Who is WaterTown anyway?

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So, we’ve been asking you to come on out and have a good time with us next Saturday night as we groove to some tunes by WaterTown . . . but we haven’t really told you too too much about this local band. Who are they anyway?

Well, you may recognize the lead singer’s name (Kelley Mooney) as she performed during PEI’s Biggest Kitchen Party, and the rest of the band members are pretty decent members of PEI society as well. Let us take a closer look at them shall we?

WaterTown is made up of:

  • Kelley Mooney: Federal government worker by day and diva by night, Kelley is the lead singer for WaterTown. Kelley’s been singing forever both on and off Prince Edward Island and she includes singing with Bruce Guthro as one of the highlights of her career.
  • Brian Langille: Brian is a graduate of the UPEI Music Program, majoring in classical guitar. He’s been lead guitar and vocalist for many bands in the last 20 years, and is currently the lead guitar for 2 popular cover bands – WaterTown and the Wannabeez (He likes the letter “W” apparently). He is a sought-after guest guitarist for other acts such as Dave Gunning and is a regular player at the Stan Rogers Festival.
  • Jason Rogerson: Jason is a director/video editor, but may be better known as the producer and one of the writers of PEI’s comedy troupe, Sketch-22. Jason has been playing bass in bands forever and is currently providing the bass groove for WaterTown.
  • David Gordon: Dave is a music teacher in Charlottetown and has been playing keyboard in bands from Newfoundland to PEI. His beginnings were in classical piano which led him to study music at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Though one of his first gigs on PEI was as a bass player in a hard rock band, he’s since settled down to play keys in such gems as “Like a Virgin” and “You Can’t Hurry Love” for WaterTown.
  • Carl Cormier: Carl has been a session drummer in demand for many recordings, and can be seen in the Vogue Optical commercials either trying to read a menu, or checking out his TV wife. Carl has also played in a variety of bands over the years and is currently the drummer for WaterTown and the Wannabeez.

The band plays a mix of everything—Motown, country, Top 40, pop . . . you name it, they may just play it.

Some of the hits from their play list includes:

All I Wanna Do
Lost Highway
Billie Jean
Love Is
Beat It
Mamma Mia
Big Yellow Taxi
Material Girl
Black or White
Mercy
Black Horse & a Cherry Tree
Movin’ On
Blister in the Sun
Man, I Feel Like a Woman
My Life Would Suck Without You
Buttercup
My Own Way to Rock
Dancin in the Moonlight
99 Red Balloons
Domino
Norweigan Wood
Don’t Stop
Ob La Di, Ob La Da

And that’s just a taste of what these guys can do. We  pretty much guarantee they’ll play something (if not more than one somethings) that will get your foot tappin’ and make you want to dance. It should be an awesome night out, with some great people, and fabulous music. Hope to see you there!

Come listen to WaterTown this Victoria Day weekend!

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Victoria Day weekend. Known as Picnic Day to some, May 2-4 to others. Regardless of what you call it, this long weekend in May usually kick-starts the summer (we don’t follow the calendar around these parts!). There’s usually a BBQ (or three), some much-anticipated deck time, perhaps some gardening if you are the productive time . . . and socializing. Lots and lots of socializing.

See, here in PEI, we tend to stick close to home during the long winter months. When spring arrives, we rub our eyes and venture Outside, letting the sun’s rays absorb into our Vitamin D deficient skin. We also remember that we like hanging around other people again.

Let the fun of summer commence, we say! And let’s start it off right with a party this May holiday.

WaterTown

We’re hosting the local band, WaterTown, at Sam’s Restaurant in Cornwall on Saturday, May 19. We’ll be there around 9-ish, but festivities will probably get underway closer to 10. By all means, come at 9 and mingle though! Cover charge is $10 and 100% of the funds will be going to our group to cover some administration charges we have. We will have 50/50 tickets and DVDs of our recent Kitchen Party for sale, so be sure to bring some pocket change too (please).

If you’ve never heard of WaterTown, you’re in for a treat. The band mostly does cover tunes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing when you’re out with friends and want to dance (we like the familiar stuff don’t we?). They’re a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll (well, a lot actually, but that’s not as catchy). We promise you’ll know more than one of their tunes. WaterTown is made up of quite the talented crew, too . . . you’ll learn more about them in a follow-up post.

So, what are you doing this Victoria Day weekend? We’d really like it if you said you’re going to party with us!

 

Grab your fork—we’re hosting a potluck!

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One thing those of us who live here are good at is talking about food. Seriously—if you follow any of us on Facebook or Twitter, you know we discuss food. A lot. All you have to do to see this first-hand is search for #peiburgerlove on Twitter to see the effects of a well-run, food-based campaign.

So, we like to eat? Yes.

