By Kier Junos Alea Clark from the art-rock band Douse shows us how to do well at making soap. Once a mere novel hobby, Alea’s soap-making has led to the wide enjoyment of the New Westminister-based band’s most popular wares. But how did Alea even start to get there? In this new installment in a…
With files from Shea Wind. It was one part local tourism, one part solid marketing, and one part Amazing Race. The 17th annual Tourism Challenge encouraged tourism industry staff and volunteers to take as many daytrips as possible to the Lower Mainland’s tourist hotspots (or lukewarm spots) over a six-week period. This year’s rendition of…
Photography Mission A visual exploration of Mission’s historic downtown by Joe Johnson with files from Katie Stobbart and Shea Wind Starting this June, Mission will celebrate its 125th anniversary. Mission is, of course, more than just a few landmarks north of the river: a university campus, a terminus for the West Coast Express, an abbey. It’s…
What kind of place is poetry? What place does poetry have in Abbotsford? On April 3, Michelle Elrick returned home to Abbotsford to read from her second collection of poetry, then/again (Nightwood Editions, 2017). The book is a spectacular examination of her desire for home which occurs simultaneously with a need to find home elsewhere….
It’s an old trope: a bumbling restaurant patron discovers they can’t afford their meal, and, after a big commotion, they work off their debt by washing dishes and serving customers. In the real, less comedic world where everyone needs food but not everyone has the means to get it, this sort of system would have…
It appears to be a simple two-dimensional platformer with linear gameplay, but the aesthetics merely shield a complex, deep, and at times painfully sorrowful narrative. Released in late February, Night in the Woods walks into uncomfortable yet familiar territory few games dare to tread. But you see, that’s just the thing about Night in the…
A new craft brewery in Abbotsford is emerging. Hathi Brewing (“elephant” in Hindi, pronounced hah-tee) currently has three varieties of beer, with more styles and flavours in the works. Founders Aman and Paul Sidhu are taking cultural cues from Abbotsford’s South Asian population to create an infusion of Indian tastes, craft beer, and community. Hathi…
Year-end lists tend to be soulless exercises, lacking in personality. And yet we so easily award these arbitrary rankings incredible significance when debating their “correctness” in comments sections. This approach to music appreciation generally sucks the life out of it. So, rather than trying to provide a comprehensive list of the year’s best, we’ve asked…
Nearly all of us have a gamer in our lives. At first glance, video games might appear to be a frenzied, flashing flurry of sight and sound. They have often been criticized for disengaging us, as mere entertainment and escapism. But they can be so much more. Fraser Valley resident Nissa Campbell, a graduate of…
“But how old do I look?” “Somewhere between 20 and 30, I guess. 25?” My answer is so broad it couldn’t possibly be wrong. He smiles. He shakes his head. “I’m afraid not,” he says. Mario Funderburk is the 19-year-old leader and head developer of Twisted Time Studios. Currently, they are developing a game called…
