From 6-10 p.m. Friday (Jan. 16), Dj Flip out and C Stylez of The Beat 94.5 will be spinning hip-hop, rap, and top-40 tunes in the Grassroots Café at Kwantlen’s Surrey campus, which will be transformed into a nightclub atmosphere with lights, drapery and a smoke machine. The venue will also have a licensed area on the patio, which will be tented and heated.

Cover is $5 for residents and non-Kwantlen students and free for students with a Kwantlen ID card.

The KSA has been working on the event with James Menear from Precision Entertainment, who also worked with the on Cram Jam, and DJs, equipment, and decorations have been supplied by Galactic Entertainment.

“If all goes as planned, this event will be at most, exactly on budget and possibly under-budget,” said Vanessa Knight, KSA director of events. “We are hoping that this event will set a precedent for high quality, well-budgeted events in the KSA’s future.”

A young child smiles, at HEALing Arts base in Congo, where volunteers for the organization have been doing aid work since 2006. (Photo from HEALing Arts website)

Contemporary music performed by talented young musicians will help the cause for healing in Africa, Friday, Nov. 21, at the South Delta Baptist Church, 1988 56th St., in Tsawwassen.

The evening will feature singer/songwriter Jeremy Johnson , a Kwantlen alumni, performing music from his new album, Form the Words. His album includes the nationally-acclaimed song Together, which was nominated for the Worship Song of the Year award by the Gospel Music Association of Canada. Up-and-coming artist Mark Thompson will also be playing original music from his recently released debut album Look Both Ways.

Since 1997, the Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered through a war that has claimed the lives of four million people, leaving the country devastated. Sexual violence is rampant, and the rape and torture of women and girls has become one of the most destructive weapons of the decade-long war.

The aftermath of these rapes has left victims with high rates of diseases such as HIV and AIDS. Because of their condition, many women and children have been ostracized by their families and fellow villagers.

The event is hosted by Farrago, an organization led by Kwantlen business student Adam Krahn, Alana Gentile, and other individuals working to help rising musicians and support local and global charities.

All proceeds are being donated to HEALing Arts Africa, an organization committed to helping and taking aid to the people of the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Projects includes teaching women new skills and providing children with safe places to learn. Those who want to support HEALing Arts of Africa but who are unable to attend can make a donation online.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the door, by calling South Delta Baptist Church at 604-943-8244 or by visiting farragomusic.ca. For more information on HEALing Arts Africa, visit healingartsafrica.com

Above & below: Fourth-year Kwantlen fashion student Rachel Zaharik, at work on the costumes for staff at the La Rocca Italian dining lounge for the annual Commercial Drive Parade of Lost Souls. (Alicia-Rae Light photos)

    

La Rocca Italian dining lounge staff in their Moulin Rouge-inspired finery. (Alicia-Rae Light photo)

Tens of thousands of Vancouverite’s dressed as ghouls and gremlins and ghosts paraded along Vancouver’s Commercial Drive in the spirit of Halloween for the annual Parade of Lost souls on Oct. 25, amid conga drummers, Hare Krishna chanters, Morris dancers, fire dancers and costumed wanderers.

“The parade of lost souls is one of Vancouver’s best entertaining parades,” said Stuart Ritchie, one of the Bowen Black Sheep Morris dancers. “It’s our third year in a row performing here and it’s is always full of music and costumes. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of bad stuff happening here, it seems to be actually an event that works well in Vancouver.”

The parade derives from the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead and is organized by the Public Dreams Society. Over the years it has become an event with all sorts of artistic expression, combining music, costumes, fire, dance, performers and art, creating a fantastic evening for people of all ages.

Not everything happens on the street, though.

At 1565 Commercial Dr., there’s a line-up outside the door of La Rocca Italian dining lounge. Inside, the customers aren’t the usual sorts: there’s a table full of skeletons, one full of clowns and another with witches and warlocks. All the diners are being served by characters from Baez Luhrmanns’s movie, Moulin Rouge, created by 24-year-old Rachel Zaharik, a fourth-year Fashion Design and Marketing student at Kwantlen.

