization dedicated to agriculture consulting, market gardening and teaching.

On Monday, Sorenson shared her love of gardening in an event called Food is Medicine: Gardening with Elders, hosted at the Northern Roots garden on 57 Street in Yellowknife.

“This is a market garden, a teaching garden and a healing garden,” Sorenson

Looking for a unique work of NWT art? Take a number

For Yellowknife artist Nicole Loubert, inspiration comes from the least likely places. Her latest source? A 30-year-old collection of NWT licence plates.

“I like to explore, so I’m always trying to find new ideas,” said Loubert, a Québec native who moved to Yellowknife 25 years ago.

Loubert is an artist and teacher who works primarily with oil paint. The idea to start painting licence plates came from her husband, who had amassed a collection of them over the years.

She started researching ho

Dene filmmaker launching Vancouver-based production company

Dene filmmaker Kelvin Redvers announced this week he is launching a new production company called IndigiFilm.

The Indigenous community has “a lot of creatives but there’s really not many Indigenous-owned production companies,” Redvers, from Hay River, told Cabin Radio on Thursday.

“If Indigenous creatives want to get their projects off the ground, they often have to partner with non-Indigenous production companies.”

IndigiFilm will be based in Vancouver and focus on Indigenous stories while m

Fully renovated Tommy Forrest Ballpark to reopen in ceremony

The grass is now indisputably greener on the other side of the fence at Tommy Forrest Ballpark.

After nearly a decade of reconstruction, the Yellowknife community fixture is ready for its grand reopening later this month.

The event will commemorate the culmination of Yellowknife Fastball League and Yellowknife Minor Fastball volunteers’ efforts, with the support of the City of Yellowknife and dozens of businesses. Collectively, they raised more than $700,000.

The park now boasts a grass outfi

Yellowknife physician leads support for scientist awaiting sentencing

A Yellowknife physician is lending her voice in support of Dr Tim Takaro, a climate change scientist facing possible jail time for his protest of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Dr Takaro will be sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty to criminal contempt for violating a court-ordered injunction against blocking the pipeline’s expansion.

The court will decide if he will spend the next month in prison or under house arrest.

Yellowknife resident Dr Courtney Howard, a prominent voice on the l

How can Yellowknife stop this playground being vandalized?

It doesn’t take long to spot the damage. From spinning blocks streaked with black spray paint to profanity scribbled on climbing structures, few surfaces are untouched.

As first reported by NNSL, the inclusive Jumpstart playground at Yellowknife’s Somba K’e Park – created to be accessible to children of all abilities – has been the target of repeated vandalism.

“Everybody needs to show up and say stop,” said Jason Butorac, an owner of Yellowknife’s Canadian Tire. He and wife Karen invested the

Making space to divert waste at YK’s indoor garage sale

“Yellowknife’s biggest garage sale under one roof” takes place on Saturday at the city’s Ed Jeske Arena. It’s the first one since the start of the pandemic.

Residents can book a table and sell any used home goods from clothing to kitchenware and sports equipment to toys, tools and trinkets. The city said visitors can peruse “an arena full of treasure.”

“There are multiple apartments or condo spaces around here where maybe it’s not ideal to have a yard sale or a garage sale, so this is an avenu
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LondonFuse

A former online news source dedicated to highlighting and celebrating London, Ontario’s arts and culture scene.

London Neighbourhood Histories: Midtown’s Heart and Soul

Home to many social services, artistic ventures, and educational hubs, Midtown has always been more than just a stop on the way downtown.

Stretching from Queens Avenue in the north to the CN railroad tracks in the south, London, ON’s Midtown is centred along Dundas Street, with borders to the east and west around Adelaide and Colborne Streets, respectively. Wedged between the downtown core and Old East Village, it is a largely commercial area with many shops, services and restaurants located on

London Neighbourhood Histories: Building Up Byron

With its small-town feel and access to the city at large, Byron is an attractive place to live for many Londoners.

Encompassing the land south of the Deshkan Ziibi / Antler River / Thames River and west of Colonel Talbot Road, Byron as an enclave is no stranger to change. The neighbourhood’s name alone has shifted multiple times over the years. Initially, the area was called “Westminster.” It was then renamed “Hall’s Mill,” until finally, it came to be known as Byron, after the poet Lord Byron.

London Neighbourhood Histories: Getting Outside in Oakridge

Oakridge is one of those unique neighbourhoods filled with natural and built heritage where, after people discover it, they never want to leave.

Located in the west end of London, ON, Oakridge is a predominantly residential neighbourhood; many young professionals, retirees, and families with young children call this area home. With street names like Dolway, Donegal, Dunedin, Kildare and Solway, there is a notable Irish influence in this neighbourhood.

Similar to Westmount, the development of O

London Neighbourhood Histories: Cherryhill, Oxford Park & University Heights

A popular area for generations young and old, the neighbourhoods of Cherryhill, Oxford Park, and University Heights have long maintained a welcoming atmosphere.

Indeed, one reason the area has managed to cultivate such a reputation for community is its heavily residential landscape. In University Heights, there are a plethora of single-detached houses west of Western Road, dating back to the 1970s and 80s, as well as some high-rise apartment buildings. It’ll come as no surprise that there are a

London Neighbourhood Histories: A New Look at Old South

A treasured area amongst Londoners, the stories behind the buildings that give Old South its charms are as captivating as the area itself.

Located just a short walk south of the downtown core, the district stretches east from Wharncliffe Road South to Wellington Road, with the Deshkan Ziibi / Antler River / Thames River creating the northern border and Commissioners Road enclosing the south edge. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the land was inhabited by Indigenous peoples, especially

London Neighbourhood Histories: The Wonders Of Westmount

From inception to fruition, London’s Westmount neighbourhood has served as the backdrop for many of the city’s historic moments.

