Helping to make magical memories for special kids with Dreams Take Flight

On the afternoon of December 15, the 18th year of the Montreal chapter of Dreams Take Flight came to a conclusion on a festive note. That day, about 150 socially, physically and mentally challenged kids, their siblings and their parents -- along with many of the Dreams Take Flight adult volunteers and participants -- gathered for one last time at one of the hangars of the Air Canada base in the suburb of Ville St. Laurent (practically in the backyard of Trudeau Airport) for a memorable Christmas party. About six weeks had passed since we all spent a magical day that began bright and early at 3:30 in the morning at the hangar, as we embarked upon what I always called "the ultimate day trip" to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

This year marked the seventh time that I participated as an adult escort with DTF on their annual flight to Disney World. Someone once asked me if I found going to Disney World (in particular, the Magic Kingdom) every year rather repetitive. I told them that every time I go, I treat it as if it is my first time there.

And this year's flight was no exception.

It's amazing to see how the process that begins every year when our meetings resume in March, and culminates in the flight to Disney every first Wednesday in November. It's a process that I look forward to getting involved with during this eight-month period, because I realize this gargantuan effort wouldn't be possible without the tireless efforts and incredible organization of its dedicated core of volunteers (made up mostly of current and retired Air Canada employees, along with some friends and supporters), and the exceptional  leadership of its executive, led by longtime president Brian Roscoe.

But what I enjoy about being involved with Dreams Take Flight are the strong bonds that are created between the core group of people whom you see on a regular basis through these eight months, through practically every meeting, to their major annual fundraisers the golf tournament and the Defi Velo bicycle rally, to the parent meeting in October, to the child pre-registration and volunteer briefing, to the flight itself, to the Xmas party. These are the people who help select the kids, create the merchandise and gear for the children and adults, organize the logistics of the flight, who are the group leaders and adult escorts and who keep the Montreal chapter running like a well oiled machine day after day. These are the people you look forward to seeing every time and whom you want to become part of your group when we go to Disney World. They genuinely define what "dedication", "commitment" and "passion" are all about.


And of course, the main reason we all take the time and commit our energy to this magical day is the 175 special kids we bring along to Disney every November. Unfortunately, these kids who are selected only know a great deal of misfortune and hardship, whether it be a physical disability, an emotional or mental problem, or a financial/domestic hardship; basically, they mostly experience a lot of difficulty and harsh realities, and at times are always told "no" or "sorry, you can't". A Dreams Take Flight trip to Disney World or Disneyland is a well deserved escape from those hardships and harsh realities, even though it's only for 24 hours. I believe the Disney Parks are a concrete fantasy world, where the real world, and all of its problems, are supposed to left outside its gates. When I embarked upon my first Dreams Take Flight trip in 2004, and feeling a little nervous if I would be competent enough to handle a group of eight young kids between the ages of 7 and 11 whom I only met only once before a couple of weeks earlier, I devised a sort-of personal mission statement that gave me a sense of focus on what my job would be: "show these kids a great time ... and have fun doing so."

Believe me, it's a little credo that has worked for me in a big way over the past eight years.

Now let me say a few things about this year's flight to Orlando.

For the fifth year in a row, I was blessed to be part of the group with the three same adult members: Popi, a longtime DTF flight volunteer who has been our group leader and possesses extraordinary organizational skills and a deep sense of compassion for the kids who become part of our group because she always make sure that their best interests are looked after and that they have a memorable time at Disney; Isabel, our group's resident photographer, who can fill a 500-photo memory card with 24 hours' worth of happenings and is always smiling and ready with a hearty laugh; Kari-Ann, who is a rational, no-nonsense person and serves as our group's voice of reason. Somehow, when we first came together back in 2008, we knew the chemistry between the four of us was right and we knew how each other thought and operated, without any difficulties or tensions; basically if it ain't broke, don't fix it! This year, we were well complemented by Patrick, an Air Canada employee who earned his spot on the flight by being a day of flight volunteer at the hangar for several years; Monique, a teacher at the Mackay Centre School who helped us communicate by sign language with a couple of our kids who were hearing impaired; Melanie, a nurse who was not only embarking upon her first DTF trip, but also on her very first airplane ride; and Gary, another longtime DTF flight volunteer (and head of the advance team -- he goes to Orlando the day before us), whose collection of anecdotes of his many years with DTF (he also participates in the Calgary and Vancouver chapter trips) is as large as his heart and dedication to the group's mission.

The children that are selected to become our DTF group are usually ones with special needs, either physical or mental (which is why we have a nurse and educator with us). When Popi, Isabel, Kari-Ann and me looked at the red binder that are given to each group leader, which is filled with the detailed dossiers of each child in that group that are provided by the hospital or agency that recommended them for the trip, we are amazed at the physical and emotional hardships they have endured, and are strongly convinced that they richly deserve the flight to Disney World. In our group this year, we had kids who were hearing impaired, one who could not speak because she had a trachea tube in their throat, and one who was confined to a wheelchair. But disabilities and challenges aside, one thing was certain: they are kids, and like any kid between the age of 7 and 11, would love the chance to have a day of fun in the Magic Kingdom, and have the opportunity to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and all the other Disney characters up close and personal.

