new digs for montreal inuit art expert

March 2007–v2.3 Arts & Entertainment on the Island and Beyond 27,000 copies

RESTAURANT REVIEW L’Atelierand Aux Vivres by S. Woods p. 1

WINEWinter Wine by C. Price p. 9

FOOD Disease-Fighting Foodsby A. Dawson p. 13

THEATRE The Autumn Garden(at the Dome Theatre) by Berey p. 11

BOOKS O’Neill’s Lullabies forLittle Criminals and Little Womenby C. McKenzie p. 6

MOVIES The Last King of Scotlandby D. Price and C. McKenzie p. 10

TOWNSHIPS CALENDAR pp. 14-15

COUNTRY DOCTOR by Dr. V. Heese p. 7

DRIVINGWinter Drivingby Jordan W. Charness p. 14

REAL ESTATEEastern Townships Real Estate p. 15

Restaurant ReviewMontreal Goes Local: L’Atelier and Aux Vivresby Stuart Woods

When Gourmet magazine devoted an issue to the culinarytreasures of Montreal, as many column inches were devoted tosmall-scale, artisanal food producers as to celebrity chefs likeMartin Picard and Normand Laprise. That’s not surprising, con-sidering the richness and variety of products, including the con-tinent’s headiest cheeses, world-class foie gras, a virtual monop-oly of maple syrup, and a recipe for ice cider – an increasinglysought-after digestif. continued on page 12

Stained glass by Inuit artistKananginak Pootoogook.

Maternally YoursCamps (Part 2 of 2): Day Campsby Annika Melanson

As I look out the window onto the snow-covered lawn, it’s hard to believe that sum-mer is only a fewmonths away and that I had better get crack-ing if I plan to sendmy daughter, Amel, to the day camp of ourchoice!Amel is four and too young for sleep-away camp, so I have

been investigating Montreal day camps and trying to figureout how to choose the right program for continued on page 4

by Chris “Zeke” Hand

Normally, I tend to frequent what arecalled “contemporary Canadian art gal-leries.” You know the type: white paintedcubes with someone in a position of au-thority who tries to make you feel small.One of the anomalies in my semi-regularrounds of the 350 or so art galleries intown is Galerie Elca London. It is neitherwhite, nor a cube, and while the art exhib-ited is contemporary andmade in Canada,for better or worse it has been nichedunder the term “Inuit art.” But letting it

languish in that niche does Inuit art agreat disservice.Inuit art is as much a mixed bag as con-

ceptual art or painting. While it is possibleto get as many smooth and rounded soap-stone carvings of polar bears as you couldpossibly want, allow me to point out thatwhile every art gallery in the Old Port hasan oil painting of kids playing ice hockey,not all paintings are of kids playing icehockey. Similarly, not all Inuit art consistsof smooth and rounded soapstone carv-ings of polar bears.Mark London, propri- continued on page 8

New Digs for MontrealInuit Art Expert

BRIAN, TIMOTHY, JOAN McGUIGANAGENTS IMMOBILIER AGRÉES / CHARTERED REAL ESTATE AGENTS

TRUST. REACH. RESULTS.

www.McGuiganPepin.comSee our listings on the back page.

Camp Issue

Part 2 of 2 pp. 1, 4-6

Check out our Happeningssection to see what’s goingon in Montreal.

From the Canadian Club luncheonand the Nuphilex Coin & StampShow to the Rotary Garage Saleand the St. Patrick’s Parade!pp. 2-3

Inside…

Festival City

� Wine and Dine Experience is Montreal’spremier culinary festival. This year’s eventwill see top New York City chefs descendupon the city to showcase their talents, aswell as celebrating South African vintners,Gaspesian cuisine and Quebec cheeses.Events include La Grande Raclette inBonsecours Market on March 3, special$11.95 lunch menus at restaurants acrossthe city, and an attempt at making theworld’s largest pot of apple sauce in OldMontreal on March 4. Presented as part of

the Montreal High Lights Festival. Formore information go to www.montrealhighlights.com. Until March 4.

� Montreal High Lights Festival presentsthe fourth annual Montreal All-Nighter,which features a variety of events acrossthe city taking place in the wee hours.Activities include street performers, iceskating, live music, art, fireworks and afree breakfast. Most events are free, in-cluding a shuttle service courtesy of theSTM. For more information call 514.288.9955 or go to www.montreal

2 – Vivva MONTREAL – March 2007

Happenings Vivva Montreal’s guide to what’s on around the island.

highlights.com. March 3 to March 4.� The Société de musique contemporaine duQuébec (SMCQ) presents the third editionof Montreal/New Music InternationalFestival. The festival features a sym-posium, master classes and performancesof an eclectic array of new music, includ-ing everything from electroacoustic musicto avant-garde classical and jazz. For moreinformation call 514.843.9305 or go towww.festivalmnm.ca. February 24 toMarch 8.

� Don’t miss the 11th edition offestivalissimo, a festival of Spanish-language film. Cinéma du Parc, 3575 ParkAve. For more information call 514.737.3033 or go to www.festivalissimo.net.March 1 to 15.

� Canada’s longest-running St. Patrick’s DayParade begins at noon on Sunday, March18 at Fort and St. Catherine St. Green beerwill be on hand at Irish pubs throughoutthe city. For more information go to www.montrealirishpride.com.

Music

� Viento del Sur. Quebec violinist and com-poser Helmut Lipsky leads an ensemblein a performance of tango standards andoriginal compositions. Part of a seriesdevoted to tango music presented by thecity of Montreal. Tickets are free. Toreserve call 514.872.6889. Maison de laculture Côte-des-Neiges, 5290 Côte desNeiges. March 1 at 8 pm.

� Medieval music ensemble Skarazulaperforms a program of period music tailor-ed to a younger audience (6 to 12 yearsold). Tickets are free. To reserve call 514.872.2157. Maison de la culture Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, 3755 Botrel. March 6 at3 pm.

� Winnipeg funk ensemble Moses Mayesreturns to Montreal after last year’ssuccessful Jazz Festival date. Presented bylocal impresario Global NTT. Tickets are$12. Jello Bar, 151 Ontario East. For moreinformation go to www.globalntt.com.March 9 at 10 pm.

� Ensemble Sinfonia de Montréal performsworks by Liszt, Strauss and Moussorgsky.Tickets are $20, $10 for students. TheOscar Peterson Concert Hall, 7141Sherbrooke St. West. For tickets call514.918.3352 or go to sinfonia.danlereseau.com. March 11 at 7:30 pm.

� Baroque Music ensemble Les Boréadesteams up with Les Voix Baroques toperform a program of Bach cantatas.Tickets are $37, $26 for seniors and $14for students. Pollack Hall, 555 SherbrookeSt. West. For more information call 514.398.4547 or go to www.boreades.com.March 23 at 8 pm.

Cinema

� Films that Transform. The McGill medicalfaculty’s ongoing film series screens ThisBeggar’s Description, an NFB documentaryabout a Montreal poet and novelist living

with schizophrenia. Tickets are $10, $5 forstudents and seniors. Moyse Hall, 853Sherbrooke St. West. March 6 at 7 pm.

� The Canadian Centre for Architecturescreens Burden of Dreams, a documentaryabout the making of Werner Herzog’sFitzcarraldo. Admission is free. PaulDesmarais Theatre, 1920 Baile Rd. Formore information call 514.939.7026 or goto www.cca.qc.ca. March 8 at 7 pm.

Art

� The Montreal Museum of Fine Artspresents Once upon a Time, which puts thelegacy of Walt Disney in the context ofwestern European art and literature.Admission is $15, $7.50 for students andseniors, and free for children under 12.The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1379Sherbrooke St. West. For more informa-tion call 514.285.1600 or go to www.mmfa.qc.ca. Opens March 8.

� Montreal pastel artist Kendra Boychukpresents a new exhibition titled AReverence for Life. Dix Milles Villages,5674 Monkland. For more informationcall 514.483.6569. The vernissage isMarch 9 from 6 to 8 pm.

Theatre

� Centaur Theatre presents the world’s mostfamous love story,Romeo and Juliet, set continued on page 3

MAJOR PARTNER

SEASON SPONSORS

Luncheon ConferenceMonday, March 5, 2007 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.

FerdinandoBeccalli-FalcoPresident & CEOGE International

LUNCHEON SPONSOR

Global Business Trends -The Impact of Emerging EconomiesThe speech will be delivered in English

Hilton Montreal BonaventureSalon Outremont

Reservations before Thursday, March 1, noon at

www.canadianclub-montreal.caNon-member $ 94.01 (taxes included)

Table of 8 $ 733.84 (taxes included)

Table of 10 $ 917.30 (taxes included)

For information 514.398.0333

More than 65 dealers fromacross Canada and U.S.A.

Friday, March 2 11 am to 6 pmSaturday, March 3 10 am to 5 pmSunday, March 4 10 am to 4 pm

842-4411WWW.NUPHILEX.COM

Admission $3Sunday Free Admission

Coin Auction:Fri. & Sat.: March 2-3 at 6 pm

The Largest Coin & Stamp Show in Canada

We need useful, quality and working items:furniture, antiques, paintings, lamps,housewares, toys, books, etc...

100% of the funds raised will be used on community,national and international projects... as we have beendoing for over 75 years. You can helpThe Rotary Club of Westmounthelp others.

For local pickups call 935-3344or [email protected]

The Rotary Club of Westmount’sgiant Garage Sale & Auction iscoming again in June.We are ready to pickup saleablehousehold or office articles.

Westmount Arena: Auction, Fri, June 1 – Sale, Sat., June 2

Giveusyourtired...yournearlynew...

against a contemporary backdrop. Ticketsare $42, $32.50 for seniors and $20 forstudents. Centaur Theatre, 453 St. FrançoisXavier. For more information call514.288.3161 or go to www.centaurtheatre.com. March 1 to April 1.