She came up with the idea after recently watching Moulin Rouge. “It was easy to figure out costumes for, and I love the movie so I thought it would be perfect,” said Zaharik.

“I bought the patterns. I didn’t design these patterns as I usually would have, I was in a rush,” said Zaharik, as she explained how she created six women’s costumes, a bartender’s costume and the general manager’s costume, all as a favour to the restaurant, and al in a very short period of time between schoolwork and classes.

She used broad cloth and leftovers for most of the costumes, as well as sequined fabric for the bartender’s vest. The general manager’s costume consists of a black suit jacket with tails and a red vest underneath. Servers wore v-neck sleeveless tops in their choice of colour, with lace trimming, and black skirts with gathered fabric at the back, creating a burlesque look.

“Kwantlen’s fashion program is one of the best in Canada. It’s recognized within the fashion industry, but not so much within the general community, which is too bad,” said Zaharick. “Students come out of this program much more prepared than (those in) the shorter programs.”

After a month of fasting during Ramadan, Muslim students at Kwantlen are returning to regular university student life and diet, refreshed and purified for the coming year.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, started at the beginning of September, just in time for the fall semester.

“Its like a renewal of your faith and a time of self-purification over the span of a month,” said 21-year-old Kareem Elmassry, KSA’s Richmond campus council director. “You go through this one month period of fasting, extra prayers and abstaining from sin and at the end of the month you’ve kind of refilled your faith. It’s like renewing your soul.”

On a typical day during Ramadan, a Muslim student would get up before dawn to pray and eat, then headed to school as normal. Throughout the day they would pray five times and abstain from any food or drink. As dusk approached, they would the head to the mosque where they would then break their fast, with a fig, when the sun went down, then eat a normal meal and head to bed.

During Ramadan, it’s more than abstaining from food and drink – smoking, drinking alcohol, having sex and all other sins are prohibited during daylight hours, more specifically one to two hours before sunrise until sunset.

Rituals are important in the Muslim faith, and Ramadan is a training ritual, one in which the key word is abstinence. Another requirement is prayer five times a day, one of the five pillars of Islam.

“It’s a time when we can feel what it’s like to be hungry, and to understand that no everyone has the privilege of food and water everyday,” said Inam Qureshi, a 20-year-old Kwantlen business student. “You have to understand that Ramadan is about building up discipline and it’s a time to be thankful.”

The five pillars of Islam are: that there is one God; prayer; charity (all Muslims are asked to donate 2.5 per cent of their annual income to charity if they can afford it); fasting, especially during the month of Ramadan; and pilgrimage to Mecca. The first two pillars are compulsory; the others are optional but recommended.

There are exceptions during Ramadan. If you’re sick, traveling, menstruating or in another situation that prevents you from being able to fast, you don’t fast during Ramadan. You are, however, required to make up the month, weeks or days missed at some point before the next year’s celebration of Ramadan.

“I broke my fast for six days this past month while I was sick, but I’ll be making it up soon,” said Elmassry.

“It’s a little painful sometimes when someone is sitting next to you eating a burger, but you get used to it.

“It’s hard, for sure. I’ve been doing it for 10 years, so I’m used to it but I can understand how it can impair some student’s performance, but with practice you get used to it. It’s meant to be a time where all of your good deeds count for more, we can build up some credit in case we screw up later on.”

For most Muslims, the combination of fasting and studying present a few challenges.

“I have an exam on Eid, the final day of Ramadan, which will be a little difficult, but after fasting for eight years, I am used to it by now,” said Saima Iqbal, a 21-year-old Marketing student at Kwantlen’s Surrey campus.

Panteli Tritcher, chair of applied communications and teacher at Kwantlen Surrey’s campus, said “It’s funny because I hadn’t noticed a change in my students whatsoever. I never do. They seem to know how to get through each day as normal during this time.”
By the time students enter into university, they’ve normally been fasting for a number of years, and have practiced so many times that their bodies don’t show reaction.

In Islam, God is thought to be full of knowledge and therefore students are expected to be the same.

“Studying is a part of life that builds character and discipline, the essence of Ramadan,” said Atiq Rahman, a member of the B.C. Muslim Association. “Ramadan is about building up that said character, a relationship with God and bringing God’s attributes and qualities into your life.”

