WEDNESDAY, Dic» wen 13, 1995 0) = Are you having an entertaining event? Advertise your up-coming dance, exhibition, recital, play etc. in the Entertainment Guide Call Cathy at 365-5266 for more info. —— NEC funding comes through Submitted {ot ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION Branch !70O___ Sundays 2-8 pm Mon.-Thurs. 2 pm-10 pm Fri. & Sat. ham-1i pm Bingo every Thurs. Lpdetroncene Music day - Darts - Crib GUESTS WITH MEMBERS WELCOME! 248 Columbia Ave., Castlegar * 365-7017 Rock N' Roll Christmas Dance featuring Dancing: 9:30 pm $20/person (dinner/dance) $8/person (dance only) 365-6933 Fireside Inn, Castlegar A -rush of support by West Kootenay communities will ensure the National Exhibition Centre stays open for at least another year. The NEC's board of directors, staff and volunteers have raised close to $17,000, the amount needed to balance the budget for 1996. This amount, plus $8,000 in transitional funds received from the federal government make up most of the $24,900 lost due to cuts in the museum's assistance program. The additional funds have been raised through lobbying efforts, fundraising activities, donations and sales of annual memberships to the NEC. Lob- bying efforts have increased annual grants from several elec- toral areas of the Regional Dis- trict of Central Kootenay and the City of Castlegar. The city kicked in $8,000 for 1996, while RDCK areas have granted $8,250. The City of Nelson has added $400 to the total. Arts councils in Salmo and Slocan Valley and the Slocan Lake Gallery Society have also supported the NEC with increased grants-in-aid. The Castlegar and District United Way also upped its annual fund- ing to $2,000. “We are extremely grateful for this show of support,” said Gor- don Turner, NEC board co-chair- man. “We aren't quite there yet, since we still need to raise addi- tional funds to break even. Next year, we will need to raise an additional $25,000 just to main- tain our already very low budget and keep the doors open through 1997.” Myma Cobb, NEC co-director and a resident of Nelson, said she “hopes the City of Nelson will acknowledge through increased funding that the NEC provides a unique service enjoyed by residents of Nelson as well as other cities and com- munities in the West Koote- nays.” “In the last five years, 20 per cent of solo exhibitions at the NEC featured artists from Nelson,” said Cobb. “Our school programs are also well-attended by Nelson and district school children. “While the NEC is located in Castlegar, it is a regional cultural facility, centrally located to be accessible to everyone living in the West Kootenay.” The centre also has received support from businesses and individuals through purchases of more than 75 new members have joined the NEC NEC staff have planned a full year of exhibitions for 1996, starting with “Birds of Prey” from the Royal British Columbia * Museum. The exhibition of vul- tures, hawks, eagles and falcons features all 19 diurnal birds of prey which inhabit Canada. It Wednesday, December 13, 1995 The Castlegar Sun = Turner ures, from the businesses we fre- quent, from our bosses, from our co-workers, from organizations we belong to, from our neigh- bors down the street, from friends we once knew and from distant relatives. I don’t know what happens in your house when Christmas cards arrive, but in ours, two things hap- Metal disc rusts LUCY Candlebox (Maverick) One of my favorite Seattle bands, Scruffier than their debut, Candle- box can still channel the ‘70s with the best of *em. This isn’t grunge... Candlebox makes what I call vintage rock & roll annual memberships. Since the runs Jan. 15-Feb. 25 funding cuts were announced, Artist Chat - Grand Forks artist Colette Nilson, right, converses with Mary Elliot, one of the West Kootenay's foremost painters during open night of Nilson's show at the NEC. The show runs till Dec. 24. Please recycle The Castlegar Sun Join us for a special “Candlelight & Wine” New Year's Eve PRIME RIB DINNER * DOOR PRIZES ° / PARTY FAVOURS A BAND - John & Doreen Creswell “Still Fishing” COCKTAILS: 6:30 pm * DINNER: 7:30 pm DANCE: 9:00 pm.* $20 PER PERSON THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 170 NOW SHOWING: | ee ‘A CAREENING, | sec nacasE ae ADRENALINE WED THU "©. PUMPING JOYRIDE! DECEMBER { wesiey woooy us ea ia : HONEY Hy sat sop MON TUE WED THU 3! 19 20 21 enol” plnnwn — An extraordinary encounter with another human being ong sxowine onus! PC WDE DER 0 900. 760 one Showing OnLy) then tenis er | Se. EC EM! Now Available at the Castlegar Library Sponsored by the Friends of the Castlegar & District Library 1005 - 3rd St. Castlegar ‘OPEN SUNDAY FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE SUNDAY HOURS ARE AS FOLLOWS: MITCHELL SUPPLY LTD. 490-13th Avenue « 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. PHARMASAVE 1128-3rd Street « 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. PANAGOPOULOS PIZZA PLACE 2305 Columbia Aveune e 3p.m.