Weekly News Recap: November 27, 2020

Weekly News Recap: November 27, 2020

Alberta Theatre Projects executive and artistic director Darcy Evans has passed away after a months-long battle with cancer. (ATP)

Nothing's okay. So it's okay. -- Zen Koan

VITREO FUNDRAISING ASK ANYTHING ZOOM CHATS

Join us for a reprise of our Fundraising Ask Anything Zoom events. We started Season 1 with a general conversation among friends and colleagues last April. These events proved immensely popular and we ended up doing eight in total. On October 16, we launched the new season with our session titled: Pandemic +7: The Check-in. Recently, we did our second session: The Giving Season: The Digital Edition. We will be concluding our season with a drop-in video call on December 18. You can connect and ask questions of your peers and the ViTreo team. Don’t see a topic that interests or is relevant to you? Don’t worry, join us anyway…we are calling them Ask Anything events for a reason. See you online! Register here

  • OCT 16 - Pandemic +7: The Check-in. Past Event
  • NOV 6 - The Giving Season: The Digital Edition. Past Event
  • DEC 18 - Budgeting in a 65% World.

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • KPMB ARCHITECTS WITH OMAR GANDHI ARCHITECT, JORDAN BENNETT STUDIO, ELDER LORRAINE WHITMAN (NWAC), PUBLIC WORK AND TRANSSOLAR (Art Gallery of Nova Scotia) HALIFAX STORY We are doing a number of naming projects with partners across the country. The importance of the Indigenous voice is strong in these projects especially in the work we are doing with Banff Centre and Capilano University ("CapU"). In discussions with Banff Centre's leadership yesterday, we took the time to admire and reflect on what this project in Nova Scotia means for future public projects and how inspired we are with these very real, important, and timely designs.
  • B.C. man drives stranded American family 1,700 kilometres to Alaska (CBC) FORT ST. JOHN STORY Never fail to help another if you can. "A Fort St. John, B.C. man is earning praise for driving an American family in need from northern B.C. to the Alaskan border near Beaver Creek, Yukon. The roughly 1,700-kilometre trip up the Alaska Highway in winter didn't deter him from volunteering to help out, said Gary Bath. Bath said he noticed an online plea for help last week from an American woman driving to Alaska who was overwhelmed by the winter driving conditions and couldn't drive any farther."
  • Calgary family makes and sells reindeer statues, donates funds to charity (CBC) CALGARY STORY I heart this story. "Holiday festivities are in the air, and for one Calgary family, they're giving back this Christmas season by selling decorative reindeer statues for charity. It's the third year the Williams family have dusted off their chainsaws, grabbed some logs and plywood and got to work at making the festive figures."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Remembering Alberta Theatre Projects executive director Darcy Evans (CTV) CALGARY STORY This makes me so sad. I did not know Darcy but his energy was infectious. We offer our sincere condolences to ATP and to Darcy's friends and family. RIP Mr. Evans. We will not see your like again. "Surrounded by loved ones, Darcy Evans, the executive and artistic director at Alberta Theatre Projects, has lost his months-long battle with cancer [...]. He was 50."
  1. In a First for Canada, Two Canadians Being Recognized as Distinguished Fellows of AFP (AFP Global) CANADIAN STORY Congrats to two amazing humans. #SoProud. "For the first time in AFP’s 60-year history, two Canadians will receive Distinguished Fellow designations. No Canadian has ever received this notable honour. The recipients of this recognition Andrea McManus and Luce Moreau, CFRE have celebrated careers working in Canada and around the globe."
  1. $10M raised for charities through digital platform Rafflebox (CTV) CALGARY STORY These guys rock. "A Calgary-based digital platform is helping non-profits and charities hit their fundraising milestones, despite having to navigate a pandemic. Along the way, the company, founded by Matthew Broussard and Simon Cusack, hit one of their own: $10 million, which is how much they've raised for organizations that use Rafflebox."
  1. GPRC receives largest single donation in its history (My Grande Prairie Now) GRANDE PRAIRIE STORY Congrats to all involved. What a lovely gift. "In the largest single donation made to Grande Prairie Regional College in the school’s history, a new research wing is being established at the new Grande Prairie Regional Hospital. Grande Prairie residents, Paul and Coreen Evaskevich donated $500,000 to GPRC to establish the Evaskevich Centre for Health Research and Innovation."
  1. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donate a generous $500K to Covenant House (The Loop) CANADIAN STORY #Amazing "Power couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have once again proved how amazing they are. Reynolds and wife Lively are donating $250,000 to Covenant House Vancouver and $250,000 to Covenant House Toronto to support unhoused, at-risk and trafficked youth in Canada."
  1. Soy it ain't so! Scarcity of beloved sauce in northern B.C. leads to bland meals and bidding wars (CBC) CANADIAN STORY #BlackGold I say! "Prince George, B.C., resident Judy Howard recently shelled out $50 for a six-pack of soy sauce after a family Facebook bidding war, and she feels like she got a pretty sweet deal — or salty, to be more accurate. A single bottle of Canadian-made China Lily Soya Sauce usually runs about $3 and is a staple in many kitchens in northern B.C., primarily in Indigenous households where it is often used liberally in traditional dishes such as eulachon and everyday dinner prep. Currently, it is incredibly hard to come by, and that's causing a bit of a panic among regular purchasers."
  1. Extraordinarily long lineups prompt Sunshine Village to close access when parking lot full (CBC) BANFF STORY Welcome to coronial skiing. "Some visitors to Sunshine Village faced extraordinarily long lift lineups and had to wait hours to hit the slopes on the weekend, prompting the ski resort to start closing off access once its parking lot is full. The lines got so long last weekend that the ski resort in Banff National Park decided [...] to start limiting capacity by turning away vehicles from the road up once its parking lot was full."
  1. Calgary warms up parks with temporary fire pits and free firewood (CBC) CALGARY STORY Great move Calgary. Love it. "The city is putting temporary fire pits and free wood in several parks around Calgary to encourage people to socialize safely as cases of the coronavirus continue to spike."
  1. 'Cuffing season' has arrived, which means singles are on the hunt for short-term relationships (CBC) Up to two weeks ago, this was entirely a new term for me #GenXOutOfTouch "'Cuffing season' — a trend that's emerged among singles to find a short-term partner to in essence hibernate with through the winter — may be even more intense this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuffing season typically begins in October and lingers until mid-February, or when the weather begins to thaw — a stretch of time when people want to be tied down, or cuffed, to another person. The short-term nature of the new romance might not become obvious to both parties until Valentine's Day or shortly after, when Cupid suddenly unsticks his arrow, the spell is lifted, the songbirds abscond to go chirp at someone else."
  1. OPINION | Let's face reality about Calgary's potential as a tech hub (CBC) CALGARY STORY "They suggest that, to attract tech entrepreneurs, Calgary 'needs to continue fostering affordable suburban housing, short commutes, low taxes, clean and safe streets and parks, great neighbourhood schools, clean air and a culture of reasonable working hours.'"

