Wake Up Winnipeg

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 110

2012-02-10T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 110

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 02/10/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 02/15/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week was the Valentine's Day edition of Wake Up Winnipeg!

We started the show off with our usual news and fuller notebook event listings and then kicked it off to the gushy stuff. . .

We discussed a new book written by Amy Leigh Mercree who is a Spiritual Dating Coach and author of the forthcoming book, The Spiritual Girl’s Guide to Dating: Your Enlightened Path to Love, Sex, and Soul Mates

We talked about a new Wine App called Wine Picks and Pairings made by Natalie MacLean, the editor of Canada’s largest wine web site at www.nataliemaclean.com.

We gave away a $400.00 Black & Decker Prize Pack which also contained all the tools needed to make that perfect valentines day dinner.(Sorry, this contest is now over).

Finally we featured two tracks in this episode including:

1) Flight of the Conchords - We're both in love with a sexy lady

2) The One AM Radio - An Old Photo Of Your New Lover.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 109

2012-01-27T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 109

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 01/27/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 02/01/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

On this weeks show we featured a live conversation with Winnipeg based musician James Struthers who came to promote his involvement with the Choose Your Charity event taking place at the Winnipeg Free Press News Cafe.

While in studio he also played his new track Heart Says Yes live from UMFM Studios.

Next, after two weeks of promising, we were finally able to air our interview with Dave Coulier who stopped by Winnipeg from January 26th through 28th at Rumors Comedy Club.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 108

2012-01-20T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 108

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 01/20/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 01/25/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we featured a track from local band The Dust Rhinos called am I ever going to see your face again.

We also aired a segment from the TV show Whatever Happened To' featuring Dave Coulier which we found on Youtube. We aired this in preparation of his upcoming visit at Rumors Comedy Club.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg.

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 107

2012-01-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 107

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 01/13/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 01/18/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Earlier this week we had learned that the hit broadway musical Avenue Q would be making its Winnipeg debut from February 2 through February 5 at the Gas Station Arts Centre.

We felt it only fitting that we reflect back on the play as host Andru Valpy had recently seen the production at the New World Stages on a recent visit to New York City.

Aimless & Andy Review - AVENUE Q - NEW WORLD STAGES - New York, NY, USA

By: Andru Valpy

Avenue Q - New World Stages

340 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10019

Tel: (646) 871-1730

http://www.avenueq.com/

Price: $69.50-$126.50 (USD)
Aimless & Andy Rating: 5 (out of 5).
Features: Slap Stick Comedy, Adult Humor, Catchy Broadway Songs

It doesn't suck to be anyone who has seen Avenue Q.

Since it's debut in 2003, Avenue Q has brought laughter into the hearts of those who are brave enough to see the musical production. The production has won three tony awards, including the best musical award in 2003.

On Sunday May 22nd, 2011 I had the opportunity to review Avenue Q at New York City's famed New World Stages. Though I went into the production expecting some laughs, I had no idea as to what the level of comedy the of Avenue Q would bring to the stage. After watching the two hour production, I can tell you I was honestly blown away by how much I actually laughed.

Avenue Q is an essential play to see for any twenty-something who has wondered what exactly to do with their life. This holds especially true for any recent college graduate.

The show is based on a street called Avenue Q, a lower income street in the hustling bustling city of New York. The players, Princeton (a recent college graduate), Kate Monster (a kindergarten teaching assistant), Rod (a stiff banker) and his lazy room-mate Nicky, Brian (a recently unemployed comedian) and his Asian girlfriend Christmas Eve, Trekkie Monster (A perverted next-door neighbor) and childhood star Garry Coleman who is a superintendent in the building the characters live in.

Immediately upon the start of the show I felt as if I had walked into a continuation of a episode of Sesame Street, except this time all of the characters had grown up and been faced with real life adult situations.

The staff at Avenue Q have gone out of their way to crush any association with the Jim Henson production by including the following statement in their Playbill program:

"Avenue Q has not been authorized or approved in any manner by The Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content".

Though the production itself bears a lot of similarities to Sesame Street (including very convincing puppets), the storyline would dare not be included in the original television production.

Think: X-Rated Sesame Street.

The opening act introduces us to Princeton who has just found his way into a apartment block on Avenue Q who finds himself asking the age old question "What do you do with a B.A. In English".

Like any other college graduate, Princeton is unsure of his place in the world, but remains committed to making a difference in the human race.

After taking a vacant suite in the apartment block Princeton is introduced to the rest of the cast and gets into a comedic debate over who's life sucks more. Ultimately, it was decided that all of the characters (and audiences) life sucked equally.

Moments later, Nicky attempts to discuss the subject of homosexuality with his anal-retentive room-mate Rod, who very defensively states he wants nothing to do with the conversation. Nicky politely attempts to call Rod out of the closet and encourages him to let loose. As his best friend and room-mate, Nicky explains that If Rod Was Gay, It would Be Okay and expresses his support on the subject. Rod once again attempts to change the subject and denies any of Nicky's allegations leading the audience to believe he is in denial.

The audience was brought back to Princeton, who after kicking himself earlier in the show is determined to find his Purpose in life. After finding a lucky penny from the year he was born, he is motivated to find his purpose and has a feeling "something is coming, something good".

Feeling better about himself, Princeton runs into girl next door Kate Monster who has developed a crush on the new kid on the block. While attempting to learn more about Kate Monster, Princeton starts to ask about Kate's family background:

He asks if she and Trekkie Monster were related, which causes Kate to take a step back and express her concern. She explains to Princeton that it was very presumptions of him to ask him such a sensitive question and also feels it was a bit racist.

Princeton attempts to defend himself and educates Kate that Everyone's a little bit racist.

To be quite honest, this was the song that originally sold me on attending Avenue Q out of the multitude of Broadway productions that New York City has to offer.

This single song is very comedic but also honest and blatantly true.

It reaches out to various races and educates it's audiences that deep-down every one really is racist, as the title suggests.

"Perhaps it's a fact we all should face.

Ethnic jokes, may be uncouth, but you laugh because they are based on truth. Don't take them as personal attacks, everyone enjoys them so relax.

If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit, even though we all know that it's wrong, maybe it would help us get along."

The story continues with the characters finding themselves in a variety of real life situations including a near x-rated love scene (which had me in tears laughing) and a brief discussion on the true purpose of the Internet.

The story line is appropriate for those 16 and up and seems like it was designed to have the audience go back to a near child like state before judgements and stereotypes were known to them.

The production continues to be successful at the New World Stages with seat sales generally selling out on a daily basis.

Next time you are in New York City, I highly suggest you stop by Avenue Q as it is a Off-Broadway play that is not to be missed.

More information about Avenue Q may be found online at http://www.avenueq.com/.

Ending off this weeks show, we featured a track from the original broadway recording of Avenue Q entitled What do you do with a B.A. In English"

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 106

2012-01-06T16:45:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 106

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 01/06/2012 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 01/12/2012 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week kicked off Season 4 of the little talk show that could.

We caught our listeners up on local news and events and then launched into a new single released from Steven James Porter. We featured his single Rooftops which is the title track of his new album of the same name.

We also aired our interview with Rob Medwid of Brite-VU who made a quick in studio performance over the holidays. We featured his title track off his album Restarted.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Tidings of Comfort and Joy (Merry Christmas)

2011-12-25T08:28:00.003-06:00

We wanted to take the time to wish all of our friends & fans a Merry Christmas personally but with so many of you all out there it didn't seem like such a good idea. So instead, we got creative and took the time to create a message of Holiday Cheer with you the best way we knew how. . . by making a video:

Feliz Navidad from The Aimless & Andy Show on Vimeo.

We hope you enjoy your holiday season and look forward to sharing 2012 with you our friends, fans, families and followers.

All the best,

Andru

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 105

2011-12-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 105

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 12/16/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 12/21/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

With this being our last episode of 2011 and the end of our third season, we wanted to take a moment reflect back on those artists who have stopped by and recorded as part of the Aimless and Andy In Studio Sessions live from UMFM Studios.

We released 6 tracks on this weeks episode all of which were recorded by show host Andru Valpy at UMFM Studios as part of the Aimless and Andy Sessions.

1) Data Romance - Finish Round
2) Folk Thief - The Lonesome Traveler
3) My Boy Rascal - If I Could Break These walls
4) Jamie Rumley - Don't Know Why
5) Acres of Lions - Kids
6) Ash Koley - Don't Let Your Feet Touch Ground

To learn more about the Aimless and Andy in studio sessions be sure to visit us online at http://aimlessandandy.com

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 104

2011-12-09T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 104

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 12/09/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 12/14/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

On this week show we welcomed Aaron Nigel Smith who is a multi-talented artist whom we first met at the 2010 Winnipeg Folk Festival. Aaron joined our show this week to talk a little more about a project he is working on called One World Chorus.

We also aired station manager Michael Elves interview with Kevin Smith (aka Silent Bob) and Jay Mews (aka Jay) ahead of their Winnipeg stop over.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Rolls Through Winnipeg

2011-12-04T11:10:00.001-06:00

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train Rolls Through Winnipeg
By Andru Valpy

On Wake Up Winnipeg episode 103 we woke you up to a tradition that's been gaining momentum around North America for the last 13 years. The Canadian Pacific Railroad Holiday Train rolled through Winnipeg at 9:00 pm on December the 3rd in support of local food banks.

In total, up to 150 communities, large and small will experience the spirit of giving that the Holiday Train program. Since 1999 CP’s Holiday Train has raised $5.6 million and 2.5 million pounds food. Donating to local food banks benefits your neighbours and community. The results of a recent Food Banks Canada survey found food bank use has gone up 26 per cent between 2006 and 2011.

Moments before the festivities began we had the opportunity to check out the holiday train as it pulled through Highway 59. Here's just a sampling of our photographs:

For more photos of the CP Holiday Train, log on to our Facebook Fanpage at facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 103

2011-12-02T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 103

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 12/02/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Rebroadcast: 12/07/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we were in the Christmas spirit and our show reflected our feelings.

We started it off with an interview on the Canadian Pacific Rail Road Holiday Train that was scheduled to roll its way through Winnipeg. The trains visit promotes community spirit as it moves to support Winnipeg Harvest by means of financial and physical donations.

We also chatted with Nathan Terin about the Be:Cause industries downtown underground event.

We played two tracks on this weeks show:

1) Matchbook Romance - I'll be Home for Christmas
2) Michael Menert - ...Into your dreams.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM.

The Aimless & Andy Sessions: Acres of Lions - Reaction

2011-11-28T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg and UMFM 101.5 FM Present:

Acres of Lions - Reaction

Live from The Aimless and Andy Sessions at UMFM Studios - Winnipeg MB. Canada

Recorded/Mixed/Hosted/Produced by: Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM)

Free Download Location: YouTube
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/ - http://aimlessandandy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aimlessandandy

On Wake Up Winnipeg episode 102 we welcomed Victoria-based band Acres of Lions to The Aimless & Andy Sessions down at UMFM Studios.

We were lucky enough to have the the guys sit down and record three tracks with us only hours before they left for their set at The West End Cultural Centre here in Winnipeg on November the 19th.

Some of you who tuned in to Wake Up Winnipeg episode 102 would have heard the single "Best Day Ever" that we recorded while with the band. Though we expect to release the single soon in iTunes we thought we'd give our fans an extra bonus exclusively on YouTube.

This was the first time that we attempted to film a live video while recording a in-studio session and we couldn't be happier with the results. We fully expect to bring you more videos with each band that comes through UMFM Studios.

A big thanks goes out to Jeff, Tyson, Dan and Lewis from Acres of Lion for coming down and recording with us and for their help along the way. We hope to have them back to Winnipeg again soon to spend more time getting to know them. A lot of great fun and good memories came out of this session and we certainly had a enjoyable time recording them.

Now for your viewing pleasure we bring you the debut of the Acres of Lions single Reaction recorded as part of The Aimless & Andy Sessions live from UMFM Studios:

Additional photographs from the session can also be found by visiting the Wake Up Winnipeg Facebook Fan Page.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast via the iTunes music store for more of our session with Acres of Lions and other special guests. You can also find us on Facebook and join our conversation on Twitter. You can also visit us online at http://aimlessandandy.com.

For more in studio sessions and interviews you can also tune into Wake Up Winnipeg on Friday evenings at 6:00 pm (cst) on 101.5 UMFM in Winnipeg, or online world wide at umfm.com

Until next time,

-Av.

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 102

2011-11-25T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 102

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 11/25/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 11/30/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we welcomed Acres of Lions into the studios who were happy to preform their track "Best Day Ever" with us as part of the Aimless & Andy in studio sessions at UMFM Studios.

We were also able to catch up with C. R. Avery at a undisclosed locations moments before his live set at the WECC in Winnipeg. While interviewing with him about his upcoming show we recorded a track he layed down live.

Be sure to subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes music store for more of our in studio sessions.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 101

2011-11-18T18:30:00.000-06:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 101

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy & Sean Kanee
Air Date: 11/04/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 11/09/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we welcomed our Alberta correspondent Sean Kanee to the studios to serve as the official co-host for episode 101.

Some of you who have listened to our show before know that Sean has been featured on previous episodes of our show going as far back to the days of The Better Than Bob Show.

On episode 101 we got to learn a little more about Sean who was in town to support a fund raiser for cancer research.

We also discussed news, concert and event listings as per the usual.

City council approved a 25 cent transit increase onWednesday bringing bus fare up form $2.40 to $2.65 in an effort to help payfor the rapid transit line.

Money earned from the fare increase will go towards thecity’s Master Transportation plan that presented to council yesterday. In thereport the Executive Policy Committee expected to have the rapid transitcorridor extend to the University of Manitoba campus from Downtown by 2016.

