HCKOC Dog Show – Mark your Calendars!

Mark your calendars!  This weekend is one of two dog shows held annually in Saskatoon.  This one happens to be the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club show, and will be taking place at the Exhibition grounds in Hall E.  And, quite unusual for us, this is our first show of 2012.

This weekend marks the show debut of Alice, one of the pups from my first ever Chihuahua litter.  I’m super excited to be taking a puppy I’ve bred into the ring for the first time ever.  I have high hopes for this little one.  She really is an outstanding pup with a temperament to die for!

If you’re free this weekend, you should come on out.  The show will go from 9 AM until roughly 3 PM each day (except Sunday, which usually shuts down a little earlier so everyone who has to travel can start on their way home).  I highly recommend coming as early as possible though, as shows tend to thin out later in the day.  As people finish up with their dogs for the day, they usually head out rather than sticking around the show site.  So coming in the morning or very early afternoon means you’re more likely to encounter a wider variety of dogs.

Our approximate ring times on each day are as follows:

• 9:00 on Friday (in ring two)
• 12:15 on Saturday (in ring one)
• during the lunch break on Saturday (kid kid will be taking Alice in for Juniors)
• 9:00 on Sunday (in ring two)
• during the lunch break on Sunday (for puppy sweeps)

If there’s a particular breed you are interested in seeing, I recommend downloading the official schedule at http://canuckdogs.com/upload/DogShowDocs/2b117948-900c-11e1-bf94-46ab87a4a13a.pdf  It contains a listing of breeds that will be in attendance each day, along with the numbers of each breed and the break down of males, females, and specials.

To figure out an approximate show time for each breed you’re interested in seeing, take the number of dogs in the ring prior to the breed you are interested in watching, and multiply by 2.5.  It takes the judge roughly two and a half minutes to judge each dog.  So, if you want to watch the Irish Setters on Friday you’d multiply the 20 dogs in the ring prior to them by 2.5, giving you 50 minutes.  That group starts at 1:00, so you can estimate that they’d be in at roughly 1:50 on Friday.

So yay!  Dog show season!!!  One of my favourite times of year. 

President of the Green Party, No More.

Come Saturday afternoon, I’ll no longer be the president of the Green Party of Saskatchewan.  I’ve occupied the role for the last four years, since I was placed into the position by the board as the interim president in the Autumn of 2008, and was then elected and reelected by the party membership.  It may not sound like a long time, but it feels like it.  And come Saturday I’ll be stepping down not just from that particular role, but from the board in general.

I do have to admit, the decision has come with some mixed emotions…  and it really wasn’t much of a decision really.  The party has a requirement that members not serve on the board any longer than three years.  I stayed on longer as there was no-one to fill the role except for myself.  This year though, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to serve with Vicki Strelioff who was elected as my VP.  And after working with her all this past year, and seeing how wonderfully she has handled herself through what proved to be a rather difficult year for the board, I have EVERY confidence in her ability to serve the membership as party chair.

I now have to decide if I do my one last duty, or if I step aside and allow Vicki to chair our AGM.  It would seem an obvious decision.  I attend the AGM, and chair one final meeting.  The only reason it is a choice at all, and not just a given, is I know how difficult I will find it.

There is no glory in being the president of a political party.  You hold all the responsibility, for everything that happens within the party, yet hardly anyone even knows your name.  The leader – the figurehead – gets the all the prestige (and in some instances, without nearly the work).  But if something ever goes wrong, that shifts very quickly.  The president is the scapegoat, the one who’s head hits the chopping block in any scandal.  However, if you’ve done your job well?  Life continues on normally, no-one even realizing you are there – navigating the rough water, keeping an even keel.  Ensuring your ship and her crew are safe and at ease.  …it’s not a perfect metaphor, but it works. 

The GPS has been such a huge part of my daily life for the last half decade…  There is some relief at no longer having to shoulder the burden, but there is also a very large sense of loss.  I know myself, and know how prone to tears I can be.  I’m not sure I’d make it through that final meeting without coming apart – and that’s hardly befitting the chair of the board.  I don’t know.  I very honestly am not sure what I want to do.

At first it didn’t even enter into my mind that attending was a choice.  It’s part of the job description.  I call and chair all the meetings…  but the closer this meeting gets, the more I’m finding I’m dreading it.  I feel kind of silly over the whole thing, but part of me knows I’ll have to say good bye, and if I avoid the meeting, I can avoid doing so.

