CD Launch/CANcervive Fundraiser

Winnie’s Song is recorded, wrapped and fully launched! And - we raised money for CANcervive...

In the spirit of sweet cinnamon wind collaboration, I hosted our Winnie’s Song launch shindig in May in conjunction with my friend Lavina Gilliland as an event to raise money for Wellspring Calgary – a local facility that supports people facing a cancer diagnosis.  

This October Lavina and her husband Bill are cycling as part of a CANcervive team in a 9-day relay ride from Calgary to Austin, Texas. The purpose of the ride, beyond inspiring participants to push themselves physically and mentally, is to provide financial support to cancer survivorship programs. Our May 7th CD launch/fundraiser helped Lavina raise over $5000 towards her fundraising commitment to the CANcervive team. All of this money raised will go directly towards Wellspring Calgary. 

A Christmas Forecast

Constance – a woman as sure of the future as her name would suggest – is caught off guard by her quirky, elderly neighbors. Set amidst the warm possibility of Christmas, this story and two-song companion CD uncover the magic and wonder that love, joy and a life well-lived can bring Constance if she’s open to discovering what’s caught between what she looks at and what she sees.

In A Christmas Forecast, Calgary, Alberta-based sisters – writer Catherine Simmons Niven and musician/songwriter Christie Simmons – have combined their efforts with the talent of other Alberta musicians, writers and visual artists to celebrate the human spirit and the joy of Christmas.

Contributors
Catherine Simmons Niven – author and song advisor
Christie Simmons – songwriter and story advisor
Roberta Rees – editor
Zoë Fullen – artwork, layout and design
Lynnie Wonfor – hand drawings and design
Aaron Young – music production, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, mandolin – www.theaudiolounge.com
Scott Duncan – fiddle – www.scottthefiddler.com
Jonathan May – percussion
Shirley Wright – music and story advisor
Maranda Reprographics & Printing – printing

Worthy Day

North of Calgary, east of Didsbury, Alberta lies an expansive and welcoming bit of prairie complete with coulee and seasonal stream. Attractive to the muse, The Buffalo, when time and weather permit, is home to “A Worthy Day.” This is a day in which artists of every ilk and level of experience (including none) are invited to wander the prairie independently and to do what work they will in the knowledge that for that day’s entirety, whatever they do is absolutely of worth. In the evening, we gather to talk, to laugh, sing and to celebrate and honour the day’s gifts.

 Comments from some participants:

“… 21 women.  Forever nine o’clock!  Morning coffee, evening light.  Paintings, a prairie sea shanty, rain, sun, coulee, labyrinth.  A great gift to be here in this confluence of… love and faith in art.”

“Today has been a moment out of time that seemed to last well beyond the bounds of chronological time.  That is the miracle of nature, community and the creative spirit.  Thank you …”

“This day allowed us time to consider ourselves as Worthy… discover that which is within.  This day accomplished just that – gave us all the time and space (wide open space) to allow the juices to flow…  Thank you!”

“…today was, most unquestionably a truly beautifully, and most marvelously Worthy Day.  The Buffalo offered up some of her finest…shocking blue sky, restless clouds and bending prairie grasses – a limitless opportunity to think, dream, be, live…sail on woven wheat with Miss Ohio…”

Tunes and Tea

For those with a song yearning to be sung and a guitar willing to be strummed, Tunes and Tea is a fine way to venture into the world of music. Group classes of five to six beginner and intermediate players gather weekly for an hour at Christie’s place where we sip on tea, learn some guitar skills, sing some songs, try some harmony, laugh and enjoy each other. As much about the opportunity to connect as people, Tunes and Tea is a safe musical gathering where the sum of the group provides inspiration, fun and the possibility that even if you’re on the wrong note or chord, someone else is playing the right one!