This is the mindset we have when we meet the children in our group for the very first time during the child pre-registration day at the Air Canada base hangar, which takes place bright and early on a Saturday morning in late October, about two weeks before the flight. We get to meet the kids, have them photographed and fingerprinted for ID purposes, and measured for their DTF clothing that they will be wearing for the flight, as well as talk to their parents about what their children will expect during that day. What I love about it is the look of anticipation on the kids' faces when we ask them if they look forward to going to to Disney, and ask them which characters they want to meet there. It also serves to heighten our anticipation, because we are just as excited to take that trip and show these special kids what a great place Disney World is, whether we are about to go on our first or 21st DTF flight.

The day of the flight is a long day, which begins for the adults as early as 3 a.m. So it maybe the middle of the night outside the Air Canada base hangar on a chilly first Wednesday in November, but when you step inside, all perception of reality just disappears. Amongst the flurry of activity of the 20-odd groups doing their final preps, there are displays from the Canadian border service, the SQ (the Quebec provincial police), the armed forces and the air force, as well as the mascots from the Montreal Alouettes, the Montreal Impact, Youppi from the Habs, and Rico, Dreams Take Flight's own mascot. And after the kids have changed into their DTF gear, they get the chance to sit in the cockpit of an actual military helicopter, an SQ police motorcycle, and even an authentic F-18 fighter jet, along with hobnobbing with the various mascots, getting autographs from visiting members of the Alouettes, and doing some pre-breakfast snacking on some mini cupcakes.

The anticipation heightens even further around 5 a.m., when the groups have to pass U.S. Customs and wait in the roped-off area that is deemed as U.S. territory. What surprises me is that the kids, who are at this point separated from their parents, don't exhibit any signs of homesickness. They are genuinely eager to go on their very first airplane ride ever and the fun that awaits them at Disney World. Just before 6 a.m., the lights in the hangar are turned off, the buzzers sound off and all of a sudden, the massive hangar door opens (with the help of the mascots present) to reveal the A320 Air Canada aircraft that will be used to take all the kids and adults down south, all to the loud, massive cheers of everyone present (and some of the adult escorts get caught up int he moment, and get a little choked up with emotion).

The one thing that always amazed me whenever I participate in a Dreams Take Flight trip to Disney is the faces of the kids throughout the stages of the entire day. It's of amazement, excitement, fascination and dazzlement. I see it when a child in our group gets to "drive" a car for the very first time at the Tomorrowland Speedway; when they zap funny aliens at the Buzz Lightyear ride; when they experience their very first fast-paced ride such as Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or take control of the spinning teacup ride; when they get to invade the Main Street emporium store to shop for the Disney souvenir(s) of their choice (stuffed Mickey Mouses and Mickey Mouse ears are the favorites); when they catch the dazzling spectacle that is the nighttime fireworks show at Cinderella Castle; the wide-eyed look they get when they meet in person such Disney characters as Mickey Mouse at his domain at the Town Square Theatre on Main Street (pictured above), or such Disney princesses as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel (who was so interested in our white DTF windbreakers, that our group leader Popi graciously gave hers to the long haired beauty, and insisted that she keep it with her compliments). The magical thrill they get from meeting these characters up close and personal (after seeing them on TV and the big screen) and how much it means to them always brings me close to tears, and I have to hide behind my digital camera, constantly taking pictures.

When we return to the aircraft for the flight back home to Montreal, the majority of the kids are clearly exhausted (but in a very good way) and by the time they get to their seats, are tucked in with their exclusive Dreams Take Flight blankets and custom made pillows (which they get to take home) and have their seat belts fastened, they immediately fall asleep, with visions of a great day at the Magic Kingdom replaying in their minds. When the plane lands in Montreal around midnight and returns to the hangar where we departed from earlier that day, the smiles on the kids' faces remains transfixed. The parents are extremely grateful to everyone for taking the time to give them an unforgettable day, and the adult escorts and group leaders graciously accept their deep felt thanks.

About a month and a half later, the adult volunteers, the kids and their families get together for one final time at the hangar for the annual Christmas party. The kids are treated to inflatable bouncy castles and slides, entertainment, goodies and of course, a visit to Santa, where they receive a special Disney/DTF gift package from good ol' St. Nick and his assistants. It's a festive time for the kids and their adult group escorts to share magical (and photographic) memories of that special day at Disney World, and sadly, to say goodbye.

