a song for waskada

2010-06-15T20:23:00.002-06:00

hello blog - it sure has been awhile!

the song quest has come and gone... still so proud of little waskada for winning that thing!

just wanted to pop in and share this article from the winnipeg free press...

it perfectly captures what it is like to grow up in waskada, going to waskada school. yes it's small, but it was wonderful.

enjoy!

-b

2009-11-27T12:21:00.002-07:00

Where do we go from here?

It appears that I wasn’t alone in some of my sentiments from Monday when the song was released. You can see that others across the country are chiming in on the CBC Radio 2 Blog and the CBC Radio 2 Facebook page about their thoughts on the generally high quality of the songs and the awesomeness of the contest… but the sense of disappointment that Waskada didn’t really get a song!

I’ve had lots of questions about where people can write to Chantal to let her know we feel let down. I would caution folks against posting things on Chantal’s Facebook page … unless you feel like being the brunt of some serious attack by some very serious and devoted fans! I did a bit of research and found that her record company is Maple Music. You can find on that link emails for the people that do her Marketing and Publicity. I think that is the best option available.

I was reminded today by a couple different people, including a co-worker, an old friend from Waskada who posted on my Facebook page, and my mom… that despite the song being a disappointment, this was still an incredible experience that brought a number of good people together to do something absolutely extraordinary! This has been such a positive thing for so many reasons, including the following:

1. Waskada won the contest with the votes of community members, former community members, and extended networks of friends and family. Could there be anything greater to demonstrate what good people can do when they work together to achieve something? This taught us all something about the power of people and the ability for the little guy to win!

2. Waskada got exposure nationwide… interviews on CBC broadcast across the country, where we got to talk about the great things about the town and why it’s such a special place.

3. On the selfish side… this was a dream come true for me. I was interviewed by Tom Allen! As a self-professed CBC Radio junkie, this was pretty much the coolest thing imaginable. And to record a podcast… that is an experience I will never forget!

4. This contest was remarkable in the way it brought people together and made people more aware of the wealth of Canadian musical talent and beautiful Canadian geography. I’ve listened to all 13 songs and the majority of them are simply awesome! Not to mention the extra gems that came from Connie Kaldor and the other people from across Canada that sent in songs. CBC really did run a remarkable contest.

I still believe that even though we didn’t get our song from Chantal… there is someone out there who will write a song for Waskada someday. I am not finished with my quest to get a ‘song for Waskada’… I know that many of you may be ready to put this behind you, but I will keep working on trying to find a way to get a song that truly captures the heart and the spirit of this little town that could!

Thanks again to everyone for all their comments, love, and support through all of this. It has been a bit of a roller coaster... with some BIG highs and some lows... but I must say, I am really glad, for all the reasons mentioned above, that we took the ride. Hope you were too!

Bryna

2009-11-23T18:51:00.003-07:00

The big reveal...

on CBC Radio 2 Drive with Rich Terfry happened this afternoon. I adored the way the songs were revealed, I loved the conversations between Rich and the artists that happened. Congrats to CBC and to Rich for putting on a great show this afternoon. Wow!

Some absolutely incredible pieces of work... some artists that really got the spirit of this contest... who clearly researched the places they were writing about and who wrote some very heartfelt songs. Oh Susanna's "Tough City"... Dana Sipos' "Time Before Bones"... Deep Dark Woods' "Charile's (Is Coming Down)... Hawksley Workman's "Where They Left it Wild"... etcetera. I was blown away by the incredible musical talent and the heart that was put into some of these songs.

It has been a bit hard for me to listen to these other great songs and hear the artists talk about how the places inspired them. The difficult part is knowing what beauty and what magic there could have been in the song about Waskada, if we had the good fortune to have an artist who clearly cared about the spirit of this great contest.

I enjoyed all the songs... some more than others, of course. I will even go so far as to say Chantal's song is 'pretty'. It just happens to be about Winnipeg and not about Waskada. Truth be told, we were expecting something like this, after reading the following article in the Winnipeg Free Press. But even the article stated that "she changed the words to be about the winning place". I never in a million years dreamed that it would blatantly reference Winnipeg so many times. Could she perhaps have gone to the effort of replacing Win-ni-peg with Was-ka-da? Two fairly similar, three syllable words. Too much to ask? I guess so.

We couldn't hear Rich Terfry talk with Chantal about the song because she's off 'on a jet plane'. Every other artist took the time to speak with Rich personally. That also says something about her commitment to the spirit of the contest. Her recorded message before they played the song didn't mention Waskada once... she did say she loved having this 'assignment' because she has always enjoyed assignments from her early school days. I'm thinking that Chantal gets an "F" on this assignment for lack of research and being completely off topic. Agreed? I think I could hear the strain in Rich Terfry's voice when he was speaking after the song about how Manitoba got a "two for one" deal with Winnipeg, the runner up, also being immortalized in the song. I actually feel for CBC... I suspect this situation was not easy for them to deal with. You've done well, CBC. This contest has only raised my level of respect for you and the organization.

Just an FYI... CBC is asking for feedback on the songs. I've posted on their Facebook group as well as on their Website. Some others are echoing similar sentiments to mine. If you want to add your voice, feel free.