In a report from the Winnipeg Free Press Premier GregSelinger has said he would prefer to see the city follow the usual process whenit considers a fare increase. In a CBC Radio interview Sellenger stated that“(the province) wants to look and see whether there is a way to advance rapidtransit without putting it all the pressure on the fare box”.

The move came as a surprise to some members of council whowere originally purported to increase fees by only five cents in January of2012. Council voted 8-6 to increase fares twice in 2012, which would bring thetotal amount to $2.65 by June 1^st 2012.

Yesterday marked the second month of the Occupy Wall Street movementand supporters around the world celebrated the “Day of Action” event.

The original occupy movement was started in the financial district of New YorkCity two months ago in and has since rapidly shared it’s message across 1,500cities.

Thousands of supporters in New York City were seendemonstrating by blocking streets around the New York Stock Exchange and inZucotti Park. Others staged rallies at various subway stations throughoutManhattan. According to reports at least175 people were arrested in the New York City demonstrators.

In Los Angeles police had arrested at least 23 people whowere seen gathering at an intersection around the Bank of America Plaza andWells Fargo Plaza.

Demonstrations also took place in other cities, includingWashington, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Portland Oregon and Seattle Washington wherea 84 year old woman was reported to have been pepper-sprayed.

On Tuesday afternoon two occupiers showed up to the MayorsOffice unannounced and spent 10 minutes with the mayor in what they describedas a friendly meeting. The occupiers explained the concerns of the movementpersonally to Mayor Katz including individual greed, which in turn feedscorporate greed. They also educated the Mayor about the group’s structure andgeneral assemblies and invited they mayor to the public forums, which are heldat 7:00 every night.

Mayor Sam Katz has stated that he has no interest inshutting down the Occupy Winnipeg movement as the demonstrations have so farbeen peaceful and also fall on Provincially owned property.

RCMP are once again reminding motorist’s to drive carefullyon provincial highways today after a crash that happened around 12:15 thisafternoon on Highway 5 just north of Neepawa.

A man and a woman, whose names have not yet been identified,were pronounced dead at the scene when police say a 2009 dodge pickup truck wasnorthbound when it lost control and crashed into a southbound semi-trailer.

RCMP said that road conditions were snowy and slippery withpoor visibility.

Today’s crash puts the number of deaths on Manitoba highwaysat 103 for 2011.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 100

2011-11-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 100

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy Paul McAvoy & Natty Somers
Air Date: 11/04/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 11/09/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we celebrated our 100th episode of Wake Up Winnipeg, To help us reminisce we invited former co-host Paul McAvoy to the station alongside queen of co-hosts Natty Somers.

Two years ago Wake Up Winnipeg started as a side project to The Aimless & Andy Show which also aired on UMFM. The intent was to put together a talk show built specifically around local news and event listings in an effort to show our stations ongoing support to our community, but also as a resource for us to explore a side of radio production that we had not personally explored before.

Here we are two years later and we continue to learn more about this city. I am happy to officially call it home and act as a strong advocate for Winnipeg. Our ongoing goal for each episode of Wake Up Winnipeg is to seek out new opportunities, adventures and stories and continue to share to those our friends within the perimeter and those families and fans throughout the world.

On today's episode we take a look back on our success and replay just some of our favorite interviews including:

Colin Mochrie - Episode 1
The Heavy (UK) - Episode 5
Joel Plaskett - Episode 12
Jill Barber - Episode 12
The Edmonton Folk Festival - Episode 11
John Blackwood & The Housewives - Episode 18
Winnipeg Folk Festivals - Episodes 4, 10, 50, 51, 85, 86
Trampled By Turtles - Episode 85
Melissa McClelland - Episode 85
Tom Green - Episode 77, 78
Folklorama - Episodes 4, 54, 88, 89

With over 100 episodes of our show and only 30 minutes to reflect it was certainly challenging to decide on what interviews we were going to feature. The above mentioned interviews and clips are only some of the many moments that have helped build up our show over the last year and a half. If you'd like a complete look at all of our episodes be sure to check out our show logs.

Towards the end of the episode I release a surprise to share with all of you with a cover of The Guess Who's song - These Eyes that I recorded with our friends from Callida and with the help of Greg Arcade.

A note about the video:

This is what happens when a drummer makes the jump to front man. . . It's my first attempt at publicly singing.

In case you missed it. . . this was my surprise for Wake Up Winnipeg episode 100.

My vocals were a bit scratchy towards the end and it was tough to hit some of Burton Cummings high notes because I had been practicing a bit too much before recording.

A big thanks to Geoff Thompson, Trevor Lux, Rodrigo Ramirez for their help in recording this take! The actual audio recording that aired on Wake Up Winnipeg also featured Greg Arcade on the keys, so thanks to him for that!

The video and audio don't sync exactly. I didn't end up filming the actual take of the song so I matched the video as best I could.

The episode is now available for free download as a free podcast in the iTunes music store. Feel free to subscribe for past episodes, in studio sessions and extended interviews from Season 3.

A big thanks to all of our fans and supporters for their help over the last 100 episodes.

Rock and Roll with a Thanks on Top,

Andru Valpy

(c) 2011 A. Valpy - Wake Up Winnipeg/UMFM

The Importance of 100 - Wake Up Winnipeg Celebrates Episode 100

2011-10-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

The Importance of 100 - Wake Up Winnipeg Celebrates Episode 100

This Friday at 6:00 PM we will be airing a very special edition of Wake Up Winnipeg on UMFM 101.5. Friday's episode will mark the 100th episode of the talk show that was never supposed to happen, and once it started, it wasn't supposed to last.

Two years ago Wake Up Winnipeg started as a side project to The Aimless & Andy Show which also aired on UMFM. The intent was to put together a talk show built specifically around local news and event listings in an effort to show our stations ongoing support to our community, but also as a resource for us to explore a side of radio production that we had not personally explored before.

As a non-Winnipeg Native I started the project in almost a tourist like mind-set. I looked at Winnipeg as if I was just visiting and when I reported, I imagined I was talking to someone who had not ever been through the "The Peg". What I hadn't yet learned or experienced in Winnipeg, I started to explore.

The stories that came out of those opportunities were then shared from a first person point of view. I did this by reaching out to those directly involved in the industry, hipsters, indie kids, those "in the know" and I learned from them by means of interviews with guests and those friends met along the way.

With the launch of our podcast we were able to spread the word of Winnipeg globally and within the first few podcast episodes we had received high fives from countries like The US, The Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and even Latvia. It was comforting to know that our show was serving its purpose to reach out to Winnipeg Fans around the world.

Here we are two years later and we continue to learn more about this city. I am happy to officially call it home and act as a strong advocate for Winnipeg. Our ongoing goal for each episode of Wake Up Winnipeg is to seek out new opportunities, adventures and stories and continue to share to those our friends within the perimeter and those families and fans throughout the world.

As much work as Natty and I put into each episode of Wake Up Winnipeg, a lot of our shows couldn't be done without our supporters. Through these last two years we've had the privilege and honor to work with some wonderful local talents (some of whom have now become friends), and collaborated with those artists traveling through looking for support on their projects. We've teamed up with local organizations to raise awareness and have even given back to the community by means of benefit shows and charity events.

So no matter where in the world you are, or what connection you have with Winnipeg, Paul, Natty and I would like to personally invite you to tune in this Friday at 6:00pm CST as we celebrate our 100th episode with you. During this episode we will recap on some of our favorite moments both on-air and behind the scenes. We'll have a couple of special guests and a few surprises up our sleeves.

Rock and Roll with a Thanks on Top,
Andru Valpy

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 99

2011-10-28T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 99

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy & Natty Somers.
Air Date: 10/28/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 11/02/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we promise you nothing but treats. There were no tricks pulled during the recording of this episode.

Just in case you missed it live, here's what we got up to on Wake Up Winnipeg Episode 99.

Winnipeg police have released a 41 year old Alberta man from their custody yesterday evening after having arrested him on Tuesday night at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.

The male suspect was arrested after what police describe as causing a disturbance on a Toronto bound Air Canada flight.

During their investigation police revealed that the man appeared intoxicated and refused direction from crew members. He also attempted to light a cigarette while on board. When flight attendants attempt to intervene the passengers aggressive and belligerent behaviour continued at which time the cabin crew restrained the male to ensure the safety of everyone on board.

The man is charged with numerous offenses including causing disturbance, utter threat to cause death or bodily harm and interference with crew member.

The suspect appeared in a Winnipeg court yesterday and will again be remanded until November the 30th on several federal and provincial charges. He has also been banned from all Air Canada planes and any bars or pubs.

The City of Winnipeg plans on holding a round table discussion about the 2012 capital budget on Tuesday and city officials are looking for the public opinion on present and future infrastructure needs.

The consultation will be held on November the 1st from 6-8 in room 2-f at the convention centre. Members of the public are encouraged to pre-register by e-mail at budget@winnipeg.ca or by calling 986-4242. Registration is not mandatory, but appreciated.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was once again in the public spotlight this week as CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes ambushed the mayor on Monday morning as he was exiting his Etobicoke home.

Ford immediately ran back into the home "fearing for his life" and dialed 911 to request police assistance.

In a report filed by The CBC on Thursday afternoon, 911 dispatchers have stated that the mayor became agitated while waiting for assistance and lost his temper in a secondary phone call to the dispatchers.

On the second call Ford allegedly shouted

"Do you F'ing know? I'm Rob F'ing ford, the mayor of this city!"

The mayor has stated that he was frustrated and very upset that they had accosted him in the driveway. He stated he hoped he could be excused for saying the f-word and that he has never called anyone any names.

Police were not publicly speaking out on the matter at time of Press.

Finally, following up with a story we previously reported on Wake Up Winnipeg, British Musician Paul Rodgers was officially sworn in as a Canadian citizen last week and in a written statement has stated that he is proud to be a Canuck.

On Wake Up Winnipeg Episode 94 we had the opportunity to talk to Rodgers about living in Canada

"At first we were commuting which was ridiculous really. I ended up staying here longer and longer till I said (to wife Cynthia) 'I think I live here don't i?' And she said 'Yeah, I think you do'. But I've been living here and I love it here. It's kind of very English but it's got much more space."

In a written statement released to Wake Up Winnipeg, Rogers has said that "While I'll always be an Englishman, Canada has given me so much for which I am grateful."

The public ceremony occurred in Surrey BC on Friday October the 21st.

This week we were joined by a talent local musician by the name of Greg Arcade who joined us by telephone to promote his upcoming show at Pop Soda's Coffeehouse with Mark Sultan.

Though our listeners are no stranger to the sounds of Greg Arcade, this interview marked the first of many chats with Greg on Wake Up Winnipeg.

In our interview with Greg shared his thoughts on his upcoming gig with Mark and described the sights and sounds of Winnipeg's newest cafe Pop Sodas.

During the episode we featured two tracks from Greg Arcade and his band The Electrics including a brand new single entitled "Too Young (To Fall In Love)" and his chart topping song called Creature Of The Night (featuring Cherry Brandy).

We expect big things from Greg Arcade as he continues to grow, both as a solo artist and as a musician, and look forward to talking to him again soon.

Our fans should be happy to know that we hope to have Greg Arcade & The Electrics as a featured guests in an upcoming Aimless & Andy Session from UMFM Studios.

Be sure to download the podcast now on iTunes and stay tuned to UMFM 101.5 & Wake Up Winnipeg for future opportunities with Greg Arcade.

You can catch us live each week on UMFM 101.5 FM in Winnipeg or worldwide online at http://umfm.com. New episodes air Friday evenings at 6:00 PM CST with episodes being repeated on Wednesday mornings at 6:30 am.

Select episodes of our show can be found for free in the iTunes Music Store via our podcast. For more information, please visit http://wakeupwinnipeg.com or follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Until next week,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 98

2011-10-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 98

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy & Natty Somers.
Air Date: 10/21/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 10/26/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week was yet another busy week for our hosts Andru and Natty.
If you didn't tune in live here is what you missed:

After 42 years of wielding power Libyan Colonel Mummar Gaddafi was pronounced dead earlier this week after a convoy of vehicles he was traveling in was targeted by a French air strike on a road 3 kilometers west of Sirte.

According to Sky News Gaddafi survived the air strikes but was wounded and later found refuge with several of his bodyguards in a drain beneath a nearby road. NTC Fighters found the group and took Gaddafi prisoner and later executed him.

Government officials are expecting to pull troops involved in the peace-keeping efforts out of Libya soon.

On Wednesday evening a fire broke out in Winnipeg's Point Douglas area forcing the evacuation of 15 homes. The fire caused extensive damage to Gateway Industry's paper mill operations.

Winnipeg fire officials responded to the scene around 9:00 pm on Wednesday evening and were still on scene late into Thursday to control smaller fires still burning.

Though no official estimate has been made officials have said that damages will be around 1 million dollars at minimum.

Though the fire was contained to the paper mill only displaced neighbors and residents will only be allowed to return home until an environmental assessment determines it safe.

Company owner Sheldon Blank has stated that he does not have insurance and intends to not rebuild on the site. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Wrapping up news this week teen sensation Celena Gomez arrived in town yesterday with boyfriend Justin Bieber in tow.

Gomez will be preforming in Winnipeg as part of her cross country tour. But her performance won't be the only time that Gomez will be at the MTS Centre.

Multiple sources confirm Gomez and Bieber will be attending the Winnipeg Jets vs Carolina Hurricanes game on Saturday night.

The two were also seen at The Forks Market Place yesterday afternoon and later rented an entire theater for their private use at Famous Players Polo Park.

The two rented theater one to watch Real Steel and dined on cheese pizza.

The couple have a few more surprise visits left while in town and are scheduled to depart on Sunday morning.

On this weeks episode we had the opportunity to meet up with The New Cities as part of the Black Star Tour.

Those of you that have been listening to our show since the days of "The Aimless & Andy Show" will know that we have been promoting their work from before being nominated for a Juno award in 2010.

