Polar Dip has poetic spin

Julia Le


January 24, 2010

It was a poetic plunge for many dippers who raced off the shores of Lake Promenade Park today.
About 30 dippers were met with rain and temperatures above 3C as they braved the icy waters of Lake Ontario for the annual Robbie Burns Polar Dip charity fundraiser.
Now, in its second year, the event, hosted by Port Credit travel tour operators Adventure Canada, brought out about 60 local musicians, academics and writer in celebration of the famed Scottish poet's birthday.
"Canada is a cold country, Scotland is a damp one. What better way to celebrate a fine poet than a Mississauga polar plunge on Robbie Burns' birthday," said Adventure Canada President Matthew Swan, who was the mastermind behind the event.
This year, proceeds raised will be donated to Doctors Without Borders to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.
Adventure Canada announced that they'll be matching all donations made during the event.  
Last year, it raised about $500 for local charity EcoSource and its environmental education programs for youth, adults and family.
jle@missisauga.net

If you book on any of our 2010 Canada and the North shipboard itineraries and pay in full by January 30, 2010 you will receive a 5% reduction on the berth cost.
With the Canadian dollar approaching parity, there is no better time to take advantage of this offer! Hurry - there are only 18 days left.

View our 2010 Canada and the North brochure online by clicking here or email your mailing address to info@adventurecanada.com to receive a paper copy.

When: Sunday Jan 24, 2010

Where:  A.E. Crookes Headland at Lakefront Promenade Park (across from the Port Credit Yacht Club)

Time: 2:30 pm
follow by addressing the Haggis, Poetry  and Music at The Harp, 55 Lakeshore Rd. East, Mississauga.

Themes:  Swimming, Cold water, Madness, Bagpipes, Whiskey, Music, Madness, Poetry and Madness. Celebration of 251 anniversary of Burns the Bard.

Swim Team Captain:  Shelagh Rogers, CBC Radio Host

Music: Paul Quarrington, Tom Barlow, players from the Yorktown Ukulele Jam

Dram Dispensers:  Paul Quarrington, historian Ken McGoogan

Please RSVP to rsvp@adventurecanada.com or phone 905-271-4000; make sure to let us know whether you'll be dipping, spectating or joining us at the Harp for the post-dip celebrations. There will be a Special Food Menu for the Adventure Canada group available from the Harp.

We ask that all dippers to contribute a $5 donation to Distress Centre Peel.

When Adventure Canada President Matthew Swan was interviewed about this upcoming event, he got excited, so excited that he provided numerous print-worthy quotations. These quotations were so notable that we've included them all:

"Robert Burns never swam in Port Credit, but we wish he had"

"Cold water swimming is madness....but these are mad times"

"7 days of no swimming makes 1 weak"

"Go in hard, come out wet."

"Swimming: From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it."

"75% of our planet is water... can you swim??"

If that isn't inspiring enough, here are some more reasons for you to take the dip next Sunday:

Bathing in cold water is not new - the Romans adopted the practice as a cure for stomach problems and headaches. It is believed to supercharge the system, improve breathing and muscle tone and decrease fatigue, and has also been claimed by some participants to improve thyroid function and skin tone, and aid constipation.  Other evidence illustrates its benefits as a
performance enhancer.

Join Shelagh Rogers on our Greenland Explorer Expedition. For  more information please click here.

After you've conquered the Port Credit Dip, why not take a refreshing dip in the Arctic Ocean? Join us on any of our 2010 Canada and the North shipboard expeditions for your chance to earn your official Adventure Canada swim team patch!

Head of the Corktown Ukulele Jam, a weekly gathering of uke enthusiasts in
downtown Toronto, David's wry observations and spontaneous quips, make his stage patter a work of art in itself.  David's show is equal parts melody,
comedy, and philosophy. David is an accomplished songwriter and performer with a wealth of diverse material: cowboy ballads, Maritime melodies, roots-rock anthems, sentimental songs and silly little ditties.

"I've been bringing music to people, and people to music for years. I've had the chance to travel widely across Canada and everywhere I've gone, it's stories in song that have given voice to my journeys. Whether I'm writing songs, performing for an audience, or helping create and support musical communities, I'm always conscious that this music is about bringing people
into awareness of each other and the moment. To share music beneath a truly northern sky is a dream come true for me and I look forward to the magic and the mystery!"

Information is trickling out slowly about what the two M's are planning for their special departure, which features a taste of Greenland, the Labrador Sea, a visit to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites at L'Anse aux Meadows and Gros Morne National Park and a rollicking Newfoundland Kitchen Party.

"It's going to be big, bigger than the Friendly Giant," says Matthew Swan. "Tremendous music and good times at Sea - and hey who knows, a Friendly Giant might show"

Click here to view a clip of David Newland introducing Nick Tustin, a fine Uke performer from the Corktown Uke Jam.

For more on the Corktown Ukulele Jam please click here.

For more on the Sept 20 - 25, 2010  M&M Magical Mystery Tour, please email Matthew James by clicking here.

Have you been thinking about enjoying the splendours of the Arctic?  Join us for an information session on the nuts and bolts of Arctic travel.  How to get there?  What to expect? What to wear?

When: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 7pm
Where: Valberg Imaging Studio. 322 Richmond Road, Ottawa.  
RSVP necessary rsvp@adventurecanada.com

Would you be interested in having an info session in your hometown? Please send your requests to info@adventurecanada.com.