CBC - you ran a great contest. It was incredible, really. What an awesome experience for Waskada and thank you for the exposure. So amazing!

Maybe Waskada will get a song from someone who wants to take the assignment seriously someday (any takers?)... but in the meantime, we will continue to celebrate our achievement in being number one in this contest and the fact that this allowed us to get coverage nationwide... so much thanks to CBC for helping to make this happen! :)

Thanks for listening... it feels good to get all these thoughts and feelings out there. To the people of Waskada - I'm sorry that we didn't get our song, but I'm not sorry about any other aspects of this amazing experience. Hope you've had fun too...

Signing off... thanks again everyone!

Bryna

2009-11-23T07:13:00.002-07:00

It's not about the song. And the song isn't about Waskada.

In my last blog post, I spoke about being fearful that the song wouldn't capture the heart and spirit of Waskada. Well, I've heard the song and it looks like those fears have come true. I downloaded the song and the album from iTunes this morning.

Waskada's song mentions Waskada exactly one time, and mentions Winnipeg at least 3 times if not more (the chorus is about Winnipeg). Unfortunately, it's not a 'song for Waskada'. Do I feel let down? By Chantal, absolutely. She clearly wrote the song about Winnipeg, Waskada was an afterthought. So disappointing. If you want to let her know, she has a Facebook page, or you could try to find a way to write to her.

But as I also said yesterday, it is not about the song and it never really has been, for me. I do not feel let down by the people at the CBC, who put on an incredible contest and who gave us the opportunity to get Waskada's name out there across the nation. To CBC Radio 2, and CBC Manitoba, who have given me the chance to interview about Waskada, to do a Podcast about Waskada, you have not let me down.

To the people that supported Waskada, to everyone who voted and who helped Waskada to win the contest, you made this happen! You absolutely did not let me down - quite the opposite! You were the reason why we won this contest... why the 'little town that could' actually did! It is an incredible achievement.

We still won this contest with heart, with determination, and with spirit. And I will hold my head high today and say "we won"... we saw the little town that could make it all the way to the top. It is not about the song, not for me.

Hey... now here's an idea to keep our positive momentum going! Maybe there's some kids at Waskada school that are looking at this blog or other community members. If you have anything you'd like to share about Waskada, email me at brynasclater@hotmail.com and I will post some of the responses on the blog. Perhaps you would like to share some memories of Waskada and things you love about the town. Perhaps you have your own "Waskada" song lyrics you'd like to submit? I have been talking on this blog for a long time - maybe it's time for some other voices? I would love to hear from you.

Thanks again everyone... it's too bad the song is a big of a letdown, but hey... I'm going to keep focusing on the positive and what an awesome thing it has been for Waskada to win this contest!

Bryna

2009-11-20T16:51:00.002-07:00

3 More Sleeps!

Only a few more days now until the big reveal for the CBC Great Canadian Song Quest! From what I gather having listened to Bob, Tom, Rich and the gang at CBC Radio 2 all week, the new songs will be revealed on Monday, November 23rd on the "Radio 2 Drive" program, hosted by Rich Terfry.

Radio 2 Drive airs from 3:30pm to 7:00pm in all time zones. You can listen live by going to http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/ and looking under the "Listen Live" area on the right-hand side of the website. You'll see the program name - simply click on Radio 2 Drive at 3:30 to listen. You can play around with the time zones... for example, if you live in Waskada, you can listen to the Atlantic version of the program starting at 1:30, the Eastern version starting at 2:30, the Central version starting at 3:30... well... you get the picture. I have no idea at what point during the program the Waskada song will air!

A couple of other small things... before the Waskada song airs, you'll hear my voice doing a little 30 second intro about Waskada. I tried hard to capture all the wonderful things about our community in 30 seconds, but it was sure tough! :)

Also, I'll be on CBC Manitoba in the morning on Monday. The interview will air around 7:15am Manitoba time for anyone who might be tuning in.

We are in the final stretch everyone! I am going to be honest, the anticipation of hearing the song carries mixed feelings for me. I'm excited... and hopeful that the spirit and heart of our beautiful community will be captured... but on the other hand, I'm also fearful that it won't. I suppose this is a normal reaction - when you've put this much effort into something, when you love your hometown as much as I love Waskada, you just want the song to perfectly capture the spirit and heart of this little prairie town! But I am hopeful, especially when I hear things like Connie Kaldor's inspiring song about Love, Saskatchewan (see full post below) and the many songs that people from all over Canada have submitted to CBC as part of this contest. I urge you to check them out, there are some beautiful gems there!

I will be honest. This is really not about the song for me... the song is the result, but what I take away from this experience is much richer than that. It's about the people of Waskada, and the friends and families of those who know people from Waskada who came together and voted. It's about the power of people to come together and make something really incredible happen! It's about the underdog winning. It's about the 'little town that could' (Tom Allen, thank you so much for that one). It's about having the opportunity to write this blog and rediscover though the words and the pictures I've posted here just how much I love my hometown and just how special it really is to me. It's about my beloved CBC putting on this great contest and about how awesome they have been to give Waskada the opportunity to get this kind of national exposure on the radio. It's about learning about all these great spots across the country that were part of this Song Quest adventure as well!