I guess we’ll see.  I don’t have long now, and one way or another I need to make the choice.  It really is the end of an era for me, and to be honest I’m torn over how I feel.  Relief and sadness…  they make for odd bedfellows.

A2Z – Queens and the Glorious Art Form that is Drag

 

There is perhaps, no art form as secretly admired and misunderstood as the art that is drag.  And a glorious art form it is.  For those not familiar with the why’s, it is about celebrating all that is Woman.  It’s not about men becoming women, it is about glorifying all those things men (and women) admire in us (and ourselves).  So one might think the art of a drag king is about celebrating men… but nope.  Kings are about supporting Queens – it’s how some might say life SHOULD be.

One of my favourite movies, if for nothing else than the grand spectacle of it all, is Connie and Carla.  And yes, it’s one flick EVERYONE should watch at least once (but preferably at least once a month).  Many of the Queens in the cast are actually Drag Queens, cast in the roles to do as only they know how to do.  I recommend attending as many drag shows as one possibly can…  but if you are too nervous, or live in an area too remote or podunk, then Connie and Carla becomes even more of a necessity.  Don’t stream it, borrow it, or rent it…  BUY IT!

There really is no art I more admire than the art of drag, and here in Saskatoon we really are blessed with some amazing talent.  With the incredible Crystal Clear, Charity Luncheon, and China White here, what more could we possibly ask for?  And they really are only the tip of the iceberg – a beautiful, jaw-dropping, hilarious, absolutely fabulous iceberg.

The history of Drag in Saskatchewan is a long and proud one.  Yes, we may be a stick in the mud, Prairie Province…  sometimes poked fun of with that exact same stick for being all too podunk…  but we have a wonderfully rich drag history.  In fact, it goes all the way back to the 1920′s and the Empire Theatre’s vaudeville revues and continues today with the Imperial Court of the Golden Wheat Sheaf – Saskatchewan’s royal drag court, which is just one small part of the royal court of Canada.

For more on the history of Drag in Saskatchewan you can’t find a better resource than the Neil Richards collection at the U of S…  a small taste of which can be found online at http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/allfrockedup/en_intro.shtml

I, for one, am thankful for the incredibly hard work of our many dedicated Queens.  They have paved the way for us in so many ways, and continue to do so with grace, confidence, kindness, and laughter.  Thank you!  For all you do!

The beautiful future of drag in our province... and me.

 

A2Z – Jerseys & Jokes

 

Around here, sports are important…  especially hockey.  It’s a big part of Saskatchewan, and nowhere is that famous Prairie Machismo more apparent than in the locker room.  Or so I’ve been told.

Gay jokes run rampant, along with comments about the prissy nature of certain plays or players.  It’s a tough place to feel welcome as a member of the LGBTT2QIA community.  Any time your personhood is called into question, even if it’s done in jest (sometimes, especially so) it breaks you down.  After a while, it can all become too much.

In an effort to curtail this type of anti-gay banter and sentiment, Patrick Burke (in honor of his late brother, Brandon Burke) began a campaign we now know as “You Can Play”.  At it’s very heart all it states is that if you can play, you can play.  Nothing else matters.  It’s something we all needed to hear, and continue to have reinforced.

I encourage you to take a minute to read this article Burke wrote about his brother, the decision to come out, and how it affected all their lives.  It is well worth the read, every encouraging paragraph:  Never Forgotten, Patrick Burke Remembers his Pioneering Brother.

For more on You Can Play, check out these links:

• http://youcanplayproject.org/
• http://twitter.com/YouCanPlayTeam
• http://www.hockeyhistory.org/2012/03/fighting-for-gay-rights-in-professional.html
• http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/04/patrick-burke-speaks-about-players-lending-support-to-you-can-play-project-for-gay-athletes/

So next time you’re about to make a joke about how gay someone or something is, stop and think.  Just because others do it, doesn’t make it okay.  In fact, it’s NOT okay – and people are finally starting to get it.  The locker room should be a place of camaraderie, of solidarity… not of exclusion and loathing.

 

 

Pink Revolution!

Pink Revolution - the Evolution of the International Day of Pink

How many of you are familiar with the Day of Pink in Canada?  It may have started small, but it is changing the landscape.  Soon there’ll be a sea of pink all around us as Saskatchewan organizations have banded together to bring you an entire week to think pink!

