CHRISTINE'S BLOG

Welcome! I love to write, and I love sharing what I write with my readers. I vary my style as much as I can-posting events, creative non-fiction, prose and poetry and the occasional video. Enjoy!

Miigwetch

Christine

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Book Review: UpGhost River


Review: UpGhost River
By: Christine Smith McFarlane


Separated from his family as a young child, and placed in one of Canada’s worst residential schools-St. Anne’s in northern Ontario, Edmund Metatawabin along with Alexandra Shimo tells a heart wrenching story of survival, resilience and recovery in UpGhost River.

Metatawabin details the abuses he and his friends endured at St. Anne’s, and the atrocities of some of these abuses can be triggering at times. I found it especially hard reading it when I heard about the use of electric chairs for punishment, and the physical and sexual abuse etc.

After leaving St. Anne’s residential school, Metatawabin goes on to build a life as best as he can. He gets married, has kids, goes to school and builds a career, but it all comes to be too much for him and his alcoholism and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) tries to get the best of him.

Struggling personally and professionally, Metatawabin first tries conventional healing through AA meetings and rehab, but it confuses him more. After speaking to friends, he finds healing by reconnecting with his Cree culture and connecting to the ways of the Red Road (Sobriety). He travels across Canada to Edmonton where he participates in culturally specific teachings, ceremonies and healing circles.

Metatawabin has since worked tirelessly to expose the wrongdoings of St. Anne’s Residential School, and comes full circle in his healing, by showing in his memoir, it is possible to come through anything. His narrative is haunting, but also brave and eloquent, a must read if you need inspiration yourself.

UpGhost River is 307 pages and published by Penguin Random House. ISBN: 978-0-307-39988-5

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Event Posting- Toronto: KAIROS Mass Blanket Exercise on Monday May 30 @ Queen's Park


Friday, May 20, 2016

Press Release- Harbourfront Centre May 21-23, 2016



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HarbourKIDS: Circus, May 21–23
 WHAT:

HarbourKIDS: Circus will take over the site with all things circus-arts related, all weekend long.
Partnering with local circus artists and curators this three-day festival will leave spectators of all ages gasping in awe, doubling over with laughter and even joining in.

WHERE:

Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, M5J 2G8

WHEN:

Saturday, May 21 from 11am to 5pm
Sunday, May 22 from 11am to 5pm
Monday, May 23 from 11am to 5pm

HIGHLIGHTS:

Sea to Sky Circus Show               
May 21: 1:30pm-2:20pm, 4:00pm-4:50pm, May 22: 1:30pm-2:20pm, 4:00pm-4:50pm,
May 23: 1:30pm-2:20pm, 4:00pm-4:50pm
Curated by Femmes du Feu, the Sea to Sky Circus Show offers something for the whole family - aerial silks, trapeze, dancing mermaids, clowns, acrobatics, break-dancing, vaudeville comedy and more.

The Animal Show
May 21: 11am-5pm, May 22: 11am-5pm, May 23: 11am-5pm
A dance theatre piece where dancers transform into animals, performing and interacting with the audience. Experience this modern day take on the animal show where the hierarchy of human to animal is broken down, and the animals lead us in quirky, exuberant and sometimes thrilling feats of the imagination.

Magic with Mike Correira
May 21: 1pm-1:45pm, May 22 1pm-1:45pm
Anything goes in Mike Correira’s entirely unique magic show. This comedy magician uses lots of audience involvement, mime and mind reading techniques, sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

For further information on HarbourKids: Circus, please visit harbourfrontcentre.com/harbourkids/  or call Harbourfront Centre at 416-973-4000.
–30–

MEDIA CONTACT
Jennie Benjamins
Office: 416-973-4381
jbenjamins@harbourfrontcentre.com

Thursday, May 12, 2016

7th Annual Indigenous Writer's Gathering June 9 and 10, 2016


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Book Review: A Gentle Habit written by Cherie Dimaline

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Book Review: A Gentle Habit
By: Christine Smith McFarlane



Imagine as a little girl there’s a bead quarry in your elementary school yard, no one knows where the beads come from but take great delight in digging them up every day and collecting them. Never realizing that the beads come from an unlikely source- another girl who is classified as a misfit and a victim of fellow classmates bullying.

Or what about the mundane fellow who lives in a cockroach infested bachelor apartment and is not only addicted to crack but addicted to words and finds pleasure in ripping up pieces of files at his equally boring job as a file clerk and eating words like they are actual pills to make himself high  to get himself through the day. Within this story, you are drawn into how an addict’s brain can possibly work-wanting more and more but never being really satisfied. “The urge to pop each of them into my mouth is overwhelming. I want to suck on them, hear them clatter against my fillings like forks dropped into a sink.” The file clerk- Mr. Moriarty asks himself “How can I carry out my job when I have taken to cannibalizing it?