What an amazing journey... I never in a million years thought that we would even make the final five, let alone win... it just shows you what you can do with a bit of determination and a lot of heart!

I owe thanks to so many. This has experience has filled me with gratidude to know so many wonderful people who put their hearts into making Waskada first in Manitoba! THANK YOU!

Bryna
xo

2009-11-14T12:00:00.003-07:00

This week, while listening to CBC Radio 2 in the morning at work, Bob Mackowycz shared a great story, which I feel compelled to share as well.

One of the 5 top spots in Saskatchewan for the CBC Radio 2 Great Canadian SongQuest was Love, Saskatchewan. One of the 5 artists for Saskatchewan was the lovely Connie Kaldor.

Neither Love nor Connie were chosen in Saskatchewan. The winning spot was actually a Regina pub called Good Time Charlie's. Bob interviewed Connie - a wonderful interview - in which Connie said that she was a bit sad that the Good Time won over Love (and what does that say about the way things are?).

So she took matters into her own hands and just sat down and wrote a song about Love... Saskatchewan.

I cried when I heard the song the first time (and it continues to bring tears to my eyes on each listen) - it is such a beautiful song. Love is a very small town, similar to Waskada (even smaller, in fact)... so the lyrics struck a chord deep within me. A gorgeous piece of work by Connie Kaldor... if all 13 songs that come out on November 23 are as stunning as this one, we will be fortunate indeed!

Thank you Connie for your song, and for giving us another incredible, inspiring moment in a contest that has been filled with so many of them already!

"If you're heading in to Love, don't expect a four lane highway. It's off the beaten track but I'm sure you'll find the way..."

2009-11-10T07:44:00.002-07:00

My 15 seconds of fame have stretched a little bit further...

About a week ago, I received a phone message from Lily at CBC Radio Podcasting asking me if I'd like to participate on an upcoming episode of the CBC Radio 2 Great Canadian Song Quest Podcast!

I sent her an email back saying "...the answer is, of course, an unequivocal yes!"

A couple days later, I received a response from Lily asking if I'd be interested in hosting the Podcast, as she thought it would be fun to have a "listener takeover".

After jumping up and down for about 5 minutes, squealing, and nearly dying of excitement, I typed my response... which basically went something like this:

"I wish you could have seen my reaction when I read your email - picture a kid opening the best present EVER at Christmas, and that comes close. I didn't think this experience could get better than the opportunity to talk to the wonderful Tom Allen on the radio... or Waskada winning the contest! But I may have been mistaken - this would be yet another dream come true for me!"

So Lily wrote an awesome script based on a bunch of the stuff from the blog... and we recorded on Saturday morning (such a cool experience!)... and now the Podcast is available for your listening pleasure here!

I want to thank CBC Radio 2 yet again for this incredible opportunity, and special thanks to Lily at CBC Radio Podcasting for coming up with this idea that meant so much to me, writing the wonderful script, and for being so sweet to me through this process.

What a dream come true! I am just so incredibly grateful for this experience and there are many people to thank... the most important of all being all of you who supported Waskada, voted for Waskada, passed the word on to others to vote for Waskada... you are the ones that made this all happen and I just am so thankful!

My favourite little spot in the world won the contest! And we are going to get a song! Hurrah!

November 23 is coming up quickly now...

Bryna

2009-11-06T16:36:00.002-07:00

dear tom,

i'll miss you in the morning.

this isn't song quest related, but it is CBC radio 2 related... as those of you who are loyal blog readers know, a big part of how this whole thing started was because i have a daily morning ritual of listening to tom allen. i get to work, sit down at my desk, start on whatever project i'm working on that day, put on the headphones, and listen online to tom's morning show.

i listen to radio 2 for the better part of the day, so i enjoy julie nesrallah's tempo, as well as tom allen's shift and rich trefry's drive... but it was tom's morning show that was always the closest to my heart. something about his smooth voice, his humour, the way he just sounds so enthusiastic and full of passion with whatever he is talking about (from music to numerous other subjects...) just was the right way to start the day. tom allen and a nice cup of warm tea... a great way to get down to a day at the office.

i will always be grateful, especially now, that i had the chance to be on tom's morning show to talk about the song quest and waskada. and i'm so grateful still for the way he was genuinely interested and excited about 'the little town that could'.

so, change is coming on monday... tom will no longer be on in the morning. change is part of life, i will learn to adapt... and i will continue to be a loyal cbc radio 2 listener... and of course, i'll still get my dose of tom with 'shift'. and i am sure i will enjoy the new hosts of radio 2 morning as well!

tom... wish you all the best.

bryna
xo

2009-11-03T12:06:00.002-07:00

quick little update...

yesterday i was listening to tom allen in the morning as per usual... and just before he played a song by chantal he said something along the lines of...

... chantal has already composed the song - it's finished!

... chantal was 'thrilled' to write about waskada!