As I left the hangar as the party concluded just before 2 p.m. on that Saturday in mid-December, I walked to my car at the Air Canada base parking lot with a light, bouyant feeling in my step, with a satisfied feeling that I helped to show a group of special kids the time of their lives in the place where dreams come true, and -- as always -- I had a great time doing so. Mission accomplished.

And as I passed the base's radar tower (which for me was always the beacon to the world of Dreams Take Flight, from monthly meetings to the actual flight), I took comfort in the fact that we'll be back together the following March to start the process all over again for the Montreal chapter's 19th flight to Disney World, and show another select group of physically, mentally and socially challenged children what a magical day is all about in the Magic Kingdom that is Walt Disney World.

This entire extraordinary experience would not have been possible without the incredible, dedicated people to volunteer their time, energies and effort to make each enormous undertaking that is a Dreams Take Flight trip such a major success. First of all, there's the Montreal Chapter's executive, made up of Brian Roscoe, Nick Papatheodorakis, Bev Cotton, Rene Potvin and Paul Bouchard. Then there's Jim Killin of L'Equipeur, who graciously donates the DTF gear for every participant (adults and children) every year. And there's the dedicated core of adult volunteers whom do a supreme service towards Dreams Take Flight's mission by trielessly doing everything from selecting the kids who go on the flight, to aiding the groups at the hangar on the day of the flight, to taking pictures and videos, to being group leaders and adult escorts that ensure the kids have that memorable day in Orlando (and yes, even the pilot who flies the plane and the flight crew volunteer their time).

And then there's the people who were close to my heart this year ... the people who made up DTF Group 4 , the eight special kids and their adult escorts, lead by our amazing group leader Popi, along with Isabelle, Kari-Ann, Gary, Patrick, Monique and Melanie. You couldn't find a more wonderful group of people to experience such a marvelous day for everyone involved.

...And finally, a special shout out to "Bubbles", a longtime DTF group leader, whom I was informed learned a hard lesson in Disney Parks mathematics this year. Basically, if your group has one less admission ticket, someone ain't getting into the park!

Looking forward to flight #19 (and the road to the milestone 20th anniversary flight).

Inaugural Notable Awards honors Quebec’s best of the best young entrepreneurs and professionals

After attending the inaugural Quebec Notable Awards ceremony at the Montreal Science Center on December 6, I am proud to say that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Quebec

Julian Brass, the founder and publisher of Notable.ca (the event’s chief sponsor), agrees.

“It’s not just the entrepreneurial spirit that’s alive and well in Quebec, but also the intra-preneurial spirit. It’s becoming a major trait, in which a lot of young people start their own businesses or ventures while maintaining their jobs and professions within a major corporation,” he told the Grapevine in a brief interview before the awards ceremony began.

 Notable.ca, which Brass founded four years ago, is a website that helps connect young professionals across Canada in order to have them conduct a balanced life professionally, socially and charitably. It currently attracts about a million readers every month. “Notable.ca is THE online publication for young professionals, in which many hard working young professionals can be motivated to be their best and go further every single day,” he said. “After years of working in Silicon Valley, it was my dream to give back to entrepreneurs and help them stay motivated, which is why I decided to establish the Notable Awards, so it can give them the recognition and the moment in the spotlight that they deserve.”

 

Over 500 nominees were culled in 19 different categories ranging from entertainment to social media to fashion to education to healthcare. The long list was then narrowed down to just over 100 finalists, and the public voted for their preferred nominees, which helped the selection committee determine the winners in each category. At the ceremony, emcee Genevieve Borne announced the 19 winners in five separate related category “clusters”; after each winner in their respective cluster went onstage to accept their awards, they sat down with Brass and Borne for a brief, five-minute panel discussion (pictured at right).

The Grapevine would like to congratulate the following Quebec Notable Award winners: Benoit Beauchemin (Advertising & Marketing), Zebulon Perron (Architecture & Real Estate), Daniel Seligman (Arts & Culture), Brahm Mauer (Best Bar Professional), Jojo Flores (Best DJ), Patricia Gajo (Best Personal Brand/Blogger, who writes a series of concise, engaging lifestyle and fashion blogs for such websites as luckpennydaily.com, huffingtonpost.ca and tourisme-montreal.org), Dr. Anita Nowak (Education) Anne-Marie Wittenshaw (Entertainment), Isabelle Randez (Event Planning & PR), Efran Elfassy (Fashion), Olivier Akian (Finance), Dr. Mirko S. Gilardino (Healthcare), Claudia Emde (Hotel Management), Ethan Song (Best Online Business), Tierry Rassam (Law), Roberto Porres (Best Restauranteur), Jeff Baikowitz (Social Good), Martin-Luc Archambault (Social Media) and Micaela Whitworth (Sports & Fitness).