� The Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Artspresents I Am My Own Wife, the TonyAward- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playabout a German transvestite who survivedthe Third Reich. Tickets are $30, $28 forseniors and $21 for students. Leanor andAlvin Segal Theatre, 5170 Côte St.Catherine. For more information call514.739.7944 or go to www.saidyebronfman.org. March 11 to 25.

Community Events

� Giant flea market, bazaar and bake sale.Trinity Memorial Church Hall, 5220Sherbrooke St. West. For more informa-tion call 514.486.8457. March 2, 6 pm to9 pm, & March 3, 9:30 am to 3 pm.

� Montreal Urban Community Sustainment(MUCS) presents free canning workshopsthroughout the month of March. MUCSoffice, 219-2000 Northcliffe. For moreinformation call 514.312.7074. March 3, 17& 24 at 3 pm.

� Montreal Urban Hikers Walking Clubwalks on Mount Royal. Suggesteddonation of $2. Meet at McDonald’srestaurant, corner of Park Ave. & MountRoyal. For information call 514.366.9108.March 10 at 9:30 am.

� Concordia University presents a lecture byProfessor John P. Smol, an expert in arcticecology, on the effects of climate change

in the far north. Admission is free. TheOscar Peterson Concert Hall, 7141 Sher-brooke St. West. For more information call514.848.2424, ext. 2529. March 22 at8 pm.

� Be the first to register for spring andsummer sports and recreation activities inWestmount. The initial registration blitz isopen to Westmount residents only. (Non-resident registration begins April 11 atWestmount arena.) Victoria Hall, 4626Sherbrooke St. West. For more informa-tion call 514.989.5353. March 27, 28 & 29,6 pm to 8 pm (and later at the arena).

� Montreal Mosaic Heritage Summit. TheQuebec Anglophone Heritage Network(QAHN) in partnership with the McCordMuseum presents a day-long conferencecelebrating Quebec’s multicultural history.Admission is $10, $5 for students and low-income earners. McCord Museum, 690Sherbrooke St. West. For more informa-tion call 1.877.964.0409. April 1 from9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

At the New Forum (Bell Centre)

For tickets and information go towww.bellcentre.ca or call 514.790.1245.March 4 Josh GrobanMarch 7 to 11Disney on IceMarch 26 Heaven & HellMarch 28 Christina AguileraApril 1 Stars on IceApril 5 Nelly FurtadoApril 6 Harlem GlobetrottersApril 10 Il DivoMay 6 The KillersMay 12 Andre RieuMay 29 Gwen StefaniJuly 25 The Police

Vivva MONTREAL – March 2007 – 3

HAPPENINGS... continued from page 2

The Mayor of MontrealBacks Down on Park AvenueIt was with pleasure that we at Vivva

saw that Mayor Tremblay had reversedhimself on renaming. Park Avenue afterthe lesser Bourassa (“we have suspendedfundamental liberties”). Did our editorialmake any difference? Probably not. Butthe citizens’ movement sure did. Congrat-ulations to all the participants. Maybe gov-ernment is not impervious to public opin-ion after all. Full and complete municipaldemergers anyone?

The Westmount ExaminerLeaves Westmount

We noticed the recent departure (Feb-ruary 2, 2007) of the Westmount Exam-iner’s offices from Westmount.

As far as we know, Vivva is now theonly newspaper published in Westmountand one of two published in our distribu-tion area.

We will do our best to keep providinginteresting content for our readers and tryto maintain person-to-person contact withour community.

Vivva Shorts

Readership Survey:We Need Your HelpWe have been publishing Vivva for almost a year now. We are verycurious about who is reading our paper and what they think of it.Right off the bat, though:

If you don’t want to receive Vivva (Si vous ne voulez pas recevoir Vivva):Please place a sticker saying “no ad mail” on your mail slot or letter box.Veuillez placer une étiquette « pas de média-poste » sur votre boîte à lettres.

If you do want to receive Vivva (and you live in our distribution area:H3Y, H3Z, H4A): Check with Canada Post to make sure you are notlisted as a “no ad mail” residence in their records. You may have hada sticker in the past that is keeping the post office from giving youthe paper.

Let’s talk!

Can you please tell us about yourself by sending us an email [email protected], a fax at 514.935.9241, or a letter at310 Victoria #105, Westmount, QC H3Z 2M9?

1. How many readers are you responding for? _____________________

2. Where do you live? __________________________________________

3. What do you do for a living? __________________________________

4. What do you like about the paper? _____________________________

5. What do you dislike? ________________________________________

6. What new features would you like to see? _______________________

7. Would you like to see Vivva come out more often? ________________

8. Anything else? _____________________________________________

Your responses will help us better serve you.Thank you in advance!

�Distributed by Canada Post to 22,000 residential and business addresses inWestmount andeastern NDG (H3Y, H3Z andH4A) and 1,300 business addresses in Knowlton, Sutton, Magog,North Hatley and Ayer’s Cliff. Bonus for next three issues: 3,700 business addresses in down-townMontreal (H3H, H3G and H3A) �600 copies distributed to over 45 waiting-room drops.�Monthly. Distribution begins on the last Tuesday of the month, except January.We understand that some people do not want to get Vivva Montreal in their mailbox. If this is thecase, Canada Post advises that you place a sticker on your mailbox that says, ‘No ad mail.’ Chersconcitoyens et concitoyennes qui ne veulent pas recevoir Vivva Montreal chez eux: nous ne sommespas capable de bloquer une adresse individuelle. Il faut mettre une étiquette près de votre fente àlettres qui lit « Pas de média-poste ».

Vivva Montreal is a provisionalaffiliate member of the

Quebec CommunityNewspapers Association.

Editor: David Price 514.935.4537

Assistant editor:Stuart Woods 514.223.3578

Design: Studio Melrose

Advertising sales:Annika Melanson 514.223.3567

Vivva Montreal is published by Sherbrooke-Valois Inc. – Locally owned, operated and staffed.

310 Victoria #105Westmount, QC H3Z 2M9Fax: [email protected] out back issues of VivvaMontreal at www.vivvamontreal.com.Copyright 2006. All rights reserved.

her. There are so many different types ofday camps available: sports, science, artsand crafts and performing arts camps, aswell as camps geared towards childrenwith special needs. So how do you choosewhich one is best for your child?My advice is to meet and talk to the

camp director before making your choice.Find out what the camp’s philosophy is

and whether or not you are in tune with it.Many camp directors use key words like

teamwork, community and safety. But arethese just words, or does the camp definethese terms as you do? Decide whetheryou want your child to attend a specialtycamp or not. You can even mix it up: twoweeks at a specialty camp and two weeksat a traditional one.

Happy Campers

When selecting a day camp for yourchild, here are some important things toconsider:• Verify that the camp is accredited. If itisn’t, you will have to do your own re-search about health and safety, staffing,etc.

• Consider your child’s interests andneeds. There are so many specialtycamps to choose from. For children whoaren’t interested in a specific activity orsport, consider a camp that offers a widerange of activities.

• Take your child’s personality into consid-eration. If your little one is very timid, itis a good idea to visit the camp togetherand perhaps even choose a camp that afriend is attending. Having a familiar

face close by will make the transition today camp easier. Include your child inthe selection of a camp so that they feelthat their input has been considered.

• If your child has any allergies, ensurethat the camp staff is qualified to cope.Some camps ban foods containing pea-nuts and require councilors to carryEpiPens. This is an important considera-tion if your child has an allergy or anyother medical condition.

• If your child has a special need, it is im-portant to discuss it with the camp di-rector. Different camps are better suitedto different types of special needs. For ex-ample, a child with ADHD will benefitthe most from a camp that offers verystructured activities.

• Ask if drinking water is readily availableto campers and how often water breaksare provided, especially on hot days.Also, how often is sunscreen re-applied?

• Get referrals. Ask other parents and kidswhat they liked or disliked about a spe-cific camp. Contact more than one fam-ily, as one child may have had an unusu-ally good or bad experience.

• Plan ahead. If you want to ensure thatyour child attends the camp of theirchoice, don’t delay. Some camps evenoffer a discount for early-bird registra-tion.

• Last but certainly not least, day camp is

about fun and doing things kids enjoy.It’s a place to learn new skills and makefriends. A good summer camp shouldprovide a sense of family and commu-nity, and should be a place where yourchild feels comfortable. Again, this iswhy it is important to get a sense of thecamp director’s vision and philosophy,and whether or not it jives with yoursand your child’s.A great resource for parents is Associa-

tion des camps du Québec (ACQ). AnyQuebec day camp on this association’s listmust meet its standards, which includeeverything from staffing ratios for differ-ent age groups, to the safety of activitiesand equipment, to campsite amenities.For more information about accreditationand standards go to www.camps.qc.ca.Remember, the name of the game

is FUN!Maternally Yours Updates

� Be the first to register for spring andsummer sports and recreation activities inWestmount. The initial registration blitz isopen to Westmount residents only. (Non-resident registration begins April 11 atWestmount arena.) Victoria Hall, 4626Sherbrooke St. West. For information call514.989.5353. March 27, 28 & 29 from6 pm to 8 pm (and later at the arena).

� With March break quickly approaching,some camps are offeringa spring day camp


continued from page 1

continued on page 5

Know Your Camp


session, such as some of the YMCAs.Definitely worth looking into if you needchildcare for your child, or if you wouldlike to occupy them with fun activitiesduring their time off school.

� K.I.D.S. Day Camp is moving to the VillaMaria campus this summer after havingbeen at the Marianolpolis campus for 14years. For more information call514.938.5290 or go to www.kids-dc.com.

� A new café for parents and infants up to 5years old opened in January, calledMaman, Bébé et Café. The café offerscoffee, food, manicures, pedicures andmassages in their downstairs spa (sheerheaven!); a babysitting service (for $6 perhour, $4 per hour for siblings, thoughparents must remain on-site); and most ofall a chance to relax, socialize and connectwith other parents while kids play in asafe, fun setting. Also, Azure Wraps, aboutique that sells cloth-diaperingproducts, as well as baby carriers andother baby accessories, is on-site. Maman,Bébé et Café, 5814 Sherbrooke St. West(corner of Melrose). For moreinformation call 514. 509.7494 or go towww.mamanbebecafe.com. For AzureWraps, call 514.509.7892 or go towww.azurewraps.com.

