We’ve Moved!

Royal City Rag has moved to it’s new home at www.royalcityrag.com.

We’re still getting settled in but please go and check us out.

We’re keeping this website as a resource so feel free to visit and check out the archive.

To contact us, please visit us at info@royalcityrag.com.

Worth Repeating – Canada Day 2009

Happy Canada Day from Royal City Rag!

On July 1 2009, Royal City Rag headed out to Riverside Park to celebrate Canada Day on location with storytellers Sya Van Geest and Brad Woods, and singer-songwriter Sam Turton. Despite the poor weather, all turned out sunny on a fun show.

Our storytellers were on fine form;  Sya explaining the origin of storytelling and Brad regaling us with his experiences in the cockpit during his first flying lesson.

Sam sang several songs on the show, including another new one, “You’re my home, Canada”, written especially for Royal City Rag. He also threw in a soulful version of O Canada to finish the show.

Unfortunately we had to beat a hasty retreat at the end of the show after Brad got a bit carried away helping out with the firework display.

Catch the show if you missed it. It was a great one!

We’ll be back with another live show, this Saturday from 8-10 a.m. on CFRU93.3fm.

Music:
Sam Turton, What’s So funny About Peace, Love And Understanding? (Live)
Sam Turton, Annapolis Farm (Live)
Sam Turton, Right Here (Live)
Sam Turton, You Are My Home, Canada (Live)
Sam Turton, O Canada (Live)

Storytelling:
Sya Van Geest, The Birth Of Stories
Brad Woods, Flying Lessons

Listen to the show:

Coming Up On Royal City Rag… A Long Winter’s Nap!

Coming Up... A Long Winter's Nap

Royal City Rag will be taking a much needed rest this winter. CFRU’s Migrant Matters will be filling our time slot on December 11 and 18. Thanks to Mary-Carl for helping us out.

We’re expecting to be back on the air on January 8.

In the meantime, please take advantage of our archive.

Don’t forget to support local business and Guelph’s great artisans this holiday season!

Happy Holidays everyone.

Jan Andrea Hall

Coming Up On Royal City Rag… Celebrate the Season

Royal City Rag on December 4 will have a distinctly seasonal theme and lots of guests.

John Huston As Charles Dickens

Charlie Cares from Ground Floor Music will be joining us during the first hour to chat about “A Christmas Carol”,  a dramatic tour de force featuring John Huston portraying Charles Dickens as he tells his classic yuletide tale. The show takes place at St. James The Apostle Anglican Church in Guelph on December 7.

A Christmas Carol… As Told By Charles Dickens
St. James The Apostle Anglican Church, 86 Glasgow St. N., Guelph, ON
Tuesday, December 7 at 8.00 p.m. (doors open at 7.30 p.m.)
Tickets: $20 at the door/$18 in advance from Ground Floor Music, 13 Quebec St., Guelph, ON, 519-827-1444 info@groundfloormusic.ca

Later in the hour we’ll be touching base with Marie Zimmerman, Exectutive Director of the Hillside Festival as the first tickets for Hillside Inside go on sale. Hillside Inside takes place February 4-5 2011 at a variety of downtown venues. Artists announced so far include summer 2010 favourites Sarah Harmer, Matt Andersen and Shane Koyczan. Tickets go on sale this coming Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 9.00 a.m. from Hillside ticket outlets Ground Floor Music in Guelph, Encore Records in Kitchener and Soundscapes in Toronto as well as online via TicketPro.

In the second hour of the show Simon Irving, Artistic Director of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra will be joining us to chat about the GSO’s seasonal concerts. “Christmas Choral Fantasy” with the Grand River Chorus, takes place on Sunday December 12 2010 at 3 p.m. at River Run Centre with conductor David Bourque. The Christmas offering is a blend of classics and festive seasonal music. Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with the Grand River Chorus and Amy Wark (piano) is the major work, together with the dazzling opening chorus from Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio”, and Brahms’ “Christmas Day”. There will be lots of carols and opportunities for audience sing-along and the King George School choir will add to the festivities. Delightful music for the season, with something for everyone!

The GSO complete their seasonal offerings with “Dreams of Vienna” on New Year’s Day, Saturday January 1, 2011 at 3 p.m. at River Run Centre with conductor candidate Michael Newnham.  This annual GSO Viennese-style musical feast is now a popular Guelph New Year’s Day tradition. Two terrific soloists give double the pleasure! – Guelph’s own soprano Donna Ellen Trifunovich, now resident in Vienna with the State Opera, and mezzo Julie Nesrallah, of CBC fame. These duelling divas will be a lot of fun! And the orchestra plays waltzes, marches and polkas, complete with elegant dancers gliding over the stage.

Wassail!

To wrap up the show Rick and Judy Avery from local acoustic group Relative Harmony will join us to play live in the studio. Relative Harmony will be taking part in “Wassail!”- a celebration of old-fashioned Christmas and solstice traditions taking place at Harcourt Memorial United Church on December 4 at 7.30 p.m. Wassail! has been charming audiences in London Ontario for over twenty years. The show features traditional songs and carols sung, elegant English dances and rollicking Morris dancing accompanied by live music, a mummers’ play as well as seasonal readings from Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy.  Advance tickets can be purchased from Ground Floor Music on Quebec Street for $18.00, Students and seniors $13.00.