Located in the southwest corner of London, Ontario, Westmount spans from the Deshkan Ziibi / Antler River / Thames River in the north to Southdale Road in the south. Considering the many families that live in the neighbourhood, it comes as no surprise that there is an abundance of commercial and natural resources.

The neighbourhood of Westmount was the brainchild of

London Neighbourhood Histories: Hamilton Road Takes Care Of Business(es)

Lying just southeast of the downtown core, the Hamilton Road neighbourhood truly has a life of its own.

A mix of industry, small businesses, and family homes, the Hamilton Road community has a rich history. Encompassing the stretch of Hamilton Road from Adelaide to Highbury, there is seemingly something for everyone. Indeed, the housing in this area alone is remarkably diverse thanks to its swath of homes built from the late 19th century to the post-World War II era in varying styles.

Before t

London Neighbourhood Histories: SoHo — Built to Last, with Room to Grow

As far as heritage goes, the legacy of London, ON’s SoHo neighbourhood lies in the foundation of its buildings.

Many of SoHo’s buildings have a story to tell about the neighbourhood’s past — whether it is about the city’s contribution to the abolitionist movement of the 19th century, its medical history, its enduring sense of entrepreneurship, or its residents who arrived here in search of a fresh start. It is a neighbourhood that has borne witness to many noteworthy heritage moments — and cont

London Neighbourhood Histories: Old East Village’s Artistic Roots Run Deep

Defined by its historic roots and indomitable spirit, London, ON’s Old East Village exudes a unique and timeless charm.

A short distance east of the downtown core, Old East Village has cultivated a distinct “front porch” culture over the years based around its emphasis on buying local and the palpable sense of community pride. Strolling past all the independent cafés, bookshops, and restaurants on Dundas Street, it appears that the area more affectionately known as OEV has a mind — and history

Western News & Alumni Gazette

Web and print media showcasing the stories of students, staff, faculty and alumni at the University of Western Ontario.

A way around the no’s

When an injury ended her varsity career shortly after it began, Chan, BA’12 (Sociology/French), had to reevaluate her post-grad plans of becoming a semi-pro basketball player. In her newfound spare time, she pursued a hobby that quickly turned into something more.

“I had always loved fashion, and I had all this extra time on my hands, so I started writing,” Chan said.

She began to consider a career in fashion journalism – a trajectory all but cemented when she learned that Western offered a co

Grad builds a career, new opportunities at Western

Perhaps it comes as no surprise where Javier Gomez Ospina is today, since his father is a civil engineer and his mother is an architect. Construction is in his blood.

“I grew up next to my father, next to the project sites, around the equipment, around the hard hats and all that kind of stuff, around the math. It was inevitable,” he said.

Gomez has worked in construction and project management for 13 years. Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, he has completed projects in Peru, Venezuela, Brazil

Grad looks to star in world beyond the court

Julia Curran got a late start – but she more than made up for lost time.

Switching to basketball only seven years ago, the Western Mustangs hoops star totaled more than 1,000 points in her five-year university court career, while being named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Rookie of the Year, an OUA All Star and Academic All-Canadian.

This year, she won both the Joy Bellinger Award and Sylvia Sweeney Award, accolades at the provincial and national levels respectively, recognizing Curran’s e

‘Learning to fall’ fuels grad’s performance

Dean Kernaghan’s portfolio opens with a quote: “You don’t have time to work fast.”

Not only has he heard these words often from his mentor in the Engineering student shop, these are words he tries to live by. “If you do things right and really focus on producing exceptional work, it doesn’t break,” he said.

On June 19, Kernaghan will join more than 300,000 Western alumni living around the world as a newly minted graduate and member of the Western Class of 2020.

While his family has a history

Arc Poetry Magazine

Reviews for Canada's Poetry Magazine, in publication for over 40 years.

Gourmet Ginger Ale and Modern Ails My Heart Is a Rose Manhattan by Nikki Reimer : Arc Poetry

Gourmet Ginger Ale and Modern Ails:

Nikki Reimer's My Heart is a Rose Manhattan

In particular, Reimer explores how city life can skew our relationships to our world and to each other. Whether she’s contemplating how “every minute in the shower kills another acre of ocean” or musing about a “cold-pressed coffee farm,” Reimer demonstrates that she’s doing her best to keep her finger on the pulse of Canada’s urban reality.

Between conveying Alberta’s anxieties surrounding the future of the oil i

From One Treaty Person to Another: Treaty # by Armand Garnet Ruffo : Arc Poetry

From One Treaty Person to Another:

Armand Garnet Ruffo's Treaty #

Ruffo’s examination of history and the present walks the fine line of consistently unsettling the reader without ever coming across as hostile. In “The Claim,” the poet lays bare the image of a van that “scours the streets and alleys for the homeless in a land / that is home.” This despondent image of modern life, heavy with intimations of the lasting legacy of colonization, reverberates throughout the collection’s stories of ab

Simple Truths: The Dowager Empress by Adele Wiseman : Arc Poetry

Primarily known for her work as a novelist, fans of Governor General’s Award-winner Adele Wiseman may be surprised to learn of her posthumously published poetry collection, The Dowager Empress. It was rare for Wiseman to share her poetry while she was alive, but editor Elizabeth Greene writes in the book’s introduction that she felt this side of Wiseman needed to be shared, despite the risk of publishing works Wiseman may have considered unfinished.

The risk was well worth it. These works offer