“At the end of the day we are so thankful for our bounties from God,” Rahman.

Questions were asked of Dana Miller regarding her decision to leave the Green Party and join the Liberal Party last year. She said that she joined the Liberals when former environment minister Stephane Dion became the leader. (Joseph Gloria photo)

With seven candidates, seven students and 40 community residents filling the seats of the auditorium, the second of three all-candidates federal election forum took place Tuesday evening at Kwantlen’s Richmond campus.

The idea for the all-candidates forum began in a classroom at Kwantlen, in attempt to have students become more involved with the election and to help them understand the issues in their ridings. The ridings covered Tuesday were Delta South-Richmond East and Richmond.

“Our real interest here is a dialogue between the citizens and their candidates. It’s not an opportunity for the candidates to debate with one another,” explained Elaine Decker, associate dean of academic studies.

The last remark was made by a local doctor, who asked about democracy in Canada, and directed his question towards Independent Dobie To. To, a former Liberal candidate, resigned from that party earlier this summer. (Joseph Gloria photo)

“We’re all in this together, were all living on this planet together,” said Laine, a recent graduate of Trinity Western University. “The Green party wants to empower individuals to make better and responsible choices for the future of Canada, and that’s only going to happen if we come together.”

Added Wolfe: “I don’t have children and I’m already worried about them. I want the food my family eats and the drugs my family takes to be safe.”

Conservative candidate Cummins, who has been MP for Delta South–Richmond East since 1993, discussed his concerns with farming, fishing and transportation issues including airports, seaports, highways and the railways, as well as his push to try “rationalize infrastructure growth.”

“Here in Delta we have some of the most valuable farmland in Canada, and we preserve that farmland for future generations,” said Cummins.

Miller said, “This is my home and the place I work, live, raise family and recreate,” as she discussed Liberal plans for the Green Shift, an environmental policy, and the “30/50 plan” a plan which calls for a 30 per cent decrease in poverty across Canada and a 50 per cent decrease in child poverty.

The Gateway highway expansion project, which could damage salmon stocks and disrupt small communities, dominated discussion. “Pollution from this port will be unprecedented,” said Barna.

Said Wolfe: “We need to cancel all funding for this project. It is the biggest disaster ever to have hit Delta.”

Health care issues also arose, including questions about restricting organic foods and unregistered health products, as well as the debate over the safety of overhead power lines in Delta. Crime prevention and homelessness were touched on, and members of each party gave potential solutions.

“All the problems we have now started under the Liberal and Conservative governments,” said NDP candidate Barna in regards to environmental issues. Miller added: “We’re all guinea pigs going along for the ride under the Stephan Harper regime.”

Near the end of the evening, members of each party began pointing fingers at the others over current issues, and then had a chance to make concluding remarks.

Vancouver's Daniel Wesley doesn't fail to excite the crowd at Cram Jam 3. (Alicia-Rae Light photo)

There was no shortage of sound in Cloverdale Friday, where Kwantlen students, locals and other music fans gathered for the third annual Cram Jam, one of the biggest KSA-sponsored events of the semester, complete with an enticing line-up of indie, punk, alternative and rock artists from across the country.

At 2 p.m. Friday as the festival is scheduled to begin, the sun is gleaming outside the venue, but the site is practically empty, with the exception of a stage crew, a few volunteers, security guards and members of the Kwantlen Student Association running about the venue finalizing last-minute details.

“We need to get the first band on now if we want to stay on schedule,” said Vanessa Knight, the KSA’s director of events. “It’s a festival. Things never run as planned.”

The opening band hit the stage near 3 p.m. Full of energy and completely disregarding the lack of audience, the four pre-teen boys who’ve named themselves Childsplay start off this year’s festival with some original songs and a cover of the Ramone’s first hit single, “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

“How do you feel playing for a bunch of university students?”

“It was cool,” says 12-year-old vocalist, Mishel Salum, wearing crisp, skinny jeans, a studded belt, bright white trainers a paint-splattered shirt and a skinny pink tie. “It’s so exciting.”

Levin Faber, the 13-year-old blonde-haired drummer, adds: “I’m allergic to hay, but other
than that it was awesome.”