And we like to be social? Absolutely.

So, why not combine the two? Food brings people together, so it just makes sense that the IBC Alliance would host a potluck!

Come on out on Sunday, April 22 to the Stratford Town Hall gymnasium from 4-6PM and share a meal with us. It is potluck, so bring along your favourite dish to share with others. International foods are encouraged as we love to try new foods, but really, we’ll eat anything! We’ll provide dishes and cutlery and beverages and such.

This is a family friendly event—everyone welcome! Let the kiddos run around and blow off some steam, while you relax and chat with friends, new and old. Please RSVP here, just so we know how many plates, etc. to bring.

It’s going to be tons of fun. Oh, and we’ll be selling 50/50 tickets and DVDs from our kitchen party too!

We can’t wait to have supper with you all.

Hands up if you think we threw the best PEI Kitchen Party ever!

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When we said we would throw one heck of a big party . . . well, we threw one heck of a big party! PEI’s Biggest Kitchen party was a huge success and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

We’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who attended—either in person or via live stream. Without you, well, it would have just been a bunch of musicians and organizers sitting around wondering what the heck to do with all the food and who to dance with. We hope you had as much fun as we did showcasing PEI’s musical talents to the world.

PEI's Biggest Kitchen Party

And showcase we did! An impressive 2,463 unique watchers tuned in to our broadcast from all over Canada, the States, Europe, Australia, and China. Wow! Consider, too, that in some places, more than one person was watching the same computer, and you can’t help but feel some PEI pride swelling inside you.

So many more people know about PEI and what a fabulous place we have here!

For those of you following along via our Twitter hashtag (#peikitchenparty), we had over 300,000 impressions with an overall reach of 37,500. If you didn’t really understand what we just said there, that’s okay—just know that it means a lot of people were following along and promoting PEI’s Kitchen Party via social media. (For those of you who are curious, a “twitter impression” is a calculation based on the combination of original tweets, retweeted messages, and messages sent to a specific person concerning the event.)

Over, 1,000 of you attended a PEI Kitchen Party in person (that we know of anyway—parties were happening all over the place, so it was kind of hard to count all of you!).

We’ll be compiling photos of the event over the next little while and letting you know when you can view them. The party was so big, it’s taken us this long to recover from it all!

Of course, we’d like to once again thank our wonderful sponsors of the event: Bell Aliant, Bluefin/Black Rafter Lounge, City of Charlottetown, City of Summerside, CJ Graphix, Credit Union Place, Deltaware, Five Eleven West, Fresh Perspective – Joy of Organizing, Graphically Speaking, Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, Invesco, Murphy’s Community Centre, Murphy’s Pharmacies, PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada, PEI Bio Alliance, Souris Coop, TD Canada Trust, The Mortgage Group – Lori MacDonald, Town of Souris, and Your Digital Coach.

Where did you participate in PEI’s Kitchen Party? What was your favourite Kitchen Party act?

And, who’s already excited for next year?

Not able to attend our kitchen party in person? No problem!

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So, who is getting excited about all the kitchen parties happening on Monday?

(Raises hand)

With all the musical line-ups and other entertainment on the schedule, it’s a wonder our toes are going to stop tapping Monday night! Some of us may be heading into work on Tuesday with a lilt still going on in our tootsies (that’s not a bad thing!).

Oh, speaking of music, some artists will be bringing CDs to sell at the event, so if you think you may like to purchase one (or two . . . or three), please bring some real-life cash with you. There will not be any debit/credit machines available.

For those of you who may be all sad and weepy that you can’t make it out to Charlottetown, Summerside, Souris, Morell, Tyne Valley, Murray River, or Tignish (did we get them all? Has anyone added one—let us know!) . . . it’s going to be okay. You see, you’ll be able to watch it all from the comfort of your home (or someone else’s home if your home isn’t so comfy).

Here’s how it’s going to work:

We’ll be live-streaming from three of our major sites: Charlottetown, Summerside, and Souris. If you plan on coming out in person to either of these three locations, dress nicely because your smiling face will be broadcasted all over the world. Also, you’ll be able to see some of the fun that’s happening at the other two venues (it’s okay to wave to a friend!).

If you want to tune in from a remote location, simply go to http://peikitchenparty.ca/ The fun will get underway at 6:00PM (Atlantic Standard Time).

Murray River Kitchen Party

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We just received this press release from Murray River regarding their Kitchen Party!

Come out on Feb. 20th, starting at 6:00PM, Murray River Hall, and enjoy entertaining talent from Garnet Buell and the singing Islanders (Saundra Emery, Donald MacKenzie, Jim Madsen, Gil Nowlan), Johnnie Beers, Garth Gillis, The Macdonald Sisters (Marie and Doris), Harold Green, The Bernard Family (Vanessa, Sheila and Jackie), ColtonMatheson, Jolee Patkai, Joan Reeves and Judy MacGregor along with Wayne Diamond and more.

