Andrea Pelletier - Clothing Designer

Andrea Pelletier was one of the designers for the Red Dress Gala & Fashion Show '13. She has a very unique eye for fashion, and I'm proud to say she was the designer of the red dress I wore that evening. The bright colours and eye catching patterns she chooses to work with bring her designs to life and stand out among the mass market.

Winnipeg's Finest

January 16th - Episode 7: Author, Laina Hughes

Laina is a Creative Communications student at Red River College, who has just published her first book. Like all second year students in the program, Laina was asked to come up with an idea for an Independent Professional Project (IPP). As a lover of literature and a woman who spends a lot of time at the library, Laina quickly decided the IPP was a great opportunity for her to write her first book, Wolseley Stories. Laina's lived in the Wolseley area for most of her life, and appreciates the uniqueness her neighbourhood has to offer. Over the past year she's gathered many different stories from different people who live or have lived in the Wolseley area, and has complied them, along with her own stories, into one neatly packaged book.

Laina will be having a book launch, next Thursday at 7:30pm at McNally Robinson in Grant Park Shopping Centre; a perfect time to pick up your copy of Wolseley Stories and to get it signed by the soon to be #1 best selling author.

But until then...

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg's Finest, Laina Hughes.

• Podcast Now Available

IPPs = Busy Busy Busy!

It's a busy time of year for us second year CreComm students. For the past year we've all been working on our IPPs (Independent Professional Projects), and a lot of them are starting to wrap up. As most of you know, for my project I've chosen to organize a Red Dress Gala & Fashion Show in support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, on February 13th. Although I knew from the very beginning I wanted to do an event as my year long project, many other students have written books, created websites, filmed documentaries...the list can go on forever.

There are so many talented students in the CreComm program, and it's been great seeing everyone's hard work come to life.

Good luck with your projects everyone! Show 'em what you got!

Winnipeg's Finest

November 5th - Episode 5: Philanthropist, Amanda Furst

Amanda is a philanthropist and co-founder of Growing Opportunities International (GO!) GO! is an organization that seeks to improve the lives of those living in rural communities within developing countries, through a variety of different projects. Amanda’s desire to create this organization came about while she was helping to build a small school in Rwanda. After taking on such an important project Amanda didn’t want the projects to end, and has been helping to strengthen communities primarily in Rwanda and Tanzania over the last few years. 

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg’s Finest, Amanda Furst!

• Podcast Available

Winnipeg's Finest

October 29th – Episode 4: YouTube Sensation, Reid Valmestad

Reid is a Winnipeg YouTube sensation, and a very enthusiastic young man. He spends a lot of time creating hilarious and engaging YouTube videos that always attract a lot of attention. One of his most well known videos was Shit Winnipeggers Say, with a guest appearance by friend and co-worker, Jackie Lynn Doming. The video was uploaded this past February, and poked fun at a lot of the different stereotypes of Winnipeggers. This video was by far his most popular, coming in with over 33 thousand views. Although he enjoys scripting, shooting, and editing videos, his career goal right now is to become a MuchMusic VJ, and he’s currently in the middle of the audition process. 

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg’s Finest, Reid Valmestad!

• Podcast Now Available
  

Winnipeg's Finest

October 22nd - Episode 3: Personal Trainer, Andrea Smith

Andrea is a triple threat. A personal trainer, bikini model, and body builder makes Andrea a busy gal and an inspiration. Andrea strives to give women the motivation they need to become active, healthy, and to feel happy and accomplished with all of their hard work. Her business, Get Ready Girls (getreadygirls.ca) features a number of different fitness programs suited to different needs and interests and every day women. The three Cs Andrea chooses to live by are Confidence, Commitment, and Consistency, and she invites women to share in her mantra.

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg’s Finest, Andrea Smith!

• Podcast Now Available

Winnipeg's Finest

October 15th - Episode 2: Photographer, Charmaine Mallari

Charmaine is a Winnipeg photographer who is fairly well known throughout the community. She has a strong passion for fashion photography and has worked with a large number of local

designers who are always impressed with her work. Her love of photography started when she was really young and just beginning to learn the ins and outs of a camera. Charmaine's business name, TRUE CHARISMA PHOTOGRAPHY, is reflection of how others have seen her throughout her life, and is a description she aspires to live up to everyday.