A special Grapevine honorable mention goes to Paul Telner, a finalist in the Entertainment category (pictured at right with me during the Finalist's Cocktail Party). A native of Ottawa, I first met Paul eight years ago at the Just For Laughs festival, when he and business partner Byron Pascoe were hoping to find backers for their independent TV comedy production “Campus Cram”. Through his boundless, manic energy and his fondness for orange clothing and hats that extolled the virtues of Orange Crush and Coca-Cola, Paul managed to attract the attention of several major producers in the U.S. and the U.K. and developed several TV projects (including a reality gags-type show which he starred in called “Apauled”); he even did a stint as Just For Laughs’ English language blogger in 2011. These days, he is channeling his creative energies as a development executive for Galafilm, an international TV production company based in Old Montreal.

 

With the help of its major partner the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Notable.ca staged a first class event to celebrate its inaugural awards ceremony. All the attendees (finalists, guests and media) were given the red carpet treatment (complete with your own red carpet photo to take home); they were treated to a wide assortment of delicious hors d’oeuvres from Montreal caterer extraordinaire Nicolina Servello, as well as from such Montreal restaurants as m:brgr (especially their delicious burgers on a stick), the Old Port Fishing Company, Bevo and Brasero Hardi. And thanks to the Ford Motor Company of Canada, the guests got the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the 2013 Ford Fusion and check out the latest technological innovations of their brand new plug-in hybrid model of automobile (that's me on the right, admiring the Fusion's features); and although we couldn’t drive home with a Fusion of our own, everyone received a scale model of the 2013 Fusion as a special gift (pictured below).

A truly notable night.

Getting into the head (and out of the mind) of Joey Elias

Montreal comic Joey Elias is catching up on his reading between his stand-up gigs these days. This time, he decided to pick up "Joseph Anton", the memoir by controversial novelist Salman Rushdie.

Why the choice of this memoir by the British novelist, who gained notoriety for the death sentence ("fatwah") that was placed on his head by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 for his novel "The Satanic Verses"?

Well a few short weeks ago, a Montreal Metro ticket taker had the audacity to tape a homemade sign on the glass in front of the booth in the subway station where he was working. It said -- in French -- that "In Quebec, we do everything in French". Not content to just be complacent about another shot fired in the ongoing Quebec language war, Joey decided to do his bit of civil disobedience in response to the ticket taker's stance on language. So he decided to take a photo of himself, posing in all-Canadian maple leaf shirt, pants and headgear. He then posted it on his Facebook page and announced that he would take his case to that Metro ticket taker in person ... maple leafs and all.

Needless to say, his human Canadian flag photo created a media maelstrom. It garnered a great deal of positive responses; however, the storm was fast and swift. Lawyers from Astral Media (the parent company of CJAD, where Elias hosts his nightly "Comedy Show" broadcasts) told him to pull down the photo and all the posts from Facebook and was told to state that his opinions were of his own and did not reflect those of both the station and the parent company. Then he got angry letters from three French language organizations (including the ultra nationalist organization the St. Jean Baptiste Society, which issued a press release on the matter).

"It was flattering to think that I'm that powerful and that my picture can incite that kind of reaction," Elias told me in a recent interview on the terrace of a local Starbucks. However, he also received several death threats along with all those supportive and angry responses.

Hence, the decision to read Rushdie's recently published memoir.

"I'm reading it to get some helpful survival hints in case they decide to declare a 'fatwah' on me," he quipped.

Elias' maple leaf incident is one of the stories that he will recount to an audience at Club Soda this Sunday night (October 21) in a performance of his one-man show "In My Head ... and Out of My Mind".

One of Canada's top comedians to emerge from Montreal, Elias has been plying his trade for 20 years, and performs 200 stand-up shows a year in clubs across NorthAmerica, not to mention his share of commercials, TV shows and films (he played a security guard in the disaster epic "The Day After Tomorrow" that starred Dennis Quaid). He started writing the script for his one-man show (which took him five months to complete) as a way to respond to all the questions that his fans, friends and family kept asking him about how he started out in comedy, and what it's like to be a professional comedian.

"I was never a big believer of the idea that everybody's here for a purpose, but when I started telling those stories to friends and family of what happens on the road and in my life, I realized that maybe that was my destiny," he said. "So I started to write the show as a away to answer all the questions that I ever had."

The inspiration for "In My Head ... and Out of My Mind" came from comedian Billy Crystal, in particular, his Tony Award-winning autobiographical solo show "700 Sundays", in which Elias read the companion book with a great deal of enthusiasm. "The book to Crystal's play was so amazing," he said. "You're reading one page and you're dying of laughter, and then you're crying uncontrollably. You're not going to cry uncontrollably at my show, but there are more serious moments to it."

The show will have Elias recount his life story “starting at my circumcision to the present day”.  He will present it in his usual jovial onstage persona, from his bar mitzvah, to his beginnings in stand-up comedy, to his road stories (including his tours of Afghanistan entertaining Canadian troops there). But there will also be serious moments that will be addressed, such as his diabetes diagnosis and how he copes with anxiety issues.