Admission is free and donations are gratefully accepted. Proceeds from this event will help to cover expenses incurred for this Island-wide celebration. Promotion will be happening across the Island and around the world as we celebrate this virtual Island Ceilidh as part of the Islander Day celebrations.

Evening includes excellent entertainment, and lunch for all. Please bring something with
you, to help with the lunch for this old fashioned Kitchen Party.

For more information please call Garnet Buell 902 962-3846/838-4791.

 

 

A Kitchen Poem

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Many thanks to IBC-er Linda MacLellan for submitting this great poem to us. We’re really starting to get excited about Monday now! What memories does YOUR childhood kitchen hold?

Kitchen
By Linda MacLellan

So many wonderful times
Spent in Island kitchens as a child by me
Whether at Grams, Aunt Ruths or the Taylors
The kitchen was the place to be!

On the island it doesn’t matter,
If your kitchen is big or small,
The camaraderie, cooking and laughter
Makes every kitchen a banquet hall!

Pans of squares, homemade bread and lobster!
Chowders, clams or a stew.
Any of these could be simmering
While we shared a story or two.

In PEI too many cooks
Couldn’t possibly spoil the broth,
For the more there are the merrier
To sample up the sauce!

Is it any wonder PEI kitchens
Are a childhood treasure for me?
It was always a feast for the senses
The kitchen was the place to be!

Photo credit s.alt

Fabulous Guardian article on our Kitchen Party

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In case you missed all the Facebook love regarding the article that was in Friday’s provincial paper (The Guardian) on the IBC Alliance’s Kitchen Party planned for Islander Day, here’s where you can read it: click here

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to sit in organizer’s Margie’s kitchen, eat cookies, chat up a storm . . . um, wait a second—that doesn’t sound at all like work now does it?

Well, the IBC Alliance is all about fun, so an interview in someone’s kitchen munching cookies sounds great to us! Thanks, especially, to Sally Cole from The Guardian for doing such a bang-up job with this interview.

 

 

 

Here a Kitchen Party, there a Kitchen Party . . .

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The parties are starting to take shape for Islander Day (a.k.a. PEI’s Biggest Kitchen Party Ever, a.k.a. Monday, Feb. 20), and we couldn’t be more excited. (Okay, perhaps we could. We have NO IDEA what other, more exciting things will be added to our already fun-filled day, so we best not make any promises).

From tip-to-tip, kitchen parties will be happening on Islander Day. Here’s how things are shaking up so far:

Morell: Cross Keys Bar & Grill

  • We can confirm those of you hanging out in Morell will be swinging your feet to the sounds of Sterling Baker, Duncan Matheson, and Jeff MacDonald.

Tyne Valley: The Landing Oyster House and Pub

  • You can check here for updates on what’s happening at what looks to be a fabulous place to hang out on Islander Day!

Murray River: Murray River Public Hall

  • Entertainers include: Garnet Buell and the Singing Islanders (Saundra Emery,  Donald  MacKenzie, Gill Nowlan); Johnnie Beers; Garth Gillis; The Macdonald Sisters (Marie Docherty and Doris Matheson); Joan Reeves, Judy MacGregor, & Wayne Diamond; Vanessa Bernard and family (Jackie & Sheila Bernard)

Tignish: Tignish Legion

We’ve already mentioned what fabulous toe tappin’ entertainment we have going on in our main live-streamed venues (Charlottetown, Summerside, and Souris), but to add to that list, we can confirm the following additions:

  • In Charlottetown, Partners in Time, Nathan Condon, David Wigmore, & Bridgette Blanchard will help get our dancing feet warmed up
  • Also in Charlottetown, Robert Pendergast Oysters and Fine Food Catering will be on site, offering fabulous PEI oysters for sale

Also, word has flown across the country and landed in our ear that an Islander Day house party is being planned in British Columbia! That’s fantastic!

For those of you who live off-Island and want to partake in the fun, do let us know if you plan on celebrating Islander Day okay?

With a little help from our friends . . .

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You can’t plan an Island-wide party without a little help (okay, a LOT of help!). We’re happy to have a few sponsors for PEI’s Biggest Kitchen Party and we’d like to take this time to acknowledge them and say a big THANK YOU to them.

Each and every one of these places are contributing something to make sure that Islander Day 2012 goes down in the history books. So, please, take a looksee through this list and show these folk some love.

A super duper thank you goes out to our Major sponsors:

Big thank yous also goes out to the following:

We now have an official Facebook event page where we will also be posting updates, so come on over and let us know where you’ll be celebrating Islander Day!