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg's Finest, Charmaine Mallari!

• Podcast Now Available

Hallo...what?

Last night my mom and I took my little cousin Trick-or-Treating. As a kid Halloween was one of the best days of the year. At school we would do our work in the morning as scheduled, but in the afternoon we always had a Halloween party! Everyone in the class would bring an array of snacks, we’d all get dressed up in our cute little costumes, and then we’d watch a Halloween movie. This happened until at least grade 6, if not later. After the school day was done, my friends and I would always hit up a few houses for candy on our way home to drop off our school bags, re-adjust our costumes, grab our heavy duty pillow cases, and head out the door. To be honest, I went trick-or-treating with my mom most of the time, even as I got older. She’s a fun lady that mother of mine. Sometimes my friends would join us too, but my mom always wanted to be part of the fun. She’d always be nice enough to make sure the people handing out candy knew that her son was at home and couldn’t come out because he had a cold, and people would always give us extra candy for him.

I’m an only child.

Nearly all the houses on every street had some sort of Halloween decorations, and there were always a handful of houses that went all out with flashy lights, sound effects, and scary monsters that pop out at you from behind the bushes. My mom would always try her best to get us to the really good parts of the city who hand out full sized chocolate bars, big bags of chips, and cans of pop. I remember going home 2 or 3 times in the middle of our journey, to empty my pillowcases so I can get more goods. I’d say having 5 sacks of candy makes for a successful Halloween night. I remember being able to trick-or-treat until about midnight, sometimes even 1 in the morning, which was perfectly fine because school was always cancelled the following day!

Fast forward to Halloween 2012.

Last night was nothing like I’ve just described. I barely saw any trick-or-treaters out and about, which may have had something to do with only 6 houses per block (if that) with their lights on. We started about 7:30pm and apparently that was a late start. Some of the houses we started off with gave us the last of their stash, as they were nearly out for the evening. Now I don’t think this was because they had a ton of little monsters at their door, but more because they likely bought one small bag of candy and figured that would do the trick. Some simply stopped handing out candy because there was only a trick-or-treater every half an hour or so, if not longer.

As we walked from one house with lights to the next, which was about 18 houses away, I asked my cousin what she did at school for Halloween. You know what they did at her school? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! No dress up. No party. No movies. No Halloween sing-alongs….nothing!

What’s going on? Is Halloween being phased out? Do people no longer believe in Halloween fun? What is it?

I loved Halloween as a kid, and I’m disappointed that this generation is not getting the chance to enjoy it the way I did. I feel like they’re getting ripped off BIG TIME! Some people have serious views about not participating in Halloween festivities, but what about everybody else?

So tell me folks, why do you think kids aren’t as excited about Halloween as they used to be? Why did people stop handing out candy? Why don’t parents take their kids out anymore? What happened to the school parties? Halloween dances? Costumes?

While you ponder, please enjoy this video of the sweetest halloween house, ever!
(Watch for at least 2 minutes to get the full effect)

Winnipeg's Finest

October 1st - Episode 1: Fashion Designer, Dee Karpa

Dee Karpa is a 24 year old local fashion designer. She moved to Winnipeg from Croatia when she was a little girl, and began her fashion journey when she was in high school. Her designs are inspired by the image of a powerful woman, and include a lot of dresses and business attire. Her upcoming events include her participation in the Red Dress Gala & Fashion Show, as well a White Project created to detach the stigma that is often linked to people with mental illnesses.

I introduce you to one of Winnipeg's Finest, Dee Karpa!
http://radio.rrc.ca/?p=168

I Challenge You

I recently did a marketing assignment in which I needed to choose a business or organization I thought could benefit from a rebrand. I chose an organization that deals with women and young girls of all ages who’ve been victimized, criminalized, or institutionalized. To clarify, someone who’s been criminalized doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve been convicted of a crime; homelessness can be seen as a criminal activity. 

I chose this organization because although they’ve been in Winnipeg for nearly 30 years, and have chapters all over Canada, they are not well known in the community. They don’t have the funds to hire a marketing or promotions specialist, and don’t have any staff members who have these skills to carry out a thorough communications plan. 

