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Photo by Hannah Whittaker (via BOOOOOOOM!)

The stillness of the water and the coniferous forest on the opposing shore in this photo send my mind straight to Manitoba’s cottage country (though, for my purposes, I ignore what appears to be a small mountain/hill in the top left quadrant of the photo).

For me, cottage country = the Whiteshell and surrounding provincial parks like Nopiming. Of course, that’s not the only place in Manitoba where people keep their summer abodes, from the small, simple cabins in Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park to the rambling mid-century structures in Grand Beach.

This coming weekend, the plan is that my friends an I will decamp to Ruth’s parents’ cottage (the location of which I forget, frankly. It’s not important, anyway, since I won’t be driving there. Unlike that one time in college when Erin, Gillian and I struggled to find Lynsay’s Grand Beach-area cottage without a printed version of the emailed instructions. Also it was nighttime. We found our way there eventually, but not before using a few more litres of gasoline than was strictly necessary had we been better prepared).

Anyhow, back to the photo you see above. The flame burning counterintuitively on the water doesn’t seem that strange, for some reason, once you’ve spent an evening lakeside by the fire, preferably at an isolated waterfront cottage, at sunset once the motorboats and Seadoos have been put away for the night. Ideally, a loon will call the lake home, and you’ll hear its eerie call echoing off the water’s surface. (I idealize only the loon’s signature call, here; did you know that loons have been observe hunting smaller birds for pleasure? As in, killing wantonly with gusto and not for the purpose of procuring a meal? Strange but true…)

In the early evening haze of dusk, a campfire can mesmerize, can bend reality, not unlike Hannah Whittaker’s photograph. There’s something mystical about The Lake, as Manitobans call it, and maybe that’s one reason that the city empties out in the summer months, its inhabitants drawn away to the nighttime stillness and the lakeside flame.

Summer time means lots of weddings and, accordingly, lots of wedding socials. (If you’re not from Manitoba and don’t know what I’m talking about, see here.)

Over the weekend I attended Stacey & Joël’s social at the Crescentwood Community Centre. I didn’t actually take any photos — I only took video shots with my June scrapbook in mind. Here’s the happy couple dancing:

That same night, my friend Cynara was attending a non-wedding social that was (partially) in her honour in another part of town. She and some other social-goers took this photo, which, it has been suggested, might well-serve the Wikipedia entry linked above.

The rye bread, the cheese cubes, the mustard, the cold cuts.

I haven’t gone to near as many wedding socials as most. This partly has to do with my religious upbringing and also to do with the fact that apparently my friends are not (yet) the marrying kind. That said, anyone who’s spoken with me on the subject knows I have myriad opinions on the subject of what I call the Wedding Economy. That term, for me, does not refer to the increasingly consumer-based nature of the wedding, the thousands of dollars in debt, the expensive dresses and over-budget extravagance, though I’m not a fan of that, either. What I’m talking about is the understood material transfer that takes place when one attends a wedding. The expectation that your gift is basically payment for an ticket invitation to the party. And of course, nowadays, that “gift” is usually expected to be money, with everyone putting in small-to-medium font in the bottom corner of the invitation, “Presentation.”

To me, this feeling of commercial transaction that has come to underlie all wedding invitations is uncomfortable (at best — distasteful at worst).

I don’t write this a an indictment to anyone reading who has had a wedding or even put the dreaded P-word on the invite. I’m just saying I hate it when social interactions run parallel to monetary ones, which it often feels that weddings do.

In Manitoba, where wedding socials are essentially fundraisers, the proceeds going towards the ceremony/reception, a house down payment, a honeymoon, what-have-you, there has been some backlash against the concept. It comes quite understandably, I think, from people who have felt obligated to attend many, many socials over the years and thus have been rather exhausted by the Top-40 playlists, the endless parade of silent auctions, the watery cocktails and yes, the sweaty cubes of cheese on the buffet table. There’s also been backlash against couples soliciting businesses for wedding social silent auction prize donations.

Still, the wedding social is a part of the Wedding Economy I have less issue with, on the basis that the obligations involved are less murky. Ten dollars usually gets you in the door, to enjoy DJed music (of varying quality; always check before you go. Stacey hired the city’s premier party DJ), to drink inexpensive liquor (something in which I no longer partake, but hardly begrudge anyone who does), and to eat the oft-maligned but no-less-delicious social spread (the rye, the meat, the cheese). As for the silent auction — hey, some people get off on that. I, never being much of a gambler, don’t, but I also do know people who have won freakin’ Wii gaming systems at socials, so there you go.

It’s that time again! Garageland is CKUW’s summer weekend extravaganza, where our dedicated bargain hunters scope the streets and back lanes of Winnipeg looking for the best in second-hand deals.

I will be producing the first and second weeks (June 6 & 20). So when you call that phone number during the show, you’ll talk to me first! I’ve got a bunch of fantastic Fielders lined up, enthusiastic garage-salers all, and I can’t wait to see what they find.

If you’re having a garage sale, we will announce it on the air! Visit the CKUW website to submit the details there, or you can always call during the show.

To give you an idea of what awaits, here are some Poladroids from years past.

My friend Kandise has recently undertaken a new venture. She’s a librarian by training and trade, but she is also a talented and skilled photographer. She’s started up a photography company called Hibou Photo. If you live in or around Fredricton, New Brunswick, you can get her to take a rad portrait of you or perhaps your wedding photos.

For non-Canadians/non-francophones, “Hibou” is the French word for “owl.”

Check out some of Kandise’s lovely, lovely work:

I will be tabling. Hope to see you there!

Handmade Nation (2009)

by Faythe Levine
Film screening and DIY Craft Sale
Friday, June 19, 2009
Craft sale – 7 pm
Screening – 7:30 pm
Ellice Theatre, 585 Ellice Ave
Admission $5

Handmade Nation documents a movement of artists, crafters and designers that recognize a marriage between historical techniques, punk and DIY ethos while being influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art. Fueled by the common thread of creating, Handmade Nation explores a burgeoning art community that is based on creativity, determination and networking.

In 2006, first-time director Faythe Levine traveled to 15 cities, interviewing 80 individuals. Levine captured the virtual tight-knit community that exists through websites, blogs and online stores and connects to the greater public through independent boutiques, galleries and craft fairs. Interviews were also conducted in artists’ studios and homes of the featured makers. (2009 release, 65 minutes)

DIY Craft Sale featuring work by Kelly Ruth, Leigh-Ann Keffer, Jenny Henkelman, Kylie Stomp, Roy Liang and more.

This event is co-sponsored by the Manitoba Crafts Council, Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library, Art from the Heart, Ace Art, MAWA and the Wpg DIY Festival.

It’s here! Music is Passion Pit, “Swimming in the Flood.” Scenes from the month of May as lived through by me.