� Enfants du Quartier has new businesshours: the café is closed on Monday, openon Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 am to5:30 pm, and on Sunday from 10 am to 5pm. The new manager, Donna Colamero,is from Joe Beef (you know, that super

trendy restaurant in Little Burgundy). Sheis expanding the menu as well as theplayroom. One more thing: the café nowoffers free wireless internet access. Sobring your laptop along with the gang!Enfants du Quartier, 5588A Sherbrooke St.West (opposite Girouard Park). For moreinformation call 514.568.2060 or go towww.enfantsduquartier.com.

� Haven’t got the Mummy Card yet? Themember card costs $45 and gives Montrealmummies access to discounts at mummy-friendly businesses all over the city,including Java U (Westmount), SecondCup (Monkland), Maman, Bébé et Café,Bébéssimo, Enfants du Quartier,Mademoiselle Pinki, Sox Box, EcollegeyOrganic Grocer, and lots more! Availableat www.mummylist.com.

� Information and resources offered onMontrealMommy include links to servicesfor parents and children in Montreal; non-profit organizations dedicated to childrenand parents; useful government sitesproviding information for families inQuebec; trusted sites for pregnancy; andinformation from A to Z on childbirthand childcare. For details go towww.montrealmommy.com.

� Check out the 15th annual Salon MaternitéPaternité Enfants, where resources andproducts for pregnant women, babies,parents and children ages zero to 6 will beon display. Place Bonaventure, 800 de laGauchetière West. For more informationgo to www.salonmaternitepaterniteenfants.com. March 29 to April 1.

� Bébéssimo hosts workshops throughoutthe month: “Introduction to Homeopathy,”March 2 at 10 am; “The Best of Baby/Toddler-Friendly Montreal,” March 9 at10 am; and “HypnoBirthing: The MonganMethod,” March 16 at 10 am. Bébéssimo,6056 Monkland. For more informationcall 514.572.7260.

� Design Louis George now carries babybedding, towels, cribs, nursing pillows andaccessories. They also provide a decoratingservice to make your nursery a baby’sparadise. Design Louis George at Ogilvy’s,1307 Sherbrooke St. West. For moreinformation call 514.842.7711, ext. 294,or go to www.designlouisgeorge.com.

� The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hostsfree family activitiesone Sunday a month.


MATERNALLY... continued from page 4

Located on 320 acres borderingMount Orford Provincial Park!Parkside Ranch Summer ProgramActivities: Trail riding on horseback, mini-golf, soccer, baseball, mountain biking, fish-ing, volleyball, swimming, archery, handicrafts, hiking, camp-fires, out trips, ridinglessons during 2-week camps, daily devotional readings from the Bible.

Visit us at the

Camp FairFeb. 27

For further information contact: Parkside Ranch Inc., 1505, Alfred-Desrochers, Orford, QC, J1X 6J4Tel.: 819 868-0431 • Fax: 819 868-6730 • E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.parksideranch.com

Two Week CampsSession Ages (co-ed) Start End#1 10-16 June 24 July 7#2 10-16 July 8 July 21#3 10-16 July 22 Aug. 4

One Week CampsSession Ages (co-ed) Start End#4 13-17 Aug. 4 Aug. 11#5 9-12 Aug. 12 Aug. 18

Babysecure“Keeping your babies secure since 1987”

�On-site consulting helping busyparents protect their children

�Widest choice of baby gatesin the city

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514 485-2323www.babysecure.ca

FIND THE RIGHTCAMP OR TRIP

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Brian & Heather WharryCamp Directors(819) 842-1379

continued on page 6

On March 18, two workshops are offeredto children ages 5 and up: “Looking atColour: Creation of a Portrait in Gouache”and “Portrait, Reveal Thyself!,” a guidedtour of 13th to 19th century European art.The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, 1380Sherbrooke St. West. For more informa-tion call 514.285.1600 or go towww.mmfa.qc.ca.

� This year is the 10th anniversary ofButterflies Go Free. Learn all aboutbutterflies and moths as they fly aroundfreely in the Insectarium de Montréal. Lastyear, one even landed on my daughter’shead! Admission is $11.50 for adults, $5.75for children ages 5 to 17, and $1.75 fortoddlers up to age 4. Insectarium deMontréal, 581Sherbrooke St. East. Formore information call 514.872.1400.February 23 to April 29.

� The Canadian Centre for Architecturepresents free family-friendly activities aspart of the Montreal All-Nighter. MadScience includes interactive and educa-tional experiments for the entire family.The Canadian Centre for Architecture,1920 Baile Street. For more informationcall 514.939.7026 or go to www.cca.qc.ca.March 3 beginning at 8 pm.

Annika Melanson is the author ofThe Montreal Pocket Parent and

Le Bottin des Bambins and co-author ofYummy in My Tummy in Montreal.


Book Review

Childhood Revisitedby Catherine McKenzie

Lullabies forLittle Criminalsby Heather O’NeillLittle Womenby Louisa May Alcott

Following last month’s reading of twomemoirs from apposite childhoods, thismonth I chose to read two books aboutgrowing up that also have completely dif-ferent sensibilities.

Criminal Minds

First, I read Heather O’Neill’s Lullabiesfor Little Criminals. This is the Montrealnative’s first novel and it tells the story of

a girl named Baby, just 12years old when the story be-gins. Baby is motherless,and lives with her young,near indigent, drug-addictedfather in the Plateau. Babyis highly intelligent, but alsostrangely naïve for someone

who has seen so much of the underside oflife.

At the beginning of the book, Baby andher father have a sweet, childlike relation-ship. What follows over the next two yearsare events that lead to the deterioration ofthat relationship and, in turn, to the dete-rioration of Baby’s innocence and naïveté.As her father withdraws further into hisown world, Baby is thrust onto the street,looking for replacements for what thereonce was between them. These replace-ments eat up the rest of Baby’s childhoodso that, in the end, she has to reconcilewith her father as an adult.

I am not really sure how I feel aboutthis book. O’Neill is clearly a talentedwriter; she has described and created aworld, and people in that world, who arebelievable. However, this is not a world Ihave ever spent any time in, nor do I reallywant to. The book is very readable, and Iwas never bored while reading it. Perhapsmy ambivalence stems from the fact thatI know O’Neill; we went to elementaryschool together, as well as university.Maybe it’s just like watching an actor youknow on stage; you can never completelysuspend your disbelief and accept the per-son as the character they are creating.

In an interview at the back of the book,O’Neill says that she partially lived inBaby’s world while growing up. This likelyaccounts for the memoir-like feel of muchof the book. And if you enjoy memoirs

about depressing childhoods, you willenjoy this book.

Little Angels

Next, I re-read Louisa May Alcott’s Lit-tle Women, a novel I had last read as achild. This novel also feels like it is basedon Alcott’s childhood and, in fact, one ofthe book’s narrative devices is that it isbeing written by one of the principal char-acters.

For those of you who haven’t read it, Lit-tle Women is the story offour sisters living in nearpoverty with their motherwhile their father is fight-ing the American Civil War.Each of the sisters is wildlydifferent from the other,but they form a cohesivewhole that spins in its orbit around theirperfect mother. Their lives take a turn forthe better when they befriend the parent-less, but rich, boy next door (Laurie) andhis crotchety grandfather. The book fol-lows the girls from girlhood to early adult-hood, until each is married and startingher own family.

As I was re-reading this book, I re-membered why I had never read it again.I know Little Women is well-loved, and Ican understand why, but it is not well-loved by me. There is something too pator perfect about it. There is a civil war rag-ing on that their father is fighting in, butthat barely intrudes into the story at all.The family is reduced to poverty by vari-ous circumstances, and the girls cheerfullygo to work to keep the family from sink-ing. But really, my fundamental problem(spoiler alert!) is the failure of the centralrelationship between the main character,Jo, and her best friend Laurie. Everythingabout this book leads one to assume thatthey will end up together, yet they don’t. Itis, oddly enough, this realistic scenariothat feels the most unrealistic and false.

So, while I didn’t really enjoy re-read-ing the book, I did discover an interestingbit of pop-culture: the writers of the TVmovie Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel(1987) have, in my opinion, plagiarized theproposal scene between Jo and Laurie inthe (first) proposal scene between Anneand Gilbert. I found at least six lines thatwere stolen verbatim. Why this was nec-essary when there is a perfectly well-writ-ten scene in Anne of the Island, I’ll neverknow.Catherine McKenzie is a Montreal lawyer.


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By Dr. Virgina Heese

A good night’s sleep is one of thosemany things in life that we take completelyfor granted when we get it, but miss bit-terly when we don’t. For most of us, a rest-less night’s sleep is only an occasional an-noyance, but for many folks bedtime is achallenge. We’ll take a look at some of thecauses of insomnia and review the manyways you can maximize your chances ofgetting a good night’s rest.Insomnia is really an inadequate quality

or quantity of sleep. We can’t specificallydefine it by the number of hours of sleep(or lack thereof!) because this amountvaries from person to person. What maybe perfectly adequate for youmay have thenext person grumbling their way throughthe day. It’s important to know what’s rightfor you – and when you start to stray fromthis baseline, it may be your body’s way oftelling you that something isn’t right.

Common Problem

If you’re having some sleep difficulties,you’re in good company. Insomnia is themost common sleep disorder in NorthAmerica and has been experienced byabout one third of adults. It can be a long-term problem for up to 10% of adults.Women are more commonly affected thanmen (this may be related to the many sideeffects experienced by monthly fluctua-tions of female hormones, and to child-bearing and rearing) and insomnia be-comes more prevalent as we age.Common symptoms include difficultyfalling asleep, staying asleep or waking tooearly. Many folks experience a feeling ofnot getting enough sleep and experiencedaytime grogginess. A lack of sufficientsleep also makes people irritable, anxiousand depressed.One very important concept to make

clear is that insomnia itself is a symptom,and typically not a disease in its own right.Many patients come in complaining ofsleep difficulties and expect me to dash offa quick prescription for a handful of pills.Ah, if only it were that simple ... but it’susually a more involved process to try totease out the root cause of the problem.The effort is necessary because a handfulof pills may not be the best solution for thesituation at all.