Hours before opening for Avril Lavigne at the MTS Centre, host and producer Andru Valpy had the opportunity to meet up with The New Cities.

The band is on tour in support of their new album "Kill The Lights" which was released on September 27th 2011.

Andru talked to David Brown and Nicolas Denis and had them elaborate on their new album and touched on life on the road:

The New Cities as a band certainly pack a high amount of energy into a 30 minute set. Lead singer David Brown floated around the stage comfortably as if it were his home, fans were lucky if they caught him hold a position for more than 30 seconds at a time. Some would say that The New Cities had more energy than that of headliner Avril Lavigne.

The New Cities played to a mostly younger crowd (and their parents) who seemed star-struck while watching the performance.

Post show, fans were seen running in masses to meet and greet with the band who was more than happy to spend time with their adoring supporters.

We learned during our interview with Dave and Nick that the band was heavily influenced by 80's music, though all one has to do is listen to the first few bars of heatwave and it's quite obvious. The New Cities have found a creative and talented way to pay respect to the bands that helped shape them as artists.

After meeting with the Dave and Nick and seeing the New Cities play on stage it was obvious that the members of the SOCAN awarding band enjoyed their work.

We expect to hear more form The New Cities on future episodes of Wake Up Winnipeg.

Additional photographs of The New Cities in Winnipeg can be found on our Facebook Fanpage at Facebook.com/WakeUpWinnipeg

Be sure to tune into Wake Up Winnipeg Episode 99 as we are joined by local musician Greg Arcade who will be filling us in on his upcoming show with Mark Sultan at Pop Soda's here in Winnipeg.

We'll also continue in our quest to wake you up to events happening in and around the city of Winnipeg.

Until then,

-Av.

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 97

2011-10-14T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 97

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy & Natty Somers.
Air Date: 10/14/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 10/19/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Another Friday, another new episode of Wake Up Winnipeg. If you didn't hear it, this is what you missed!

The top three news stories of Episode 97 were as follows:

Former Winnipeg Cheif of Staff Ryan Craig was reported missing to the Winnipeg police department yesterday and Police say they are concerned for the mans well-being. Craig served as Mayor Sam Katz's chief of staff for three years until February 2007.Police say Craig may driving a 2002 Brown Pontiac Montana with Manitoba license plate.

He is describe as a Caucasian, 5'9 inches tall, with a athletic build, short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt, black and white shorts and running shoes

Anyone with information regarding Craig's whereabouts is asked to contact the Winnipeg Police Service Missing Persons Unit at 986-6250.

Blackberry Users around the world were without data and BBM services this week as Waterloo Based Research in Motion announced that a widespread outage was caused by a technical failure.

Sources say a backup system-failure in Europe caused a massive backlog of e-mails and texts in parts of South America, The Middle East, Africa, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and India.

Users in Manitoba started to notice problems on Wednesday morning and described intermittent usage throughout the day. Some blackberry addicts stated in online fourms that they were limited to text and cellular capabilities only, while others were without service at all.

Various executives, doctors and even Prime Minister Stephen Harper were without services on Wednesday.

Andrew MacDougall, spokesman for the prime minister, took to social networking site Twitter and tweeted: "Am being impacted by RIM/Berry service outage - please call if you need to reach me."

On Thursday Research in motion CEO's announced that services had returned to normal on Thursday while shares of Research in Motions stock fell 15 cents to 24.12

Finally wrapping up local news this week:

The Winnipeg jet's lost their second game of the season last night after facing the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Centre with the final score 4-3 Chicago.

While the Jet's are now 0-2 this season, fan's are still delighted to have the team back in their city.

The Winnipeg Jet's made their world premier earlier this week in front of a crowd of 15,000 + Fans at the MTS Centre after being gone for 15 years but ultimately lost to The Montreal Canadians 5-1.

The Jet's will play again on Saturday against the Phoenix Coyotes.

This week Natty and I had an in depth discussion on the New Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.

(Video Footage from the 2011 Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport volunteer Trial Run. Filmed by Andru Valpy (UMFM / Wake Up Winnipeg)

On Saturday October 8th, 2011 - The Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc (WAA) welcomed community members to participate in test driving Canada's newest and greenest airport.

Over 4,300 volunteer applications were submitted in July for the 1,300 required for testing. The Purpose of trials was to involve the community in a process which will ensure the new terminal functions well and meets customer's expectations. Volunteers provided feedback forms in response to a series of real time, real life tests which will be used to make any adjustments prior to opening on October 30th, 2011.

The new terminal facilities were designed to be open and transparent, reflective of the community. The architect team of Canada's newest terminal consisted of Master Architects, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and Prime Architect - Stantec.

The terminal is one of the 'greenest' in North America and is LEED registered, incorporating systems that minimize the use of energy and reduce greenhouse gasses while maintaining a comfortable environment for passengers.

During the episode Andru recalled his visit to the terminal and described the sites and sound that Winnipegger's and guests could expect once the new airport opened.

We also featured an interview with a volunteer named Alex who expressed his thoughts on the new terminal.

Additional photographs of the new Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport can be found by visiting our Facebook fan-page: http://facebook.com/WakeUpWinnipeg

Wake Up Winnipeg will air again next Friday at 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM In Winnipeg or online at http://umfm.com. Select episodes from season 3 can be found on our podcast in iTunes via the iTunes Music Store.

More information about our program can be found on our website at http://wakeupwinnipeg.com. You may also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg or like us on facebook at facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg.

Until next week,

-Av

Exclusive - An Inside look at the new YWG Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport

2011-10-08T19:41:00.001-05:00

Video Footage from the 2011 Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport volunteer Trial Run.

Filmed by Andru Valpy (UMFM / Wake Up Winnipeg)

October 8th, 2011 - Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc (WAA) wishes to thank community member participants for test driving Canada's newest and greenest airport on Saturday October 8th, 2011.

Over 4,300 volunteer applications were submitted in July for the 1,300 required for testing. The Purpose of trials was to involve the community in a process which will ensure the new terminal functions well and meets customer's expectations. Volunteers provided feedback forms in response to a series of real time, real life tests which will be used to make any adjustments prior to opening on October 30th, 2011.

The new terminal facilities were designed to be open and transparent, reflective of the community. The architect team of Canada's newest terminal consisted of Master Architects, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and Prime Architect - Stantec.

The terminal will be one of the 'greenest' in North America and is LEED registered, incorporating systems that minimize the use of energy and reduce greenhouse gasses while maintaining a comfortable environment for passengers.

More photos can be found by visiting my facebook fan-page: http://tinyurl.com/63hsss9

The Aimless and Andy Sessions: Data Romance - Street Light

2011-10-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg and UMFM 101.5 FM Present:
Data Romance - Street Light.

Live from UMFM Studios - The Aimless and Andy Sessions
Recorded/Mixed/Engineered by: Joe Villacrusis (Data Romance)
Mastered/Hosted/Produced by: Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM 101.5 FM)

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/ - http://aimlessandandy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

On Wake Up Winnipeg Episode 95 we spoke to Vancouver based band Data Romance in advance of their performance at Winnipeg's Park Theater.

We discussed the bands cross country tour and elaborated on how the two met to form Data Romance.

It was during that conversation that we welcomed both Ajay and Alex to our studios to record live. Keeping true their word the duo took the time to come down to UMFM Studios to lay down their track Street Light for us live from UMFM Studios as part of The Aimless & Andy Sessions.

You can expect to hear more from these two as they make their way across Canada and around the world. In the mean time, check out their website at http://data-romance.com

Click here to download this podcast in iTunes

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 96

2011-10-07T16:25:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 96

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 10/7/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 10/12/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

On this week's show Natty and I went down to The Forks Market to celebrate alongside thousands of hockey fans.

The return of NHL Hockey to Winnipeg was big news for Hockey fans and on October the 6th the NHL celebrated its return to Winnipeg with the 2011 Molson Canadian NHL Face-Off season-opening hockey and entertainment festival.

The event featured live musical performances from Inward Eye, Three Days Grace and Bachman & Turner, and also featured interactive hockey attractions, a live broadcast of the opening night game between the Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leafs from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The event was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos.

During our time at the forks market place I had the opportunity to talk to the preforming artists to get their take on the return of The Winnipeg Jets.

In my conversation with Randy Bachman, Bachman shared some of his thoughts on the Winnipeg Jets.

Randy Bachman: "My memories of the Jets go back to all the Jets games and the traditions here and I think when they left Winnipeg it was a sad moment and that Winnipeg lost some of it's spirit. To see it come back and just explode is just fantastic and I'm sure it's going to rejuvenate the whole downtown and everything."

I also had the opportunity to ask Bachman & Turner what their feeling was like when they learned they would be playing at the NHL Face-Off Event.

Fred Turner: "I was pretty excited! You know it's funny because you know we played here last week and then to find out that we were coming right back in again was a bit of a shock to us but hey, we're here! We're happy!"

Randy Bachman: "It's been a great year for Bachman & Turner, in this little space of year we've played the grey cup and now we play the kick off to this I mean you can't get much better than hockey & football in Canada, it's just great!" -

During my discussions I learned that the celebratory feelings on the Jet's extended out to other parts of the world.

Turner: "I've talked to a lot of people who have (...talked about the jets). While were on tour with Paul Rodgers, Paul said 'You got your hockey team back' and he's British!"

Bachman: "We were touring the maritimes and guys are rolling down their windows, and I'm walking down the street, and they're yelling 'GO JETS GO' and I'm like 'What?' This is in Sydney or in Charlottetown so I think all of Canada is happy and I think the rest of the NHL in the states because most of the players are Canadians on tour playing in American Cities".

Moments after my interview with Bachman and Turner, Three Days Grace came by the media booth and I had the opportunity to talk hockey with them.

NHL Network: "Are you guys big hockey fans?"

Neil Sanderson: "You know, Peterborough it's all about hockey there, we played it while we were growing up and it's just amazing and great being from Canada. You know we've been in the states a lot but to be back here in hockey, it's on for sure!"

Brad Walst: "I think the Fans in Winnipeg are amazing both for hockey and for us actually, Winnipeg is a great city for us to play in and the amount of supports that the Jet's have got this far is just unbelievable and I think it's really cool."

Adam Gontier."We're really excited to be here man"

After our Three Days Grace Interview, we took a pause from the action at the Forks Market Place and welcomed our musical guests to The Aimless & Andy Sessions at UMFM Studios.

On Wake Up Winnipeg Episode 95 we spoke with Data Romance and welcomed them down to our studios in advance of their show at the Park Theater and in keeping with their word, the duo preformed their track Street Light for us live from UMFM Studio's as part of The Aimless & Andy Sessions.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog entry for the release of this single.

After the break I met up with George Stroumboulopoulos and had a proper chat with him.

Andru Valpy - So George, to come to Winnipeg to see the NHL Face-Off event, what's that like for you?

George Stroumboulopoulos: "It's really cool man, I mean I like being around hockey on any given day but to combine it with the fact that its the return of the Winnipeg Jets that's even more exciting. Then it's the kick off to the NHL Season, and I know on Sunday the first Jets game here is going to be against my favorite hockey team the habs so all around there's a lot of boxes ticked off on the page."

Av: You going to stay around for that game?

Strombo: "Oh yeah, I'm going to stay around here for sure."

Av: So the Jets have been gone for 15 years did you ever think that the Jets would come back?

Strombo: "You know, maybe somewhere deep down in my heart I thought so but probably not. You never thought the day that....You know The NHL was going in a different direction right, they were building teams in America even though we weren't sure it was the best idea. But you know, it wasn't a bad idea to try and launch franchises there, I'm never in favor of moving a franchise, I would just prefer an expansion team.

I didn't really think the Jets would come back until the new ownership came, and once this new building was build and the new ownership came in and everything got quiet. Once everything gets really quiet...'oh wait a minute' they must be maneuvering behind the scenes, plus you knew Atlanta was toast right?

When Phoenix was all in the news, it's never the thing in front of you it's what's happening behind the scene's and we knew something was happening in Atlanta."

Av: You did the NHL Face-Off event before right?

Strombo: "I did the one in Toronto last year so I did part of it and it was good. It was just around the corner from where I lived so this was a bit further away, but I'm happy to do it."

Av: So let me ask you this, obviously there is a vibe in Toronto where everyone was pumped when you did the NHL Face-Off there, how do you feel about the vibe here in Winnipeg?

Strombo: "It's great. But you know, you go anywhere in this country when hockey is on it's madness right? It's a little bit different here because it feels like there's the return, so I think that's different. There's different expectations right, hockey seasons are always related to expectations and the expectations here aren't really about winning right away it's just first we got a team, and that's the win.

Then in December it will be 'Where are we in the standings' and 'how are we playing' and 'what if this Jets team is good', 'What if they're better than people think' Right? And they could be? Who knows?!

In Toronto it's always, 'Oh what's this year going to be like' and in Montreal it's going to be like 'We're building towards something' Ottawa is going to be a bit of re-building and sort of farewell to Daniel Alfredsson, Edmonton is going to be like 'Okay, we got a bunch of kids can we win a few more games than we have', Calgary nobody knows what it's going to be like, and Vancouver it's about 'We just need one more game' so there's all these different things happening in each city that will be part of the conversation".

After a couple of photo's and brief twitter exchange I said goodbye to Strombo and went off to find Winnipeg based band Inward Eye who we've talked to before on previous episodes of Wake Up Winnipeg.

Av: When we spoke with you last year you were just getting ready to play for the Olympics and now here you are playing for the return of the Winnipeg Jets here in Winnipeg, tell me, what's that feel like?

Dave Erickson: "Ah it's great, we're so proud to be Winnipeggers right now, we got our pride back..well we always had pride but we got more of it back now I think."

Av: So that home town feeling is obviously there, and now you're going to be playing front of a few thousand Winnipeggers, compare these feelings with those of the Olympics.

