Her Royal Majesty June Aitken has decreed that the atrium space of the Dryden Regional Cultural and Training Centre shall play host to a collaborative exhibition between herself and daughter Marg Aitken and photographer Helen Grymaloski, Jan. 23 to Feb. 6. Photo illustration by Marg Aitken

By Dryden Observer Staff

The Union Jack serves as a motif in a recent collaborative exhibition between mother daughter team June and Margaret Aitken and local photographer Helen Grymaloski in the atrium space of The Centre, Jan. 23 to Feb. 6.

The Barclay Crossing fibre-arts collective promises to impart a love of sewing in their most recent showing, titled Cross Threaded.

Photographer Helen Grymaloski is continuing to take photographs of anything that might cross her path.

For the exhibition she says she has chosen a few photographs from the past year that might seem rather common but show the simplicity of nature and the beauty in the obvious.

June, Margaret and Helen are also featured at Naked North Gallery & Gifts. They invite you to check out Dryden’s artist co-operative to see a stunning array of arts and craft for sale.

Thunderstone Pictures’s Michelle Desrosier originally hails from Eagle Lake First Nation. Photo courtesy www.thunderstonepictures.com

It’s been an important year for Eagle Lake export Michelle Derosier, one half of award-winning Thunder Bay-based filmmakers, Thunderstone Pictures.

A career social worker turned filmmaker, Derosier has recently found herself on the leading edge of bringing national exposure to compelling stories and important issues facing Ontario’s Far North.

A 34 minute documentary released in 2011, titled ‘The Life You Want: A Young Woman’s Struggle Through Addiction’, is an intimate look at the life of oxycontin-addicted Fort Hope resident Doris Skipperjack, and has brought national attention to the prescription drug epidemic in the region. The documentary spurred CBC national radio program The Current, as well as high profile newspapers The Ottawa Citizen, The Vancouver Sun and Montreal Gazette to examine the issue in depth.

Derosier’s most recent work, ‘Return To Manomin’, hits closer to home. Three years in the making, Derosier documents her effort to re-introduce multiple generations of her own family living at nearby Eagle Lake and Wabigoon Lake First Nations to the traditional practice of harvesting manomin (wild rice) and in doing so regaining a deeper connection to their past and the land. The 72-minute film was an official selection at both the Biindigaate Film Festival and San Francisco’s American Indian Film Festival.

Michelle Derosier spoke to Observer Editor Chris Marchand via telephone, Jan. 12.

Dryden Observer: Describe your transition from social work to filmmaking. Did you get into film with a conscious intent to shine a light on social issues in northwestern Ontario?

Michelle Derosier: At the time I was working in Sioux Lookout and basically I was burnt out by a lot of the work I was doing and I wanted to do something different — something creative. I really felt like I need to take a different path. I still felt the need to do something useful and I wanted to do something with storytelling and images, but at the time I didn’t know what that was. I moved back to Thunder Bay and I met up with Dave Clement (Thunderstone partner) and we had a similar vision with what we wanted to see happen in terms of social change and dealing with issues.”

DO: ‘The Life You Want’ has been instrumental in gaining national exposure for an issue that is very important in the region. Can you talk about how that project came about?

MD: Jim Morris, who is the executive director of the Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority, had tried for a few years to get people’s attention about the issue of oxycontin — they were basically being ignored. They approached us. He wanted to create awareness and change around an issue that’s had a profound negative impact on the communities.

Sometimes film can be a really powerful tool to create social change. When the reports aren’t working anymore and nobody seemed to be listening, it can be a good way to get your message out, especially with social media being such a big part of our lives. You put something up on the web and you never know whether it’s going to go viral. If that happens you have access to a global audience.

DO: Can you describe the importance of having someone as brave and forthcoming as Doris Skipperjack involved in a project like this?

MD: Having Doris be so open, honest and courageous — we were really fortunate to have somebody like her come forward. And she’s done great. She’s really busy. She’s been speaking at different First Nations communities, she was on CBC’s The Current — a national radio program, and in the Ottawa Citizen recently. Her story is getting out there and it’s having a positive impact. I hear that in a lot of the feedback I get about the film.