And wrapping up that seasonal theme, don’t forget that the Guelph Youth Singers annual concert, This Frosty Tide, takes place at St. George’s Anglican Church on December 4 at 7.30 p.m. Traditional carols in beautiful choral arrangements will mix with songs of frosty winter. Guest soprano soloists, Marion Samuel-Stevens and Sandra Tucker, will add to the concert with solos including Mozart’s “Exultate Jubilate,” Adolph Adams’ classic, “O Holy Night” and Pietro Yon’s “Gesu Bambino”–the last two accompanied by beautiful children’s voices.

This Frosty Tide
St. George’s Anglican Church
Saturday, December 4 at 7.30 p.m.
Tickets: River Run Centre box office, 519-763-3000.
Adults $25 / Students & Seniors $19/eyeGO.org

Remember if you don’t catch Royal City Rag live, you can always pick it up later that day via the CFRU archive or on this website a day or so later.

Hillside Inside Coming To Downtown Guelph, February 4-5 2011

The fourth edition of Hillside’s winter festival, Hillside Inside, is taking shape. 2011′s indoor festival takes place from February 4-5 2011 and this year moves from the Sleeman Centre to a variety of downtown Guelph venues.

As usual, it promises to provide a great winter fix for those who can’t wait for the summer festival to come around again.

Artists announced so far include summer 2010 favourites Sarah Harmer, Matt Andersen and Shane Koyczan.

This year there will also be some Hillside style workshops, including a songwriting workshop, on Saturday February 4 from 10.00 a.m. – 2. 00 p.m. and craft workshops where you can make gifts for Valentine’s Day (TBD). 

Tickets go on sale this coming Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 9.00 a.m. from Hillside ticket outlets Ground Floor Music in Guelph, Encore Records in Kitchener and Soundscapes in Toronto as well as online via TicketPro.

• Hillside Inside Festival Pass – $80 including HST. SC extra (Only 150 available)
• Sarah Harmer + Special Guest TBA @ River Run Centre (All Ages/Licensed)- $39.50 including HST and SC charge
• Matt Andersen + Shane Koyczan @ St. George’s Church (All Ages/Licensed)- $24 including HST, SC charge
• Arkells + Jim Bryson & The Weakerthans Band @ Mitchell Hall St. George’s (All Ages/Licensed) – $26 including HST, SC charge

*250 summer weekend passes will also be available from the Hillside office*

* Hillside Inside Festival Pass includes entrance to all 3 shows including reserved seating at the River Run Centre.

* SC is $2.50

A Christmas Carol… As Told By Charles Dickens – December 7 2010

After a SIX year hiatus the Ground Floor Music Concert Series returns on December 7 with a reprise performance by John Huston portraying Charles Dickens, as he tells his classic yuletide tale, “A Christmas Carol” at St. James The Apostle Anglican Church in Guelph.

This is NOT a reading, nor a recitation, but a dramatic tour de force. In the guise of the famous Victorian author, professional stage actor Huston performs a dramatic retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol exactly as the author himself used to do during his popular lecture tours. Between the story’s scenes, a small group of choristers will perform a half-dozen carols of the period.

If you have an interest in drama, literature or storytelling you really should see this show.

“Huston is a consummate storyteller… mesmerizing.” – Winnipeg Free Press

“A one man powerhouse performance.” – Globe and Mail

“His character voices are nuanced and colourful, his sense of the dramatic excellent.” – Ottawa Citizen

“Huston is a masterful narrator… an unusually fine performance.” – Robert Enright, CBC Radio

“Absolutely Fabulous… brings the work to life. Magnificent.” – Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Radio

A Christmas Carol… As Told By Charles Dickens
St. James The Apostle Anglican Church, 86 Glasgow St. N., Guelph, ON
Tuesday, December 7 at 8.00 p.m. (doors open at 7.30 p.m.)
Tickets: $20 at the door/$18 in advance from Ground Floor Music, 13 Quebec St., Guelph, ON, 519-827-1444 info@groundfloormusic.ca

Charlie Cares from Ground Floor Music will be our special guest on Royal City Rag on December 4 between 8-9 a.m.

Remember, if you don’t catch Royal City Rag live, you can always pick it up later that day via the CFRU archive or on this website a day or so later.

Guelph Artisans New Store, Grand Opening – November 27, 2010

The big day is almost here!  Guelph Artisans have now been open at their new more central location in the Old Quebec St Mall for six weeks and they’re now ready for a Grand Opening!

The banner has been hung, the signage is up, 50 GCAA artisans will be showcasing their work and everyone is invited to celebrate with them.

The event takes place on Saturday, November 27 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and features artisan demonstrations throughout the day, refreshments, door prizes, and give-aways for the first 20 people through the door. The official ribbon-cutting takes place at 11.30 a.m.

Please plan to join in the festivities and celebrate the next chapter in the history of Guelph’s Artisan Store!