“For the first time, I open up about how I deal with anxiety. And the more I spoke up about it, the more I was able to cope with my anxiety,” he said. “Since I started doing the solo show last spring, I have been getting e-mails from people who suffer from anxiety saying that they never really looked at it in the humorous way I presented it. Now I accept it and doing stand-up is a way that I cope with it.”

“There is stuff that I’m doing in the one-man show that I’ve never done  -- or would never get away with -- on a stand-up stage. And that’s the beauty of the one-man show; it gives you a little more leeway and you can tell more in-depth stories. You have more time to talk about topics you can never talk about in a comedy club. And as long as I do it in a humorous way, people will get the gist of it,” he added.

“In My Head ... and Out of My Mind” made its debut last spring at the Village Theatre in Hudson, and then he did an abbreviated, one-time performance at Zoofest this past July. The version that is going to be presented this Sunday at Club Soda will contain up to 30 minutes of new material (including the story at the beginning of this column).

Elias realizes that doing a solo theatrical stage show is quite different from a headlining stand-up set at a comedy club. And he has to thank his show’s director, Sarit Klein, for helping him to make the transition from stand-up comedian to onstage performer.

“Sarit is a wonderful woman with a theatrical background who was gung-ho about my show from day one. She’s got vision, she brings the show to life, she understands comedians and she understands theatre. And more importantly, she’s patient with me,” he said.

She also gave him a sense of onstage discipline, especially when it comes to how he moves around while on the stage. “While rehearsing the show, Sarit told me not to sway when I’m talking,” he said. “I didn’t realize that stand-up comics shuffle and bob and weave a lot on comedy club stages, because the stage there is usually quite small.”

Elias admits that the show will always be a work in progress and stories will be interchangeable (with the exception of its first 10 minutes, which will remain unchanged) and will always be subject to the occasional tweaking. One way he keeps track of the stories that make up its framework is a giant bulletin board that hangs in his home, which is filled with cue cards and notes of those stories.

“When Sarit and me agreed on what stories worked, we would say ‘put it on the board.’ And when it made it to the board, it ended up in the show,” he said. “For example, when I first performed the show, I didn’t talk about school. Now I talk about my high school years, when my dad was my principal, which was a weird dynamic when I was growing up.”

Elias would like to perform “In My Head ... and Out of My Mind” five or six times a year on a regular basis on top of the 200 stand-up gigs he does annually. He is taking it to the Moncton Comedy Festival this upcoming February for four performances and is shopping it around to different comedy festivals, and hopes to take it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “I hope to do this show for a very long time, and I’m really happy with the way it has turned out, because the stage is the last bastion of where you can say what you want.” 

Making the leap from music to ice cream to comedy: a conversation with Joe Avati

Last week, I had a brief phone interview with Australian-Italian comic Joe Avati, who was in Montreal to promote his recently-launched "Back To Basics" comedy tour of  Canada (which will play three dates in Montreal, on October 21 and 22, and November 11). What amazed me at the offset of our conversation was that Joe remembered me when we first met about 12 years ago, when myself, Al Gravelle and Eramelinda Boquer interviewed him on the CJAD show "Freeze Frame", just before his first appearance in Montreal at the Saputo Theatre of the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre in St. Leonard, a Montreal suburb with a predominantly Italian population.

I then recounted to Avati when I attended his first Montreal show back in 2000, when he played to a packed house on a Sunday afternoon. I marveled to him how the audience was mostly made up of family members of all ages and generations, and because of how he built an international following through the pre-iTunes download service Napster, his fans in attendance that afternoon were able to recite the punchlines to his "Nonna's Car Accident" routine word for word (and this was before American comic Dane Cook built his large following through the internet, in which many more followed his example of going online to expose their comedy to worldwide audiences). As well, after the show, the wide assortment of Joe Avati merchandise (t-shirts, baseball caps and CDs) were literally flying off the shelves from the makeshift souvenir kiosk that was set up in the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre's foyer. I couldn't believe I saw such an enthusiastic fan response to a comedian whom I only first heard about a mere two weeks before!

"I bet you weren't able to understand all of my jokes then," Avati retorted with a laugh. He was right ... to a point. Although he did his set-ups in English (and was very good at it), he delivered every punchline in Italian. The audience responded with loud, uproarious laughter. I was ready to pull my hair out in frustration, because I didn't speak or understand Italian, so I never got the chance to fully experience Avati's brand of observational humour that dealt with growing up Italian "down under", which has earned him the moniker the "Italian Jerry Seinfeld".

