"Music is my obsession, to the point where I no longer enjoy sleeping because it interferes with my pleasant struggle to generate a new song. Indeed, sleeping is for dreamers and there’s absolutely no time to waste when there’s so much to say about our precious world." - Ami
FRIDAY JUNE 19 2009
A Celebration in honour of National Aboriginal DayOur Friday Open Mic and Concert Series celebrates Indigenous Art and CultureIn celebration of National Aboriginal Day, Umi's Friday concert series invites you to participate in a night of beautiful music and community in the spirit of sharing, solidarity and artistic appreciation.
Come kick off an evening of music and celebration with our renowned Open Mic.
Our outstanding features for the evening will include traditional Metis Fiddlers, Inuit Throat Singers and Rapper Wabs Whitebird as well as The Red Slam Collective who will be performing some of the new tracks from their upcoming self-titled album.
This night is sure to be a most momentous celebration. Come revel in the diversity of talent and culture that springs from our community as we come together to celebrate our indigenous brothers and sisters!
Open-mic sign up: 7pmShow starts at 8pm-ishCover is $5 (no one turned away)Read on and follow the links for more information about the Red Slam Collective and other events around the city celebrating Indigenous culture:
Red Slam™ is a 5 member artist collective expressing their creativity through their Okra (story) and their Owena (word) in the spirit of indigenous oral traditions using contemporary poetry performance through the development of creative writing through visualization, music, and multi-media. A variety of themes are expressed in the pieces, but the underlying goal is to: uplift, self-identify and promote unify through Spoken, Lyricism which Arranges Meaning (SLAM). Slam members include: Lena Recollet Anishnaabe from Wikwemikong First Nation, an emerging playwright, actress and resident artist for Red Pepper Spectacle; John Hupfield Anishinaabe from Wasauksing First Nations, writer, filmmaker, and youth worker; Miles Turner Six Nations, filmmaker, emerging musical producer, and part of the NDN Uncensored creative team; Isaac Llacuachaqui Native, Spanish, Black Inca ancestry from Pachamama, a song writer and musician with RiverWalker Music; Mahlikah Awe:ri, 9th generation Afro-Native of Mohawk and Mik’maw First Nations from Nova Scotia, is a spoken-word artist, arts educator for the Royal Conservatory of Music, and digital story creator and facilitator. The First Red Slam Recording Project with support from The Urban Aboriginal Strategy and Recording Artist’s DiggingRoots will drop summer ’09.
http://www.myspace.com/redslamcollectivehttp://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=92968819820SATURDAY JUNE 21st 2009 Pooka Press is taking their 15 year anniversary on the road. With stops in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Maintoba, Ontario and Quebec.
Umi Cafe is honoured to host the Ottawa leg of this peotry roadshow.
7pm start time$5 cover (no one turned away)
Pooka Press started up in Ottawa in 1994 before moving to Kamloops B.C. in 1995 before finding their current home in Vancouver B.C. Pooka press has published chapbooks, broadsides, broadsheets, postcards, photobooth broadsides, bookmarks, buttons, & using various methods to get the words out there.
Just some of the many authors published by pooka press:
Robert Creeley, George Bowering, bill bissett, Susan Musgrave, Jamie Reid, jwcurry, John Pass, Stephanie Bolster, rob mclennan, Marilyn Bowering, Todd Swift, Billeh Nickerson, Kate Braid, John Rupert, Ronnie R. Brown, Laurie Fuhr, Warren Layberry, Jeffrey Mackie, Joe Blades, Pete Smith, Michael Elton Crye, Warren Layberry, Rob Plath, Crystal Hurdle, Mike Weltz, Tamara Fairchild, David Fujino, I.B. Iskov, Ben Kalman, John B. Lee, Jesse Ferguson, K.L. McKay, Sophie Soil, S.R. Duncan, RC Weslowski, Joanne Morcom, Pamela Chynn, Shannon Rayne, Carolyn Hines, Nancy McLean, & Warren Dean Fulton
Feature performer Warren Dean Fulton is pooka press. He can be found in the company of Harvey sharing a drink or two w/ complete strangers. Warren is someone who plays w/ words, the way a six yr old boy plays w/ lego. Writing & reading & publishing here & there , now & then. He has read on stages, as a feature & at open mics, in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, Kamloops, San Francisco, Edmonton, Winnipeg, & many other cities. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Vancouver Poetry House, & in the past was the festival director of the Vancouver Videopoem Festival, & the events coordinator of the Edgewise ElectroLIT centre Society. Through his micro press, pooka press, he has published a number of award winning poets, & has been mentioned in these books. Recently Warren won the Vancouver Celtic Festival’s Battle of The Bards, as Robbie Burns, & was a member of the winning Bingo Slam team ‘Team Awesome’. pooka press publications can be found in special collections at 3 Canadian University libraries, the National Library, & the United States Library of Congress.
Recent publishing credits include: Bywords Quarterly, ottawater, 1 cent, variations, clockwise cat , Unquiet Desperation, Zygote in My Coffee, Peter F. Yacht Club, & others.
Come celebrate the talented Pooka Press Poets as they join us for a night of high energy and poignant words on the Umi "stage"
MONDAY, JUNE 22nd 2009NERD NIGHT: Unforgiven
The Counil of the Nerds Meets to discuss the future Monday Nights are now transformed. No longer we wallow, no longer will we run. As we knew all along, the tables will turn. We are no longer confused or uncomfortable, rather, we love our nerdy skin. We love the quirk, we love the theories, we love the questions and answers, we love calculators and sci fi, we love building and destroying in as many ways possible. Nerds animate our black and white world.
A night where you can find a card game, chess boards, scrabble, lego, arts and crafts,
video games, foosball, and many others.
Feel free to bring your own boards or games, ideas or initiatives.
A relaxing night to vibe out, work the brain and become the family of nerds we are destined to be.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25th, 2009
THE UNCLE CAT TRIO
Uncle Cat features ex Dry River Caravan members John Aaron Cockburn (accordion, guitar, vocals), Ben Dienstadt (drums, percussion), and newcomer Robin Meyer-MacLeod (clarinet, vocals). This trio plays a smorgasbord of gypsy, klezmer, French musette, and Russian/Romanian/American folk along with originals of a similar genre. We will offer an evening of music for the people. There will be no cover for the show although donations are always welcome.
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UMI CAFE's ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY - - - FRIDAY, JUNE 26th 2009
TIME CAPSULE - SOUL JOURNEY (Balam Santos) - AMI - Loh El - Erin Felepchuck -
GIANT HOOLA_HOOPS - HYFIDELIK - SPOKEN WORD - DY-VERSE ELITE DANCE TROUP -
CRESCENT MOON DAY CARE - UMI COMMUNITY GARDEN - BRANDON WINT - BBQ !! BBQ!
DJ's, LIVE ART, FAIR TRADE COFFEE - JAM SESSIONS - MANY MANY MORE TO COME
umi@umicafe.org for more info, ideas and freedom
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613-656-1638