One main problem they’re having is receiving community support. They don’t have laughing babies or furry kittens to put on the front of their brochures. They deal with women who’ve lead unfavourable lifestyles, and who need help getting on their feet. They deal with women who’ve served time in prison, and don’t have any support when they’re released. They deal with women who can’t afford new clothes, food to eat, or feminine hygiene products that most of us take for granted. 

Most of these women have been victims or physical, mental, or sexual abuse when they were young girls, and haven’t been able to overcome those traumas. These traumas have led some of these women to trade sex for money, money for drugs, drugs for their life. 

There are so many organizations in the city that does a lot of good for all sorts of people in need. It can be hard to decide where to donate your time, money, or resources, and the fact that you’re even donating at all is phenomenal. But how do you choose who to help?

Winnipeg has ton of non-profit organizations and charities that are well known throughout the city. I myself am putting together an event to raise a sizeable donation for one of them. But what about the ones who never get the spotlight? Who struggle everyday to gain community support? Who don’t have the funds to create T.V. commercials, reminding you they exist?

Help is help and as long as you’re making a contribution to something or someone, you’re making a difference. But I do challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone, forget what’s easy or convenient, and steer away from things that have had their time in the spotlight. Try seeking out the underdog, and find out how you can make a difference in the life of someone you’ve never heard of, never considered, or are reluctant to help.  

We have so many people in Winnipeg who need resources that many of us have the luxury of having every day, so let’s try not to forget them. Choosing to help one person or group of people over another is not a bad thing, but the challenge is to seek out something new.

You’ll be surprised of what you’ll find.

Winnipeg's Finest

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve decided to host my own talk show on Red River Radio. 

Winnipeg’s Finest

Winnipeg’s Finest gives you the opportunity to get to know the different and interesting folks who walk the streets of Winnipeg. Our talk show has a variety of guests from fashion designers, to photographers, to young entrepreneurs. There`s a lot of talented people in this world to get to know, so why not start with the people in your own backyard?

Winnipeg’s Finest will be streaming live every Monday from 5PM-5:30PM, on radio.rrc.ca, starting October 1^st. For those of you with iPhones, soon you will be able to stream all Red River Radio shows directly to your phone! Be sure to visit the website for more details. 

October 1st Guest: Dee Karpa - Fashion Designer from Croatia!

Big Brother Meet & Greet

On Thursday night my roommate and I were fortunate enough to go to The Ranch Saloon to meet three players from the hit reality T.V. show, Big Brother. Hundreds of fans gathered to see Evel Dick Donato, Janelle Pierzina, and Porsche Briggs in the flesh. 

Big Brother has been around for 12 years and although I haven’t had the opportunity to watch every season, Evel Dick is by far my favourite player of all time. His ruthless, hilarious, strategic, direct, and fearless attitude, lead him and his estranged daughter Danielle, to the final two houseguests at the end of season 8, with Dick as the final winner!

For anyone who watches the show but hasn’t seen season 8, I highly recommend you get online and have a look. In my opinion, it was the most eventful season of Big Brother, yet. 

Here is one of my favourite clips:

*Offensive Language

After Dick, Janelle, and Porsche did their introductions, the venue started playing the live eviction episode of the current season, on the screens all around the room. I can’t even describe to you all how cool it was to be watching Big Brother with my favourite former houseguest, Dick, Janelle (voted out of this season a few weeks ago) , who wasn’t necessarily in my good books, but who is definitely a fierce competitor, and Porsche....the ultimate floater!  (only those who watch the show will get that reference)

It was great to hear all of their comments about the current season, but what was even greater was hearing all the gossip and behind the scenes off that you don’t see or hear on the show. 

For example:

1.       Brendan offered to pay Shelley $10,000 to vote for Rachel to win the game (season 12)
2.       Wil had hair extensions in the whole time(current season)
3.       Jen and Nick were sleeping together after their season (season 8)
4.       Danielle and Jen are currently friends (season 8)
5.       There are staff in the diary room who give the guests hints as to what’s going on behind their backs, so they can comment on it (all seasons)
6.       A viewer called the police after Jen was burned by Dick’s cigarette, and CBS had to show the police the clip to show what went on(season 8)

Not all extremely interesting, but some definitely caught my attention. 

It was such a great night, and I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to meet these people. Thanks Anita for sharing this experience with me!