DO: From your perspective as a First Nations person and a filmmaker, what are your observations of the First Nations relationship with the mainstream media? Is there a reluctance to participate?

MD: I just finished working with CBC’s Fifth Estate over the summer and we did a story called Stories From The Rivers Edge. There’s definitely some apprehension. People aren’t really quite sure about whether or not, or how much they should engage with mainstream media. And rightfully so too — if you fly up to a community and fly out the same day, which typically happens, how much do you know about those people? How much do you know about that community, their lives and the way that they see the world? You can miss the beauty in these places. Our first impression can often be, ‘Oh my gosh! This is terrible’. If you enter a community that is not reflective of your own worldview, then there is the chance that there might be misconceptions, or stereotypes. The stories are complicated, and complex — especially when you’re talking about First Nations and the reserve communities. It’s not as simple as people think because of the relationship with the federal government.

DO: Does the mainstream media have to change the way it approaches covering First Nations issues. Do you feel you are doing things any differently?

MD: “I’ve made myself, over the years, well aware of the history of the relationship between first peoples and the history of Canada. That’s been part of my own personal process and part of my education that’s been very important. I’m talking about treaties, The Indian Act and the reserve system itself. If you have some awareness about what these things mean and how they impact us as Canadians, then I think your story might be a little bit different. Especially in today’s age, I feel it’s a responsibility of mainstream media. People often say ‘that’s history, we need to move on,’ but it’s not history. It has an impact on daily lives, especially if you’re living on a First Nation today.”

DO: Your most recent film brings you back to the Dryden area in hopes of recapturing a part of your family’s heritage. What did you gain from that journey?

 MD: I got the idea that I wanted to take four generations of my family back after a 30 year absence of harvesting manomin (wild rice) to a rice lake up the Sioux Lookout Highway. It’s kind of a personal journey and I did succeed in relearning to harvest wild rice, which I hadn’t done since I was 10 or 12 years old, and taught my children and grandchildren. There was an absolute spiritual connection to that place, that one little lake where my grandparents and great grandparents used to be, working the land. I believe we’re connected to that land and that there are spirits who live there.”

DO: The past few years seem to be a very exciting time for the arts in Thunder Bay, filmmaking in particular. Can you describe what’s happening in the creative scene?

MD: Often times what happens, in the arts community and especially in film, is that people have to leave Thunder Bay, go elsewhere to Toronto, Vancouver or Winnipeg. But here, in the last five years, people are making the decision that they aren’t going to leave and to start a real movement here. It makes absolute sense because there’s a lot happening. There are a lot of stories to tell.

Craig Fotheringham on stage at The Centre with The Blues Brothers Revival, Nov. 2007. Fotheringham passed away Jan. 8 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Observer file photo

By Chris Marchand

Members of Dryden’s close-knit music community mourned the loss of a friend and one of the community’s most celebrated musical exports this past week.

Craig Fotheringham passed away in Winnipeg, Jan. 8 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 58 years old.

A talented piano player as a youth, owing to the lessons of his mother and local piano teacher Rena Fotheringham, the teenage Craig gravitated towards the guitar. Forming local group Shades of Blue, the band would become the stuff of local legend on the stages of local community halls throughout the late 1960s, early ’70s.

“Music was everything to us back then,” says bandmate Guenther Thiel. “All we did was practice and practice. We learned songs from scratch.”

Thiel says the teenage Fotheringham was already a formidable musician and utterly committed to the music.

“I remember back in the early ’70s he had bought a Les Paul guitar and this thing would never stay in tune,” said Thiel. “He’d be trying to tune while he was playing it. It was frustrating and he finally got tired of it and sold it. Now the same guitar is worth $7,000. But, the perfectionist he was, the thing drove him crazy.”

The Shades Of Blue band reunited most recently for an arena full of Centennial revelers during 2010’s 100th anniversary homecoming celebrations.

In 1972, Fotheringham went to Winnipeg to study classical piano, beginning a long-standing relationship with the city and its musicians.

