Downtown Guelph, Busyness Means Business – November 10

Read Full Post »

Returning To Main Street, Busyness Means Business – September 8

There is a growing movement to ensure that our downtown remains the vibrant heart of our city.  Long may it continue.  We’ll try and get an interview with Lorenz Calcagno from the Downtown Guelph Business Association on Royal City Rag in the very near future.

Returning To Main Street, Busyness Means Business!

Downtown Guelph Business Association (DGBA) Board Member, Lorenz Calcagno, has studied many of the historical factors that have brought downtown Guelph to where it is today.

After 15 gatherings of individuals and groups, business and property owners, past and present City Councilors, City staff, the Civic Museum, local organizations, Board members and private citizens, these findings have been compiled into a 30 minute presentation.

“When solving a problem, we must not choose theoretical solutions.  So much is at stake in downtown Guelph , we must choose tried and true measures that have been successful elsewhere in Ontario under similar conditions.”

The project is focused on two simple initiatives that will encourage the City of Guelph to adopt a practice that is currently working in several other Ontario downtowns.

Your input is needed to ensure these initiatives move forward.  Please attend to help secure a vibrant future for downtown Guelph .

Presented by: Lorenz Calcagno, DGBA Board Member
When: Tuesday, September 8 at 7.30 p.m.
Location: Alma Gallery, 133 Wyndham Street North
Cost: Free Admission

Read Full Post »

Royal City Rag – August 5

On August 5, Culture Vulture Marie joined us to for another trip around the Guelph art scene, this time focusing heavily on our wonderful summer festivals.

We started off the show with Dancehall Free For All, fresh from their very successful return to the Hillside Festival, with Danny Knows from their great album, 9 – 5 Lives. Dancehall Free For All are a wonderful live band, with an on stage swagger that defies their young age. Definitely check them out if you can. Also check out their website to download two cool new songs Shameless and Kelsey for free!

Marie also shared her highlights from Hillside 2009, with a special mention for phenomenal young Quebecois Beatrice Martin known as Coeur de Pirate, and Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy. 

Other events included in the discussion were the Downtown Guelph Friday Noonhour Concerts, Liam Titcomb’s Busking For Change, Sunlight Music Festival, Eden Mills Writers Festival and Fergus Scottish Festival.

Royal City Rag has TWO tickets to give away to the Sunlight Music Festival taking place at the Riverside Park Concertshell on August 15 from Noon till 11.00 p.m., rain or shine.

Artists confirmed for the one day solar-powered festival include James Gordon, Ian Reid, Blindsided Poets, Red Balloon, Pascal, Nabi Loney, Lost for Thoughts, The Canned Goods, City Wide Panic, Noizy Naybrz and headliner, Cape Breton fiddler extraordinaire, Ashley MacIssac.

Tickets for the festival are $25.00. Proceeds from the festival will support Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis.

If you’d like to enter the draw for the tickets send an e-mail to info@royalcityrag.ca.

Also, don’t forget that we are moving to Saturdays, 7-9 a.m., from August 15.

Royal City Rag: New Day, New Time, Still A Great Show!

Music:
Dancehall Free For All, Danny Knows from 9 – 5 Lives
Ian Reid, At The Open Stage from Somewhere Inbetween
Liam Titcomb, War from Peace Songs
Coeur de Pirate, Comme des Enfants from Coeur de Pirate
Jaso Raso, Ava’s Song from Black Mamba
The Mudmen, Underdog from The Mudmen

Listen to the show:

Read Full Post »

Royal City Rag – July 8

The Culture Vultures were back on Royal City Rag on July 8 for our monthly trip around the Guelph art scene. Culture Vulture Lynn focused on upcoming events in the downtown core including the Friday Noon Concert Series, Art On The Street and John Galt Day which takes place on the civic holiday, August 3.

As we are well into summer festival season, Culture Vulture Marie discussed the Elora Festival which starts this coming weekend, and, in particular, the performance by Serena Ryder in the Elora Quarry on July 23 at 8.30 p.m.

We also talked about two exciting developments in the local arts community; the campaign for a Guelph Community Arts Centre and the announcement by Guelph Arts Council about their Artist Relief Fund.

Music:
Robbie Hancock, Have A Little Faith In Dreams from Stories From The Soul
Kelly And The Kelly Girls, Better Times from Modernism
Nathalie MacMaster, Catharsis from The Collection
Serena Ryder, Weak In The Knees from If Your Memory Serves You Well

Listen to the show:

Read Full Post »

Art On The Street – July 18

Art On The Street
Quebec Street, Downtown Guelph

The Downtown Guelph Business Association will be hosting its 7th annual Art On The Street open air exhibition and sale on Saturday, July 18 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

This free event features artists from across Ontario showcasing their works in a broad range of media to audiences estimated at 5,000 last year alone!

Amble the historic downtown streets, meet the artists and immerse yourself in the welcoming atmosphere that art on the street offers. Engage in Acts of Art with live music, magical performances, and so much more. This is a family friendly event celebrating downtown Guelph.

For more information, please visit www.downtownguelph.com.

Read Full Post »

Friday Noon Hour Concerts, Downtown Guelph – June 12

There’s no better way to kick off the weekend in Guelph during the summer than catch one of the noon time concerts downtown.

Each Year Downtown Guelph puts on a series of concerts from  noon until 1:00 p.m. every Friday from June 12 through September 18 in St. George’s Square. 

This is a great way to get introduced to some cool music and support upandcoming local and regional artists.

The other important thing to mention is that all of these concerts are FREE!