A Gentle Habit follows the success of Metis writer Cherie Dimaline’s other two books Red Rooms and The Girl Who Grew A Galaxy and is a collection of six short stories that are characters trying to make it a world that they don’t necessarily fit into. Some of the stories leave you feeling sad, intrigued and have you feeling a myriad of other feelings as you delve into each new diverse character and balance delicately in the journey that each character takes you on.

Published by Kegedonce Press, A Gentle Habit is 178 pages long.


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Press Release- Northern Ontario Rockers at Canadian Music Week- Check this out!







FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NORTHERN ONTARIO ROCKERS AT CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK:
Midnight Shine making showcase debut   

Attawapiskat, ON (April 18, 2016) -- Northern Ontario rockers Midnight Shine are heading to Canadian Music Week in Toronto for their very first showcase… or two...

The band will play twice as part of the Canadian Music Week festival – first at a general festival showcase, and second as part of the United Talent Agency featured showcase:

Thursday May 5 @ 10:00pm
Boots & Bourbon Saloon
Canadian Music Week showcase

Saturday May 7 @ 9:00pm
The Horseshoe Tavern
United Talent Agency showcase

Midnight Shine will also appear on national television during Canadian Music Week, with a live performance and interview on Canada AM being scheduled for May 5 (time TBC). 

Midnight Shine frontman Adrian Sutherland is pleased to be heading to Toronto: “Being selected for Canadian Music Week and our first showcase is very exciting. It will be our first conference, too, so we’re excited for the opportunity to learn and network.”

“It will also be great just having time together in Toronto. All four of us live in different places in Northern Ontario, so we appreciate any time we can spend rehearsing and performing, and songwriting together.”


ABOUT MIDNIGHT SHINE

Not many bands play their very first show opening for legendary Canadian rockers. Then again, not many bands are quite like Midnight Shine. Hailing from the James Bay region of Northern Ontario, Midnight Shine is turning heads with a sound that seamlessly mixes roots, classic and modern rock.

When Trooper invited singer/songwriter Adrian Sutherland to open their Timmins concert in 2011, there was one condition: that he performs with a band. So Sutherland pulled together Zach Tomatuk (guitar), Stan Louttit (bass), and George Gillies (drums) – a winning combination of energy and experience, resulting in an impressive and compelling sonic identity.

Since that chance beginning, the Northern Ontario foursome has become a unit. They’ve been developing a radio-friendly rock style anchored by captivating vocals and honest lyrics, all tied together with a solid sense of melody. They’ve also been gathering an impressive support team, including agent Ralph James of United Talent Agency in Toronto, and manager/publicist RoseAnna Schick of Winnipeg’s RAS Creative. 


MIDNIGHT SHINE’S MUSIC

Midnight Shine’s refreshing rock sound was first captured on Midnight Shine, their 2013 debut album. Outstanding first single Since You Been Gone was picked up by rock stations across Canada. CBC Radio programmed it for their rock channel, and the National Aboriginal Music Countdown saw it climb to #2 on the Top 40 chart. Renowned music journalist Alan Cross selected it as one of his favourite new tracks, citing the band’s “rootsy rock-pop” style.

In 2014, Midnight Shine released sophomore album Northern Man. The title track is a tribute to the band’s northern home and Cree culture, driven by a catchy rock beat, heavy bass, and traces of pow wow stylings. The first single, Over You, was introduced to a live TV audience on Canada AM. 

Listen to Over You here:

Listen to Since You Been Gone here:

Listen to Northern Man here:

Setting Midnight Shine apart from other rock bands is the depth of Sutherland's lyrical exploration of his First Nations’ culture. He hails from the remote community of Attawapiskat, and his experiences are reflected in his songs – making them all the more meaningful.

"Some of the music is about who I am and where I come from. I've always wanted to share some of my background and beliefs through music. Everybody has a story and I think it's important for First Nations people to shed positive light on our culture and values."

While Sutherland’s home has been the subject of a flood of negative media attention recently, he for one would like to change those perceptions: "There are good stories to be told from Attawapiskat. I hope we're one of them."

Indeed they are. In fact, the name Midnight Shine is highly appropriate, given that the band and their music shine a bright and positive light on places often depicted as dark and troubled.

They’re a “must-hear” band you’ll take a real shine to.

                                                                        --30--

CONTACTS FOR MIDNIGHT SHINE

FOR BUSINESS & PUBLICITY:
RoseAnna Schick, RAS Creative

FOR BOOKINGS:
Ralph James, United Talent Agency