His passing was marked by an outpouring of fond remembrances in stories throughout the Winnipeg press. The Pembina Hotel, site of Fotheringham’s regular Saturday afternoon jazz gig, hosted a tribute to him, featuring some of the top musicians in the city, this past Sunday.

He performed with and produced albums in his home studio for various artists and bands, most notably the C-Weed Band, The Foster Martin Band, Curtis Newton and the Bill McMahon Trio.

In rehearsals or in the studio, Fotheringham was known for his iron will and leadership in doing what’s best for the song.

“He knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it out of you,” said Shades of Blues bandmate Dale Ripley of Fotheringham’s production style. “You did it his way, or you didn’t do it. But most of the time he was right and it worked out to the benefit of everyone involved. The end result was always good, you couldn’t deny that.”

Ripley and Thiel recently travelled to Winnipeg for a final visit with their friend. A private man, Ripley says Fotheringham concealed his terminal illness to many, only revealing it to most family and friends as recently as November.

“There was a side to him beyond the music — he really cherished his family and his friends,” said Ripley. “He’d be the first one there if you had a problem. He always kept in touch. He was always good that way. Winnipeg was his life — his working life anyway, but he never forgot his family and friends back here.”

A memorial service will be held for Craig Fotheringham on Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. at the United Church in Dryden.

In times like these, more and more of us are looking to the cinema to provide escape into laughter, wonder and fantastical settings — into lives more interesting than our own.

It gets harder to commit an uninterrupted 90-minute span to a movie like Contagion, a film that pretty much guarantees you some measure of unpleasantness. Director Steven Soderbergh’s tale of a global pandemic of viral encephalitis that kills 30 million people renders a sort of helplessness in the viewer through its raw, frighteningly plausible turn of events.

Contagion is styled less like a Hollywood protagonist-driven thriller a la Michael Crichton’s Outbreak (1995) and more of witness to the chaos and power of nature and its effects on society. Soderbergh’s is a classical approach, bearing many similarities to Albert Camus’ existentialist work ‘The Plague’. Soderbergh is one of the few directors in Hollywood who consistently weaves powerful philosophical subtexts into his films.

There’s a certain cold detachment that comes with portraying death on a massive scale. This sense of cruel earnestness in the filmmaking makes a tough job for the cast, among them Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet, who have just few minutes of screen time each to develop some meaningful relationship with the audience.

Contagion finds its most powerful moments as it zooms in close on the people at the centre of a global catastrophe, from the first victims and their families to the disease control specialists and scientists working to respond to a crisis.

The knowledge of one’s own imminent death provides ripe and fairly unique dramatic scenarios exploring courage and duty against the backdrop of crumbling civility.

A particularly poignant scene finds actress Jennifer Ehle as a researcher working on a vaccine — inject herself with a potential cure, testing it by exposing herself to her dying father in his final moments.

Jude Law plays an interesting role as a conspiracy theorist blogger whose herbal remedy vaults him to celebrity status during the crisis — highlighting the growing conflict between science and Internet-fueled pseudoscience and the disconnect between the goals of individuals versus the goals of public health decision making.

There’s a lot going on in Contagion, and it’s certainly worth your time.

A display case featuring 1980s and early 1990s -era Atari game consoles and assorted peripherals. The collection on display dates as far back as 1975 with a Coleco Telstar-Alpha. Photo by Chris Marchand

By Chris Marchand

Go ahead, laugh all you want.

There once was a time when it may have been reasonable to claim that video games were kids’ stuff.

It is not a particularly extreme point of view that any such statement made in 2012 should be greeted as a pure claptrap, baloney, even horsefeathers.

Statistics from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) indicate that the average age of a gamer is 34 years old and has been playing for an average of 12 years in 67 per cent of U.S. households.

In 2009 the gaming industry reported revenues of $10.5 billion in 239 million units sold.

This past November, the highly anticipated ‘first-person shooter’ title Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 sold 6.5 million copies on the day it was launched and reached $1 billion in sales in just 16 days.

As gaming has overtaken more traditional entertainment industries, games have guided product design and steered technology and culture towards richer interactive entertainment and learning experiences.

And what would a museum exhibit on the history of gaming be, without an interactive experience?