... she thinks the song is one of the best she's ever written!

are you all as excited as i am to hear the results on november 23???

bryna
xo

2009-10-31T20:05:00.003-06:00

Dear Chantal,

I hope you are doing well this Halloween evening - are you and Raine taking the kids out trick or treating? I remember growing up trick or treating in Waskada... the community members were very generous with the candy... I would come home with a pillowcase full of treats more often than not. It would take me months to eat it all. It's nice for parents having their kids trick or treat in Waskada as well - everyone knows everyone - you don't need to be worried about what house they go to or whether or not there might be a poisoned apple in all that candy! That's just one of those great things about a small town - feeling safe, and protected. It was really a wonderful thing to experience my childhood there... I had so much freedom to run around town playing with my friends... the whole town watching out for you to make sure you stay safe!

But I'm getting off topic... I apologize. If you do read this blog, Chantal, you'll know that when I get talking about my hometown I can start to ramble on for quite a long time. I really wanted to personally congratulate you on being the Manitoba artist selected to write a song for the CBC Radio 2 Great Canadian Song Quest. A well-deserved honour! I am sure that you were more than a little shocked to find out you'd be singing about Waskada! I would love to know what your first reaction was... probably something like "Where the *beep* is Waskada?" And after that, perhaps it was "How in the *beep* did such a tiny little place win this contest?"

I guess since you've only got a month, you've started your research on Waskada. You probably know a bit about it and how we won (through hard work and determination - two words that describe perfectly the spirit of the community). You wouldn't believe how exciting it is for Waskada to win this contest! Hearing Waskada's name in the news, on the radio... it's just awesome! I think the story of the little town that could has captured people's hearts through this contest. I hope it will capture yours too while you are working on the song that will immortalize this special place!

On the topic of you working on the song... I wanted to let you know about a few little things, of a practical nature, that may help you as you compose.

1. Pronouncing Waskada. It's pronounced kind of like this... Wah-skay-dah. It's tricky. One of those tough to pronounce, tough to spell words. I was thinking you could probably sympathize as you have a bit of a tricky last name too (I won't lie... I had a tough time making sure I spelled it right on the blog!). ;)

2. Rhyming with Waskada. On Marilyn Maki's show the other day she played some of the things that people thought of that could rhyme with Waskada. Your husband's last name, Maida, was one of them (cute, eh?)! Another cute one... "going on a data-a, heading to Waskada..." But after that, it got worse... someone had the name of another place/town that rhymed with Waskada... but, of course, this song is supposed to be about Waskada, non? Another suggestion was Al Qaeda. Yikes! Not exactly what you'd be going for. Personally, I'm thinking you might want to just forget about this rhyming thing. But who I am to give you songwriting advice? I know that whatever you come up with will be absolutely beautiful - rhyming or not.

3. Inspiration. Hopefully you've had a chance to take a peek at the blog and it's been helpful in showing you some images and descriptions of Waskada. If you want, for additional inspiration, you might enjoy a little visit. And if you do go, the best place to start is Main Street. You could pop in to the Genesis Inn for coffee in the morning and catch up on the news of the day. Check out the other shops on Main Street too - a great place to start to get the pulse of the community. Of course, I would suggest you head up to the school as well. The kids (70ish from K to 12) would be so excited to meet you! They were all voting like crazy for Waskada in the contest, so I'm sure it would mean a lot to them. My mom said you can come over for dinner as well - their place is on the corner of 4th street and Veterans Avenue. You can't miss it! Really... you can't! My mom is a great cook - I would highly recommend that you take a sample of whatever baking is available - pie, cake, tarts, etc. And finally, make sure you catch one of the beautiful sunsets, or sunrises in that big prairie sky. There's nothing better!

Well, I guess I've gone on long enough. Have a great time writing the song - I'm so thrilled that you've been selected to write the song on Waskada and I can't wait to hear the results on November 23!

From one Plain Jane to another,

Bryna

2009-10-28T12:24:00.002-06:00

Waskada in the news!

In the early morning yesterday, I got an email from my aunt... Waskada made the front page of the Brandon Sun! Thanks to Joanne Villeneuve for writing a wonderful article about the contest and about Waskada's success! I hope that all you Southwest Manitoba folks had a chance to read the article and pick up a copy of the Sun... the article was great and really captured what winning this contest means to Waskada!

We also got a mention in some other publications across the country, such as the Globe and Mail, and the Edmonton Journal (pretty cool to read about my hometown in the newspaper of the city I'm currently living in!). And it goes without saying that the CBC has been wonderful in promoting this contest!

Now, for all you budding musicians/songwriters out there, CBC Radio 2 is moving into the next phase of the contest. While Chantal and the other 12 artists are busy writing their songs about Waskada and other places... CBC Radio 2 is soliciting submissions from anyone else who might be inspired to write a song about one of the 13 places (or other places across the country).

So if the spirit (or the music) moves you, submit a song about Waskada to CBC Radio 2... they might even play it on the radio (nationwide exposure!)

Good luck!

2009-10-27T07:22:00.003-06:00

What rhymes with Waskada?

I had again the wonderful pleasure of being on the CBC Manitoba Noon Show with the lovely Marilyn Maki yesterday! Thanks so much to Marilyn for featuring Waskada on the show again and for letting us share our excitement and joy over winning this contest with everyone across Manitoba!

One of the questions Marilyn asked me is... what would I suggest for Chantal in terms of things that rhyme with Waskada (pronounced Wask-eh-dah in case you might have been wondering!). I wasn't sure!

