A permanent seat for Charles Daniels, a pioneer for civil rights in Alberta who took the Sherman Grand Theatre (now The GRAND) to court In 1913 after being denied the seat he purchased because he was a Black Man.
Designed by Simone Saunders and unveiled tonight in an uplifting tribute to Black artistry in the city, I’m grateful to live in a place where artists lean in with their whole hearts and use their gifts to continue moving us towards truth and justice with beauty, passion & joy. Bravo to the Charles Daniels artistic committee at The GRAND.
And I was so in it, I neglected to snap a photo of @hernameisnaz and @mkayllla - 🙏🙏🙏
A December for the books! Thanks for the good times - you sure know how to keep a guy smiling 😊
Photo run-down:
- First ski tour of the season: happy 2025-2026 Ski Season! (Was wildly dead tired after this.)
- Max landed us tickets ON the CPKC Holiday Train.
- We saw Margaret Atwood in the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Werklund Centre
- Sanja and I slinging advice and vibes at the TD Incubator Artist Summit; very proud of what we’ve accomplished on this and one of my fav artist conferences of the season.
- Josh squared, but make it holigay… the hostess with the most-ess & supremely excellent human and friend ❤️
- Max’s birthday! And we looked cute. Penny Crown is legit.
- Poker night, fancy holiday edition - 2nd place and restocked with $ for the new year.
- THE SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR! A career highlight presenting these artists. 14-weeks on tour, Calgary is the last stop, and it’s blistering cold outside. They show up like it’s Day One and perform an absolute force of a show. Powerful & life-affirming stuff - and JUST the right amount of Christmas to get us in the mood.
- And finally Christmas! (If you look close at the last pic, you can see the Christmas cold take hold… proceeded to sleep in 14hr stretches for like 3-days straight after this, yer boy was TIRED… and sick 🤒)
This week definitely hit a bit different! What an honour to host the incredible artists behind @symphonic.blues in Calgary. Gratitude to @morganfreeman , his partner Dr Keena, Eric Meir, and everyone that made this sold-out show possible. Scroll to the end for just a taste of the joy these artists bring.
Summer recap chapter: Calgary Stampede!
Wild, queer, and satisfying. The greatest outdoor show on earth is a lot of things, but what it is NOT is a disappointment - ever. 🤠
(Ten points if you can peep the Lil General.)
Congratulations AJ & Brett!
What better way to celebrate Pride!? Love wins ya beauties & don’t you forget it 🥰
And thanks to @brenterrtainment for sharing the school bus rainbow pic 🌈
I’m told life begins at 40 - and I’m inclined to agree 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
Surrounded by family, friends, and fun is how I’m starting this decade. The week leading up to and out of my birthday has been a bit of a tough time of year for a while - it reminded me of an old friend no longer with us. While the grief of that remains true, so too is the incredible people around me and no more so than my incredible husband Max (@justaskibum ). While I tend to shy away from religious connotations and thinking, this feeling of being ‘blessed’ seems the closest to capturing the wonder, fulfilment, and incredible joy I’m filled with. Wow-ee wow wow everyone, pinch me 🤩
Extra special shoutout to @alexkgt & @tklongmire for EVERYTHING
The last 6-weeks have been action-packed - more doing than social media posting so, let’s fix that a bit!! Up first: Festival TransAmérique in late May for their Industry series!
An absolute gem of a contemporary performance festival, I immediately felt how much the festival cared for its audience, artists, staff, volunteers, industry - it cared about how it shows up in the world.
Diverse performances of the highest calibre. A special mention to Gentle Unicorn; if you can see it, see it.
I’m making the most of my time as Co-Curator for Theater der Welt, seeing friends, colleagues, and of course making new ones.
Really pleased that Max was able to join for a bit too - this is usually really hard to align with our schedules.
Lastly, credit where credit is due:
Image 5 ‘AUTOGYNEGAMY’ by Elle Barbara | Image 6, Elle Barbara arrives at the festival HQ after marrying herself | Image 7 ‘danses vagabondes’ by Louise Lecavalier | Image 8 ‘HEAVEN FM’ by Hong Kong Exile | Image 9 ‘Gentle Unicorn’ by Chiara Bersani | Image 10 ‘concerto’ by Charlie Khalil Prince + Olivia Tapiero | Image 11 ‘Extérieur/nuit’ by Le Théâtre indépendant
An incredible 2-days of learning and Arts Education at Arts Commons so far this weekend. Keynote with the one and only Kid Koala, a series of fun & play performances for early years audiences from our friends at the University of Calgary & a whole series of panels - lots of love and appreciation to Michelle Stonehouse from Calgary Arts Academy’s and her leadership with arts immersion learning, Bethel with Alcove, dance artist and educator Masani St Rose, and convo facilitator Christine Brubaker.
And that’s the end of the 2024-25 ski season! Max and I were lucky enough to get our final turns a bit further west at Whistler with Phil & Simon - and a bear 🐻! Must be spring 🌸
Some nice turns, clowning around, and I found a cute new hat… GOOD LIVING 🥰