At the Dryden and District Museum until Feb. 24, patrons can take a trip back in technological history to see where this phenomenon began – from pinball to the first home gaming consoles to hit the market. Exhibit goers have a chance to interact with present day innovations like the Xbox Kinect system.

Dryden Museum’s Leah Gardener says the exhibit makes extensive use of the personal collection of local resident Glen Armstrong.

“It’s been a fun exhibit to do,” said Gardner. “I also wanted to set up a 1970s living room, so that kids could see the big old TVs that people had to work with, to get people to feel a little bit of what it’s like to go back. This one allows for more interaction than we usually can offer. We decided to do this one in the winter to see if we could entice some younger people to come in and see what some of their parents, or grandparents may have played on.”

In Gardner’s ’70s living room a 2007 CBC documentary, titled Gamer’s Revolution on the rise of gaming is screened for those interested.

The oldest console in the collection, the Coleco Telstar-Alpha, dates back to 1975, followed closely by the faux wood-panelled Mattel Intellivision and Super-Pong marketed by Sears.

A second generation witnesses the birth of Atari and the evolution of the ColecoVision brand and its peripheral controllers.

The exhibit pays homage to the arcade experience with a variety of full-sized pinball and arcade games from the 1980s and ’90s.

While hoping to appeal to a wide variety of ages in the exhibit, Gardner said they were interested in recognizing gaming for the cultural force it has become. Gardner’s own son met his wife while playing an online fantasy role-playing game.

“Gaming earns far more than the movie industry,” said Gardner. “That’s just a fact. And this has been happening for a long time. I read the other day that the first gaming systems were developed by the military in the 1950s. The technology has existed for a very long time and only through people in the gaming industry has that moved forward.”

The musical Cortens family performing on stage at Come Together 8, Dec. 27. Pictured from left are: Laura, Michael, Andrew, Tommy and friend of the family Dustin Heritz on drums. Photos by Chris Marchand

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By Chris Marchand

The spirit of togetherness was again rekindled on the stage of The Centre over the holidays as the eighth annual Come Together concert took to the stage, Dec. 27.

Featuring over 30 local musicians in a dozen acts throughout the evening, producer Carl Bleich says staging the lineup for the annual fundraiser for the Dryden High School (DHS) Music Association is a difficult to achieve balance of newcomers, old standbys and interesting collaborations.

Bleich says the show’s ethic of family, togetherness and collaboration plays a big role in the tough decisions around choosing a lineup from a long list of capable performers.

“The Carters, the Cortens and the Kellars — the families up there. To me that’s the heart of Come Together,” says Bleich.

While the stage show may serve as the pinnacle of the experience, he says the performers themselves find a much deeper experience in the preparation for the show.

“It gets people together to practice,” he said. “I know that Kelsey (Fenwick), Michelle (Carter) and Jessie (Penner) got together once a week for about five weeks. I could see them gelling not only as musicians, but as friends. That’s what it’s about.”

Notable highlights included a collaboration between Paul Hampton and vocalist Shannyn Peters. His last stage appearance before making a move back to Winnipeg, Hampton pulled off a memorable version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Mother’ with some help from Peters before a standing ovation led to a performance of Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ — a local fan favourite.

Hampton returned to the stage later with local songwriter and funnyman Byron O’Donnell.

The very musical Cortens family — consisting of father Michael; sons Andrew, Tommy and daughter Laura; were joined by Dustin Heritz for a 60’s inspired set.

To cap off the second set, the evening’s emcees, The Kellar Family, took to the stage themselves.

The crowd immediately noticed some pizzazz on the Come Together stage. A giant guitar lit with LED lights served as a spectacular and festive backdrop to the event. The prop, built by members of the local hospital maintenance staff, could be recognized from the Dryden Regional Health Centre’s recent float for the Santa Claus Parade. With some help from Kevin Lapointe, Bleich says the unit was transferred via tow-truck to the venue for the show.

After the event, Bleich says the giant guitar has since become a permanent fixture in the DHS music room and will be used for future events at the school.