Besides the stifling scent of hay bales and horses, as would be expected at a rodeo grounds, the venue couldn’t have been better. If the crowd were larger that is.

“We’re expecting 600, hopefully,” says Knight. The goal was 2,500. The KSA overestimated ticket sales and the venue never fills up to even a fourth of its capacity.

The Second Epic’s lead vocalist, Andrew, excites the screaming crowd. (Cori Alfreds photo)

“We’re only hoping for it to get bigger and better every year,” says Kathryn, site manager and coordinator for Cram Jam. This is the first year that the festival has required a ticket for entry and that it is open to the public and not just Kwantlen Students. “An event of this magnitude takes a ton of planning and preparation. We have a number of staff working on it full-time who have been working on it for about six months,” she says.

At 7 p.m., in the beer garden, the atmosphere is buzzing with excitement.

“Who are you here to see tonight?”

“Obviously, Daniel Wesley,” says 24-year-old Carry Bradford, who celebrated her birthday at Cram Jam.

As festival goers, mostly 20-somethings, help themselves to $5 pints of Granville Island Ale and raspberry Growers cider, the Cram Jam vibe is beginning to look up.

“We just got here and we’re having an amazing time,” says Sam Robertson, a 20-year-old student at Kwantlen Surrey Campus.

On stage, Will Currie & The Country French, an indie folk band from Waterloo, Ontario adds a different vibe to the evening. The band originally got together in a small room in the basement of the music faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University. Will Currie, lead vocalist and founder of the band, skillfully plays the piano on jazzy, uplifting tunes as drummer Aaron Mariash holds the beat during their set with a charming smile on his face throughout. The songs Surprising Me and Friendly Fire are crowd favorites and they sing along.

“It’s the final day of our tour,” says Mariash with a sigh, as the band packs up outside the Agriplex. “This tour with Sloan has definitely been the highlight of our time together as a band.”

Inside, rock band Ten Second Epic puts on nothing less than an epic show, with more head-banging involved than at a Slipknot gig.

As Daniel Wesley finally makes his way onto the stage, nearly everyone in the crowd is swaying, smiling and singing along to his lyrics, lost in the moment. Fans seem to be mesmerized by his Sublime-meets-Jack-Johnson-esque sound. Sing Dance, his hit has the crowd screaming and firing up lighters and cell phones and waving them in the air.

And then it’s time for the final act of the evening.

17 years after they started, Sloan has still got what it takes to wow an audience. Older members of the audience are singing their lyrics word-for-word, dominating the front of stage alongside the younger generation. The quartet closed off the evening leaving the crowd with exactly what they came for, if not more.

The music, for the most part, was brilliant. Cram Jam was filled with a blur of amazing acts and the sound was incredible. The venue was the only downfall, being far too large for the number of fans.
But it was definitely a music festival of sorts. Indie kids and rockers alike went home more than satisfied, with their heads filled with an abundance of abrasive rock tunes and alternative sounds.

The Fury, who played Tuesday in Richmond, are among bands scheduled for Cram Jam. (Cori Alfreds photo)

Rockers Sloan, Daniel Wesley and Ten Second Epic will headline Cram Jam 3, the Kwantlen Student Association’s most ambitious entertainment event to date.

Cram Jam, which will run from 2-11 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 at Clovedale’s Agriplex, is an all-ages music festival. Along with the headliners, bands from throughout the Lower Mainland will perform.

One of those, The Fury, gave Richmond students a taste Tuesday when they performed as part of Welcome Week activities. While fans gathered to watch, not-so-excited teachers cancelled classes, and some area residents filed noise complaints.

“They’re fabulous,” said Kwantlen student Minnie Huang. “I can’t wait to see them at Cram Jam!” The band is made up of local musicians who met through Craigslist last winter and is preparing to release its first album this fall.

Other local bands that will perform at Cram Jam include Exit 200, featuring two Kwantlen students, and Tenant, featuring two Kwantlen alumni.

Tickets for Cram Jam 3 are $15 if purchased before Sept. 12 and $20 after that date. For more information and to purchase tickets go to www.cramjam.ca.