Dave Erickson: "You know, in a way this is more intimate and more personal. It's like a personal victory for everybody and we're really happy to be a part of it. I stopped watching hockey when I was twelve years old after the jets stick and I picked up a guitar, so now I might have to throw my guitar away and pick up a stick... . ..I was probably seven years old when I went to my first jets game, the Winnipeg Jets versus the L. A. Kings, I got to see Wayne Gretzky, and it was a thrill. "

Anders Erickson: "Hockey is such a big deal for Canada, especially for Winnipeg being so cold, and everyone grew up playing it here so I think it's going to be very exciting."

Av: When you guys are on tour and you're talking about Winnipeg, and people are mentioning 'Oh you've got the jets back', what does it feel like to have people talk to you about your home town team?

Dave Erickson: "It kind of puts us on the map again after so long. Having a big major sports team it's sort of like a rallying point for everybody."

Anders Erickson: "It's funny, we were just in Korea and someone came up to me and he's like 'Winnipeg Jets' after we played because I guess we announced we were from Winnipeg and he recognized it from that."

Av: So you guys are Winnipeggers, and we've been hearing about this on again, off again for the last few years, when did it finally click in 'Oh wow, this might be the real thing?!"

Dave Erickson: "You know, I was always of the mind 'I'll believe it when I see it' I was skeptical because we've been teased so many times and finally when it was on the front page of the news I believed and I was here at the forks when they announced it so it was a good day. It's great to be accepted by your home town and be part of the festivities and be part of those feelings and share that is really cool"

Moments later the Erickson boys picked up their guitars and kicked off the festivities on the Scotia Bank stage to a very energized crowd. Anyone in attendance would tell you that it was very exciting to be apart of the 2011 NHL Face Off event.

We ended off the show by reminding our listener to enter the Lays Hometown Hero contest and opened up our inbox to give away our lays prize packs. (Ed Note: For those of you listening in iTunes the contest is over).

Additional photographs from the NHL Face-Off event may be found on our Facebook Fan Page.

We'll catch you next week on Wake Up Winnipeg, be sure to tune in! Please also help us reach our goal of 1,000 twitter followers by Episode 100 on November the 4th. You can follow us at twitter.com/WakeUpWinnipeg.

Until then,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg: Review - AWOLNATION - West End Cultural Centre - Winnipeg MB. Canada - 09/28/2011

2011-09-30T18:31:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg – An Evening withAWOLNATION.
By: Andru Valpy

For a few moments on Wednesday September 28^th Ihad a really hard time remembering that I was in Winnipeg. The sights and sounds around me were morereminiscent of a stage show in California’s Orange County than those normallyfound at Winnipeg’s West End Cultural Centre. The source of the west coast ambiance was that of LA’s Awolnation who are on tour in support oftheir new album Megalithic Symphony.

Megalithic Symphonywas released on March 29^th 2011 on Red Bull Records and its first single Sail debuted at #30.

It crosses a wide variety of genres’ andfeatures hints of lead singer Aaron Bruno’s musical influences throughout the album.

During sound check I had the opportunity to meet with Aaronand talk to him about the album and the tour.

Andru Valpy: Hi Aaron, how are you?

Aaron Bruno: I’m good so far, so far so good.

Av: Lot’s of stuff going on today. It’s a big showfor you tonight. Is this your first stop in Winnipeg?

AB: Yes, this is our first time ever being in Winnipeg let alone playing sowe’re excited to enjoy the sights and sounds of the evening.

Av: How’sthe rest of the tour been so far?

AB:Really good, we’ve done four Canadianshows, started in Vancouver, went to Victoria and slowly made our way over thisway to Winnipeg and tomorrow we dip back into the states and do a couple thingsin Chicago and then go back to Ottawa and Toronto and then back home.

Av: Sothey’re keeping you busy?

AB:Yes, a little bit too busy at times!

Av: Tellus a little more about this tour and the new album

AB: You know, everything that I have to say about the album is really onthe record. If anyone has a chance to listen to it, or get it via download oniTunes, or in a record store or even illegally, I just want everybody to havethe music and it kind of speaks for itself.

The record as a whole is designed to help people hopefully get throughtheir day and celebrate the good times and also help get through the badtimes. When we play live we try tocelebrate those emotions that were put into the record. So far people seem tobe identifying with what we are trying to do and we’re very flattered with theresponse we’ve gotten so far.

Av: Two things that came to my mind when I waslistening to the album…One of your lyrics your talking about ADD and “Blame it on the add” do you want toelaborate a little more on that song?

AB: Um, not so much. You know, Ireally want the lyrics to be interpreted by the listener with all due respect,but that song was certainly written in a lower time in my life. I like to thinkof that song as a journal entry at the time that just happen to be lyrically andon a song that everybody’s hearing now. When I wrote the song I just thought that it would be me and a couple ofbuddies listening to it and now it’s out there and it’s really rewarding to seethe hard work you put into something actually get out there. People are hearingit and identifying with it once again, so I feel very grateful.

(The Song) is not meant to be taken literally by any means, it’s justsort of admitting that you’re in a dark place or feeling bad about yourself Isuppose and try to do something uplifting about it. In my case it was writing a song and in othercases it could be going surfing, riding on a bike, going on a hike, or creatingyour own work whatever that may be.

Av: I didnotice a lot of your influences, or at least some teetering’s of otherinfluences on this album.

AB: It’s just all-different music and all different experiences I’ve had inlife, there’s not one artist that I have been trying to emulate by any means.It’s just anytime a band puts together a record or a songwriter writes a songit’s simply an extension of what they’re fans of. When you listen to the recordthere’s bits and pieces that I guess you could take from and assume that I wasinfluenced by. Most of those assumptions are probably true in one way oranother but I never tried to specifically sound like one band.

Av: AWOL,how did that all come about?

AB: I just like the whole idea of pure freedom. Let’s say you were at thisshow tonight, and you came with a bunch of people…let’s say five people and theother four are really into the band but you’re just not feeling very good orare socially awkward or maybe that girl you came to talk to is ignoring you orwhatever the case may be and you just want to leave but you don’t want to haveto explain why you want to leave . . . that’s sort of encompasses the termAWOL, and then attaching nation made it about people that could all identifywith people who try and go to the showor listen to the record to escape from day to day life.

Av: Oneof the things I’m hearing from you is that you really do want to reach out andconnect with your fans. That speaks well to you.

AB: Thanks man. You know, all the records I’ve loved have spoke to me sobeing open to so many different genre’s of music has allowed me to have abroader sounding record then it just being an indie rock record, or a hard corerecord, or a metal record, hip hop record.

Av: I’llend on one last question and it’s a pretty generic question but every answer isalways different, what’s it like to go from writing journal entries to havingeveryone hear it and then to do it and share it with everyone on a biggerlevel. What does that feel like as an artist?

AB: For me being somewhat of a pessimistic person by nature and by default,I still feel the same as I do usually but sometimes I have to remind myselfthat it actually is going really good in order to find security in what we’redoing. Most of the time I wake up and Iassume something bad is going to happen because most of my musical career hasbeen a big disappointment. I felt like I wrote all these songs I cared aboutbefore and I thought have been pretty good and for whatever reason the starsdidn’t align for me to continue that or reach as many people as we are now. SoI just constantly feel grateful that I have been through the bad times becauseotherwise I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the good times that I have rightnow.

Some describe Aaron Bruno as shy when they meet him inperson, but on stage Bruno is energetic, exciting, and confident. If Aaron Bruno were a king, the stage wouldbe his throne.

The 75-minute show was fueled by passion and energy andfeatured a simple yet invigorating light show. Throughout the performance Bruno communicatedwith fans in the audience and made sure that those that came to seem him wereenjoying themselves.

Heads bobbed onslower songs like Sail, while fansjump and kicked and wailed for songs like BurnIt Down.

For a moment during BurnIt Down, it felt as if I should have been at a James Brown concert. Theenergy and vocals Bruno brought to the stage were very reminiscent of the latesoul singer.

Singles from MegalithicSymphony pull from indie, dance, hip hop, and rock & roll influences.

The album gives the listener an opportunity to escape the realities from the real world while relating to experiences that the listenermay have shared with lead singer Aaron Bruno.

The album is available now and can be purchased at yourlocal music retailer or in iTunes.

-Av.

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 95

2011-09-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 95

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy
Air Date: 09/30/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 09/21/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Episode 85 was filled to the brim with excitement, interviews and new music from two artists making their way through Winnipeg.

We launched 85 with local news headlines.

For the second time in two years Emergency crews were called to help rescuepassengers stuck on River Rouge cruise ship.

Emergency crews responded to a private dock on Kingston Row after the passengervessel was unable to move due to Engine problems.

As of 5:00 this evening the cruise ship was seen tied to a tree near theBridge-Drive Inn. Maintenance crews are hoping to fix the problem as soon aspossible and expect to be up and running soon. Winnipeg Fire officials will notallow the staff to remain over night.

No passengers have said to be in danger.

Winnipeg police responded to a CIBC Bank yesterday afternoon in the 3400 blockof Roblin Boulevard where they say a lone suspect with bear spray went to thebank's teller area and demanded money. The suspect is then reported to havesprayed the substance into the air.

A 54 year old male who was working as a sub-contractor for the bank then gotinto a "physical altercation" with the robber and was subsequentlyinjured and was sent to the hospital in critical condition. The victim hassince been upgraded to unstable condition.

Investigators are still looking for the suspect who was described as a whitemale between 5'7 to 6'0 tall with a medium build.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 986-6219 or Crime stoppersat 786-8477.

Two Winnipeg Jet's fan got more than they bargained for after purchasing whatwere thought to be real Winnipeg jets tickets online.

Police havewarned that people buying tickets over the Internet should use caution after arresting a 28 year old male.

Thesuspect was charged with theft from mail, fraud under$ 5,000 and possession ofproperty obtained by a crime. Officials from the Winnipeg Jets club suggestpurchasing tickets through authorized outlets.

Before getting into our interviews we announced a neat incentive that Lays Potato chips had launched earlier this week.

The Winnipeg Jets aredestined to make this a winning season and become hometown heroes for theprovince. It is in this spirit that PepsiCo Foods Canada through its Lay’sbrand has launched ‘Hometown Heroes’ - a year-long campaign thatrecognizes and celebrates local individuals who make a positive impact on theircommunity.

Beginning September 28,Manitobans are encouraged to nominate their Hometown Hero by visiting www.lays.ca/hometownhero. A selected nominee will receive a pair ofcoveted tickets to a Winnipeg Jets home game, as well as formal recognitionduring the Lay’s Hometown Hero in- arena activation. The Lay’sbrand hopes to recognize a Hometown Hero at each home game – that’s 41 HometownHeroes throughout the 2011-2012 hockey season. All Manitobans are encouraged toshare their hometown pride during this inaugural year for the Jets.

Stay tuned to Wake Up Winnipeg for your chance to win great Lay's prizes throughout the next two weeks.

This week we welcomed Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION to our show. Earlier in the week I had the opportunity to interview Aaron just before his show at the West End Cultural Centre on Wednesday September 28th.

A copy of our interview with Bruno may be found in our iTunes podcast. My review and interview will also be posted on our blog following this posting.

This week we played AWOLNATIONS Track - Burn It Down.

We also welcomed Vancouver base band Data Romance to our show and discussed their cross Canada and tour and explored how the band formed and their progressions and latest developments. The electronic duo will be playing at Winnipeg's Park Theater on October the 7th.

Via String Magazine

During our interview I welcomed both Ajay Bhattacharyya and Amy Kirkpatrick to stop by The Aimless & Andy Sessions at UMFM Studios while they were in town. We hope to welcome them again in an upcoming episode of Wake Up Winnipeg.

In the mean time we played a track from Data Romance called Bullets.

A transcript of our interview will be available in an upcoming posting here on our blog.

Once again you'll find a copy of this interview available for free in our iTunes data base.

Next week we welcome back the NHL to Winnipeg and we'll feature coverage from the NHL Face Off event. Until then you can follow us on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg or on our fanpage at facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg.

If you missed this weeks episode it is available for free as a podcast download in the iTunes music store. For more information search Wake Up Winnipeg in the iTunes store or click here to subscribe.

We'll catch you next week,

-Av.

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 94

2011-09-23T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 94

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.
Air Date: 09/23/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.

Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 09/21/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

We started 94 by catching our listeners up to the top three stories making headlines this week.

Facebook users woke up to a surprise this week as they logged onto the social networking website. The company made changes to it's platform throughout Wednesday and Thursday after announcements were made at the F8 conference in San Fransisco California.

CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg said the Facebook experience will be a new way to express who users truly are. He introduced the Facebook Timeline program on Thursday for developers, journalists and more than 100,000 online viewers.

Other new features introduced this week include expansions on the "like" button, enhancements to the welcome page featuring friends top stories, expanded friend lists and a real-time feed window.

Users can expect these changes to roll out throughout the rest of the week.

Winnipeg Police have arrested two teen boys after a violent stabbing spree that happened between 11:30 on Wednesday night and 2:00 am on Thursday morning in Winnipeg's West End area.

The incident left 5 people injured and a woman assaulted.

The alleged attacks took place in the 500 block of Sherbrook street, two attacks in the 600 block of Balmoral Street, and two attacks on Ellice Avenue at Agnus street.

Winnipeg Police say the motives for the attack remain unclear and there is no indication that the attacks are gang related.

Ending off news this week, after 15 years of hoping and waiting, The Winnipeg Jets returned home on Tuesday taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first pre-season exhibition game at the MTS Centre.

Fans that were lucky enough to get seats were not disappointed with their team as the Jets beat the blue jackets 6-1 in front of a sold out crowd.