“The big guitar kind of represents the growth of the concert,” said Bleich. “It somehow made it a little more spectacular. Our numbers were up a little bit from last year.”

Bleich says between ticket buyers, musicians and some 15 volunteers, total attendance was 377.

For more images from the event check out www.tdob.ca, or the event’s own site at www.cometogetherdryden.com.

The eighth annual Come Together concert is scheduled for Tuesday, December 27 at The Centre in Dryden. Auditorium doors open at 6:30 and as you enter local pianist Alex Lugli will ease you into the program. The main show starts at seven.

Come Together is based on solid family entertainment. It is designed for those back in the community for the Holiday Season, for folks that have company in town, i.e. something to do and anyone looking for a great evening out. Tickets at $15 make great stocking stuffers.

Over thirty local musicians will entertain you.

No show has ever been the same. Started in the second year of the concert was the concept of family groups. That year (2005) it was the Kellar Family. This year the Kellars, including Carmen will be our Emcees as well as one of three family acts: including five from the Cortens family and three from the Carter family.

Variety is certainly a term that describes Come Together. A first in this concert’s history will be an all Gyrls Band led by an Open Roads grade eight student Kelsey Fenwick on vocals, backed on guitar by Michelle Carter and Jessie Penner on bass. Fall Fair people will remember Kelsey from the talent show as well as Moody Jamboree fans.

Dryden High School students will cover three of twelve spots in the show: The band Kings and Queen; singer Holly MacKay teaming up with Nate Puddicombe; and finally, another first for the show… The Sax Quintet. A little brass never hurts. DHS graduate and recording star Matteo Pauselli is back from Vancouver for the Christmas Season and will be performing a couple of songs for your enjoyment. Bring along a few bucks if you want to take his CD home.

If you attended last year you will remember the beautiful voice of Shannyn Peters who was backed by Paul Hampton. This musical partnership could not be turned down as many of you know Paul will be leaving Dryden in the New Year to pursue his music career. Later in the program Paul will also be keyboarding with Byron O’Donnell who will be performing some of his new songs.

The band Bootleg Vinyl with Everett Rourke on bass, Dale Ripley, drums, left handed guitar picker Mark Schmidt and awesome keyboard player, Rod Armit will get the second half of the show rockin’.

The Kellars, Rod, Landon and Jordin will round out the program around 10:10. They will be joined by Matteo and Adam Tocholke. All musicians will be back on stage for a final bow with the song, written by the Beatles, “Come Together”.

Tickets are on sale now and up to Dec. 23rd at Walter’s Auto Body and Golden Nectar. Up to concert day, Dec. 27th tickets are also at Lotto One and will be available at the door at The Centre. Proceeds for this concert go to the Music Association at DHS for musical instruments and recording equipment. Any questions call 223-2841.

Royal Conservatory piano students Hailey Gilmour (front) and Nathan Peters took home the Intermediate and junior trophies respectively. They are joined by local piano teachers Rena Fotheringham and Heather Spoozak.

There were a few butterflies in the air as talented local youth took to the big stage of The Centre to perform on the piano or deliver award winning speeches in Dryden Rotary Club’s 2011 Performing Arts Evening.

Among the speakers, second-place winner, Grade 7 New Prospect School Student Landon Bilous, delivered an impassioned and well reasoned plea for a hunting and outdoors equipment retailer to set up shop in Dryden.

1st Place Winner Molly Paterson was cool under pressure at the lectern as she delivered her humourous speech, Battle of the Sexes — Who is More Annoying. Paterson also claimed the Ian Nixon Memorial Award for Public Speaking on behalf of Open Roads School where she attends Grade 8.

Lillian Berg student and third place winner William Stanley was not able to attend.

Performing musical recitals this year were Royal Conservatory of Music Junior Trophy winner Nathan Peters (Grade Two 92 marks) and Intermediate Trophy winner Hailey Gilmour (Grade Five 78 marks).

Rotary Performing Arts Evening speech winners: Grade 7 New Prospect student Landon Bilous and Grade 8 Open Roads student Molly Paterson receive their awards for public speaking, Dec. 7 at The Centre. Photos by Chris Marchand