Short or Long Term Issue?

The possible causes of insomnia areMANY. It’s useful to differentiate between

short term insomnia, which can last fordays or weeks, and chronic insomnia,which lasts for several weeks or months.As a VERY general rule, short term insom-nia is associated with temporary changesin a person’s life – be they changes in theirenvironment, jet lag, shift work, stress, re-cent illness or surgery, and brief coursesof medications or withdrawal from med-ications. Chronic insomnia, as you mayhave surmised, is more worrisome, as it istypically associated with longer lasting is-sues. It has a daunting list of possiblecauses, including a number of medical,neurologic and psychiatric disorders, anddisorders of the sleep-wake cycle. Of keyconcern is that chronic insomnia is mostcommonly associated with psychiatric is-sues; insomnia may, in fact, be one of thefirst signs of a mental health problem. De-pression (especially amongst the elderly),anxiety disorders and schizophrenia are allassociated with chronic sleep distur-bances. So if insomnia has long been aproblem in your life, be prepared for along list of questions from your doctor!

Tips for Sleeping

General measures that can help maxi-mize your sleep success include the con-cept of practising good “sleep hygiene”.No, contrary to your suspicions, sleep hy-giene has very little to do with the cleanli-ness of your sheets. Instead, these are gen-eral guidelines that maximize yourchances of getting a good night’s rest.Maintain a strict sleep schedule; estab-

lish a regular bedtime and regular time toget up – even on weekends! Avoid nap-ping, as this can profoundly disrupt yoursleep-wake cycle. Your bedroom should beused for sleep and sex only – cart the TVout of there and don’t even read in bed.Folks often make the mistake of lettingtheir bedroom double as an office or a den– unfortunately, the brain then associatesthe room with wakefulness and activity,making it that much harder to fall asleepin that environment. Make an effort totransform your bedroom into a quiet, darkand comfortable sleep setting.Watching TV, which is one of the most

common ways that people end their day, isunfortunately very activating to the brain.Switch off at least an hour before bed, dimthe lights, play soft, relaxing music, andread a boring book to wind down beforebedtime. Do not get up and go into thebedroom until you feel drowsy. Once youlie down, don’t lie there for hours if you

Country Doctor

Insomnia: Causes and Cures

can’t fall asleep; allow yourself about 15 to20minutes. If you don’t fall asleep, get upand leave the bedroom. Do something re-laxing and wait until you feel sleepy beforeyou try again. No matter how long thisprocess takes, get up at your regular timeand try not to nap the next day; this is agood way of resetting your inner clock.Other tips include keeping a close eye

on your intake of sleep-wrecking sub-stances. Cut out caffeine if you’re havinga difficult couple of nights, or restrict itsuse to morning only. Alcohol is anotherculprit; many folks use alcohol to fallasleep, but it causes restless, disturbedsleep and increases the chance of over-night awakening. Nicotine should also beavoided in the evenings. Moderate day-time exercise will improve your chances ofa good night’s sleep, but don’t exercisewithin three hours of bedtime. Avoid eat-ing a large meal just before bedtime, butdon’t go to bed hungry; a light snack willoften help you sleep well.

If All Else Fails...

If, despite your best efforts, sleep con-tinues to elude you, it is worthwhile tocheck in with your family doctor. A de-tailed history and physical exam, carefulreview of your medication and substanceintake, and starting a sleep diary shouldshed light on the root causes of your sleeptroubles. Sleeping pills can help in someinstances, but should never be mistakenfor a cure. They can only be considered atemporary form of relief to be used over afew days. Prolonged use can lead to re-bound insomnia – where that body getsused to the pills and is incapable of sleep-ing normally without them!

Dr. Heese is a Canadian andAmerican Board-certified family

physician and a graduate of McGill. Sheresides in Vermont. Dr. Heese cannotstress enough that the general advice

supplied above should not, and cannot,replace the individualized advice andcare of your own family physician.

Your sleeping area should be an oasis.


etor of Galerie Elca London, is more thanhappy to discuss this fact, as well as theimpending move of his gallery from itscurrent location in the Alcan building onSherbrooke St. West. Soon after you readthis, the gallery’s sculptures will be com-fortably ensconced in their new digs at224 St. Paul St. West in the Old Port.The gallery was founded in 1960 by

London’s late mother. After opening in theLondon family’s basement, the gallerymoved to Lucerne Rd., and then to two lo-cations on Sherbrooke. There aren’t manygalleries that have been in business for aslong as Galerie Elca London, and Londontakes great pride in calling it one of theoldest galleries in Montreal.What makes the gallery so compelling is

that London takes immense pride and joyin the sculptures and prints that he stocks,and it shows. Despite being internation-ally renowned as an expert on Inuit art, heis nevertheless the very opposite of a stuffymuseum curator who lectures for hourson depictions of native life. His face lightsup when he discusses a sculpture, a printor the stained glass that he commissioned

to commemorate the move.One reason for the move is that, due to

a lack of space at the Sherbrooke St. loca-tion, London was unable to present exhi-bitions. And while exhibitions are not a re-quirement for running an art gallery, theydo serve a very useful purpose in focusingattention on specific artists’ work. And be-sides, without exhibitions it is impossibleto host a party at the vernissage.

Inuit Art’s Modern Roots

In a nutshell, Inuit art was popularizedby James Houston in the late 1940s.Houston went up north – way, way upnorth – and, while hanging out with thefolks up there, came across a pretty goshdarn cool little carving made by an Inuit,and thought to himself, “Hey, if I bringthis down south, I can probably make peo-ple there understand the people hereslightly better!” (Or maybe he thought,“Hey, if I bring this down south, I canmake some money.”) The next thing youknow, the Canadian government had de-cided that the Inuit were better off settlingdown and large rocks, carving tools andprinting presses became more prevalentthan when the Inuit were nomadic.

It gives me a nasty thrill to realize thatInuit art is about as contemporary as itgets, even though it is generally thought ofas being some sort of ancient culturalmanifestation. It’s not too much of astretch to call Inuit art a manifestation ofcultural hegemony.

Northern Lights

Personally speaking, the first time I re-alized this was when Annie Pootoogookwas nominated for the Sobey Art Award,which rewards an emerging Canadianartist with $50,000 in prize money. Ga-lerie Elca London, like most other Inuit artgalleries, has a couple of her prints.Pootoogook is one of the first artists

from Nunavut to challenge the perceptionthat Inuit art is all about the traditionalarts and crafts of an ancient culture. Wecan only hope that now that the wall hasbeen breached, other artists will comethrough as well.Lucy Tasseor Tutsweetok is one of those

artists who most deservedly belongs onthis side of the wall. The London galleryhas several of her pieces, all of which areradically different from the popular per-ception of Inuit art.Tutsweetok’s work is reminiscent of a

traditional totem pole, in that it consists offaces carved in stone, not exactly in themost representative manner, and not al-ways immediately recognizable.While academics call Tutsweetok’s work

monumental, you do not get that sensefrom the sculptures at Galerie Elca Lon-don. (This might be because the gallery’slargest sculpture by Tutsweetok is onlyslightly larger than a medecine ball).Rather, her work is much more personal,more akin to a three-dimensional photoalbum than a tribute to something in ourcollective memory.Small faces, about the size of a thumb,

are carved out of the stone, like balconieson a building. They are fairly irregular andvaguely angular. It would be easy to imag-ine someone pointing to one of the facesand exclaiming, “That’s great-auntSabatha! She was your mother’s sister’shusband’s mom. She made the best cook-ies I have ever had in my life.”

Chris “Zeke” Hand runs Zeke’s Gallery.All opinions expressed herein are his own.He does not represent, manage, consult or

otherwise have any affiliation with theartists or galleries he writes about, unlessit is explicitly stated within the review.

Mark London at Galerie Elca London's new location in the Old Port.


Inuit Art has Evolved with the Inuit

Where to goGalerie Elca London224 St. Paul St. West – check first!514.282.1173www.elcalondon.comOpen Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 5:30

pm, and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.


Wine

Winter Wonderlandby Carola Price

As we settle into the last freeze of theQuebec winter, I find myself, as manyothers do at this time of year, hibernatingin the warmth and serenity of my house.Well, serenity may be the wrong word, be-cause this time of year also brings out theold fashioned side of me: I find myselfdancing around the kitchen, stewing,braising, roasting and puréeing. Succulentlamb shanks with dark meat falling off the

bone, coq au vin nestled around a sweetgold-potato mash, and slow-cooked porkroast glazed with Pommery mustard andapple cider. Those who brave the cold andcome over are in for quite a treat when Idecide that winter needs to be a littlewarmer, at least in the stomach.

Frigid temperatures demand winterwines. These are the wines that pair upperfectly with the rich flavours of stews,roasts and braised meats. Take heed,though, and realize that while these winesmay be enjoyable in frigid temperatures,they will not taste the same in the humid-ity of an August evening.

Use this guide to enjoy the best of theheady and rich wines that can match theheaviest winter foods. Now, curl up infront of the fire and count the days untilsummer.

Deep and Dark Red

Cabernet sauvignon is by far the mostwidely planted grape variety in the world.It produces dark, rich, highly tannic winesdue to its thick skin. It is a pleasure todrink and almost always needs a softener

like merlot or cabernet franc toenjoy in its youth. Some of thebest cabs in the world are aged formore than 30 years and can stillbe enjoyed when they reach 100.