Avati's career as an international comedian has been extraordinary. Wherever he tours around the world, he always plays to sold-out crowds, whether it be in his native Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada (where he holds the record for the fastest-selling comedy show ever; an appearance at the Toronto Centre for the Arts sold all of its 3200 tickets in just nine minutes). He also has an impressive line of tour merchandise and has produced five international bestselling CDs and five DVDs.

But Avati's career in entertainment didn't start out on the comedy stage. He began as a self-taught musician, and became quite proficient with several instruments, including piano and guitar. "I originally wanted to be a rock star, but I didn't have the voice for it," he said. "So my dad told me that I should get a degree. I enjoyed food and science, so I decided to pursue a degree in food science." When he got his degree in food science, one of Avati's first jobs was to work for a major food company in Australia, where he helped to introduce the Magnum line of premium ice cream (it's the brand of high end ice cream bars, in which its North American commercials show actress Rachel Bilson climb over cars in a traffic jam to get herself one of those coveted frozen treats from a Magnum truck).

However, being a sharp observer since he was a child, Avati decided to pursue comedy just as strongly as he pursued his other career paths. "What made me go into comedy on a hardcore basis was the fact that doing stand-up allowed me to be more of myself onstage," he said.

While few comics do bilingual shows (Sugar Sammy has broken ticket sales records with his "franglais" shows in Montreal throughout this past winter, spring and summer; and Greek-American comedian Basile still tours the U.S. with his shows in Greek and English), Avati enjoys doing his shows with the set-ups in English and the punchlines in Italian. "I love doing the double entendres and play on words in both languages," he said. "It's a fun technique that really evokes a lot of laughter, and I get a big kick out of being funny in two languages."

He also enjoys the fact that whatever city he performs in, his shows manage to bring together their respective Italian communities of all ages. "My shows attract kids, teens, parents and grandparents. Usually, I would see three generations at my shows laughing along with me, and it makes me tick," he said. "When come to my show, you leave entertained and you talk about the good experience you had there."

For his first tour of Canada in almost five years (which will play in 14 cities in four provinces, including Windsor, Toronto, Hamilton, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver), Avati promises his classic routines that have made him an international star, along with new material and even a musical segment. "I would rather be an entertainer than a comedian," he said. "The show that is going to part of the Back To Basics tour I've developed over the past three years. So far, since I started last month in Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, I have been getting a lot of positive responses from the audience, and I'm really happy with it."

For more information about Joe Avati's "Back To Basics" tour of Canada, check out his website at www.joeavati.com.

In the Presence of Greatness: Harry Belafonte

I always believed that if a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- ANY opportunity -- comes your way, you seize the moment and take advantage of it. Pass it up, and it may never come your way again.

In my nearly 50 years on this planet, I have done both seized and passed up those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. I've had the chance to see Yoko Ono and George Burns up close in the flesh; I saw a rare stage performance of the Muppets; I bought a book autographed by my all-time favorite comedian Groucho Marx; I managed to be part of a private audience with the Governor-General of Canada -- Her Majesty's representative -- at his Rideau Hall residence; and I was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" On the other hand, I passed up a chance to purchase a first edition (in hardcover, with dust jacket) of Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel "For Whom the Bells Toll" at a second hand bookstore in Montreal nearly 30 years ago for -- get this -- $5! To put it mildly, I'm still kicking myself around the block!

Lesson learned: NEVER PASS UP THOSE ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITIES!

Since I began writing my Grapevine column for the West End Times five years ago, I upheld the spirit of the above-mentioned lesson, and I'm glad I did. I have covered my share of fundraisers, gala events, festivals and even the 2008 Grey Cup when it made its way to Montreal (I even got the chance to see the game from the Big O press box). So imagine my excitement when I attended the press conference for the Montreal International Black Film Festival earlier this month, that I found out that organizers planned to have legendary singer and activist Harry Belafonte personally attend the festival not only to promote "Sing Your Song", a documentary about his storied life and career, but also to accept in person the festival's Humanitarian Award at its opening night.

Believe me, it's not everyday that you get the chance to see a bona fide show business legend live in the flesh, especially one who has made an impact on the music industry and the Civil Rights Movement like Harry Belafonte. And for me, this golden opportunity didn't happen once, but twice!

The first occasion was on the festival’s opening night on September 19. Belafonte, accompanied by his wife Pamela and festival president Fabienne Colas, came to the Imperial Theatre for the screening of the biopic “Winnie” to accept the festival’s Humanitarian Prize for his more than 50 years’ dedication in service to the Civil Rights Movement, as well as a score of charities and non-profit community organizations.

When the 85-year-old Belafonte arrived at the Imperial and took his seat in the theatre’s front row, he was immediately surrounded by photographers (myself included) as they wanted to get good close up shots of him, in which he graciously and compliantly posed for. Then it came time for Belafonte to accept his award from Colas and festival spokesperson Sonia Benezra. He humbly accepted the honour, and then shared with the audience of how much Montreal has meant to him, as well as the first time he performed here during the 1940s, in a venue that was actually a burlesque house.