- MIDNIGHT PEOPLES DRUG MART 1502R Columbia Avenue e 10 a.m. | -5p.m. WEST'S DEPARTMENT STORE 1217 - 3rd St. e 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. MOTHER NATURES DOWNTOWN CASTLEGAR 11 a.m. - 4p.m. PHOTO Leanne Leduc Christmas card origins Are you receiving your usual pile 9f Christmas cards this year? What are you going to do with that bundle of paper when Christmas is past? Isn't there a better way to get in touch with those who matter to us than by sending cards? Apparently not! Way back in the early Victorian era, people wished their neighbors, relatives and business associates Christmas greetings as we do. Howev- er, they usually hand-wrote long letters and notes prior to Dec. 25. The Christmas letter normally passed on family happenings, but it also added tidings of comfort and joy. In 1843, a simple invention changed the way we send mes- Sages at Christmas. Henry Cole, an Englishman, decided he wanted a faster way to deal with his greetings of the sea- son. And so, he had John Caldecott Horsely, an artist, create the first-known Christmas “card.” The Christmas card didn’t catch on right away, but by 1862, the Charles Goodall company in London had a variety of Christmas cards for sale. However, even then, conservative naysayers said‘ the Christ- mas card was not personal enough. These people continued to write let- ters and ignored the new idea. We don’t have to look far into our century to note how completely the Christmas card dominates the season. Large companies such as Hallmark, for example, look to Christmas as the time when they do the majority of their sales. We get Christmas cards from government fig- ; GORDON TURNER See TURNER donation & enter to win 1 night Getaway Brunch with Santa 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. t BOXING DAY BUFFET Dec. 26 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Includes: * RUSSIAN SPECIALTIES * OMELETTE BAR *CARVED HAM Over 50 Delicious Items to choose JSrom 1944 Columbia Ave Sandman 365444 Castlegar, B.C HOTEL CASTLEGAR They are more musical than many of their Emerald City bretheren and Lucy states the case quite clearly. The empassioned vocals of Kevin Martin are a wel k. He is to Candlebox what Eddie Ved- der is to PJ. Guitarist Peter Klett charges through his riff patterns with brutish precision and his leads are still hypnotically fluid and bluesy. Key tracks: “Simple Lessons”, “Become” and “Understanding”. Lucy blurs the line between flannel rockers and 30- -something geezers like me. With time, Candlebox may well reach EVERYONE. STAND BY FOR PAIN Widowmaker (cmc Led by ex-Twisted Sister Dee Snider (Manna White's evil twin), Widowmaker’s musical thuggery is simple, brutal... and I dig it Dee's working hard to achieve liftoff, but the good ship Widowmak- €r still has to get past the shadow of Sister to achieve orbit. Try to set aside such preconceived expectations, and enjoy this band on its own merits. The name and album title suit the music... 12 songs of dark, heavy, percussive stuff. Snider is making the same leap Rob Halford did upon leaving Judas Priest to Surprise fans with the savagely heavy Fight and it ain't pretty. Key tracks: “Killing Time”, “Ready To Fall” and “Stand By For Pain”. Forget the moldy, rotting corpse of Twisted Sister. Hand me another beer and let's spin this puppy again. HANDFUL OF BLUES Robben Ford & The Blye Line (Stretchy Blue Thumb) This is my third Robben Ford album. Much as I like the other two, I gotta say this is the best of a very good lot. If you like Stevie Ray Vaughn, you'll enjoy Handful Of Blues. The styles are different and Robben is a smoother player. But Stevie had a passion for this music, and Robben has that, too. Robben Ford & The Blue Line play tasty blues that swing with some jazz soul for an ‘uptown’ feel. It isn’t as nasty as the blues you'd find at Vancouver's Yale: Hotel, but I still like this. more Robert Cray than Stevie Ray, that's probably the best analogy. Key tracks: “Chevrolet”, “When I Leave Here” and a smoldering remake of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”. Handful Of Blues is some blues you can really use. I DEFINITELY recommend this one. (cmc) EDGE: THE BEST OF L.A. Various Artists Must’ve been drunk or high when I asked them to send this. I’ve never been into the L.A. scene and this just confirms my prejudice. Spandex is alive and well in Los Angeles, according to Edge. The “80s are in the grave, but CMC Records insists on playing Victor Frankenstein to the lifeless monster. Executive producer Bart Walsh should be strip- ‘searched by Turkish prison guards for this. Key track: “FeeJs Like Love” (Tattoo Rodeo). The chops are okay, but Best Of LA is-hopelessly dated, like making Nixon jokes. The ‘80s were ugly for me and I don’t care to go back... not THIS way. DEVIL IN THE DETAILS Saigon Kick (cmc) I dumped on Kick’s last record and so did their old label. CMC stepped in to save Saigon Kick and we should