Just in time for the Jet's home opener on October the 9th the NHL announced that it will set the stage for the 2011 Molson Faceoff Hockey and Entertainment festival at the forks Marketplace on October the 6th which will feature live music, interactive exhibits and a live broadcast of the first regular season game between the Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

More information on entertainment for that festival will be announced net week.

The Jet's Hockey club also announced their own celebration plans as they will be bringing in Blue Rodeo to the Jets After Burner kick off social at the Winnipeg Convention Centre on October the 9th.

Doors will open at 2:30 pm and the game will broadcast starting at 4:00 on 4 giant television screens. Tickets will be available for 43 dollars and can be purchased through ticket master.

Natty and I were back in studio this week to once again wake you up to events happening in our community and we introduced you once again to The fuller notebook and discussed some of the upcoming concerts that Natty and I were looking forward to.

This week as part of our local concert coverage we welcomed Paul Rodgers to the show as he was coming through the MTS Centre with Bachman & Turner.

During the 20 minute interview we focused on some of Rodgers career highlights and touched on what fans could expect from him at the MTS Centre on the 24th.

You can take a listen to our interview with Paul Rodgers by subscribing to our podcast in iTunes.

Click here to subscribe to our podcast for free in iTunes
Learn more about this weeks word of the day: Homage

Rounding off this weeks episode Natty and I offered our thoughts of Jamie Rumley's performance at the West End Cultural Centre.Overall we both agreed that Jamie and her guests Feed The Birds and Callida did a wonderful job of showcasing their talents.

We also thanked all of our listeners and fans who came out to the show to support the show.

Next week we'll be featuring interviews with Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION about his show on the 28th at the West End Cultural Centre.

We'll also be talking to Data Romance from Vancouver British Columbia about their upcoming performance at the Park Theater on October The 7th.

If you didn't have a chance to hear this weeks episode be sure to subscribe to our podcast in iTunes where you can receive archived episodes of our show.

You'll also find exclusive online-only content that we make available to our loyal listeners including extended in studio sessions and extended play episodes. Feel free to join our conversations on twitter at twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg and like us on facebook for real time Wake Up Winnipeg updates.

Until next week, happy trails.

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 93

2011-09-16T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 93

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 09/16/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 09/21/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

The inspiration for this week's show comes from a conversation I had with a friend of mine who shares a love and passion for radio.

Our generation has (in my honest opinion) become dependent on technology. Now I'll be the first to admit that I am quick to jump on the digital bandwagon. I am always watching the internet for the latest trend in communication or electronics and I would be lying if I said I haven't waited in line to be one of the first to purchase a cellphone or gizmo or gadget.

But having said that I'm old enough to say that I've watched technology change rapidly over my 27 years of existence.

Being raised under the roof of a corporate IT Director and growing up with a father who loves his gadgets, I was always the first on the block to have what all of the other kids wanted. Yes, I was electronically spoiled.

I can recall being the first on the block to have internet in 1992. My friends would come over and we would spend hours playing text based games through Prodigy, my old Internet Service provider. True, it may have been nerdy at the time but we at the time accepted it as part of an everyday activity. A treat. A mental escape from reality. In those days, It was funny or weird to spend hours in front of a computer for leisure. Who knew that it would have amounted to become something that we would depend on in our daily lives.

Those kids who laughed at us are certainly not laughing now in fact I dare say that in today's day in age it's almost joke worthy if you don't have a computer. . .

Today, I have the luxury of downloading TV shows and movies on demand when it's convenient for me. I depend on iTunes to deliver a wide variety of media whether it be music, movies, tv shows or those once hard to find rarities that are quickly becoming easier to find.

I think these days we take for granted what's given to us. We've become overwhelmed with options and outlets. We've come to expect that no matter where in the world we will have the luxury of digital convenience. If we don't like what we hear on one radio station, we can change it to another one. If we don't like commercials, we can purchase a subscription for commercial free radio.

I'm not saying anything we don't already know but what I am saying though is that sometimes we, as digital revolutionists, should stop and appreciate the history of entertainment and pay homage to its noble uprisings.

We should familiarize ourselves with the art that the early pioneers of entertainment worked hard to produce in a time where technology wasn't as convenient or as easy as it is now.

Today a 30 minute radio episode can be recorded and produced in a real-time environment but If a mistake is made all it takes is the swift hit of a backspace key and with a click of a mouse, we can pick up where we left off.

In the early days of radio it wasn't so easy.

Live orchestras were brought in to record musical interludes, actors were hired and arranged in recording rooms to read off scripts and sound effect members sat at long desks with props in hand and followed along watching for audio ques. Drama's were produced for radio just as you would expect to see them live in theaters. If a mistake was made, the audience heard it. Those involved in the production of radio drama's where responsible for painting a picture for their listeners using only audio and challenged their listeners to use their imagination to follow the storyline as the story played out.

While everyone would hear the same story, each listener may have visualized or interpreted the story differently in their head. The drama would have to be read just right in order for the desired effect on its audience.

Today, laugh tracks can be imposed, audio can be imported from a CD and actors and narrators can be anywhere in the world and record their voices without ever having to meet the others in person.

So tonight I wanted to bring you our listeners back in time and pay my respects to the early days of radio with a recording of a radio drama entitled The Phones Die First. The recording was produced in 1956 by a west coast character actor by the name of Harry Bartell.

Bartell hailed originally from New Orleans Louisiana, but moved over to Houston Texas where his radio career started at KRPC. He later moved to California where he quickly befriended local producer and director Norman MacDonnell. Throughout his life Bartell worked on a variety of radio dramas including westerns, suspense dramas and situational comedy's. As technology changed, Bartell adapted and went on to become involved in such television productions as Get Smart, I Love Lucy, and The Twilight Zone. Bartell passed away in Febuary of 2004 at the age of 90.

As Bartell had made such an impact in the entertainment world, it only seemed fair to showcase one of his earlier pieces which truly captures the spirit and passion of Bartells radio dramas.

Tonight it was my pleasure to bring you the 1956 recording of Harry Bartell's The Phones Died First.

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - A Big Day for Jets Fans...

2011-09-16T16:32:00.002-05:00

September 16th 2011.

Today was a big day for Winnipeg Jets fans today as a few announcements were made regarding the club.

In a recent twitter post Shaw Communications announced that it has acquired the broadcast rights to the TSN Jets hockey television network.

According to their media release:

"Available September 20 for the inaugural pre-season Jets game in Winnipeg, TSN Jets will broadcast more than 60pre-season and regular season games to fans in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories andparts of Northwestern Ontario.

Viewers can also catch pre- and post-game content to complement the games....

....TSN Jets will be available to customers on free preview until December 1 in both Standard and High Definition. Thesubscription will then be available for the remainder of the season for $9.95 per month; less than $1.00 per game."

Shaw communications responded to our inquiries on blackout restrictions with the following twitter post:

In other Winnipeg Jets related news.

The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club released information on individual game tickets for their inaugural 2011-12 season.

According to the Winnipeg Jets website individual game tickets will be made available through a random draw system.

The details for the random drawing program is as follows:

Winnipeg Jets individual game tickets will go On-Sale approximately the 3rd Saturday of each month for the following months games. i.e. October games go on-sale on September 24th, November games go on-sale on October 15th, December games go on-sale November 19th, etc.
Individual game ticket purchasers will be determined via a random draw.
Starting September 15th, Jets fans can complete an online ballot at www.winnipegjets.com/tickets that will be entered into the draw. Only one entry per person will be acknowledged.
Each month, fans will be randomly chosen and provided a unique password that they will then use on a private page at www.ticketmaster.ca to purchase seats. Only the selected accounts will have access to available tickets.
Draw winners will be given the opportunity to purchase two tickets. These tickets can be split up as one pair to one game or two singles to two games
Ballot entry will remain open throughout the season. Fans DO NOT have to re-enter each month. Winning names are not re-entered into the draw once they have been selected
Any unclaimed seats after the random drawing program period will be offered to the Waiting List members, then open to the general public

Expect more information from Wake Up Winnipeg as regular season NHL hockey begins in just a few weeks.

-Av

Jamie Rumley - Behind Closed Doors (Live from UMFM Studios - The Aimless & Andy Sessions)

2011-09-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg and UMFM 101.5 FM Present:
Jamie Rumley - Behind Closed Doors

Live from UMFM Studios - The Aimless and Andy Sessions
Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers
Mixed/Hosted/Produced by: Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM 101.5 FM)
Mastered & Engineered by: Adam Halstrom

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/ - http://aimlessandandy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

In preparation for her CD Release Party at the West End Cultural Centre on September the 14th, we welcomed Jamie and members of her band down to UMFM studios to record some singles as part of The Aimless & Andy Sessions.

During her in studio session Jamie preformed an scaled back acoustic version of her song Behind Closed Doors for our show.

Afterwords we sat down and had an interview with Jamie to talk more about the album and her thoughts on the CD Release Party and Jamie's future plans.

Here's our conversation with Jamie...

Click here to download this podcast in iTunes

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 92

2011-09-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 92

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 09/09/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 09/14/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

Episode 92 turned out to be a busy episode for both Natty and I. We were fortunate enough to have yet another in-studio guest and featured an interview with a New York Times best selling author.

We started off with headlines and event listings.

9/09/2011

Security officials in New York City and Washington DC were onhigh alert this weekend after new intelligence was gathered surrounding a possibleterrorist plot involving both cities.

Senior US Security offices are working on what they arecalling a credible threat that will coincide with the 10th Anniversary of theSeptember 11th terrorist attacks.

The threat is believed to involve a vehicle bomb but USofficials are not ruling out other means.

World Trade Center site - May 2011.

Information surrounding the plot derived from details thatwere found during the raid on former al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden this pastMay.

US Officials are concerned that three individuals involvedin the plot may have already entered the United States but are stressing thatthey cannot confirm those details at this time.

The United States department of Homeland Security will beoperating at a heightened level of readiness as the world prepares to commemoratethe 10 year anniversary.

Commuters in the St James found themselves in a snag today as bothdirections of Portage Avenue between Overdale and Lyle streets were closed dueto a motor vehicle accident involving a pedestrian.

Eyewitness reports also state that Around 7:45 this morning two vehiclescollided with each other before striking a female pedestrian. One witness stated that one of the vehiclesinvolved burst into flames. The female pedestrian was taken to the hospital in criticalcondition. Further details were not immediately available at press time.

Shoppers at Sobeys were surprised to find found lower prices while groceryshopping this week as the company announced reduced prices on over 4,000 items throughoutstores in Manitoba.

The price slashes come as an effort to provide bettervalue to their customers.

The company also stated that they are maintaining competitiveadvantage against big box competitors like Walmart who has recently introduceda supercentre concept, and Target who is expected to arrive in Winnipeg by2013.

Company officials hope the price reductions will attract newcustomers while meeting the needs of regular shoppers.

Read stories from previous episodes of Wake Up Winnipeg on our website http://wakeupwinnipeg.com.
New: Subscribe to The Wake Up Winnipeg Wire for daily news stories compiled by Wake Up Winnipeg. http://paper.li/wakeupwinnipeg/

In previous episodes you may have heard Natty and I talk about a local musician by the name of Jamie Rumley.On episode 75 as part of an exclusive radio release, Natty and I played a single called Behind Closed Doors from Jamie's new album What Are You Waiting For.

At that time Jamie was still in the process of mastering the single and developing plans for a CD release party. After a few months of patiently waiting Jamie announced that her CD Release party would be held at the West End Cultural Centre on Wednesday September 14th.

In preparation for her launch party next week we welcomed Jamie and members of her band down to UMFM studios to record some singles as part of The Aimless & Andy Sessions.

During her in studio session Jamie preformed an scaled back acoustic version of her song Behind Closed Doors for our show.

Afterwords we sat down and had an interview with Jamie to talk more about the album and her thoughts on the CD Release Party.

You can download your copy of Jamie Rumley's track Behind Closed Doors (Live UMFM - The Aimless & Andy Sessions) by subscribing to our in studio sessions podcast in iTunes.

Episodes from Season 3 are now available for free download in iTunes. Subscribe now by visiting the iTunes Music Store, key word Wake Up Winnipeg.
Like Us on Facebook to see more in studio session photographs live from UMFM 101.5 fm.
For more Aimless & Andy In Studio Sessions and interviews, Subscribe to the Aimless & Andy Productions podcast in iTunes.
More information may also be found on The Aimless & Andy Show Website.

For many students across the country this week marked the beginning of a new University semester. For some students this week will mark the first week of a long term lifestyle change.

Common opinion around the University of Manitoba campus is that it takes about one to two years to fully become comfortable living in the University lifestyle. Most students think the best way to grow and feel at home on campus is to become involved in the campus community and make the most out of the education.

This week, I spoke to New York Times best selling author and international advice columnist Harlan Cohen to get his professional opinions on how to survive the University Experience.

Cohen is the author of the book The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College.

Just as the title suggests, the book is composed of tips and stories on a wide variety of real life issues that students are faced with while attending University or College.

Some of the topics include personal finance management, alcoholism, university romance, life inside the classroom and among other things how to deal with the naked roommate.

What I found interesting is that the topics discussed in the book (now in it's fourth edition) are written by students around the world who have wrote in to Harlan in hopes of sharing with fellow peers.

During my interview with with Cohen we discussed how the book was composed and learned more about it's origins.

You can purchase your copy of the Naked Roommate at most commercial book retailers or online at http://www.nakedroommate.com/

My interview with Harlan can be downloaded from the Wake Up Winnipeg podcast via the iTunes music store.

We will catch you next week for another new episode of Wake Up Winnipeg. If you care to read some of our older stories, or hear more of the interviews Wake Up Winnipeg has conducted, be sure to visit our blog at http://wakeupwinnipeg.blogspot.com.

If you want to have your daily fix of Wake Up Winnipeg you can Follow us on twitter (@WakeUpWinnipeg) or subscribe to our new daily newspaper called The Wake Up Winnipeg Wire. You can also find photographs and links to other topics of interest by liking us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg).

