Looing for something to do on Sunday?  The Galt Museum and Archives in Lethrbidge has a showing of Earth: The Operators Manual. 

Sun FEB 05 | 2:00-3:30 pm |admission rates apply, includes exhibit access | free for annual pass holders

In this documentary [2011, 53 min],host Richard Alley takes viewers on a tour of sites around the world where evidence of climate change is visible, and presents an objective, accessible assessment of the problems and possibilities that will leave you informed, energized and optimistic.

From low-tech solutions to high-tech innovations – including those being explored by the US military, the state of Texas and China – there are a wide range of practical options available to meet Earth’s growing need for energy.

Dr. James Byrne, Professor and Chair of Geography, University of Lethbridge will introduce the documentary and then facilitate a discussion.

Presented in conjunction with the exhibit Earth’s Climate in the Balance, on through April 22. Exhibit organized and circulated by Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre

WHAT: Nathan Sings Stan – A Tribute to Stan Rogers

TICKETS: $32.00 each

WHEN: February 22& February 23, 2012

WHERE: The Empress Theatre, Fort Macleod

 A concert requested countless times over by Canadians folk fans is making its way onto the Empress Theatre stage this February during a one-time only Canadian tour.

Nathan Rogers, son of the legendary folk singer Stan Rogers, will perform his father’s truly timeless, truly Canadian songs on February 22 and February 23 at 8 p.m. as part of the 2011-2012 Centre Stage Series performances.

For those who don’t know the name Stan Rogers, it’s likely you’ve heard his songs sung around a campfire or heard a Nova Scotian or two belt it out over a brew.  “Barrett’s Privateers”, a folk song written in sea shanty style was released on the album “Fogarty’s Cove” in 1976.  The song was an instant success and some thirty plus years later remains a classic Canadian beer drinking song.  Throughout the years, many artists have redone the song and it has even been adopted as an unofficial Canadian Navy anthem.

Stan Rogers debut album, “Fogarty’s Cove”, 1976 was an instant success.  The music dedicated and written about life in Maritime Canada, was so popular it allowed Stan to form Fogarty’s Cove Music and record and release his own subsequent albums. 

Stan was known for his deep, baritone voice and expertly crafted songs written about the working maritime life and later about the east and west, the Canadian prairie farms and the Great Lakes and Ontario.  His subsequent albums included: “Turnaround”, 1978, “Between the Breaks…Live”, 1979, and “Northwest Passage”, 1981.   Some of his well known songs include “Fogarty’s Cove”, “Acadian Saturday Night”, “Leave Her, Johnny,” “Puddler’s Tale” and “Northwest Passage”.  To this day his songs are known around Canadian campfires and remain song circle favourites.  “Northwest Passage” was the overwhelming choice alternate Canadian national anthem when CBC’s Peter Gzowski asked Canadians to vote on the subject.  “Barrett’s Privateers” has been heard extensively in the promotion of Alexander Keith’s Ale.  CBC’s Adrienne Clarkson highlighted Stan’s career in the 1989 documentary titled “One Warm Line” on

The Galt Museum and Archives in Lethbridge and The View are hosting a Valentines High Tea with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra.

On Sunday February 12th from 2:30 – 4:00 pm enjoy petit-fours and sandwiches traditional to a high tea prepared by The View’s Calgary Chef. The event will be served in style by Friends and Galt Museum Board members – with romantic musical selections by The Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra. Children are welcome!

In addition to parking at The View, a motor coach will be available to take you to there from the Galt Museum & Archives at 2:00 pm.

A fundraiser presented by the Friends of the Galt in partnership with The View at Lethbridge in support of the Galt Museum’s education initiatives such as the bussing program.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Galt Museum Store. FOr more information call 403-320-3954.

On Tuesday January 24th at 7:30 join filmmaker Jeff Chiba- Stearns at the Galt Museum for a screening of his movie One Big Hapa family.  The screening will be followed by a question and answer session.

And you thought your family was mixed up! After a realization at a family reunion, filmmaker Jeff Chiba Stearns embarks on a journey of self-discovery to find out why everyone in his Japanese-Canadian family after his grandparents’ generation married interracially. The resulting feature documentary explores why almost 100% of all Japanese-Canadians, the highest out of any other ethnicity in Canada, are marrying interracially and how their mixed children perceive their unique multiracial identities.
 
Stories from four generations of a Japanese-Canadian family come to life through the use of innovative animation techniques created by some of Canada’s brightest independent animators.
 
One Big Hapa Family challenges our perceptions of purity and makes us question if mixing is the end of multiculturalism as we know it. 
 
Jeff Chiba Stearns is a multi award-winning independent documentary and animation filmmaker from Kelowna and now Vancouver, B.C., of Japanese and European heritage. A graduate of the Film Animation program at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, he founded Meditating Bunny Studio Inc., specializing in animation and documentary films along with broadcast and viral commercials for such clients as 3M, Sharpie, and Generali. His films have screened at hundreds of film festivals around the world, garnered 32 awards including the Prix du Public at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, and broadcast internationally.

In 2010, he was awarded the Emily Award from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design for outstanding achievements of an alumnus.  Chiba Stearns was awarded the Cultural Pioneer Award by Harvard University in 2011 for his continued exploration of multiethnic identity in his work. He has also instructed college animation, written articles for national publications and lectured around the world on topics of multiracial identity, cultural awareness, filmmaking, short film distribution, and animation.

The online bookingsystem will be the public portion of the TCS Project, with product provided bythe operators that can be packaged by travelers looking to book experiences andaccommodation in Southwest Alberta.  Someof the product will also be prepackaged for purchase, using a marketsegmentation tool developed by the Canadian Tourism Commission called the ExplorerQuotient, or EQ.

Based on social andtravel values of travelers, EQ helps pinpoint the types of experiences peopleseek while travelling. In 2011, Travel Alberta outlined how it is using the EQmodel in its marketing initiatives. The TCS Project includes evaluation of themany travel experiences available in Southwestern Alberta using this powerfultool, and development EQ-based itineraries and packages which will be madeavailable on CCTA’s new reservation website.

Training and developmentobjectives of this initiative were a key factor in securing grant funds. Themajority of the funds were provided by the Community Futures Rural DevelopmentInitiative (RDI), a fund supported by the federal government through WesternDiversification, and by the Rural Alberta Development Fund (RADF).

“The Meridian system training is the last step in a year’s worth of effort put forthby the tourism industry in Southwest Alberta,” says Nikolaus Wyslouzil,Interim Manager at CCTA. “The tourism operators launching on the e-commercewebsite have worked hard to evaluate their tourism offering, have participatedin training sessions on understanding EQ and how to price, package and markettheir product, and will reap the reward of providing the consumer theopportunity to actually purchase the experience.”

The online booking engine will officially launch in mid-February. Completion of Phase 2 will seeadditional tourism products and experiences added to the site.  “Our plan beyond that is for ongoing growth,”says Wyslouzil. “There is a wealth of opportunities for prospective visitors to this region, and many tourism operators who can benefit from this newinitiative.”

The project is beingwatched by many in the tourism industry, as it is the first to attempt clusterdevelopment using EQ. In addition to pioneering new territory in tourismdevelopment and marketing, the TCS is also part of a larger project for boththe provincial and federal governments that aims to study the effectiveness ofcluster projects in contributing to economic development of rural Canada.