When enjoying a cabernetsauvignon’s aromas, look for cas-sis, mint, eucalyptus, licorice,vanilla or cedar. Some well-pricedcarbernet sauvignons come fromChile, Canada, Australia and thesouth of France. A mid-pricedcabernet sauvignon may not al-ways knock your socks off, but itwill match roast beef rathernicely.

Other Heavy-hitters

Syrah and Shiraz are the samegrape. A variety indigenous toFrance, this grape has seenmuchsuccess in Australia and SouthAfrica, as well as in South Amer-ica and on the west coast of NorthAmerica. This is one hefty grape,and it makes some of the mostpowerful wines in the world. Thenorthern Rhone in France usesSyrah exclusively and PenfoldsGrange, one of the most expen-sive Australian wines, is all bruteSyrah.

Choose well-priced Syrahs toaccompany lamb stew and you won’t bedisappointed. Expect high alcohol levelsfrom Syrah, which is why it should alwaysbe enjoyed with food. Some great valuesinclude R.H. Phillips, Cline, RosemountEstate, Penfolds and any producer fromGigondas, France.Zinfandel came to North America via

Croatia and shares the DNA of Italy’sprimitivo grape. In its truest form, zinfan-del is hearty and tannic with loads of ripeplum and berry flavours, with a splash ofblack pepper and tobacco to round it out.California became known for zinfandel byusing it to make a slightly pink, semi-

sweet wine. It can bemany things to manydrinkers and is offered in rosé and red for-mat from light- to heavy-bodied.

The top producers of zinfandel in Cali-fornia are Ridge Vineyards, Turley, DeLoach Vineyards, Ravenswood and RanchoZabaco from the Gallo family. If you’ve de-cided to splurge on a zinfandel, look for aRidge at your local SAQ (you’d be hard-pressed to find a Turley in this market).For everyday drinking, Ravenswood offersthe biggest bang for your buck.Nebbiolo is revered in Piedmonte and

is as important to the Italians as cabernetsauvignon is to the French. It is the grapethat makes barolo and barbaresco some ofthe most sought-after wines in the world.Heavy and thick with tannin, it must beaged in order to soften it up. When young,it is an assault on the palate, but give it afew years and it is softer. Nebbiolo is richand slightly spicy, with lots of earthyespresso and blackberry components inthe mouth.

Bold and Beautiful Whites

While reds are really more powerfulthan whites, it isn’t fair to leave whites outaltogether. Look for higher priced chardon-nays that have more than 13% alcohol, aswell as Rhone Valley whites. They tend tobe quite powerful for those who don’t wantto drink red. Other wines may have mar-sanne or roussane in them as well as viog-nier. Australia, California, Chile and Ar-gentina also have big whites that can beenjoyed with the hardiest of dishes.

Experiment the next time you stop bythe wine shop. And remember, the bestjudge of a wine may be someone whodrinks it all the time. Don’t be afraid to askyour SAQ branch employee. They tastehundreds of products and may have afavourite wine that will blissfully matchyour meal.

So enjoy the deep freeze, and may yourthoughts turn to spring, which is just afew weeks away. Time is almost up for therichness of winter wine and food, so keepon the lookout for a bargain wine to stock

Big, bold reds for cold winter nights.

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up on for next year.16.5/20 Chardonnay, Alamos Ridge,Mendoza, Argentina.SAQ#00467969. $15.80

A pretty good example of a pow-erful, but good value, white wine.Look for some butter and tropicalfruit on the nose and a richness in

the mouth. This medium-bodied wineserves as aperitif and finishes withmedium-bodied cheeses like Époisses andLe Douanier.

18/20 Zinfandel, Bonterra Vineyards,Mendecino County, USA.SAQ#00530139 $23.15

While I couldn’t get over theberries in the glass, this bold redleads to tar and tobacco flavourspretty quickly. Look for plums and

black pepper, too. This wine matches chiliand marinated red meat really well. Drinkor hold.

17/20 Cabernet/Merlot/Syrah,Hedges Cellars, Columbia Valley,USA. SAQ#10354478 $18.50

The look of the bottle is new, butthe same great flavour is what I lookfor in the bold wines of Washington.Some green pepper and plum with

heaps of currant and pepper take thepalate to a long, thick finish. Pair this winewith roasted meat and grilled vegetablesand you won’t be disappointed.

18/20 Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre,La Bergerie de l’Hortus,Coteaux-Languedoc, France.SAQ#00427518 $17.85

This is one of my favourite winescoming out of France at the mo-ment. Bold flavours and a wonder-

fully balanced nose of herbs, plums andcherries lead to a rich mouth-filling winemeant for coq au vin or a rich meatloaf. Italso matches mushroom-bacon pizza withparmesan and gorgonzola.

Carola Price is a sommelier and chef.She is a member of the Canadian

Association of Professional Sommeliers andThe International Sommelier Guild. She

can be reached at [email protected].

He Said:The Last King of Scotland tells the story

of a (fictitious) personal physician andfriend to Idi Amin. (The all-too-real Aminruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979.) Thefilm, starring James McAvoy as Dr.Nicholas Garrigan and Forest Whitaker asAmin, culminates with the PLO’s hijack-ing of an Air France flight that ended atEntebbe (a Ugandan city) in 1976. (Aminwas pro-PLO.)

The reason for the mention of Scotlandin this African tale? Firstly, Garrigan isScottish. Additionally, Amin’s time in theBritish Army gave him an abiding love ofScots, to the point that he sometimes tookthe title “king of Scotland”.

Whitaker Shines

This is a good movie! For starters, theacting is great. Forest Whitaker deservesall the praise he has been getting, as wellas his Oscar nomination. He is charming– nay, magnetic – at one moment and ter-

rifying in the next, the way one would ex-pect of a charismatic, populist dictator.

McAvoy will likely be overshadowed byWhitaker, but his performance is also ex-cellent. He successfully portrays a free-lovin’ man of the 1970s (complete withbell-bottoms) who is oh-so susceptible tothe temptations of power, available womenand luxury. But the character is also ani-mated by a sincere desire to help Ugan-dans, andMcAvoy portrays all aspects con-vincingly.

I was especially excited that there wereno missteps up until the false climax ofthe film (an ambush with lots of shooting).After that, however, the movie has just afew too many scenes, but I am demandingin terms of pacing.

Everything else is great, too: the minorroles (e.g., Gillian Anderson of The X-Filesfame as the English-accented wife of an-other doctor), the costumes, the sets, thefeel of the movie. Be careful, though, thereis some pretty graphic violence that willnot please the squeamish.


Movie Review: The Last King of Scotland

One King’s Man

An Odious Comparison?

In February’s Vivva, I compared Noteson a Scandal (2006) to the excellent Yearof Living Dangerously (1982), so it will prob-ably be frowned upon to bring it up againso soon. But The Last King is even closerto Living Dangerously. Both films capturehow alluring, spooky and dangerous reallyforeign cultures can be to Western ob-servers, especially in turbulent, post-colo-nial times.

One sticking point: we are told at thebeginning of the film that the movie is “in-spired by actual people.” At the end, we seethat the movie is based on a novel of thesame name published in 1999 and writ-ten by Giles Foden. What’s up? A cursoryinternet search confirms that the doctor isfictitious. When are people going to un-derstand that fact is more interesting tosome people because it happened and thatfiction should not be presented as fact?Future writers and filmmakers: rememberJames Frey’s A Million Little Pieces. Whycouldn’t we have been told from the get-go, “A fictional story of Idi Amin’sUganda”?

On the plus side, I came out of themovie curious about Amin, Entebbe andthe whole de-colonization process in eastAfrica. I’ll be buying some books soon.

That’s my kind of movie.

She Said:I agree. This is an excellent movie: well-

written, well-acted, beautiful to look at andbelievable even if fictionalized. I enjoyedthis movie much more than this year’sover-hyped and much-nominated Babel(2006). McAvoy (who played the faun inChronicles of Narnia, 2005) gives a career-

building performance. I expect greatthings from him in the future and am sur-prised that he has not been nominated forany awards.

Whitaker Acts, but Supports

Whitaker, whom I have liked in everyperformance I have seen him in, embod-ies the essence of what we imagine Aminto be: charismatic and crazy, kinetic andpsychotic. He definitely deserves his Acad-emy Award nomination, though I wouldhave thought it would have been in thebest supporting actor category rather thanin the best actor category, since McAvoy isthe only real main character.

All of the supporting characters are ex-cellent as well, with the only exceptionbeing the now standard, slightly frazzled,slightly sinister local British spy-in-res-idence. How many times, and in howmany movies, do we have to see this char-acter? I agree with David that the moviecould have been slightly shorter – there isa pacing problem in the latter portion ofthe second act. I also think that the endingis a little pat.

Stands on Its Own

However, I would like to commend thismovie for not doing what most historicalmovies do these days (and which I findparticularly annoying): finding some con-nection to the present so that we-people-living-now can understand that we aregoing back in time. This movie begins atthe beginning and ends when it ends; weare left to make connections with the pres-ent on our own.

David Price is a publisher.Catherine McKenzie is a lawyer.

False advertising? Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin: not the last king of Scotland.

physically quite frail. “The challenge ismore of a physical one,” Costa says.Marie-Noelle Dufour, who left an eight-

year career in translation for her love oftheatre, plays Rose Griggs, a character shefinds enigmatic. “At first she seems like aflaky person, very light spirited, with noworries in the world. She just wants to godancing and see people,” Dufour says.“But you see she is stronger than sheseems and very different from how she ap-pears.”Shayne Devouges, who portrays the

gentle Crossman, looks within himself forinspiration. “My character is 46, and myfather is 46. They have nothing whatso-ever in common,” Devouges says. “Whathe’s experiencing in the play I can relateback to situations I’ve been in.”

Sutton encourages her students tofind a personal connection to the work.“What’s difficult about this play is that theactors must understand it and connect ona real personal level for the play to work,”Sutton says. “They must bring somethingto the work. They can’t just recite the lines

by rote and expect it to resonate with theaudience. It must be truthful first.”