Finally, for archived episodes and information about The Aimless & Andy Sessions visit our home-page at http://wakeupwinnipeg.com.

Until then,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg Exclusive - My Boy Rascal - If I Could Break These Walls - Live from UMFM - The Aimless & Andy Sessions

2011-09-02T18:35:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg and UMFM 101.5 FM Present:
My Boy Rascal - If I Could Break These Walls (Exclusive Release)

Recorded/Mixed/Hosted/Produced by:
Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM 101.5 FM)

Live from UMFM Studios - The Aimless and Andy Sessions
Recorded/Hosted/Produced by: Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM 101.5 FM)

Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/ - http://aimlessandandy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

While on his first Western Canadian tour Colby from My Boy Rascal came into UMFM Studios to record a brand new single entitled If I Could Break These Walls which he had only recently preformed for the first time while on a stop in Brandon Manitoba.

On Wake Up Winnipeg episode 91 Colby released the single exclusively to our listeners. He also sat down for an interview with us in which he discussed the origins of the song and the inspiration behind it.

He explained that while writing the song he was clouded with negativity that he was dealing with and some mental blocks that he was trying to break out of. The song also deals with Colby's constant fear of dying.

You can download the single by subscribing to our podcast in iTunes.

Click here to download this podcast in iTunes

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 91

2011-09-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 91

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 09/02/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 09/07/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

After having been missing in action for nearly 3 weeks I welcomed Natty back to the show in true Wake Up Winnipeg fashion. It didn't seem fair to proceed with the episode without giving her some slack for having been gone from our studios for so long.

Once I felt she had enough, we carried on with the episode including our weekly headlines and event listings.

After having been missing since July 28^th RCMP Have confirmed that human remains found near Poplarfield are those of 33 year old Fisher Branch resident Nancy Swenty.

On Saturday evening, members of a civilian search party found a black Co-Op jacket that was believed to belong to Swnety in a field near Poplarfield, located 22 kilometers south of Fisher Branch.

The following morning, RCMP officials found the remains in a location close to where the jacket was found. Following an autopsy they confirmed the remains belong to Swenty.

The discovery ends months of concern and confusion surrounding Swenty’s disappearance after not showing up to work on July 28^th.

On July 31^st RCMP officers found Swenty’s truck in the Fraserwood area, about 80 kilometers southeast of Fisherbranch, but have not released details about the detail of the discovery or the condition of the truck.

The cause of death is not known at this time, but police are treating the death as a homicide.

On Thursday, August 24^th, 2011 at approximately 11:15 p.m. Winnipeg Police Service members responded to the 400 block of Dufferin Avenue for a report of a male and female that had been assaulted.

Upon arrival, officers located a 48 year old male suffering from serious upper body injuries. Paramedics attended and transported the victim to the hospital in critical condition. An 18 year old female was also located with upper body injuries requiring medical treatment.

The investigation has revealed that a group of people were outside a residence within the 400 block of Dufferin Avenue when two male suspects approached them. A brief verbal dispute occurred, however the suspects left the area. A short time later, the two male suspects returned now armed with a baseball bat. It was at this time the suspects came upon a 48 year old male and 18 year old female who were unaware of the previous dispute. The suspects began assaulting the male victim to the upper body causing him to fall to the ground. The 18 year old female came to his aid at which time she was assaulted to the upper body.

The female victim has since been treated and released from hospital however the male victim remained.

A number of individuals were located nearby and taken into custody.

As a result of the investigations, two 15 year old male youths have been charged with a variety of charges, including an upgraded charge of 2^nd degree murder. The youths have been detained to the Manitoba Youth Centre.

Good news came to those heading out to cabin country this weekend.

Yesterday afternoon Manitoba Conservation announced that travel restrictions and a ban on campfires have now ended in eastern Manitoba, including all parks in the Whiteshell region, and Grand Beach and Birds Hill provincial parks.

The lift was due to accumulated rainfall, forecast precipitation, the time of year and higher evening humidity.

Campfires are now permitted in approved fire pits in these areas. Backcountry travel is also permitted in eastern Manitoba.

The Province has warned those camping or travelling through eastern Manitoba to use caution as portions of the region may still remain dry. If Fires are spotted, they can be reported to Manitoba Conservation by calling 1-800-782-0076 (toll-free), information is available at local Manitoba Conservation district offices and online at gov.mb.ca

Elections Manitoba has announced their advance and absentee voting procedures in advance of the October 4^th provincial elections. Advance voting for the upcoming election will take place from September 24^th through October first.

On Thursday, Elections Canada announced that residents who will be away on election day or during advance voting could be eligible to make an application for Absentee voting.

An absentee voter must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age and have resided in Manitoba for at least six months before election day and intend to be away for no more than six months.

Members of the Canadian Forces or those students attending school outside of Manitoba or those working for the Canadian or Provincial government will be exempt from those time restrictions. However elections Canada states that the returning office must receive absentee ballots by 8pm on October the 4^th.

Additional details and applications for absentee ballots may be found on the Elections Manitoba website.

And on the lighter side of things, authorities at Miami’s international Airport found more than they bargained for on Wednesday when they found 7 exotic snakes and three tortoises wrapped in nylon bags that had been stuffed inside a brazil bound passengers pants.

The discovery happened when the male suspect went through a body scanner at one of the airport's security checkpoints on Thursday. He was then arrested by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials for violating animal trafficking laws.

Authorities declined to identify the man or offer any explanation for his botched attempt at reptile smuggling.

More: Learn more about absentee voting.
Read more on provincial fire restrictions on the Manitoba conservation website.
Tips on how to bring pets and wildlife into the United States

After taking a well needed vacation Natty and I caught our listeners up on local happenings and provided updates on some of the projects we are currently involved in, including our ongoing efforts with The Aimless & Andy Sessions live from UMFM studios.

Continuing on in that spirit we once again opened up our studios to another artist named Colby who traveled through Winnipeg in early August.

Colby preforms under the name My Boy Rascal and he stopped by our studios while traveling with Folk Thief on his western Canada tour.

My Boy Rascal recorded a brand new track with us entitled "If I Could Break These Walls" which he had only recently preformed for the first time while on a stop in Brandon Manitoba. On episode 91 we released the single exclusively on our program.

Colby sat down for an interview with us in which he discussed the origins of the song and the inspiration behind it.

He explained that while writing the song he was clouded with negativity that he was dealing with and some mental blocks that he was trying to break out of.

The song also deals with Colby's constant fear of dying. You can learn more about his new single and hear it for yourself by subscribing to our podcast in iTunes.

On next week's program we will feature another Aimless & Andy Session with Jamie Rumley who we introduced you to on episode 75. She will be joining us to promote her new album entitled What Are You Waiting For which she will be releasing at the West End Cultural Centre on September 14th.

We'll also be joined by Harlan Cohen who is the author of The Naked Roommate (and 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College). Be sure to tune in for his advice on University life.

Until next week,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg Exclusive - Folk Thief - The Lonesome Traveler - Live from UMFM Studios - The Aimless & Andy Sessions

2011-08-19T18:35:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg and UMFM 101.5 FM Present:
Folk Thief - The Lonesome Traveler (Exclusive Release)

Recorded/Mixed/Hosted/Produced by:
Andru Valpy (Wake Up Winnipeg - UMFM 101.5 FM)

Click here to download this podcast in iTunes

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 90

2011-08-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 90

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 08/12/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 08/17/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week was a very busy week for us at Wake Up Winnipeg. We crammed as much excitement as we could into our 30 minute episode which included local news, concert and event listings and two guests who were welcomed into our program.

But first, we focused on headline news from around Winnipeg.

In Local News This Week:

The Winnipeg Police Service is investigating a shooting incident that occurred in the 300 block of Langside earlier this morning.

Police say that a gun was fired in the direction of a home around 1:50 this morning hitting a 19 year old male who was sitting in a nearby vehicle.

The male suspect was initially taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition but has since been upgraded to stable condition.

Meanwhile a 29 year old male was arrested in connection with a stabbing that took place in the 1'oclock hour yesterday afternoon in the 400 block of Langside street.

Winnipeg Police were dispatched to the area at approximately 1:20 PM where they located a 30 year old female who had been stabbed in the upper body.

The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition but has since been upgraded to stable condition.

The male suspect has been charged with Aggravated assault and detained.

The City of Winnipeg will be enforcing new dog licensing laws effective September the first and those dog owners who do not adhere to the new rules could be fined 250.00 and court costs.

Starting September 1st, dogs that reside within Winnipeg Limits will have to be licensed and registered with the city animal services agency.

Those dogs found not wearing a license could also be impounded at the City Animal Services office.

License are 27 dollars a year for dogs that are spayed and neutered and 62.00 for others. Residents may also purchase a two-year license and receive a 10 percent discount for the second year.

More information may be found at the city of Winnipeg website or by calling the city of Winnipeg information line at 311.

If you looked up to the skies last night, you may have seen a fantastic light show as a severe thunderstorm rolled through Winnipeg.

Dark Clouds started forming over the city skies around 8:00pm while wind gusts between 70 and 90 kilometers per hour were recorded during the storm.

Lighting was seen flashing in a near strobe light effect while loonie-size hail was reported in various neighborhoods throughout the city.

Last nights storm also delivered a well needed rain fall with 21 millimeters of rainfall recorded.

Despite the strong winds and hailstones last nights storm produced no tornado's or funnel clouds, and no reports of lighting have been reported at this time.

Though environment Canada is predicting more participation on Saturday, the temperatures for the remainder of August and September are expected to be relatively normal.

The NHL released it's national Television Schedule this week announcing that the Winnipeg Jets will be featured in 21 appearances on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada, and appearing five times on TSN with other games available on the NHL Network US.

The home opener game will take place on Sunday October 9th, at 4:00pm and will be seen nationally on the CBC and in the US on the NHL Network.

And though the home opener is expected to sell out, there are credible rumors that a seat is being reserved for Prime Minister Steven Harper who reportedly has every intention of being in Winnipeg for the home opener.

Officials from Harpers office could not be reached for comment.

After some concert and event listings we got right into our exclusive Aimless & Andy In Studio Session with Dave Hadgkiss of Folk Thief which was recorded live from UMFM Studios.

During the session Dave released a brand new never before single called The Lonesome Traveler which was only written two days before arriving in Winnipeg.

After two practice takes, Dave recorded it for the first time with Andru live from our newly renovated studio. Post recording we had the opportunity to sit down and Chat with Dave where we learned about life as an independent artist on tour.

At the end of the episode we'll post the track exclusively in iTunes and share more details about our in studio session with Folk Thief here on our blog.

Exclusive: Read more about our in studio session with Folk Thief.
Subscribe to our free Podcast and download The Lonesome Traveler - Live from UMFM Studios, The Aimless & Andy Sessions.
Like Us on Facebook to see more in studio photographs.

Our next guest was comedian classic Louie Anderson who was born in Minneapolis Minnesota and has been active in the comedy community since 1981. Anderson was perhaps best know in our generation from his three year run on Fox with his show Life With Louie.

He then went on to become the host of a recreation of Family Feud from 1999-2002. He's most recently taken up his own stage show in Las Vegas Nevada and performs at the Louie Anderson Theater nightly at the palace station and will be performing at Rumors Comedy Club in Winnipeg as part of their Summer Concert Series from August 18th through the 20th.

Louie joined us on tonight's episode to fill our listeners in on what he's been doing these days.

Wake Up Winnipeg - Interviews Louie Anderson
Conducted by Andru Valpy.

Andru Valpy - Hello Louie how are you?

Louie Anderson: - Fine, how are you?

Av: I'm doing quite well. Welcome to Winnipeg.

Louie Anderson: Thank you. Thanks for having me on the show.

Av:No Problem. Now a lot of people from my generation specifically remember you from Life With Louie Back on Fox...

Louie Anderson: Oh Really!? Is that so? (said in his Life with Louie voice). So Andru, what about these Canuck's huh? My dad used to do a lot on the Cartoon about the Canadians. He had a really great line that goes "When the Canadians Invade, and they will..." You know, about the Canadians taking over the US. He loved it. You know, like that love hate relationship. He loved doing the cartoon Life With Louie. We did it for three years, we're working on a movie to tie it all off and that should be a lot of fun. We got great joy out of that.

Av: Let's face it, you've been busy you're doing a nightly show in Vegas at the palace station and now you're on tour here in Winnipeg..

Louie Anderson: Yeah, I'm working on a new special that I'll probably debut in February or March and I'm really excited about that. You know it's been almost 20 years since I've been to rumors and that club is the only place where you can work on new material and have the full comedy experience. You know, it's just a great room. You know Winnipeg.....I grew up in St Paul (Minnesota) so I'm part Canadian.

Av: Yeah, you're so close! Now you've got a show coming up in just a few minutes here.

Louie Anderson: Yeah, we're sold out for the first show and it's so good to be sold out, I think we still have a few tickets left for the late show on Friday and Saturday, but you know I'm really excited because you know...I have a whole bunch of new material that I'm doing, but then all my classics too. It's going to be one act and then I'm going to do the rest of the night. I'm always excited about that where people really get their money's worth.

Av: For someone who hasn't seen you in a while, what do you think they'll walk away from your show with?

Louie Anderson: I think the most memorable things will be the "After you turn 50" I think people will really get into that. I think what people have been saying to me quite literally is "I forgot how funny you were". It's kind of a bittersweet comment in a sense, you know I always thought I was funny, but you know I've really got connected to the very beginning when I used to do stand up. When it was so pure and such a good thing to have that pure comedy when you first start out. I'm back in that vain and I think people will really like the things I'm talking about because they're just from the same place that all the Life With Louie stuff was about and all the stuff that really made me a great comic.

Av: It must be exciting to go full circle eh?