Someone had suggested that her husband's name, Raine Maida, rhymes with Waskada... which it does indeed! But Marilyn is looking for more things to help Chantal out.

So, call in your suggestions to Marilyn Maki at 1-877-666-6292 or 1-204-788-3797. They may air some of them today... and Marilyn has Chantal on the noon show today. I'll be tuning in, I hope... and will blog more about it later!

Lots of excitement in the air - still so PUMPED for Waskada!

2009-10-26T06:13:00.008-06:00

We did it!

Got up early this morning to listen to Tom Allen... but you can also find the results posted here... Waskada is the big winner! WOW!

And the winning artist who will be composing a song about our little town... Chantal Kreviazuk!

The song will be released approximately one month from now, on November 23, 2009. You can bet that I will be blogging that day!

Tom Allen was very sweet this morning, talked about how Waskada surprised everyone, talked about how determined we were, talked about how he thought it was going to be really nice for Waskada to have a song written about it. He also mentioned that they looked up the Yellow Pages for Waskada and it could fit onto one page! Yup... that sounds about right... part of the beautiful charm of the small town.

I just want to express my gratitude again to absolutely everyone who got behind this Waskada campaign and who voted. My mom, who is a math teacher, said... "It will really be a good example for the kids in Waskada to illustrate the process of exponential growth..." which I thought was adorable, and true! It started small, I sent an email to the folks I knew... they sent it on to people they knew... and it just snowballed from there!

I want to give a very special thank you to my wonderful aunt, who taught me so much through this campaign about blogging, tweeting (I think that is what it's called), facebooking... and who did SO much to help spread the word and excitement about this quest! You can visit her blog and read her awesome post supporting Waskada at Prairie Girl Studio!

And I want to thank my parents... they are always so supportive of everything I do, including this Song Quest... they were the ones who helped spread the word in Waskada, putting up posters with tear-aways of the web address... my dad went around town with a ladder in the back of the truck so he could take a bunch of beautiful shots of Waskada (many of which have been featured on this blog). Love you mom and dad!

I think people really got behind the "little town that could" and the possibility of the underdog winning. And we could! And we did!

Congrats to Waskada, this is a true testament to the power of community, the determination of a small prairie town... hurrah!

2009-10-25T17:50:00.002-06:00

A quiet weekend on the blogging front! However, I thought a quick post might be in order to let you know that we will be getting the results tomorrow of the competition... very excited!

I've got my fingers and toes crossed that Waskada was able to hold on to our lead that we had early Friday morning...

I will be up tomorrow listening to Tom Allen between 8am and 9am tomorrow... or maybe even up at 7am listening to the broadcast in a different time zone...

So excited to hear the results! And THANK YOU again to everyone who voted for Waskada... the little village that could...

Bryna

2009-10-23T07:32:00.009-06:00

This will be my last post before the contest closes at midnight tonight... I have been enjoying this experience so very much. Thanks to CBC again for this contest and for bringing attention to all these great places across this big country and these incredible artists.

My mom was telling me yesterday that 'this contest has made me more aware of canadian places, artists, and CBC Radio 2... I'm glad about that'. I couldn't agree more.

As of this morning, standings were released, and Waskada is amazingly still in first place! Besides saying one more really, really big thank you to all of you who have supported us in this quest... I am going to leave you with a bunch of pictures of Waskada. This is the sweet little place you are voting for... a place where the skies are big and beautiful, where the wheat fields stretch for miles, where there are no traffic lights. A place of quiet, a place of peace... a tight-knit community, a place where the community works so hard to keep the spirit of this small town alive.

If I've convinced you... give us one final vote!

2009-10-22T11:58:00.003-06:00

Breaking News!

Finally, a quick chance over my lunch hour to blog about this bit of news!

I was listening to Tom Allen this morning while working (a typical morning ritual). At about 8:30am he provided an update on the Manitoba standings for the Song Quest.

He spoke of a VERY close race in Manitoba, with the capital city of Winnipeg sitting at SECOND place... and "coming out of nowhere, the little town that could of Waskada" sitting at FIRST place!

If you could have heard me squeal... how exciting is this? I am absolutely thrilled! What a testiment to the power of people and the power of connections. To all my friends and family who are voting - thank you. To EVERYONE in the wonderful town of Waskada who is voting, thank you! To the friends and family of all those wonderful Waskadians who are voting, thank you! We have the potential to really pull this off and it is AMAZING!

Now, for the caution. Tom did say that it is a close race right now, and there are 600,000 people in Winnipeg that could potentially vote today and tomorrow. Which means we need to keep voting, stay mobilized for the next two days, and hopefully it will be enough to get... a song for Waskada!

2009-10-22T07:31:00.003-06:00

2 days left to vote for Waskada in the great CBC Radio 2 Song Quest!

Squeezing in a quick blog post before I head off to work. Blogging this morning while I'm listening to Tom Allen's morning show... could there be anything better to blog to?

What an amazing contest this is - I love so much that CBC is drawing attention to all these amazing musicians across the country and to all these beautiful spots. Someday, I hope to walk on Singing Sands Beach in PEI, visit Grand Bend so I can miss it too, cruise the Cabot Trail... sounds like I might not make it to Good Time Charlie's in Saskatchewan to do some Karaoke (they are closing it down, very sad)... but maybe I'll be able to catch a show at the Black Sheep Inn sometime...