thank them for it. Thave all four of Saigon Kick’s albums and I like Details as much if not more than the other three. This may be grounded in ‘80s-style metal for the most part, but unlike the compilation just reviewed, it doesn’t reek of hairspray. weer Atlantic dropped Kick, the band ded with a collecti if bare k kles rock & roll tunes, much like Warrant did for this label a few months back. Key tracks: “Intro/ Russian Girl” and “Flesh And Bone”. ’Saigon Kick reminds me this time of Alice In Chains. I can’t wait to get home tonight so I can throw this on and play some Nintendo. (island) LITTLE SECRET Melissa Etheridge sland Here is Melissa's fifth studio album. Produced again by Hugh Padgham (Phil Collins), Your Little Secret will surely folby 1993's Yes 7 Am to multi-platinum success. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I first heard a Melissa Etheridge song (“Similar Features” from her first album). The raw emotion made me blush, but now I welcome her music into my life with open and eager arms, knowing full well it will- leave me spinning. I still blush too, but now I don’t care. Your Little Secret is a rocker on many levels. Melissa still does bal- lads, but the heart of this record is her electric guitar. And the lyrics? “I want to find me a car with only one headlight/ a straight 6 Ford on a good luck night/ I want to roll down the windows and teach you to fly/ I want to give you a thrill/ the kind you can’t buy”. It's a mellow song but still a car song along the lines of “You Can Sleep While I Drive” Key tracks: “Your Little Secret”, “An Unusual Kiss”, “All The Way To Heaven” (the aforementioned car song) and “This War Is Over”. Melissa Etheridge's obvious passion for life and her unguarded approach to music will ensure success for as long as she wants it. That, and making fine albums like Your Little Secret. NEW RELEASE FLYER SPECIALS PETE'S TV in. 279 Columbia St, Castlegar, BC. Ph: 365-0060 Call 365-5266 for a subscription to The Castlegar Sun pen, First, we read the messages to see t has happened over the past 12 months, Then we hang them up in rows where people can see them. I surmise that originally the motive for hanging cards was they were more decorative than the other things families had on their walls. For some people, it might have said to the world, “hey, look how popular we are look at all the people we know.” In the last 20 years, a new fea. ture has been injected into Christ mas card sending. This past Christmas, nearly every card we received had a photocopied insert. Instead of writing individ- ual messages by hand, our friends now write one note and duplicate it many times over. Many of the T-BONE STEAK SHRIMP RINGS Perlect for entertainiag Frozen Generic 312g Messages begin with an apoloyy I hate to send Christmas mes Sages this way, but there's never cnough time,” Sometimes, a hastily-scrawled note appears with the signature We started duplicating Christ mas letters at least 20 years ago when we lived in the high Arctic It seemed everyone we knew in Southern Canada wanted to wish us well. So, to keep up to this influx of messages, we duplicated our first Christmas letter Since then, we've continued to send photocopied Christmas greetings, but we've always felt guilty about moving away from the individual personal message But maybe we shouldn't feel bad about sending our greetings this Page B7 way. Maybe we should be accept- ing the advantages of the new technology. After all, it allows us to tell others our history for a whole year, Without photocopy: ing and computer printing, we would have only the signed cards and sometimes a brief note, And in Some cases in our busy era, we wouldn't get messages at all In the future, with the informa- tion highway becoming a route for many people, we will find Christmas cards delivered by E- mail. In fact, this is happening already, And we will return those greetings electronically and once again feel guilty because we haven't personalized them. I don't know why a few pen scrawls on a card seem more per- sonal than a lengthy year’s histo- ry via the computer, Tradition dies hard, Perhaps it's important to feel someone out there has taken to think about us in a special way before wishing us the finest of the season Right now, I'm creating a Christmas greeting for you, Taking advantage of this widely-distribut- ed print technology, here's wishing you and yours moments of great gusto and hours of splendid enjoy- ment during the holiday season. Editor's Note: Mr. Turner lent us a book of illustrations which contained the first known\Thrist- mas card. Unfortunately we were unable to reproduce it, but have used a different illustration for our B1 feature. Thanks, Gordon. BUTTERBALL TURKEY 3.06 kg/Ib ROZEN ENTREE CHICKEN WINGS Honey Garlic or Cajun Lucerne. Frozen. tke FROZEN ENTREE fuvards Edwards COFFEE Regulor OVEN. art BREAD White 60% Wh =] CHIPS Assorted varieties. 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