Louie Anderson: Yeah it is great to go full circle. You know this will probably be my last special and I'm really proud of it and I'm really glad I'm here. We still haven't found a city that we're taping in yet so we're looking at all of the cities we play and you know, it's really going to be a great experience. I'm really looking at kind of pulling this one off. I really think it's going to be my best special.

Av: When do you think it will be done?

Louie Anderson: I think February or March it will be out, but it will probably be done in December some time.

Av: How do you manage to do that? I mean with you doing all of the nightly shows in Vegas, how do you manage to tour and film a special at the same time?

Louie Anderson: Well, I think what you do is you have to have some really great people behind you to plan all of that, and then I just show up.

Av: Well there you. Nothing wrong with that eh?

Louie Anderson: Nothing!

More: Subscribe to our free podcast in iTunes to hear our conversation with Louie Anderson.

We will feature more from our conversation with Louie Anderson later on this season on Wake Up Winnipeg. More information about Louie Anderson and his upcoming tour may be found on his website at http://louieanderson.com/

We are always looking for bands to take part of the Aimless & Andy In Studio Sessions. If your band would like to learn more about recording for our show, please contact us at info(at)wakeupwinnipeg(dot)com. More information can also be found on the Aimless & Andy website.

We'll catch you all next week where we'll release a brand new track from My Boy Rascal exclusively on Wake Up Winnipeg.

Until then,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 89

2011-08-12T18:30:00.000-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 89

Hosted Live by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.
Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy

Air Date: 08/12/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 08/17/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

On episode 89 Natty and I continued on in our Folklorama journeys by visiting new pavilions that we both wanted to explore during the second week of the festival.

We also welcomed some special guests to our program including pavilion ambassadors, coordinators and Conservative leader of Manitoba's Opposition Hugh McFadyen.

The pavilions that we explored in week two included the final performance of the Caribbean pavilion and then into week to with visits to the Paraguayan Ukraine-Kiev pavilion's as well as the Ireland Irish, Romanian, Japanese and the Pavilion Nayong Pilipino pavilion's.

Here's a recap of episode 89:

As some of you that have been to the islands would know The Caribbean people are very relaxed, and hospitable. When we arrived at the pavilion we were quickly taken to our reserved seats and were served glasses of rum punch (the drink of choice for the pavilion) and some jerk chicken.

The Caribbean pavilion show had a very energetic and award winning stage performance. In fact in 2010 the pavilion set a world record for longest conga line held.

From what those who attended last years pavilion described the line went out from the CCFM building to Provencher boulevard, went up to Des Meurons Street in a square shape and then headed back into the CCFM.

Apparently it was quite the experience to be a part of.

Who could forget the steel drum band composed of various youth from the Caribbean community who played melodic tunes. With eyes closed it almost felt like I was in the Caribbean. . . or perhaps it was the rum punch. . . Either way, the show was just stunning.

More Pictures from the Caribbean Pavilion can be found on our Facebook Fanpage.

While we were at the pavilion we had the opportunity to meet with Nicolette Gittens, the adult ambassador to the Caribbean, where she made her suggestions on what new comers should expect while visiting,

"Come down (to the pavilion) and get the full experience, try the food, try the drink and make sure you take in the shows and pay attention! You'll learn some things. Check out the displays as well. We have a lovely organization of displays from all of the islands that we represent."

And learn something we did, not only from the talented stage show but from those cultural display that Nicolette referred to. While we were touring the pavilion Natty had found a favorite vacation beverage that she had before while in the Caribbean. We asked one of the pavilion volunteers to describe what the drink was.

"(Icee) is a flavored blended drink from the from the country for Guiana. This one has bananas and ginger in it I think, but there are several flavors. There's a tonic, a cream soda, and several other flavors."

Our visit to the Caribbean pavilion wrapped up our coverage of Folklorama week one.

Week two started with a impromptu visit to the Paraguayan pavilion.

When we arrived at the Maples Community Centre we noticed that there was a Winnipeg Fire Department engine outside which had Natty and I concerned as to whether or not the pavilion would open.

Thankfully once we entered the venue we realized that the smoke from the barbeque had set off the smoke detectors which then notified the fire department to respond.

The authentic Paraguayan barbeque menu consisted of ribs or steak with sopa, mandioca, and coleslaw. For those looking for a lighter snack, empanadas were available with a variety of desserts on the side. The dishes were delicious and full of South American flavor.

As with any true performance the show went on, or at least tried to. During the performance the overhead stage lights and audio continuously cut out which may have been due by to technical overloading. It would seem that no matter how many times the a/v systems were re-started the lights and music would quickly cut out. In total the power cut out on five separate occasions.

Despite being plagued by technical problems the Paraguayan pavilion went on to produce a amazing heartfelt performance. The dedication and commitment was applaud worthy. The dancers even managed to keep guests clapping and entertained while the technical volunteers worked to resolve their issues.

Once the issues were finally resolved, the show continued.

With education being a continuing theme throughout Folklorama, Natty and I learned a lot more about Paraguay's rich history and how it achived it's independence. It's also worth noting that the Paraguayan pavilion certainly had the most elaborately crafted stage backdrops out of the venues we explored during our travels.

While at the Paraguayan pavilion we had the opportunity to meet with Manitoba's Official Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFayden where we talked about his views on the Folklorama Festival.

"I've been getting around to a number of pavilions over the last couple of weeks and I had never been to the Paraguayan pavilion before and it's a really significant part of our community. So we managed to get here tonight and I'm happy we did.

(Folklorama) is a really great tradition in our province and I think what it shows is that people from different backgrounds can live together in one province, as we do here in Manitoba, and preserve some of those important aspects of those cultures as well.

The thing I find most encouraging is the number of young people who are picking up their cultural traditions and carrying on with them, it really is something special about our Provence. The Message I see is that these cultural traditions are important but there's also a message that we can all live together in spite of those differences."

Moments after the Paraguayan pavilion wrapped up we made the five minute walk over to the Maples Collegiate where we had the opportunity to visit the Ukraine-Kyiv pavilion.

After having been to the Spirit of the Ukraine pavilion in Week one I was going into the Ukraine-Kyiv pavilion with open eyes so that I could compare the two.

The Ukraine-Kyiv pavilion's theme was honoring Taras Shevchenko the historical figure who lead the Ukraine through their revolution.

We were greeted by a ambassador who took us through their cultural display and taught us about the sacrifices that Shevchenko had made during his life.

Shevchenko was arrested in 1847 by the police for his writings and activities during the revolution and exiled for ten years of punitive military service.

It was during this time he was not allowed to write or paint.

We learned that the harsh conditions of his captivity seriously undermined Shevchenko's health. Even before he was allowed to return to his beloved Ukraine, he fell ill and died in Saint Petersburg where he was temporarily buried. He was later relocated to the Ukraine high on the banks of the mighty Dnieper River according to wishes he had written in a poem.

Perhaps what was most fascinating to learn about was the amount of monuments that have been dedicated to Taras Shevchenko. Statues may be found throughout the world most notably in Kyiv, Washington DC., and right here in Winnipeg Manitoba. The statue that sits in front of the Provincial legislative building was unveiled in 1961 by then Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker. The statue was the created and designed by Andrew Daragan from New York City.

In similar fashion to the Spirit of the Ukraine pavilion the Ukraine-Kyiv pavilion's menu included the traditional Borscht, Kapusta, Perogies and more. The entertainment consisted of Ukrainian dances and folklore.

After having been to the Spirit of the Ukraine pavilion I found that the general tone of the Ukrainian-Kyiv pavilion was a little bit darker in comparison and not as animated or energetic. Natty and I both agreed that the dancing was still entertaining and also uniquely diverse than that of the Spirit of The Ukraine pavilion. This lead me to remember the conversation I had with Spirit of Ukraine assistant coordinator Scott Gordon who said,

"If a pavilion was well organized and well presented there would be enough room in Folklorama for two pavilions representing the same country."

I couldn't agree with him more.

Our next pavilion is home to the Carpathian Mountains which arch throughout the country of Romania. Located within them is the region of Transylvania.

Now, when I think of Transylvania the first think I think of is Count Dracula who in fact, contrary to popular belief, was not a blood sucking vampire but in fact a prince in the 15th century.

After looking at the menu it only made sense that one of the main dishes was called "Chicken Dracula". I asked more about the meal and was told by volunteers that the concept of Dracula is treated more like an inside joke that's shared sarcastically between visitors and those in the know. This showed that the Romanian people had a sincere sense of humor about their now infamous prince Vlad III.

The dish itself was oven roasted chicken with spices and traditional garlic sauce and was served with red Romanian wine.

During the show visitors were taken on a 45 minute journey which took them around the continent of Romania which featured song and dance from their native land.

Included in their performance were songs that had been lost in translation over the years because when the songs were originally written, the chorus's were no more than drunken slurs. This was best explained by the youth ambassador Lucas Alexander Giubega,

"Most people don't realize that parts of this song are drunken ramblings, in other words, someone had too much to drink, however those parts have been lost because the transcriber was a little bit 'happy' also."

More: Watch Maria Tanase sing Ciuleandra, a traditional Romanian folk song on Youtube:

After the performance Natty and I were taken on a cultural display tour which focused on Romania's rich history. The tour contained information on the multiple castles that surround the mountain ranges throughout Romania including the famed Bran Castle where, according to the legend, Count Dracula lived.

Next were taken to a photo-booth that used Chroma Key technology. Natty and I were photographed in front of a large green screen and developed onto a cartoon sketch of the Bran Castle dressed in full Dracula gear.

If there was an award for creative ideas during Folklorama I would award it to Romania for thinking outside of the box and introducing the green-screen photo booth. The picture made for a great personal souvenir of our visit to the pavilion.

Next up on our Folklorama Frolic was our visit to the Ireland-Irish pavlion that was held at the Holy Cross Gym.

Back in the days of "The Aimless & Andy Show After Hours" former co-host Paul and and I had the chance to visit the pavilion and speak to the (at the time) ambassadors Mark Maloy and Pat MacDonald who told us a little more about the luck of the Irish:

"Our favorite part of the pavilion are the volunteers, the comradery, and the way people work together. We have great volunteers and that's one of the things I love about Folklorama.

(The planning process) starts in January and there are various things with the folk arts council that you have to do and deadlines, detailed things like permits for food and occasional permits and that sort of thing.
On average (at the time) there are 75 volunteers and we have fun, we work our ass off, but we have fun and that's the most important thing."

When asked what the number one reason that guests should come to the Ireland-Irish pavilion over all the other pavilions we were told:

"Because we're here to entertain and we really feel and genuinely want guests to come and have fun. "

MacDonald answered almost echoed that of Maloy's:

"It's the best value for the money. The entertainment, the food prices are very reasonable and so forth...and, we need the money!"

The Ireland-Irish pavilion has been a part of Folklorama for 26 years. New to this years pavilion was the brand new cultural display which showcased Irelands four provinces.

It was there we had the opportunity to review traditional Irish music, history, and merchandise exclusive to Ireland.

The show itself was made up of music, humor, and traditional folk songs, literature and more.

We were treated to a popular Irish combination meal which included stew and soda bread, shepherds pie, and was served with Guinness and Harp beer.

After having watched the show two years ago I had certainly noticed that the pavilion had grown quite a bit. In our interview with Pat in 2007 mentioned that there were 75 volunteers at the time. I would not be surprised if it has grown to include more.

At 8:15 people were already lining up outside for the 9:45 show which had me quite surprised.

Even before we had the chance to catch our breath we were off to another pavilion. We left Ireland and headed to the far east shores of Japan.

The pavilion seemed to focus on traditional customs including the sacred art of samurai sword fighting, and Japanese Taiko drumming.

We sampled on sushi and washed it down with their featured "moon drink" and headed off to our last pavilion, the Philippine Nayong Pavilion.

When we arrived we were greeted by the adult ambassador Bettina Pogson who ushered us into the pavilion and made us feel quickly at home .

She proceeded to take us on a 45 minute tour and taught us many great things about the Philippines. Some of the facts came as a surprise to us. I was surprised to learn that the Philippines had over 7,000 islands in the country alone, and that the worlds smallest breed of monkeys resided in the Philippines.

The stage show was phenomenal.

At times during the performance members of the audience could feel the energy levels flow from the stage. It was comparable, if not a little more adventurous than the Caribbean pavilion we visited in the previous week.

Those in attendance occasionally found it difficult to stay still as they stood and participated in some of the dance pieces. The 45 minute show seemed longer than it actually was and focused a lot on the youth of the Philippines.

It ended with a finale that was not to be missed and included one of the youth males being hoisted up on a bamboo stick high above as his friends cheered and danced below.

The 2011 Philippine Pavilion Nayong Pilipino pavilion went down as the most hospitable pavilion throughout our two week adventure.

After the performance we visited once again with Bettina Pogson and thanked her for her hospitality.

With a bashful smile she thanked us and replied:

"That's what we Filipino people are, warm and friendly and we take pride in our Filipino food. We like to share, our culture and our dancing especially. I invite you to please come, bring your friends and enjoy the dancing because our kids work so hard to put on a spectacular show for you. I'm so proud of those kids!."

After sipping on some coconut juice and drinking some Filipino beer it was time to say goodbye and wrap up our two weeks of coverage.

Folklorama is something that everybody needs to experience. In fact, the event really opens ones eyes to the amount of diversity and culture that we have right here in our own back yard.

Though Folklorama is something that comes for two weeks every summer little realize that the Folklorama organization runs all year round. Three programs have stemmed from the festivals success, each one working to fulfill the Folklorama mission of "celebrating diversity, and promoting cultural understanding".

Folklorama Talent is a full-service entertainment booking agency that represents multicultural and contemporary performers, plans special events and conventions.

While Folklorama Travel's mission originally started as a means of seeking out group tours throughout North America that wanted to experience traveling the world without leaving Winnipeg. It has since evolved into a year round program providing groups access to cultural experiences in Winnipeg.