“I accept this award with great satisfaction. It’s an overture of validation of what I have done and it means a lot to me,” he said. “The late singer/activist Paul Robeson once told me that artists are the gatekeepers of truth. And the world is in need of artists for what they can do. I have enjoyed the world of celebrity, because it made me understand the power it has and what good it can do to inspire people.”

The following night at the Hall Building of Concordia University, at a screening of the documentary about his life and career called “Sing Your Song”, it made me fully understand why he was given this award.  Told in Belafonte’s own words (as well as colleagues and contemporaries such as Sidney Poitier and Desmond Tutu, to name a few) as well as plenty of rare film and TV footage, this is an excellent documentary that chronicles an impressive career in entertainment (in which he popularized calypso music in North America with such songs as “Day-O”), as well as using his celebrity status towards the many charitable and humanitarian causes that were close to his heart. 

It’s amazing to see what he has accomplished in this respect. He was one of the organizers of the famed March on Washington in 1963 (best known for Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial); he helped organize a fundraising concert on the final night of the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965; he was one of the architects of USA for Africa, the celebrity group that recorded the megahit song “We Are the World” to benefit the victims of the Ethiopian famine in 1985; and although he doesn't perform as much as he used to, he is still involved with several organizations that help at risk teens in Los Angeles towards a better future.

After the screening, Belafonte spent another hour in conversation with Sonia Benezra and answered questions from a very eager and understandably star-struck audience. He patiently answered each question with his trademark soft, husky voice and fired off several humorous replies. One of my favorite replies was “If Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were still alive and things worked out, all of North America would be Canadian!”

He also had this to say about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney: “I get up every day and thank God for the presence of Mitt Romney, because the Republicans are delightfully burying themselves every day. So I encourage Romney to keep on talking!”

The Belafonte love-in continued after the Q&A wrapped up, as a multitude of those in attendance rushed up to him -- many clutching copies of his memoir "My Song" or original copies of his RCA Victor albums from the 50s and 60s, (including his live at Carnegie Hall record and "Calypso", the LP that earned him a gold record in 1958 for being the first album to sell over a million copies in a single year) -- in order to get a prized autograph from him on their respective collectible. I'll admit, I was also one of those autograph hunters. I had a review copy of "My Song" that I hoped he would inscribe, so that I could add to my growing collection of autographed tomes. Although I came quite close, it was getting quite late and after signing several books and LPs, Belafonte was quickly being ushered out of the auditorium. However, as he was being led out, I found a quick vantage point and snapped a final, up close picture of Harry Belafonte looking cool and confident amongst the swell of fans that surrounded him (pictured below).

Thus ended my encounters with Belafonte. At the very least, it was great to seize that rare opportunity and be within the presence of a legendary entertainer who was also a catalyst for social change, and wisely used his talent and fame to make sure that change happened. In a way, that's probably even more valuable than an autographed book.

Electoral Dysfunction: A must-see documentary for anyone who ever casted a vote

While covering this year's edition of the Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF), it gives me the chance to catch some interesting and offbeat documentaries from around the world, some of them tackle subject matters that are of interest to me that I wouldn't expect to get the documentary treatment. Then there are those docs that when I first glance at their respective descriptions in the festival catalogue, my immediate reaction is "gotta see this!". “Electoral Dysfunction”  falls into the latter category. 

This is a humorous, informative (and right now very relevant) look at how frustratingly imperfect the electoral system is in the United States. Political humorist (and correspondent for CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” program) Mo Rocca went on a four-year journey to discover how America votes, and the result is “Electoral Dysfunction”. With a style that’s influenced by controversial muck raking filmmaker Michael Moore, this documentary focuses on one of the 13,000 voting districts in the U.S. – in particular Jennings County in Indiana – during the 2008 presidential election from both the Democrat and Republican sides, and all the lengths their respective organizers go through to get people to the polls on election day. As well, it explained how some stringent measures prevent civic-minded citizens from exercising their right to vote, such as the Photo ID Law, which was dubbed as a “modern day poll tax”. It's amazing to discover how many voters in this district (not to mention the 32 other states that have this photo ID law in their books) -- and many of whom were dedicated voters every election day for years -- were turned away at the polls because they didn't possess the required photo ID that is prescribed in the law. Then they are instructed to go to the local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) bureau to get a free photo driver's license (eventhough they never owned a car, let alone sit behind the wheel of one) in order to go back to the polls to cast their vote; however, if they don't have a valid photo ID at the DMV, they can't get that coveted driver's license. Talk about "Catch-22"!