All the places are amazing, the artists are incredible, and I cannot wait for the end product!

Still very hopeful that one of the 5 great Manitoba artists will do a song for Waskada!

Want to leave you with a beautiful picture that my parents took looking out the front window of the house, towards the beautiful sunrise. I've been telling you about the Waskada sky... it is truly incredible, in every way. This picture is worth a song, non? Keep voting everyone!

2009-10-20T21:00:00.007-06:00

I had the great fortune today of being interviewed by Marilyn Maki on CBC Manitoba for the noon show today! Thanks so much for Marilyn for helping me tell my David vs. Goliath tale of the small town that could!

My awesome partner, Frank, spent some time today figuring out how to record the online broadcast in MP3 form. He did an amazing job and I want to give him a special thank you in today's blog as he's been very patient with me during this quest... when I come home from work, completely ignore him, and spend hours working on the blog, the Facebook group, etc. Thanks hun!

With a little help from my lovely aunt... here's the link to my radio appearance!

Loving this contest so much... today I really want to express my gratitude to everyone who is voting for Waskada... I just really appreciate your dedication to this quest. If we win this thing, it will be because of the collective efforts of many incredible people! THANK YOU!

2009-10-20T08:20:00.002-06:00

My aunt just phoned me to let me know that Lac du Bonnet, another one of the top 5 nominated places in Manitoba, is dealing with a terrible fire this morning...

Just want to let everyone in Lac du Bonnet know that we are thinking of them and from one small town on the prairies to another, our hearts go out to you.

2009-10-20T07:29:00.005-06:00

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WHO will write A SONG FOR WASKADA?

Let's have a post focused on the 5 manitoba artists today... personally, I think they are all pretty fantastic and all would do Waskada proud if we manage to win this thing! In no particular order... we have...

The Duhks

I've seen them live a few times at various folk fests... very talented group of musicians, totally unique style that fuses together many different kinds of music... and most importantly tons of fun!

listen to The Duhks HERE!
image from here

Joel Kroeker

Before this contest, I didn't know Joel's music, but this has given me a great chance to discover his sound. Sweet voice, solid pop (with a little bit of rock n' roll), thoughtful lyrics...

Chantal Kreviazuk

I've known Chantal's music for quite a long time - I think "Under these Rocks and Stones" came out the year I graduated from Waskada School and left my sweet hometown. She is a true Manitoba girl, an amazing pianist, and I have always enjoyed her music... here's a little sample.

listen to Chantal Kreviazuk HERE!
image from here

Nathan

I have known about Nathan for quite awhile - saw them a few times live when I was in Winnipeg. They are an amazing group of musicians. A definite prairie feel with these guys... a very western sound... and again, some very thoughtful lyrics and songs... here's one of my favourite songs (love this video too)...

Chic Gamine

Another group that I hadn't heard about before this contest but who I am very happy to have discovered. Having been a part of a few choirs and groups, their awesome, tight harmonies really appeal to this chick! Here is a wee sample:

Really loving this contest, loving the artists... 4 more days left to vote for your favourite out of these guys... and of course WASKADA! :)

2009-10-19T07:26:00.003-06:00

BIG thanks to CBC for putting a smile on my face this morning by posting this article featuring this blog about Waskada!

Waskada vs. Winnipeg indeed... it won't be easy... but we can do it! Keep voting, everyone! :)

Thanks again for all your support!

2009-10-18T09:57:00.007-06:00

Gearing up for the last week of voting... pumped for Waskada to win the Great Canadian Songquest on CBC!

A couple of updates:

1. The mayor of Waskada, Gary Williams was on CBC Radio yesterday talking about Waskada! Nice to see this great place getting some air time across the country... I love it!

2. I started a Facebook group this morning called "Voting for Waskada in the CBC Song Quest". If you are on Facebook and you are supporting Waskada, please join this group! You can post pictures of Waskada there, start discussion topics about your favourite memories of Waskada that should be included in a song... or a topic about which of the five Manitoba artists you are supporting to write a song about Waskada... you can even post a video of Waskada. I thought it might be a nice way that those of us who love Waskada and are rooting for it to win this contest can all get together...

3. Finally, I wanted to share a couple more pictures today with everyone about some other special places in Waskada.

Main Street Waskada

Tom Allen asked me in my interview about Main Street Waskada. When I come back home after I've been away for awhile, one of my favourite things to do is drive down Main Street. Yes, it's often quiet. But it is familiar. And lovely. And it has SO much character. Here is a pic of Main Street. Main Street also symbolizes the resilience of this community. The Royal Bank left... but we have the Credit Union now. The Co-Op left, but we have Waskada Community Foods. And of course, Griffith Agencies and the Waskada Genesis Inn. There are other buildings downtown too... the Post Office, the Fire Hall, and the Waskada Museum (which has a really amazing collection of great history of Waskada and area)... and so on (I know I'm forgetting a few - please forgive any place I've left out).

So here are a few pics of these wonderful Main Street spots.