Not so long ago, a young man wore a pink shirt to his high school in Nova Scotia.  The homophobic bullies were out in force, and it did not go unnoticed.  A couple days later a swarm of students wearing pink shirts showed up at school – in support of equality and the belief that we all deserve the right to be free of fear, free from hate and bigotry.  Word spread, and soon people across Canada declared April 11th to be the Day of Pink – which is now being celebrated internationally.

This year, the Avenue Community Center in solidarity with several other organizations and businesses to bring us Pink Revolution!  An entire week of pink, a celebration of diversity.  The cities of Saskatoon, North Battleford, Swift Current, and Yorkton have all banded together in our cause and declared the week of March 30th – April 5th to be Saskatchewan’s Pink Revolution.

I’ll be out at some of the high schools, giving talks about gender, sex, and how we fit into the whole scheme of things.  About how labels can both help and hinder us as we find how we belong.  There will also be a multitude of other individuals out giving talks as well.

There are video and art contest in the works, as well as several anti-bullying events.  I have to admit though, I’m most excited about Saskatoon’s first Pink Prom.  That’s right!  We’re having our first LGBTT2QIA prom!  And rumor has it, that yours truly will be the official photographer.

Check out all the details at:

http://pink.avenuecommunitycentre.ca/index.html

I hope to see you out and about during our week of pink here in Saskatoon (and look forward to hearing all about events occurring around Saskatchewan).  There’s still plenty of time to get involved, so check out the website for volunteer opportunities.  We owe it to our youth!

Tracey and Brent – a photography postview?

Sooo…  I am just way too darn beat to type much…  and then I realized that I had pulled some photos to share a preview last week, but never did post them.  So this isn’t a preview so much (seeing how they’ve already gotten their disc) but Tracey and Brent are just too adorable for me to keep them all to myself.  So here’s a postview of one of the world’s most awesome couples:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tracey, Brent – I truly enjoyed working with you two.  And thank you so much for inviting me to come shoot on your land.  I’ve already made it out there once, and hope to do so again.  Your hospitality is very appreciated.

 

Shame on the city of Regina!

The girlie has been sick today, so I’m too exhausted to write much…  but I can’t let this go without saying something.

SHAME ON YOU REGINA!!!!

The city of Regina has turned off the power to the park where the Occupy encampment is set up.  Now, I don’t live in Regina – I’m proudly in Saskatoon…  but really???  Does the city even have the authority to turn off the power to the park when they aren’t the ones providing said power???

FOR SHAME REGINA!!!!

The Occupy encampment is a peaceful demonstration.  And not only are they not hurting anyone, they are educating people, and providing for the homeless of your city as well.  This is a difficult time of year for the homeless of Saskatchewan.  It’s getting colder, and the risks are getting greater.  The demand for overnight beds is increasing, and there simply aren’t enough places for everyone to go.  The Occupy encampment is providing a safe, welcoming space.

SHAME.

City officials take note.  Give back the porta-potty.  Give back the power.  Allow this small group of people who are doing nothing but good to continue their protest, to continue educating, and to continue providing for those that many of you would rather forget.  The folks who are involved in Occupy Regina should be supported, not torn apart.

Wow…  okay.  Perhaps I had more energy than I thought.  But really, this should be a no brainer.  Leave the people at the Occupy encampment in peace, and with what few amenities they have.  Turn the power back on.  It’s not costing the city a darn thing.

A post political or piratical.

So, apparently the media did not like my photograph of choice for this provincial election.  It was one I chose with purpose.  But the decision has come down – give them a different image or they won’t include one at all.  A frustrating state of affairs if you ask me.  So what else is there to do?  I ran outside this evening, right before it got too dark to do so, and had Damon take a photo:

 

Now…  being the type who enjoys fighting injustice and ignorance as I do…  and being as intolerant of the misuse of power as I am…  well…  I do have to admit to a certain idea crossing my mind.  I actually did entertain the notion of sending in a photo of me in my Halloween costume.  After all.  If a photo of me, in the riding, holding a baby snake we came across while out at a photo shoot, teaching my daughter about it and encouraging her to value all life is inappropriate?  Then maybe me as a pirate is exactly what they need to see.    But, I behaved.  As seen above.  After all, there’s a time and a place for all things.  Take this blog post.  Me as a pirate may not be appropriate for election night coverage, but here?  Heck ya!  So, here you go.  Me and my family – The Last Saskatchewan Pirates (as photographed by my younger sister Jewles).