The Autumn Garden runs fromMarch7 to 10. The Dome Theatre, 3990Notre Dame West. For more informa-tion call 514.931.5000.

Kristine Berey is a Montreal-based writer.


4 Westmount Square, #110Westmount, QC H3Z 2S6Office: 514 934-1818Fax: 514-934-0478Home: 514-933-7645Cell: 514 244-1610

E-mail: [email protected]

Margaret GuthrieAgent immobilier affiliéAffiliated Real Estate Agent

by Kristine Berey

Theatre lovers know that you only be-gin to appreciate a masterpiece whenyou’ve seen it interpreted by variousartists. To see a play only once or twice ina few years is rarely enough to do it justice.

Although blessed with some excellentprofessional theatre companies, Montrealis also home to some very important train-ing institutions, such as the National The-atre School and the theatre programs ofConcordia University, John Abbott Collegeand Dawson College. Their student pro-ductions support emerging young actorsand provide theatre-goers opportunities tosee major works that may not have beenperformed for years.

Psychological Drama

FromMarch 7 to 10, as the first of threefinal productions at the venerable DomeTheatre, the professional theatre programof Dawson College presents Lillian Hell-man’s rarely performed work, The AutumnGarden, a play some say Hellman consid-ered her best. Very different in tone andpacing from Hellman’s more famouswork, The Children’s Hour, the play is oftendescribed as Chekovian.

“The dynamic is psychological,” saysWinston Sutton, Dawson drama teacherand the play’s director. “It’s dealing withthe manipulation of the mind. Your en-ergy comes through your understandingof the language. It’s not a situation whereyou have a major fistfight.”

Set in 1949, the play takes place at asummer resort on the Gulf of Mexico thatonly takes in “permanent guests.” Theproprietor, Constance, eagerly awaits the

arrival of a man she loved very deeply as agirl and whom she has never forgotten. Asevents unfold, the small group gathered atthe guest house learn to see each other –and themselves – as they really are. In theprocess, they question the validity of pastchoices, and choices they are about tomake.

Precocious Talent

Although barely into the first week ofrehearsals, the young performers describetheir characters with surprising insight, asthough they are speaking of people theyknow intimately. This is all the more sur-prising considering the young ages of theperformers. With the exception of two, allthe characters in the play are middle agedor more.

“There’s a lot more to her than meetsthe eye,” says Sarah Segal-Lazar, when de-scribing her character, Carrie Ellis, anoverly devoted mother of an adult son. Toprepare for her role, Segal-Lazar looked toher family. “My parents are around thatage,” she says. “Everything that has hap-pened to me so far happened to me as achild, and it’s a question of imagining howa parent would react. I wouldn’t generallytry to envision how my mom is feelingduring an argument, but there is no otherway to go about [preparing for the role].”

In playing Carrie’s 70-year-old mother,Mrs. Ellis, Stephanie Costa feels the chal-lenge is in capturing the character’s phys-icality. “Mrs. Ellis pretends to be senile,but she’s actually very smart and aware,”Costa says. “Everyone’s a human beingand has the same thoughts, so mentallyit’s not that much of a stretch.” Costa notesthat because her character is older, she is

Theatre

Young Actors Perform in LilianHelman’s The Autumn Garden

Director Winston Sutton (seated) with Dawson theatre students Tadzeo Horner Chbib, StephanieCosta and Marie-Noelle Dufour.

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So there’s nothing novel about a restau-rant devoted to Quebec terroir such asL’Atelier, a new restaurant on St. Laurentin Mile End. What sets the restaurantapart is that it has evolved the trend ofmarket-driven cuisine into a highly self-conscious esthetic that defines everythingfrom its food to its decor.

Pastoral Chic

In a mural on the back wall, photo-graphs of the restaurant’s suppliers are in-terspersed with images of pleasant agrar-ian landscapes. Their smiling visages lookon as diners consult the menu, whichoften lists the source of the meal: venisonfromDennis Ferrer’s farm in Boileau; foiegras and duck by producer Élisé Françoisof Aux Champs d’Élisé; and pork from St.Canut, Quebec. The decor is rounded outby a large communal table, impressiveflatware and deft surrealist touches, likethe cross-cut sections of timber that pat-tern the south wall.

The fastidious design is matched by thefood, which is assertive, inventive andmeticulously prepared. The menu listsabout 20 appetizer-size dishes fromwhichdiners assemble their own tasting menus(the server recommends ordering threeper customer).

The tuna and bison tataki is a haphaz-ard stack of thin-sliced tuna and bisonsteak interlaced with eryngii mushrooms.The assemblage is refined, yet bold andraw, an inspired take on mille feuilles. Ar-tisanal mushrooms appear again dottingthe wild rice and escargot risotto, which isdraped with silken slices of foie gras. Thedelicate luxury of the foie gras is offset bythe risotto’s earthy tones in a vivid, thoughsomewhat challenging, contrast.

L’Atelier’s take on poutine is a diminu-tive plate of fried potato and shredded rab-bit’s meat coated in dark, sweet barbecuesauce and topped by shaved Allegrettocheese. Unlike Martin Picard’s famed con-coction at Au Pied de Cochon – an un-abashedly earnest rendition of the famil-iar dish that features foie gras as the staringredient – the poutine here is restrainedand well-mannered: less a guileless com-fort food, more an irreverent reconstruc-tion.

Other standouts include the duckbreast tartare with shiitake mushroom and

hazelnut, and the game meats: medallionof venison from Boileau topped rakishlyby a grilled prawn and spicy pepper sauté;and caribou with gnocchi in a cassis re-duction.

Haute Barnyard

The emergence of restaurants likeL’Atelier that defer some of the celebrity ofthe chef to local producers is part of a foodtrend New York writer Adam Platt callsHaute Barnyard. The trend underscoresthe desire among many high-end con-sumers for a more meaningful relation-ship to food sources that exist up the line.

Formerly, organic food seemed to be away of supporting local producers, whileat the same time being an assurance of ahigh-quality product. But, ironically, thegrowth of the market for organics – whichis now the fastest growing sector of theCanadian food industry – has raised ques-tions for some about the meaning of theterm. With everything from processedfoods to factory farmed meats being certi-fied organic, does the label indicate ameaningful alternative to homogenizedtaste?

This is the position of Carl Witchel, ex-ecutive member of Slow Foods Québec, anorganization dedicated to promoting thediversity of local food economies through“taste education.” Witchel points out thatdiffering definitions of the word “organic”have complicated the issue. “Organic fooddoesn’t always taste good,” says Witchell,“so what’s the point of that? ‘Good’ and ‘or-ganic’ aren’t synonymous.”

Beyond Organic

The sentiment is echoed by MichaelMakhan, chef and owner of Aux Vivres, avegan restaurant a few blocks south ofL’Atelier on St. Laurent. “Local is the pin-

nacle,” he says. “It’s not about going or-ganic for the sake of going organic, butusing the best of what’s available.”

But in forswearingmeat and animal-de-rived ingredients, how does a vegan rest-aurant keep things interesting in fallowwinter months?

The answer is a surprisingly variedmenu that relies heavily on vegetableswith a long shelf life (carrots, potatoes,turnip, squash, pumpkin, brussel sproutsand cabbage), imported hardy greens (kaleand Swiss chard), and years of experienceperfecting recipes in the kitchen. Otherstaples include locally made soy-productsand the requisite, though not overwhelm-ing, supply of whole-grain rice and lentils.

Ironically named, samurai poutine isserved in a deep, Vietnamese-style phobowl with chopsticks. Fried potato wedgesare topped with a tuft of shaved carrot, amound of crunchy Swiss chard and grilledtempeh. Most importantly, the gravy – re-ally a mushroom-based coulis – is viscousenough to escape the derision of seasonedcarnivores, though it tastes somewhat of asavoury vegetable soup stock.

Best of all is vegan baking, which ex-ploits the integrity and freshness of ingre-dients in the absence of the moistening ef-fect of egg and butter. Handfuls of shavedcarrot, raisins and nuts enliven carrotcake, which is spread with a lime-flavour-ed icing. A decadent chocolate tarte sitsatop a moist crust of cookie crumbs andsmooshed banana.

Judging by its popularity with a young-ish Plateau crowd, it’s not only vegans whofrequent the restaurant, which reopenedlast March after undergoing renovationsand having doubled in size. Gone are theTibetan prayer flags, ramshackle furnish-ings and bohemian cachet, replaced bysleek Scandinavian-inspired decor: all

blond wood, stainless steel and matchingFormica tabletops, somewhere between adiner and a yoga studio.

The gussied-up interior reflects Mak-han’s expanding ambitions for the restau-rant: he’s added a juice bar, and plans todevelop the takeout and catering side ofthe business. But don’t be fooled by ap-pearances. Aux Vivres is still as laid-backas ever: still the only restaurant I know ofoutside of Chinatown that greets cus-tomers with a complimentary cup of minttea.

Stuart Woods is the assistant editorof Vivva Montreal.


AlpenhausA touch of Switzerland

in Montreal –not to be missed.

Alpenhaus is located between down-town Montreal and Westmount inShaughnessy Village. The restaurant re-cently celebrated its 39th anniversary.Alpenhaus is a romantic restaurant thatoffers authentic fondues, as well as otherexcellent European dishes.

1279 St. Marcjust west of downtown

514 935-2285www.restaurantalpenhaus.com

Where to goRestaurant L’Atelier5308 St. Laurent514.273.7442www.restaurantlatelier.comOpen for lunch Tuesday to Friday.Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.

Aux Vivres4631 St. Laurent514.842.3479Open from 11 am to 11 pm Tuesday toSunday.Open for brunch on weekends.

Aux Vivres brings veganism to the masses.

HauteBarnyard andWinter Vegans


by Anthea Dawson

After an unusually balmy January, thethroes of winter are truly upon us. Asmuch as we’d love winter to entail onlybeautiful snowfalls and perfect powderskiing, the reality has been -20ºC days andeven colder nights, and a wave of severecold and flu viruses that affect everyonefrom your bank clerk to the very best of theHabs.