The Waskada Sky

I have mentioned this before, but one of the most incredible things about living in Waskada is the wide open spaces. Which really means, we've got a whole 'lotta sky. When you grow up in a small town on the prairies, you get used to flat land and big sky. But you never fully get used to the beauty of what goes on in that great big sky. Amazing sunsets, spectacular cloud formations, every star in the sky (and sometimes a glimpse of the northern lights dancing across the sky). The weather can change quickly on the prairies... you can sit and watch those clouds roll in before a wild storm. You can be in the midst of a wild storm and have sunshine a couple hours later (and often catch a rainbow, or two). Those lazy, partially cloudy summer days are perfect for staring up into the sky and trying to make pictures out of clouds. The sky is awesome in Waskada... I wasn't kidding when I said the most beautiful, vivid pictures mother nature can paint on her canvas of sky are done in Waskada. Here's a couple of examples. First pic was taken by my dad of the view outside our front window. Second was a picture Mel Lee sent to me of some rainbows after the storm. Absolutely beautiful!

2009-10-16T19:40:00.002-06:00

happy friday everyone... one week left to vote for waskada for the great canadian song quest!

today on cbc radio 2, tom allen was talking about the early standings for the province of manitoba. he said...

"in first place, winnipeg"

"in second place, the forks"

"in third place, flin flon"

"in fourth place, waskada... the little town that could"

"in fifth place, lac du bonnet"

fourth place... we are a bit behind - but i still think that we can pull this off! can you imagine if little waskada, population 200 can edge out winnipeg, population 600,000? now that would really be something!

the little town that could...

i believe! thanks again so much everyone for all the votes so far! let's keep 'em comin'!

2009-10-15T19:33:00.005-06:00

"If I had a couple more minutes with Tom Allen this morning..."

This morning, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Tom Allen on the CBC Radio 2 Morning Show. It was a dream come true for me - I listen quite often to CBC Radio 2, Tom is a wonderful guy with impeccable musical taste. To be on the CBC Radio, to have my little 15 seconds of fame, was a dream come true for this small town prairie girl!

Thank you to Tom, to CBC for this awesome contest, but most of all to everyone who is continuing to support Waskada... this is all thanks to you!

Now... back to the subject of today's blog. Though I think the interview went well today, I can't help but think about all the things that I wish I could have said... so here's a little list of some of those things.

1. The Park... Borderfest

The song that Tom played immediately following our chat was "Woodstock" by Joni Mitchell. He said something along the lines of, "now here's a Joni Mitchell song about a small town in the United States... not sure if Waskada has this in it's future..."

Well, Tom... we may not have Woodstock, but we do have Borderfest! A great event that happens once every couple of years... a ball tournament during the day, and a party in the evening featuring bands from the area (I can recall rockin' out to Armadillo and Cory Brown's band... don't remember the name but I know he plays with a group called Marshal Reign now...)

Borderfest may not be as big as Woodstock... but there is no doubt that this small town knows how to party and rock!

And where does that party take place? At the Waskada Park of course, also the home of our ball diamond where the and our six-hole golf course! There were other parties that took place at the park too over the years, but perhaps those are stories for another time and another place! Wink, wink...

2. The Rink

The rink was right around the corner from my house and I have the most magical memories of the place... this is where the community comes together to watch every hockey game in town and where the curling bonspiels take place. The ladies, mens, and mixed bonspiels are a yearly occurrence, and in my opinion, one of the best times of the year in Waskada. Yes, I love curling... but even more, I love the way the community comes together during bonspiel week. EVERYONE is at the rink... playing and watching curling, volunteering at the canteen, kids running around and playing... but the best part is the food. Community members volunteer to bring some of the best food you've ever had to the rink during bonspiel time. You eat like a king during that week... I still dream about some of those amazing pieces of pie that I had as a kid. Great memories were made at this place... here are a couple photos to share with you all (thanks to mel lee for the great pic of the bonspiel!).

3. The Scenery

Fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. Some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen in my life. A place where the sky is a giant canvas and mother nature can paint some of her loveliest work. A place where it is actually dark at night and where you can see every single star. That picture of the park above? I remember nights lying on those turf grass greens with my girlfriends, staring up at the stars, and just marveling at the beauty of it all. Talking about this and that with my friends... feeling kind of tiny in a great big world... but feeling incredibly grateful to be where I was in that moment. Here's a great pic of Waskada scenery - thanks again to Mel Lee for forwarding me this photo!

Ok... this is getting to be a long post! Enough musings for tonight. Thanks to everyone again for their support and for their continued voting! GO WASKADA!

2009-10-14T16:47:00.002-06:00

more updates...

thanks so very much for all you wonderful folks out there who are voting for waskada! you can vote daily up to (and including) october 23... really appreicate all the support.

the cbc called up my lovely aunt (who has been doing a bunch of hard work campaigning for waskada as well - thank you!) on tuesday. they were looking for someone to talk about waskada and our campaign for the CBC song quest. she gave them my number... and...

tomorrow, at 6:40am (in all time zones)... i will actually be on CBC Radio 2 talking with tom allen about waskada... at least that is the time they told me it would air so hopefully that's right! it’s just short little 2 minute interview, my 15 seconds of fame!

if you are up at that early hour, you can listen online at http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/ or on your local frequency, which you can look up here: http://www.cbc.ca/frequency/.

thanks again to everyone who is continuing to support waskada in this quest. love to all!