In the accompanying photo, with some of Sheena's
Greenland paintings behind them, they receive the awards from Toronto lawyer Robert A. Maxwell. The medals were struck from the copper fittings of the first steamship to ply the west coast of North America. The first Beaver medal was awarded in 1963 to the father of Maxwell, who created a replica of the original paddlewheeler built in 1836 for Sir George Simpson, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Previous recipients of the honour include Winnipeg publisher Barbara Huck, Peter St. John (the Earl of Orkney), and politician Stockwell Day. Sheena has been painting scenes from sketches she did while sailing in the Northwest Passage, including these views of Greenland. Her next one-person show will be at Arts on Queen in March - stay tuned for details!

Both McGoogans will sail Into the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada in August. For more information, please click here.

As our constant readers will know, John Houston has been busy in the editing room, finishing up his 6th film.  Today he is delivering"The White Archer" to the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).  For John's first attempt at drama, he chose to adapt a children's book by his father, the late  James Houston.  

 

In this Inuit legend, a youth trains to become a great archer. Will Kanguq use this new power to avenge his family, or will he put an end to the cycle of violence? 

 

APTN Broadcast Dates are: February 9, 2010 in Inuktitut AND April 7, 2010 in English.

 

John has dedicated this film to the memory of Thomasie Alikatuktuk (1953 - 2009)

 

Thomasie's talent and his hard work and his focus helped make Pangnirtung famous for printmaking.  He was a true artist, and brought this dedication to everything he did, going on to become an Inuit leader, president of Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and a good family man - so proud of his children.

John will be joining us in 2010 on both NWP Expeditions and on our Greenland Explorer. For more information, please click here.

 
In the most recent issue of The Circle, a
magazine published by World Wildlife Fund, AC's resource staffer Mark Mallory has an article on the effects of climate change on Arctic seabirds.  There are also informative articles on walrus, bowhead whales and killer whales among many others. You can download the issue by clicking here.


To hear about Arctic seabirds first-hand, why not join Mark on Adventure Canada's "Out of the Northwest Passage" expedition in 2010? To find out more,please click here.

Carolyn Mallory's first ever-published poem appears in the Winter 2010 edition of the Northern Review - Yukon College's multidisciplinary journal of the arts and
social sciences. It is the only peer-reviewed journal in Canada devoted
exclusively to northern issues and published north of 60!

Data-less by Carolyn Mallory:

Fourth day of
fog.

 

We wake,

peer outside
the cabin

and resign
ourselves

to thick, gray,
opaque

fog.

 

Back to bed

into the downy
nest cavity.

 

Another hour --
it's my turn to check,

fog slides in
the door as I try to look out.

We rise.

Knit, read, write,
snooze, wait.

And wait.

 

The day wears
on.

Cliff's edge
remains swallowed up--

cotton batting.

No data today.

 

The fog lifts

beyond the
outhouse.

The valley
opens up

to the pale
gray sea.

 

Boots,

jacket,

gear,

gun...

 

The outhouse is gone.

You can join Carolyn on our Out of the Northwest Passage Expedition 2010 where she can answer all your plant-related questions and how to become a budding poet! For more information, please click here.

The release of GYRE marks the 30th
independent recording for Ian Tamblyn. Produced by Scott Merritt and Ian at Cottage Studios in Guelph, Ontario, this CD features some of Canada's finest players: Gary Craig, drums, George Koller, upright bass, Chris Whiteley, trumpet and harmonica, Jeff Bird, mandolin and harmonica, Fred Guignion, guitars, with Ian and Scott playing various instruments as well. This new collection of songs was recorded and mixed between January and June of 2009. GYRE was mastered by David Cain in Ottawa.  

 

GYRE is a break from Ian's Canadian sketch, the Four Coast project. This collection of songs features songs that travel more in the interior landscape.  Though many of these songs were written around the world- Prague, Norway, Ireland, or Antarctica, the map on this CD is less marked and more imaginary, whether on "The Road to Duntroon" or "Lost in Afghanistan". Ian would like to thank Scott Merritt for his help on this project.

Enjoy the musical talents of Ian Tamblyn during our Out of the Northwest Expedition - find our how by clicking here!

Claes Nobel is a member of Sweden's Nobel family and nephew of Alfred Nobel, who established the Nobel Prizes over
100 years ago.  

Claes is also the founder of the National Society of High School Scholars, and is a tireless advocate for addressing environmental issues, especially as they pertain to young people.

"Sadly the current generations have left the world a looted and polluted place", says Nobel.  "Our best
hope is to invest our energies in young people to change that going forward."

In November of 2009 the two Swan brothers - Matthew and Bill - were attending, along with Bill Lishman, an environmental conference in Cascais, Portugal where all were featured speakers. Seeing they were all of like mind, the invitation was extended to Mr. Nobel to join us and happily - he readily accepted!

The Society is a private membership organization with more than 500,000 members in 180 countries. NSHSS'
vision is to connect its members with meaningful content, people, resources and opportunities to help build on academic success while enhancing each student's skills and desire to have a positive impact on the global community.

Claes Nobel's personal project is to initiate the writing of a set of Earth Ethics, utilizing the brightest minds from around the planet, to author an environmental manifesto that will serve as a good conduct guide for the future.

With the help of the National Society of High School Scholars, our Into the Northwest Passage Expedition -
Aug 14 - 28, 2010 will host a student member of the Society onboard this special Voyage into arctic waters.

For more information on how you can join Claes, on Into the Northwest Passage, please click here.