Oh!  And yes… my election night photograph will show up again in the slideshow.  I couldn’t see a simple way to remove it, and I didn’t feel it was enough of a priority to spend a bunch of time digging around for the solution… so I just left it there.  LOL

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tobi-Dawne Smith for Saskatoon-Meewasin

Tobi-Dawne Smith and her Daughter Lily-Ann

Born and raised in Saskatoon, Tobi-Dawne Smith is proud to be running in her home riding, a riding that boasts incredible diversity. As a member of a multi-racial family, she believes in the strength found in an open sharing of cultural and religious traditions. An open and honest dialogue is the best way to bridge gaps and bring understanding. The candor found in a quiet moment of respect is something all people should seek.

The search for authenticity isn’t something that ends when Smith, a professional photographer, puts down her lens. It’s a part of everything she does. Whether she’s busy in her most important role as mother to an incredible four year old, helping families create a legacy through photography, or cultivating initiatives to create safe spaces for at-risk youth.

Ms. Smith spent the last eight months working with Camp fYrefly, which celebrated it’s third year in Saskatchewan with it’s retreat this August. Camp fYrefly is a life changing program designed to help foster leadership skills and resiliency in gender variant and sexual minority youth, youth who are at the greatest risk of bullying and suicide. Now that Camp has been wrapped up, she has accepted a role on the Board for Breaking the Silence – an annual conference in support of the LGBTT2QIA community at the University of Saskatchewan.

Tobi-Dawne’s role as a mother has strengthened her resolve to be socially responsible and to help build a better future for her daughter, and all the children of Saskatchewan. She recognizes that our children depend on her to fight against inequality, and to help create with them a more genuine safe future for our province. TD also realizes the only political party within which she can truly achieve these goals is the Green Party of Saskatchewan.

The Green Party’s six guiding principles: ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability and respect for diversity.  Guiding principles we should all strive to uphold.

Start your Engines Saskatchewan!

It appears we are again, off to the races.  For me, this will be my third election campaign.  I ran for the first time back in 2008 for the Green Party of Canada in Saskatoon-Wanuskewin.  My second election was a provincial by-election in Saskatoon-Riversdale in 2009.  And I am now running in my home riding of Saskatoon-Meewasin.

I spent my afternoon out on the door-steps of my neighbours.  Unlike many who enter the muddy floor of the political arena, I actually really enjoy getting out and talking to folks.  Door-knocking is a chance to listen to the real concerns of my fellow community members, and I enjoy hearing their stories (and getting to share a few of my own).

This is the first year I am campaigning in my own neighbourhood.  I have ties to both ridings where I’ve run in the past (I grew up in, and my extended family still lives in, Saskatoon-Wanuskewin) but it feels different to be able to walk your door, and walk straight over to the first house on the left.  It actually felt really good.  And it was nice getting to introduce myself to a few neighbours that I haven’t had a chance to visit with before.  It was great seeing so many familiar faces.

I’ll admit, my biggest political failing is that I’m not a politician – mind you, that’s also one of my greatest strengths.  Where it hinders me though, is in my fundraising ability.  I’m not comfortable asking people for money.  Yet any successful campaign requires funding.  I just can’t do it though.  So my campaign this year (unless someone sees this blog post and decides, based on it and their knowledge of me, to donate – you’ll get most of it back come tax time) will be run on left overs:  old campaign signs, and brochures.  Things I knew I kept around for a reason.  Most of them say Green Party of Canada, but I’m sure it’s a small thing my constituents will forgive (as long as Elections-Saskatchewan does).  To be honest, I’d rather reuse these things than have new ones printed anyway.  These types of things can contribute to a rather large amount of waste and it just makes sense to use them again.  Where I would like to have some funds to spend would be on a new leaflet and perhaps a mailing – simply to ensure that something gets to each one of my constituents… as I know I won’t make it to every door, or have a chance to speak with every family.  So here it is…  my one and only plea for contributions.  I could use them, and would very much appreciate anything you’d be willing to send my way.  It would definitely be put to use.

Anyway… 

It feels good being back on the doorstep.  In our communities these days, we don’t often gather like we used to.  And going door knocking reminds me of all the good that’s here.  We are a strong community, full of amazing people:  families, seniors, students just starting out.  It’s a diverse neighbourhood, and one that I’m proud to call home.

Please feel free to drop me a line to talk about your hopes for Saskatchewan, the messages you hope the politicians will take away from this election.  I’d love to hear from you.

saskgreen@puregreenius.ca

And to the other candidates in Saskatoon-Meewasin?  Good luck with your campaigns!