2009-10-13T12:13:00.003-06:00

the manitoba artists... check them out... and when you vote for waskada, vote for the artist who you think would best represent the heart of our beautiful small town...

i think they are all amazing... five incredible artists from manitoba! enjoy the sweet sounds of:

chic gamine

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/artistpages/chicgamine.html

the duhks

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/artistpages/theduhks.html

chantal kreviazuk

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/artistpages/chantalkreviazuk.html

joel kroeker

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/artistpages/joelkroeker.html

nathan

http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/artistpages/nathan.html

2009-10-12T09:35:00.007-06:00

well, here's something to be really thankful for on this thanksgiving day... to everyone who nominated waskada for the CBC great canadian songquest!

WE MADE THE TOP 5!

now we need everyone in waskada, and their bazillion friends, to VOTE!

all you have to to do is:

1. go to www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest

2. click on the province of manitoba

3. click on waskada

4. click on the artist you'd like to see compose the song... i am going to provide links to all the artists soon... there are some amazing manitoba artists in the list!

5. BOOKMARK www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest and vote every day from today until October 23!

i am really excited and hope you are too! here's hoping for a song for waskada...

more posts to come! more pics of waskada to come!

2009-10-10T11:52:00.006-06:00

thanks to my dad, who went out and took a bunch of great pics of waskada...

let's start at the beginning...

welcome to waskada!

a small prairie town located in the southwest corner of manitoba... population somewhere around 200 friendly people...

this is the place where i grew up, and where my parents still live... a place that holds a special place in my heart!

this is a picture of waskada school... between 70 and 80 students attend this school in every grade from kindergarten to grade 12. sometimes they talk about closing the high school, busing the kids to the next town, but it never happens, mostly due to the efforts of the community. everyone is proud of this school... without fail, the whole community comes out to see the grade 12 graduation every year. i'm proud to say i graduated from waskada school...

what's next... how about some scenery pictures? the first one is the view from my parents' front window, out to temples' farm... i love this view. you can see the 'turtle mountains' in the far distance...

and this one... this is just a landscape... wide open skies... land stretching out as far as the eye can see... and a classic symbol of waskada... the pumpjack. sometimes, in the quiet, you can hear the 'squeak, squeak' of the pumpjack moving up and down, over and over.

i'll post some more pics in a bit... for now, it's off to buy the supplies for the upcoming thanksgiving dinner... gobble til you wobble!

2009-10-08T21:42:00.002-06:00

so what i didn't realize is that it is not enough for me to just nominate 'waskada'. we need to be in the top 5 of nominated places in manitoba to get to the next round (of voting). i've posted it on facebook, i've asked all the people i know to vote... here's hoping! i think we are a real dark horse at this point... but you just never know!!!

go Waskada!

2009-10-07T20:50:00.000-06:00

o canada... our home and native land.

one of my favourite things about this country is the wonderful cbc. one of my favourite things while driving from my current home in edmonton, alberta back to my sweet little hometown of waskada, manitoba is listening to the cbc radio.

well... cbc happens to be running a contest, called the 'great canadian song quest'. http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest/index.html

in this contest, you nominate a place in canada that you think a song should be written about. then, as far as i can tell, there is some voting that occurs... and following the voting, if your place is one of the winners, you get to select a canadian artist to compose and record the song about your place.

my place is waskada. a beautiful small town nestled in the southwest corner of the great and highly underrated province of manitoba. a 'blink and you'll miss it' kind of place. 200 people strong... this little town is the place where i was born, where i grew up, and where i became the person i am today.

waskada is wide open spaces. waskada is great big skies and fields as far as the eye can see. waskada is a place where you can be still and where you can see every star in the sky.

waskada is a community, a place where everyone knows everyone else, where everyone looks out for each other. it's a place where everyone knows your business... but that's ok. it is a tiny little main street. it's a farming town. it's a place where talking about the weather isn't just small talk, it's important talk. it's a place where the whole town comes together for the important events... for graduations, for baby showers and wedding showers, for the curling bonspiels, for the hockey games at the old rink, for ball games down at the park... this town is the definition of community and the perfect example to show how interconnected and dependent on each other people really are. and how the bonds between us matter.

it's a place where family ties are strong and history is deep. it's a place where, as a child, and as a teenager, you grow up with a small, tight-knit group of friends (because there's usually less than 10 people in your age group). and you keep those friends close to your heart, even after you might move away and on to other adventures.

it's a place where people do move on. the kids graduate, and they go to brandon, or winnipeg, or to a new province to find work or to continue their education. it's not easy to stay in waskada. but for those who have left, like me, they hold this place in their memories, in their hearts, and it becomes a part of who they are and the way they look at the world.

it is an amazing little town. i will always be grateful that this little place was my starting point.

i love canada. i especially love the prairies. i really love my hometown of waskada. and i want a song about it!

to close: one of my favourite neil young lyrics, from his prairie wind album.

"Bury me out on the prairie
Where the buffalo used to roam
Where the Canada geese once filled the sky
And then I won't be far from home"