Folklorama Teachings brings the cultural diversity that is the trademark of Folklorama into classrooms, daycares and educational settings throughout Winnipeg and Manitoba. Reaching out to children and youth, the Teachings program is designed to help students appreciate the diversity of cultures and motivate students to take pride in their own cultural heritage.

More information about Folklorama may be found at http://www.folklorama.ca and you can also follow them on twitter at twitter.com/folklorama.

More: Subscribe to our Podcast for free in the iTunes Music Store to listen to this episode and others from Wake Up Winnipeg Season Three.
Information about Folklorama may be found at the Folklorama website at http://www.folklorama.ca.
Visit our webpage at http://wakeupwinnipeg.com for more information about our program.

Throughout 7 days we attended Folklorama Natty and I had viewed a combined total of seven and a half hours worth of stage show performances and managed to condense our experiences into two separate podcasts after 10 hours of post broadcast editing and production. Our attendance during Folklorama also concluded our summer festival series.

Natty and I would like to personally thank all of those involved in Folklorama 2011 and for having us out and allowing us to feel welcome. A big thank you also goes out to the Folklorama office staff for their help in producing our coverage of the event. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Always be exploring.

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 88

2011-08-05T18:00:00.002-05:00

Wake Up Winnipeg - Episode 88

Hosted Live/Produced/Recorded by: Andru Valpy, Natty Somers.

Air Date: 08/05/2011 6:00 PM on UMFM 101.5 FM
Free Podcast Download Location: iTunes.
Web: http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg

Become a FaceBook Fan: http://facebook.com/wakeupwinnipeg
Rebroadcast: 08/10/2011 on CJUM 101.5 UMFM - 6:30 AM

This week we kicked off with the first edition of our two part Folklorama episodes.

As we mentioned on last weeks episode, Folklorama 2011 kicked off on July 31st with a total of 46 pavilions open throughout the two week event. The event is expected to take in over 440,000 people this year with an estimated 20,000 volunteers working hard to promote their ethno-cultural heritage.

Originally started as a one time celebration for Manitoba's Centennial in 1970, Folklorama has quickly grown to become the largest festivals held in the summer months.

Since 1988, Foklorama has run with a 2 week format with half of the 46 pavilions running on the first week, and the others following suit the second week.

Pavilions are spread out throughout the city of Winnipeg with no central site for the festival. Most pavilions are held at community centers, curling rinks, school auditoriums and arenas.

To ensure guests can make the most of the festival, and minimize their commute, organizers typically plan pavilions to be close to one-another with some being held closely within walking distance.

Each pavilion is responsible for creating and organizing their own entertainment and menu items specifically showcasing the cultural or historical roots of their ethnicity.

With help from the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) some pavilions are able to bring in beverages from their native lands which would normally be found in Manitoba therefore encouraging curious connoisseurs to find their niche throughout the festival.

General admission for Folklorama is $6.00 per pavilion for adults, seniors and youths with tickets made available at the entrance to each pavilion. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult up to a limit of 5 children per adult.

A creative way to take in Folklorama is one of the many VIP tour options that are available to those guests wishing to fill their Folklorama Passport.

General VIP World Tour packages are available for the price of $74.95 which includes admission to 3 pavilions, meals and beverages, pick-up and drop-off at a centralized location by means of Luxury motor-coach transportation, the opportunity to bypass line-ups and reserved table service with a great view of the world class entertainment Folklorama offers.

On our first week of Folklorama, Natty and I stopped off at the Africa pavilion located at Holy Cross Gym (290 Debuc Street).

Upon entering the pavilion we were greeted with a burst of energy as the emcee for the evening welcomed visitors to a flight across Africa.

While on our Safari we had the opportunity to watch a exhilarating forty five minute performance which took us from the northern half of the continent through the southern half by means of traditional African song, dance, and instrument.

Within minutes, the hand-drums of a band played and two female dancers who were gathering water in their hand-crafted baskets took to the stage.

The music motivated the two to begin celebrating their musical findings and they displayed their affection for the sounds of beats, their smiles truly reflecting their sincere happiness.

Moments later we were whisked away to another part of Africa, where we saw a traditional family dance which would normally be held at weddings, birthdays and other event celebration's.

With the entire audience's eyes on her a young girl (who we estimate to be between the ages of 2 to 3) lead a family of entertainers to the stage and the group began to demonstrate their talents with lively animated choreography, and while the adults seemed to attract some attention, the young girl captivated the hearts of the audience with her shimmies, shakes and circles.

When the music stopped, the crowed erupted with cheer, the group and the girl bowing humbly.

Guests in the audience was also asked to participate on multiple occasions throughout the performance, including a sing-a-long song at the beginning of the show hosted by The Guerrillas of Soul where they were taught male and female phrases to sing back when cued.

On the night we visited, the women outnumbered the men in terms of loudness and participation in the sing-along, but of course the audience was no competition to the soulful tones and vocals of The Guerrillas who by themselves are worth seeing again after Folklorama wraps up.

When the performances were over, Natty and I met with Akosua Bonsu who is the female youth Ambassador representing the African pavilion and talked to her about this years events.

When asked what it's like to be a Youth Ambassador during Folklorama, Akosua's eyes light up and a grin stretched from one side of her face to the other:

"It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun! You get to meet so many different people and being so involved in your culture and being able to share that with everyone else is a very big thing about Folklorama"

More of our interview with Akosua and our full review of the African pavilion may be found on our podcast in iTunes.

After exploring the African Pavilion I hopped on our imaginary plane and went off to the Spirit of The Ukraine pavilion. . . all without having to leave the city.

When I landed on the first performance on Thursday evening the pavilion was filled near capacity with a line up stretching out the door.

Those in line didn't seem to mind however as there was a musical duo performing up-beat Ukrainian music to keep the visitors entertained.

Winnipeg is home to quite possibly the largest Ukrainian population within Canada.

From what my history lessons of the city have taught me is that it is because of the Ukrainian's and European settlers that we owe a part of who we are today to to their impact on our cities uprising during the early 1900's. Because of that history, it would only make sense that the Spirit of The Ukraine pavilion seemed to draw large crowds.

It was evident that the hype surrounding the first year pavilion would make the line well worth waiting through.

Once I entered the pavilion we confirmed just that.

Even before the scheduled 6:45 stage show had started entertainers were on the stage and in the crowds dressed in traditional Ukrainian attire leading the audience in song and dance. Little did I realize just how much dancing would take place later on at the pavilion.

I should have dusted off my dancing Bast Shoes because if there was ever a time I would need them. . . it was there at the pavilion.

Before I could even think about dancing, I needed to satisfy a craving that I have only ever developed since moving to Winnipeg. . . traditional Ukrainian food.

I spoke with the head chef coordinator Carrol of Ludwick Catering and asked her for her thoughts on this years menu at the Spirit of The Ukraine pavilion.

"As in any Ukrainian culture you have your Cabbage Rolls, your Pierogies, your Garlic Sausage, our home-made soups, the borscht, the Kapusnyak, the Kasha which is a Buckwheat, the Sauerkraut and a variety of desserts."

Carrol went on to say that most of the ingredients used in preparing the traditional dishes didn't have to travel far to make it to the menu.

"As many products as we could are Manitoba Grown, from the beats that we used for the Borscht, to the Cabbage it's all local Cabbage that's used, and also the Sauerkraut we actually process our own Sauerkraut from Manitoba Cabbage."

But perhaps what was most interesting to learn about the menu was just how freshly prepared each dish was,

"The processing of food is not started until actually two days prior to the beginning of the pavilion to have the freshness of the product. The Cabbage Rolls that we are using today were made yesterday and cooked this morning, as in the Pierogies as is in all of the soups. Some of the ingredients of the soup are of course made prior to, like the dicing of onions and the carrots and that kind of thing, but they are not put together or processed until the day that we're serving it".

The flavors and freshness Carrol described in our interview were evident from the first bite. Given the opportunity, I would welcome a second visit just to explore the menu more in-depth just by itself.

I didn't dare ask about the desserts out of fear that my stomach may just burst. I was full off of the thoroughly delightful Ukrainian dinner.

Instead of trying the dessert, I found myself by the front of the stage as the opening entertainment began. Internationally known Ukrainian Canadian comedian Nestor Pistor took the the stage and sang a cover of kareoke classic Like a Winedstoned Plowboy. For some reason it seemed way more enjoyable than any other cover of Rhinestone Cowboy that you would hear on night out at the local karaoke club.

Perhaps it was his outgoing personality that made the pavilion welcoming. Or in this case, Вітаючи.

The audience seemed to enjoy his stage presence and laughed at all of his family friendly jokes and songs.

Having performed at such acts as The Grey Cup, and the Calgary Stampede, Nestor seemed to be quite comfortable in his Folklorama home as he played at the Spirit of The Ukraine Pavilion.

Some have said Nestor is far from traditional, but those in the audience described him as unforgettable and hysterical. Smiles were seen on virtually every member of the audiences faces, at one point a visitor was seen wiping tears from her eyes.

The Spirit of The Ukraine pavilion would not have been complete without traditional Ukrainian music and dance performed by the world renowned Zoloto Ukrainian Dance Ensemble & Company.

I was told by assistant coordinator Scott Gordon that the "hooping and hollering" would begin in just a few minutes and that "I wouldn't want to miss it."

Thankfully I got to the front of the stage just as the final 12 minute dance number was about to start.

The Zoloto troupe really knew how to move. While watching I could not quite fathom how anyone could jump, bend and move in the way the dancers were demonstrating. Flabbergasted, I found Scott and asked him to tell me a little more about what I was witnessing. It was a bit of a shock when I learned that some of the adult dancers on stage had been performing since the age of 3 years old.

It was during this conversation that I learned that the Winnipeg based dance company would be competing this year at the International Dance Competition where they hope to win Zoloto, the Ukrainian word for Gold.

The moves were breath taking, energetic and astonishing. For a few moments, it felt as if I had left Winnipeg and was situated in a Ukrainian theater watching the performance from the comfort of my chair.

Just as quickly as the finale started, the dance was over and the hosts thanked us for our company and invited the audience back this weekend where the entertainment would be changing for the better.

I overheard someone in the crowd question out loud to a friend "It get's better than this?!"

He quickly made plans with his group of friends to come back on Friday.

While the crowd was filing out and finishing up their beverages, I gathered my gear and found Scott Gordon once again. After having seen the amazing performances and experiencing the true energy and spirit that The Ukraine brings to Winnipeg I had to learn a little more about how he felt about the success of the new pavilion.

"It's going really well! We just had a packed house, everyone was on their feet we got a standing ovation tonight, everyone was loving it. It was good.

It's been wonderful all week and we're just glad to carry it on throughout the weekend and get as many people as we can to get down here and enjoy."

But it wasn't easy to get to this point, in fact Gordon went on to tell me about just how much work went into putting up the Spirit of The Ukraine, and how it got it's origins.

"The Latvia Pavilion decided it could not continue this year at the last minute so we worked our butts off to get everything organized and planned and get approved. Once we were approved we were able to ,in a very short amount of time, get everything together ready in time for this week.

In the past, there's has been two (Ukrainian) Pavilions, just like there's been two Irish Pavilions, two Portuguese ones, My personal feeling is that there's so much to any one culture to explore that there's no way you can limit it to one week. You want to have as much time, as much opportunity to express and celebrate culture as you can. Any time there is enough people and organizational skills to put two pavilions on I think it should happen.

We've got some great applause, everyone's been on their feet, everyone has been saying wonderful things about the food and the dancers.

Friday and Saturday night, we're lucky to have The Kalyna a Ukrainian band who does not only wonderful traditional music but plays some more modern stuff to a wonderful crowd."

I thanked Scott for his time and packed up my suitcase and left to return to Winnipeg on the evening flight.

This weekend wraps up the first week of the 2011 Folklorama Pavilion and the start of the "Late Night Party" Pavilions. More information and scheduling may be found online at http://folklorama.ca

Natty and I are looking forward to visiting more pavilions throughout the next seven days including several new pavilions that are coming to the 2011 festival.

As discussed on today's show, we'll be visiting the late night parties at the Brazilian Carnival pavilion at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, and the Caribbean Pavilion at the Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain.

Be sure to join us next week for part 2 of our Folklorama Coverage where Natty and I will report back on our journey's with you our listeners and report back as to some of our festival highlights.

For instant Folklorama feeds, be sure to follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/wakeupwinnipeg or visit us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/WakeupWinnipeg.

Additional photographs and our 2011 Folkorama video montage will be posted on our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter accounts soon.

More information about our show, and instructions on where to download this weeks episode of Wake Up Winnipeg in iTunes, may be found on our website at http://wakeupwinnipeg.com/.

Thank you to all of the volunteers and organizers who have helped out with Week 1 of Folklorama. We look forward to seeing some of you next year, and the rest of you next week.

Until then,

-Av

Wake Up Winnipeg - Police make arrests in Fort Rouge fires

2011-08-04T11:15:00.001-05:00

Winnipeg Police Media Release:

Between May 1st and July 26th, 2011 numerous suspicious fires and acts of arson were reported in the Fort Rouge area of Winnipeg. These fires created a significant risk to life and property. The damage estimate for these fires is approximately $680,000.

Significant resources from both Winnipeg Police Service and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service were committed to combating the fires and the ensuing investigation.

Extensive work by the Arson Strike Force, assisted by District 6 Crime Unit, General Patrol and Cadets has resulted in the arrest yesterday of a 20 year old male from Winnipeg.

·        Brandon SUTYLA has been charged with:
·        Arson – Damage to Property x 18
·        Arson – Disregard to Human Life x 2
·        Possess Incendiary Device
·        Breach of Probation.
Sutyla has been detained in custody at the Provincial Remand Center