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. How to plan successful e-conferences during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Halifax Today) As someone who helped mount a conference for 150 this past summer, I could have used this. Turns out, we did most of it right.
  1. Here’s more proof that running boosts your brainpower (Runner's World) I knew it. I have not been running as much during the pandemic and I have been getting dumber. Wait a minute...
  1. Virtual party food: Julie Van Rosendaal gives some snacky recipes for you to make this holiday season (CBC) Julie never disappoints. #Yum
  1. Designed to Deceive: Do These People Look Real to You? (New York Times) Uber creepy and not in a good way.
  1. These 7 Tiny Clues Reveal Who You Are (On The Couch) Yep. #7, #5, and especially #3.
  1. 21 Movies Every Entrepreneur Should Watch for Inspiration (99 Signals) All great but my personal fave is #5. A...B...C. folks.
  1. The Psychological Benefits of Uitwaaien — The Dutch Philosophy For Clearing Your Mind (Personal Growth) Yep, trust the Dutch to make the unpleasant beneficial.

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TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Jeff Bezos: Amazon boss announces $ 10 billion donation to fight global warming (The Saxon) Nice move Mr. Bezos. "The founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has just announced through Instagram a donation of 10 billion dollars for the fight against global warming!"
  1. Enterprise Holdings pledges $120M to fight social inequity and community hunger (travelweek) This is just one of the many reasons I rent from Enterprise. "Enterprise Holdings Foundation is doing its part to give back in a big way, launching a new initiative and expanding an existing one to promote social equality and community outreach. According to Enterprise Holdings Foundation President Carolyn Kindle Betz, the new initiative, called Enterprise Holdings ROAD Forward, will focus on diversity, equity and inclusions."
  1. Garron Family’s generous donation improved diagnostic imaging capacity at St. Joseph’s (St Joseph's) TORONTO STORY Lovely. "A hospital wing and entrance at St. Joseph’s Health Centre are being renamed to honour Myron and Berna Garron for their transformative $10 million donation to the hospital."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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