Daily Gleaner - Thursday June 27, 2013

Photo by Ryan O’Toole
Crazy days: the Calithumpians will be presenting a daily show in officers Square. In the back row, from left, are: Peter Pacey, Will Pacey, ashley Goodine, Kevin belyea, Samm Phillips, annie Sherry, Matthew leblanc, Michael Sinclaire, Jack ball and Seger Dow. Kneeling in the front row, from left, are: Robbie lynn, Julia Kennedy, Kristen McFawn and Jill McCurdy.

Fredericton Outdoor Summer Theatre brings the city and our history to life from Canada Day through Labour Day

By LORI GALLAGHER

Theatre in the great outdoors has become a staple in Fredericton thanks to the talents of the Fencibles and the Calithumpians.

The two are part of Fredericton Outdoor Summer Theatre, the group that brings locals and tourists everything from Haunted Hikes and theatre in Officers Square to events at the Guard House and tours of the downtown.

“We’ve got a neat group of kids this year,” says Peter Pacey, the founder and producer of Fredericton Outdoor Summer Theatre. “They’re so multitalented.”

Each year, the Calithumpians perform a round of four shows in Officers Square. They can be found there daily between Canada Day and Labour Day, with shows at 12:15 p.m. weekdays and 2 p.m. on the weekends.

“What I do is I come up with the ideas for the show and give some kind of content or box for the kids to kind of work within, and then I work with them to think about the messages we want to have, then set them and their imaginations free,” says Pacey. “They write their own material with me as an editorial kind of person.” His role in the company is the producer and this year, his son, Will Pacey, is taking on the role of director.

Fitzhenry & Whiteside | April 30, 2013 | Trade Paperback

May 19th, 2013

Encore Literary Magazine is very proud to be hosting a reading tomorrow featuring Governor General’s Literary Award-winning poet, critic, editor and anthologist Anne Compton. On Monday May 20, 7pm at Kaza- Maza in Montreal, Anne will be joined by fellow poet, critic, editor, translator and anthologist Evan Jones. “Onion” is previously unpublished.

Onion

Weighs more than it looks: Should do, my father says, bent among
October rows. I’ve come the yellow corridors to be with him.

Like a star compacted by gravity – that dense.
Nebula of particles, fused and lit. Unus, its Latin name.

Best dug at first frost: Hard, though, to be rid of the soil specks
in the outer sheath. Iron flavour in the winter sandwich.

Graded by flesh colour and as to keeping – storage or straightaway.

The Vidalia, in pale-coloured skin, similar to all things fresh –
sweetest forthwith. Thick-skinned storage, a deeper flavour.

Decades gone, he could be starlight, could be what’s
encrypted in cells. My cells. Information’s never lost.

Heaven from earth, according to him. Readable parchment –
in layers – had we the cipher to decode it. Circle by circle.

At the root-end, there are tear-producing compounds,
where it gripped earth. This is true of all temporary things.

About this part, turn aside at the last.

As a photographer, and filmmaker, Gaston specializes in social documentary work, as well as in travel photography. He has worked on 6 continents, including Antarctica, and has received a number of international awards. His work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution, in museums and galleries in the United Kingdom, Italy, Argentina, Latvia, Canada and the USA, as well as on National Geographic's website.  He has been published on five continents, in publications such as the Washington Post, the Toronto Star, Die Welt (Germany), Der Standart (Austria), the Sri Lanka Guardian, and he says, most importantly, in "Le Madawaska", New Brunswick.

Just recently, Gaston embarked on a large New Brunswick adventure. In April 2013, he toured French-speaking schools in New Brunswick, lecturing about Antarctica. He received a grant to be an artist-in-residence in Antarctica from January to March 2012. During that time he resided on the southern continent at an Argentine base, along with 250,000 penguins. From this expedition, he created a film which has already been shown in various locations in North and South America and Europe, including in Edmundston, New Brunswick.  He also developed a pedagogical program for children of all ages. Assisted by his old high-school friends from Edmundston's Cité des Jeunes class of 1989, he put together a tour of New Brunswick schools. He visited francophone schools all over the North-West, from Clair to Grand-Falls to Kedgwick, all around the Acadian Peninsula, and in the Saint John area. There were 16 schools on the itinerary.  He thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of bringing his Antarctica experience, and his penguin pictures, to the children of New Brunswick!