CONCERT LINE-UP

• June 12 – Rebel Rhythm (Multicultural Festival Showcase)
• June 19 – Ian Reid
• June 26 – James Gordon
• July 3    – Brenda Lewis & John Zadro
• July 10  – Robbie Hancock
• July 17  – Prince Bamidele with Olaiwola Sakara Band
• July 24  – Jason Sheffield
• July 31  – Malachi & The Music
• August 7   – Jason Raso
• August 14 – Dusty Bodhan
• August 21 – David Leask
• August 28 – Sam Turton & Jane Lewis
• September 4   – Adrian Jones
• September 11 – Playford Players
• September 18 – The Penny Whistle Group

Read Full Post »

Royal City Rag – March 4

Our monthly trip around the arts and cultural scene with the Culture Vultures. This week a new Culture Vulture, Lynn Broughton, joined the team. As always, there is a lot going on in Guelph. We’ve tried to cover as many of the events as possible.

Jan’s Picks (see individual blog posts, where applicable)

• Hammond Lecture Series, Energy and the Environment – March 6/7
• Folkways 10th Anniversary Series:
  Tony McManus – March 6
  Harry Manx – March 26,
• Danny Michel with Roxanne Potvin, Dublin St United – March 28 $13 Stu/$16 Gen
• Earth Day in Guelph – March 28
• Guelph Environmental Leadership Spring Ecomarket – April 4

Daniel’s Picks:

• The Living Library, McLaughlin Library – March 5/6
• Out on the Shelf Dance, Guelph Googleheim – March 7
• Shenkman Lecture in Contemporary Art featuring Roni Horn, War Memorial Hall – March 11
• MFA Open Studio Featuring works by graduate candidates and Specialized Studio undergraduates – March 11
  Studios open 3.00  – 5.15 p.m. and 7.00 – 9.00 p.m.
  Studios located in Blackwood Hall (1st and 2nd floors, 8 studios), FireHall (3 studios), Textiles Building, Rooms 205, 210 (5 studios)
• Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival:
  March Break Camp – March 16 -20
  Central Students Association Nooner, University Centre – March 25
  Off-Site Series, McDonald Stewart Art Centre – March 28/29
• Egypt, Gift of the Nile at Guelph Civic Museum (until March 29)
• U of G Student Theatre Production “Ubu Roi” by Alfred Jarry – March 16-21
• Gender Martini “A performance with a splash and a twist” – March 25
• Guelph Project 2009 “Love”, Wellness Centre – March 26-28
• Doors Open Guelph – April 25

Lynn’s Picks:

• Ed Video 2nd Annual Comedy Night – March 7 at the Guelph Youth Music Centre, www.edvideo.org
• Bookshelf 10th annual Poetry contest, deadline April 5,  www.bookshelf.ca
• Art on the Street 2009 – July 18. Artist applications are open . For more information visit www.downtownguelph.com
• Friday Noon Hour Concerts in St George’s Square, June 18 through September 18. Submissions from local musicians are encouraged. For more information visit www.downtownguelph.com
• The grand opening of the new City Hall is scheduled for June 20. Tours of the facility are also included in Doors Open Guelph

Music:
The Monster Show, Winnipeg And Fargo from And In Our Final Days As Archipelago
Tony McManus, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat from Ceol More
Harry Manx, Take This Hammer from Live At The Glen Gould Studio 2008
Eccodek, Silent Song from Shivaboom
Danny Michel, On My Way from Fur, Feather and Fin

Listen to the show:

Read Full Post »

Carolling in St George’s Square, A Guelph Tradition – December 18

Carolling in St George’s Square is a Guelph tradition that began in memory of Henry Koch.

Join James Gordon, Sam Turton and other musicians to celebrate the season while remembering those less fortunate than ourselves.  December 18 from 7-8 p.m.

All donations will support the work of Sister Christine. Last year the collection raised almost $300.
 
Carol sheets and candles provided, courtesy of the Guelph Museum and Downtown Guelph Business Association.

Read Full Post »

Royal City Rag – October 8

Our pre-election Royal City Rag, we started the show with the Canadian Artists Climate Change Awareness song “You have a choice” followed by Hawksley Workman’s wonderful comments from the U of G Student Town Hall about why it is important to vote in the coming federal general election.

Listen to Hawksley’s comments here:

Get Informed and get engaged! Make sure you vote on October 14th.

Lynn Broughton from the Downtown Guelph Business Association joined us to talk about Dig-in Downtown, their downtown restaurant promotion.

Prix fixe meals are available every Tuesday and Wednesday throughout October from thirteen of Downtown Guelph’s finest kitchens. Lunches are in the $10-$15 range and dinners, $20-$30 per person. Due to the popularity of this event, reservations are highly recommended.

According to Lynn, “This annual harvest celebration will fully satisfy the public’s appetite for a sumptuous yet affordable meal – flavoured locally.”

 

The participating restaurants are:

• The Albion Hotel
• Artisanale Café & Bistro
• Atmosphere Café + etc.
• Babel Fish Bistro
• Bin 23
• Bollywood Bistro
• The Bookshelf Greenroom & Ebar
• Carden Street Café
• Diana Downtown
• Friends in Our Kitchen
• Georgian Creed’s
• Wild Organic Way (WOW)
• The Woolwich Arms & Arrow

Visit http://www.downtownguelph.com for the Dig-In Brochure online today!

On next week’s show we will be previewing The 23rd Guelph Studio Tour.

Listen to the show here:

Read Full Post »