With such cold weather, it’s tempting tohibernate and order in. However, winter isthe most crucial time to be conscious ofwhat we’re eating and to do all that we canto keep our immune system strong and infighting form. Nutrition experts agree thatmuch of what our bodies need to fight offillness is found in food.

We usually associate healthy eatingwith icky brussel sprouts and bitter dan-delion greens (both of which are filled withantioxidants), but there are so many vari-eties of food filled with immune-system-building vitamins that are as mouth-wa-tering as they are nutritious.

Natural Remedies

Vegetables are a great source to protectagainst sickness. They are filled with vita-mins, minerals and phytochemicals thatward off disease, including cancer. Thebest of the bunch is dark leafy greens likekale, swiss chard and beet greens. But eat-ing a variety of different colour veggies isalso important, as the colour identifies dif-ferent vitamins important in boosting theimmune system.

Orange vegetables, like carrots, butter-nut squash and especially sweet potatoes,are high in beta-carotene, a key antioxi-dant. Root vegetables (like beets andparsnips) and legumes (like beans andchickpeas) are also dietary essentials. Theyare easy to cook with and abundant at veg-etable markets throughout the winter.

Fresh fruits are an amazing source ofnutrition and are easy to include in every-day eating habits. Berries, especially blue-berries, are known for cancer-fightingabilities, while figs are known for powerfulantioxidants. Fresh berries can be quite ex-pensive in winter months, so dried orfrozen berries can be substituted in apinch, though unsweetened berries arebest.

Good quality protein is essential inmaintaining the rapid production of cellsthat support your immune system, andalso helps boost energy and build muscle

mass. Organic meats, chicken and pork,though more expensive, are much health-ier and contain high quantities of zinc,which helps ward off disease. Fish are alsogreat sources of protein, especially thosehigh in omega-3 fatty acids like salmon,tuna, trout, sardines and mackerel. Mod-eration is key with both meats and fish,but a lean daily serving helps keep yourbody healthy.

Whole grains (brown rice, barley,quinoa) and complex carbs help cleansethe colon of toxins. Ground flaxseedsprinkled on breakfast cereal is a great wayto sneak in a daily antioxidant. Drinkinglots of water (doctors recommend six toeight glasses a day) is another way to stayhealthy and regulate your body’s systems.If you do feel yourself coming down withsomething, try to avoid foods containingsugar (which has a negative effect on theimmune system), coffee (a diuretic thatadds to the body’s loss of important nutri-ents), alcohol and raw foods like sushi andrare meats that may contain bacteria.

As the thermometer continues to drop,load up on these immune-system-enhanc-ing treats to help keep your body in fight-ing form. The end of the season is in sight,so enjoy all that it has to offer while youstill can!

Roasted Rainbow Beet Borscht

This is a wonderful soup packed withvitamins that is great served hot on a coldwinter’s night, or cold on balmy summer days.2 lbs. medium-size yellow beets2 lbs. medium-size red beets1 Tbsp. canola oil2 large onions, chopped2 Tbsp. garlic, minced2 celery stalks, chopped1 sweet potato, peeled and choppedinto small chunks

1 cup dry white wine6 cups chicken or vegetable stock1 cup red cabbage, chopped- cup 15% cream2 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley, choppedKosher salt & white pepper to taste2 Tbsp. plain yogurt (optional),for garnish

2 Tbsp. snipped chives (optional),for garnishPreheat oven to 400ºF.Wash and trim the ends of the beets,

then wrap individually in aluminum foil.Set on a baking sheet. Roast beets in theoven for about one hour, or until they aretender at the centre when pierced with a

knife. Open each beet packetto let cool.

When they are cool enoughto handle, peel the beets byhand or using a small pairingknife (wear gloves, or you willstain your hands). Chop thepeeled beets and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oilon medium-high heat. Addonions, garlic and celery andsauté until soft. Stir in sweetpotato and white wine. Addstock, red cabbage and chop-ped beets, and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to a low boil andsimmer for 30 minutes, oruntil the potato is tender andcooked through.

Remove soup from heat and purée witha hand blender until smooth. Add creamand parsley. Season to taste with koshersalt and white pepper.

If the borscht is too thick for your lik-ing, water it down with more stock. Gar-nish with a dollop of plain yogurt andsnipped chives and serve!

Serves 4 to 6.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin withPort Fig Sauce

This is an elegant dish that is simple toprepare and filled with nutrients. Serve withroasted sweet potato wedges and sautéed swisschard.2 pork tenderloins (about 2- lbs.in total), trimmed

Kosher salt & black pepper1- Tbsp. canola oil2 Tbsp. unsalted butter2 shallots, minced1 clove garlic, minced2 Tbsp. flour- cup port (or sherry)2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar1- cups low-sodium veal, beef orchicken stock

- cup dried figs, roughly chopped1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1 Tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped1 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400°F.Heat oil in a heavy cast-iron skillet over

medium-high heat until the surface be-gins to shimmer. Sear the pork tenderloinson all sides until well browned, about 2 to3 minutes. Put the skillet in the oven androast pork until it is pink in the centre,about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a cut-ting board and tent with aluminum foil.Let rest before slicing.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a smallsaucepan. Add shallots and garlic andsauté until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 min-utes. Stir in the flour. Add the port and bal-samic and stir to combine (the sauce willbe very thick at this point). Slowly stir inthe stock while bringing the sauce to aboil. Reduce to a low simmer and add figs,rosemary, thyme and parsley. Let simmerfor about 10 minutes, then season to tastewith kosher salt and pepper.

To serve, cut the pork into thin slicesand serve with roasted sweet potatoes andswiss chard. Spoon the fig sauce over thepork.

Serves 6.

Anthea Dawson is the executive chef ofSimply Wonderful, a catering company.

Easter is quickly approaching.Many people who are in need willcome to Welcome Hall Missionfor hot meals, emergency foodbaskets and many other services.Are you able to help?Send your donation today to:Welcome Hall Mission606 De Courcelle St, MontrealQC H4C 3L5 – (514) 523-5288or visit our websitewww.welcomehallmission.comThank you

Cooking

(Disease) Fighting Foods

Borscht: restorative winter soup.

by Jordan W. Charness

My unlucky friend Peter looked shookup, wet, cold and maybe even a little hurt.It took him a few minutes to composehimself sufficiently so that he could tellme what had happened.

“This story is so bizarre that I hardly be-lieve it myself,” Peter said. “I actually gotcaught in a blizzard today.”

I looked outside and saw the sun wasbright and shining. There was not a cloudin the sky and, in fact, it was one of thosewarmer winter days when it seems likenothing could go wrong. For most people,that is. As we all know, Peter is not mostpeople.

Freak Accident

Peter was driving down a large down-town street, enjoying the sun and warmerweather and thinking that perhaps springmight actually arrive this year. The nextthing he knew, the front of hiscar was engulfed in whatseemed to be a violent snowstorm.

Snow was pounding downon the hood of his car whensuddenly a huge chunk of icesmashed in the passenger-side windshield. Peter skid-ded to a halt and tried to figure out whatwas going on.

Out of his shattered window he saw thesun was still shining, but his hood wasbent and dented. Snow was everywherearound his car, but the rest of the streetwas clear and clean. Shakily, Peter got outof his car and looked around.

Two people came running over to himto find out if he was all right. Peter assuredthem that he was and asked if they hadseen what happened. He was told that agiant mound of snow had fallen off theroof of a nearby building and landed onhis car. He was lucky that he was not badlyhurt or killed by the falling snow.

The police soon arrived and called atow-truck to clear his car away. Obviously,there were no criminal charges to be laid,but Peter wanted to know who was re-sponsible for the damage to his car.

Legal Liability

Fortunately for Peter, he had two-wayinsurance on his car as well as all-risk cov-erage. His insurance would likely pay forthe repairs to his vehicle, less the de-ductible. However, since Peter has had nu-

merous mishaps with his cars, he had avery high deductible.

Even though insurance may pay part orall of the damages, the insurance companyhas a right to go after the party who causedthe damage. In multi-vehicle accidents,special inter-insurance agreements mayapply, but when the damage to a car iscaused by something other than a car, theinsurance company may well go after theauthor of the damage.

So, who was at fault here? For a change,Peter was totally blameless. He was driv-ing safely and prudently when hit by theartificial blizzard.

A case could bemade against the owneror operator of the building that had thebuild-up of snow on its roof. The civil codemakes owners of things responsible fordamage if those things are under theircontrol.

In this case it could be argued that theowner of the building had a duty to make

sure the roof was clear ofsnow or at least designed insuch a manner so as to makethis type of snowfall impossi-ble. A flat roof design wouldnot allow huge chunks ofsnow to fall off.

Snow might be blownfrom the upper regions, but

for this type of mini-avalanche a slantedroof is a more likely culprit. Even thesetypes of roofs usually will not store enoughsnow to make such an event possible.Nonetheless, it did happen to Peter.

The owners of the building may defendthemselves by claiming that this snowdump was an act of God, an event that istotally beyond their control. If somethingis truly beyond the control of humans,such as a lightning strike, no one can beblamed or forced to pay for the damage.

From a legal point of view, this case isan interesting one that may require thehelp of a wise judge, some expert engi-neers and architects, and perhaps even aweather specialist. Even then there wouldprobably be no perfect solution, as poorPeter is certainly inconvenienced by thisunfortunate turn of events.

Jordan W. Charness is the managingpartner of Charness, Charness & Charness.

This article is excerpted from his bookSteering You Right: Greatest

Stories. This column is of a generalnature and may not be applicable in allsituations and jurisdictions. If you need

legal advice, please consult a lawyer.

There’s no shortage of good places toeat in the Eastern Townships, a region richin small-scale, artisanal food producers.

For a good selection of foie gras, confit,rillettes and local rawmilk cheeses stop byLa Rumeur Affamée, a small chain of bak-eries in Dunham famous for its maplesyrup pie. The quaint boutique also stocksartisanal beauty products like bath saltsfrom Mount St. Grégoire, and face andbody lotion made from beeswax.

