An Okotoks resident has begun raising money for cancer research and she is dangling a carrot of a hand-painted portrait for anyone who donates $200 or more.
For the second year in a row Renee Carrier is trying to drum up enough money to participate in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer long-distance cycling fundraiser.
The entry fee is $2,500, but she managed to raise $3,500 last year. This year she is raising the bar to $4,000. However, raising money has been more difficult this year than last.
“I didn’t anticipate (the earthquakes …

Dipping into paints as thick as molasses has enabled a Bragg Creek artist to free up his creativity.
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David Zimmerman has been juggling a lot of interest in his work over the past year, a level of success that has come after seven years painting.
In the past four years Zimmerman has been refining his style, which is a variety of subjects recreated with a technique of thick layers of paint, and last summer his work was chosen to adorn the dream home at the Calgary Stampede.
“What a huge honour to have …

A young Calgary photographer’s exhibit at the art gallery in Okotoks takes the viewer on three completely different journeys around the globe.
Jeremy Fokkens is showing 26 digital photographs at the Okotoks Art Gallery at the Station, starting with an opening reception on Friday and running to April 18.
The show, called Viewpoint Times Three, tells the story of abandoned mines in Crowsnest Pass, eerie spaces in the Cecil Hotel before it closed last year and life in three Asian countries.
The show features the surprisingly beautiful red hues of rusting mining equipment, …

For a Bragg Creek actress, the exhilaration of performing onstage is about figuring out how to truthfully portray a fake situation.
Kendra Hutchinson is refining her ability to create an authentic performance, as authentic as possible given she steps into the life of a different person.
And there is lies the excitement.
“Doing a play is when I’m the happiest, for sure,” said Hutchinson. “To be able to enter into new worlds and lives of these characters and experience it and recreate it – it’s exhilarating.”
Hutchinson, 21, is in her fourth year of …

Even though Alberta sits, mired in the midst of a recession, there is no shortage of charities to donate to.
That’s why Frank Kennedy, owner of the Wine Station in Okotoks, decided to come up with a fundraiser a little different than the usual faire. On Mar. 13, the Wine Station will be holding a dinner and wine tasting with all funds going to the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.
“For this event we are giving you a great product and you are also donating your money to charity,” said Kennedy.
As …

Three years ago when a local woman mustered the nerve to sing a karaoke song at a bar, her legs shook with anxiety.

In the spotlight on Feb. 11, on the stage at Ducky’s Pub in Calgary, Kelsey Knibbs was again vibrating, but this time it was with adrenaline. Knibbs finished her song triumphant following two costume changes, knocking over equipment and losing her mic in the melee. Judges chose her as the best performer of the whole three-month Ducky’s Idol competition.
The experience was exhilarating, nerve-wracking and fun, Knibbs said. And …

With any luck, an award-winning blues musician, will have his guitar face on for the audience in the Flare ‘n’ Derrick on Saturday.

The guitar face is a signal of reaching another plane, a pocket of emotion triggered by the blues, according to Nanaimo rocker David Gogo.
The blues is all about emotion, Gogo said. Judging by the recognition he has earned, Gogo knows his way around a guitar.
Gogo was named Musician of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2000, was twice named Guitarist of the Year at the …

Creating a work of art intended to disappear into the background may not seem like a triumph, but a local artist is feeling honoured for her inclusion in a unique part of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Red Deer Lake artist Wendy Palmer said her 12-inch by 12-inch painting of a beach in Tofino will be seen by millions of people, but the first thing viewers will notice is the 20-foot long killer whale with her calf swimming beside her.
Palmer’s painting is like one piece in a puzzle. The beach in …

Rarely is there an opportunity for the general public to get a glimpse at the heart wrenching struggles Christian men and women endure when they try to eradicate their homosexual desires to be accepted by their family, their church and their God.
The American Psychological Association says therapy to “convert” gay people into straight people doesn’t work. An evangelical group dedicated to turning gay people away from a homosexual lifestyle says it can be done.
On March 1, the Okotoks Public Library is presenting a documentary that explores the lives of “ex-gay” …

A trio of seasoned singer-songwriters has joined forces and will take the stage together in a special concert in Bragg Creek.
Raylene Rankin, Cindy Church and Susan Crowe will bring more than 25 years of experience to the stage at the Bragg Creek Centre as they share their musical experiences through folk, country and jazz.
Crowe, who has released five solo albums and was named English Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for her album Greytown, said her ability to translate an emotion into song, and have the …