Montrealers familiar with Le Fromen-tier, an outstanding bakery in the city’seast end, will be pleasantly surprised thatthe bread here bears a striking resem-blance: dark, rich loaves coated in sun-flower seeds or dotted with walnuts andblack olives. That’s because the bakery’ssupplier, Picarda Pascal at La Valse desPains in Sutton, trained at Le Fromentierand has brought his secrets to the Town-ships. Sample from an excellent selectionof local raw-milk cheeses, such as Bouq’Émissaire, a goat’s milk cheese aged inneighbouring Brigham.

For a more substantial meal, head toBoulangerie Owl’s Bread’s new location indowntown Magog. Like its counterpart inMansonville, the old-style European bak-ery is also open for lunch, and stocks a lineof homemade rillettes, pâtés, smokedsalmon, foie gras and preserves. Confit,cassoulet toulousain and a variety of localand imported raw-milk cheeses are avail-able for take out or to consume in a brightdinning room that gives onto Mem-phremagog.

For a sweet treat, you might try LePanier Champêtre opposite the KnowtonPub. The busy gift shop, which features avariety of gourmet products from the re-

gion and beyond, also stocks a line offudge by La Vie Sucrée, including praline,maple and mint chocolate flavours.


Townships Calendar

March Munchables

Driving

Unexpected Perils of Winter Driving

La Rumeur Affamée3809 PrincipaleDunham, QC450.295.2399

La Rumeur Affamée15-A Principale NorthSutton, QC450.538.1888

La Rumeur Affamée277 Knowlton Rd.Knowlton, QC450.243.1616

Boulangerie Owl’s Bread428 Principale WestMagog, QC819.847.1987www.owlsbread.com

Boulangerie Owl’s Bread299-A PrincipaleMansonville, QC450.292.3088www.owlsbread.com

Le Panier Champêtre255-A Knowlton Rd.Knowlton, QC450.242.2758www.lepanierchampetre.com

La Vie Sucrée29 LakesideKnowlton, QC450.242.1445

Retailers and boutiques!The time to order is now!

2008 Eastern Townships calendar (bilingual)Barns and Farms of the Townshipsby Louise Abbott and Niels JensenVariety of towns, seasons and subjects.

Size (bigger this year!): 24 inches high by 133⁄8 unfoldedSame size as the “Lang-style” frames

Retail: $16.95. Call now for the best retailers’ discount.310 Victoria Ave., Suite 105, Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2M9

Tel: 514.223.6138 – Fax: 514.935.9241Email: [email protected]

If your windshield starts tolook like this, drive carefully!

Our

3rd

year

Movies

� Theatre Lac Brome screens U-CarmeneKhayelitsha, a South African retelling ofBizet’s opera Carmen. The production isperformed entirely in Xhosa, one of SouthAfrica’s 11 official languages. Tickets are$7, $5 for members. Arts Knowlton, 9Mount Echo Rd., Knowlton. For moreinformation call 450.242.2270 or go towww.theatrelacbrome.com. March 4 at 5pm.

� Brome Lake Lions Club screens AnInconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s AcademyAward-nominated documentary aboutclimate change. The film is followed by apanel moderated by local environmentalactivist Dr. Charles Weldon. Tickets arefree, but space is limited. Brome LakeCommunity Centre, Knowlton. March 14at 6:45 pm.

� Theatre Lac Brome screens Escape toCanada, a tongue-in-cheek look atCanada’s “progressive” society. Tickets are$7, $5 for members. Arts Knowlton, 9Mount Echo Rd., Knowlton. For more in-formation call 450.242.2270 or go to www.theatrelacbrome.com. March 18 at 5 pm.

Books

� To mark the national Read-Aloud Day aswell as the 50th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’


KNOWLTON3 Victoria

450 242-2000Fax: 450 243-0914

[email protected]

Superior setting with a wonderful view ofBrome Lake and almost 2 acres of land inKnowlton, near boat and golf clubs. A six-bed-room home that loves to entertain and welcomefamily and friends in comfort. $750,000

Cross-country ski trail right across the road.Cosy two-level home, two bedrooms on themain floor, fireplace in the living room and a gor-geous kitchen. Lower level ready to finish. Justminutes to Autoroute 10. $189,000

Cowansville country-side. Stylish residence ofrecent construction that includes many systemsand design features to make you proud andkeep you comfy. Very private setting, ingroundpool, 25 acres. $649,000

In the heart of Knowlton. Superbly renovatedthree-bedroom century home in the commercialzone, allowing B&B, boutique, restaurant. Enjoyan easy walk to theatre, library, dining and more.Be a part of it! $299,000

Sutton Mountain view to appreciate from yourwrap-around veranda and the grounds of thisBrome Village home. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,wood flooring. Small garage/barn, 6.7 acres offields, B&B zone. $239,000

Selby Lakefront – Impeccable home with at-tractive décor and sensational sunset viewacross the lake. 50 feet on the water, land-scaped grounds with stone walls, staircase tothe beach. $399,000 Affordable lakefront living.

Easy care country home – Brick bungalow with3 bedrooms, updated kitchen and bath, granitefireplace. Pretty 10,000 square-foot property,conveniently located near Autoroute 10, Fosterand West Bolton. $159,000

Eastern Townships Living by Lois HardackerChartered Real Estate Agent

The Cat in the Hat, Brome Lake Bookspresents a special reading of the book bylocal authors Louise Penny and DonDavison, as well as actors Bill Jarand,Michaela Barns and Darlene Bell. Thefestivities will feature a birthday cake,treats and non-stop reading from the wisedoctor’s works. Brome Lake Books, 264Knowlton Rd., Knowlton. For moreinformation call 450.242.2242 or go towww.bromelakebooks.com. March 2at 7:15 & 7:45 pm.

Theatre

� Knowlton Players presents A Bench in theSun by Ron Clark, a play about two long-time friends who band together with aonce-famous actress to save their retire-ment home from redevelopment. ArtsKnowlton, 9 Mount Echo Rd., Knowlton.For tickets call 450.242.2270 or go towww.knowltonplayers.com. March 8 to 18at 7 pm.

Lecture

� As part of International Women’s Day, theYamaska Valley Optimist Club presents alecture by Elizabeth May, leader of thefederal Green Party, on her experience as awoman in politics. Tickets are $50. Lake-view Inn, 50 Victoria, Knowlton. Fortickets call Lois Hardacker at

450.242.2000 or Ilze Epners at450.775.8516. March 23.

Community Events

� Let’s Talk Health! Townshippers’ in part-nership with the Community Health andSocial Services Network presents a pilotradio project on mental health. Tune into 88.9 in Lennoxville or online at www.cjmq.fm. For information call 819.566.5717. February 27 and March 13 at 1 pm.

� The Quebec Anglophone HeritageNetwork is soliciting nominations for the2007 Marion Phelps Award, which recog-nizes outstanding lifetime contribution tothe protection and preservation of anglo-phone heritage in Quebec. Fax yournominations to 819.564.6872 or [email protected]. For more informationgo to www.qahn.org. Nominations mustbe received by April 30.

Eastern Townships Events


BRIAN, TIMOTHY, JOAN McGUIGANAGENTS IMMOBILIER AGRÉES / CHARTERED REAL ESTATE AGENTS

TRUST. REACH. RESULTS.

NDG Move in condition! Bright 2 bedroom, 2 bathroomcondo with just over 1,100 sq ft of living space. Masterbedroom has 2 walk-in closets and ensuite. Hardwoodfloors. Situated in the heart of NDG, close to transporta-tion, shopping. Asking $236,000

Virtual tour: www.mcguiganpepin.com/571533

Downtown Live as you would at the Ritz, except own yourown condo. Prestigious building with a discreet neigh-bourly feel. Enjoy Mount Royal, as if it were your ownbackyard. Parking, doorman, security. Galley-style kitchen,moldings, archways. Asking $210,000


Downtown Situated at the back of a quiet courtyard ina prime downtown Montreal location, this house haspotential for renovators. With 4 bedrooms, plus two in thebasement, house is bright with windows on 3 sides. Ask-ing $599,000

Westmount Prime living in the heart of Victoria Village.Bright with skylight in stairwell and bathroom. Nicelyrenovated kitchen and bathrooms (’02). Fin. basementwith bedroom, accessible by private door. Garden, 3balconies. Asking $569,000


Le Plateau Mont Royal Stunning, modern New York-style loft. 15 feet of windows provide a resplendent vistaoverlooking rooftops, church steeples, the Big O. Closedbdr, soundproof. 7-min walk to Mt Royal metro, 5 mins toMont Royal Park. Asking $285,000


Upper Westmount Located on a quiet 6-house street,near the look-out and park. Highest quality renovations,from top to bottom. Low maintenance house with auto-matic irrigation system, garage, perfect for busy profes-sionals. Asking $1,375,000


Westmount Charming turn of the century family home in Westmount’s best location – the flat – steps fromWestmount Park. Cross hall plan between spacious living room and dining room. 10 ft. ceilings showcasingornate moldings. Winding staircase with exquisite banister, skylight Exterior parking for 3 cars. Large familyroom and bedroom in basement. Asking $999,000


NEWLISTING

Nun’s Island Lovely condo in Jardin de l’Archipel. 1465square feet offering wonderful views of the river. 3 bed-rooms, 2 baths, garage, central air. Offers. Asking$259,000

NEWLISTING

NEWLISTING

NEWPRICE

OFFERS

NEWLISTING

514-937-8383

www.McGuiganPepin.com

Vous cherchez â vendre votre maison? Vous êtes intéressés par unservice personnalisé et beaucoup d’attention? Nous détenons les deux :

les acheteurs et l’attention personnalisée que vous recherches.Looking to sell your home? Interested in personalized service and lots ofcare? We have both the buyers and personal attention you are looking for.

new digs for montreal inuit art expert

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