Rocca, along with the film’s writers/producers/directors Mridu Chandra, David Deschamps, Leslie D. Farrell and Bennett Singer (pictured below), were in Montreal to attend the two screenings of the documentary during the festival (the first one, which I attended, was the final film that was shown at the NFB Cinema on St. Denis Street, before it closed down for good the following day thanks to federal government budget cuts) and explained that the film’s impetus was the 2000 presidential election was decided by the Supreme Court and gave Republican candidate George W. Bush the presidency over Democrat Al Gore.

The film has been shown at both the Democrat and Republican conventions (and will air on PBS on October 18), and they hope to have it available for high school and college students in order to open their eyes about the American electoral system and spark some dialogue amongst them about this sacred right to vote that’s not even mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. And with this year's presidential race between Obama and Romney becoming a tension-filled, tight race, "Electoral Dysfunction" should be required viewing by every eligible (and ineligible) voter in America to why casting that precious vote is important (oh, yes ... and how you can distinguish the difference between "voter" and "elector").

This prompted Mocca to quip during the Q&A session that followed the screening: “Maybe we have too much democracy in America!” 

My Memories of 1411 Fort Street

This past weekend an era in Montreal radio broadcasting ended, as CJAD, Virgin Radio and CHOM FM left 1411 Fort Street, its collective home since 1980. And with that, a new chapter began, as of September 1, CJAD began broadcasting at its new, state-of-the-art home base at 1717 Papineau Street near the Jacques Cartier Bridge; the area also houses a group of Montreal English and French TV and radio stations, such as CTV, RDS, CBC/Radio Canada and CKOI (CHOM and Virgin will be setting up shop by the end of the weekend).

I first set foot at 1411 Fort in September of 1984. At the time, I was a devoted listener of CJAD's "Trivia Show" and they had a contest where listeners would win a one-shot co-hosting gig on the show with host/creator Michael Libling. All you had to do was write to him and say why you would like to be a co-host, and what your area of trivia expertise was. Mine was (and still is) the Marx Brothers. Somehow, Libling was convinced, and I was one of the contest winners. I don't remember much of the show, but one thing that sticks in my mind is that I was completely calm in front of the mic and really enjoyed the experience of doing radio, live in studio.

Fast forward to April of 1985. After winning another prize from "The Trivia Show" (after waiting the required three months between prizes), Libling took the phone during a commercial break and wanted to know if I wanted the gig of "Igor the Screaming Screener" as of the following Sunday. Of course, I took it and for the next three-and-a-half years, I spent most of my Sunday mornings in master control of 1411 Fort screening calls and taking down information of the prize winners. But it wasn't all just answering phones and filling out prize forms (and piping in answers to Mike and Dave Fisher). I got a few fill-in gigs to host the show when Libling was on vacation to get some on-air experience. Then there was the time when Libling cracked up with laughter several times one morning when my friend Barry visited the station before taking off for Israel for the summer ... sporting a new blue hairdo! And then there was the embarrassing appearance on "The Trivia Show" by 15-minute celebrity of the day Mark "Jacko" Jackson, the loud, obnoxious Australian Rules Football star who was best known in North America for his TV commercials plugging Energizer batteries (OYYYYY!!!).

At the same time, I was contributing trivia questions for John Oakley, who was CJAD's popular late night host. I finally got on the air with him in early 1985, doing his "Friday Free-For-All" programs doing nothing but trivia with him and the listeners. We would do them from midnight to 5:30 a.m. and I took away from that experience two things: it was great to work with Oakley, who is a consummate radio pro who was just as well read and articulate as myself; and after doing several midnight to sunrise stints, I certainly appreciated the world of late night radio a whole lot more.

Which leads me to the longest serving gig I had with CJAD at 1411 Fort. In the fall of 1990, I pitched to then-station manager Rob Braide about a radio segment that was quite uncommon at the time: book reviews (normally, a host would interview the author about their book, but would never bother to review it on the air). Two weeks later, Peter Anthony Holder (a producer/announcer for CJAD and FM-96 -- and fellow trivia buff -- whom I first met at John Oakley's Christmas party broadcast in 1984), called me and heard about my book review idea and liked it, and as a result, invited me to make it a regular feature and his recently launched late night show on CJAD called "Holder Overnight". On November 15, 1990, "Book Banter" made its debut on "Holder Overnight", an association that lasted 19 years.

During its first two years, "Book Banter" aired once a week at 1:15 a.m., and we pre-recorded the segment earlier that evening. In 1992, when Peter's show moved to prime time (8-10 p.m.), after a busy night when he was busy scrambling to adapt to the new format, he had no time to record the segment. I suggested I come back later and do it live. And for the rest of the segment's run, it was always done live on the air. There were plenty of books read and reviewed during those 19 years (almost 3,000) and plenty of great (and funny) memories. Doing the show live from a phone booth at B'nai Brith Perlman Camp in Starlight, Pennsylvania (Peter was convinced the phone wires from Starlight were held together with duct tape), from the casino at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, or from third base line box seats at the Rogers Centre during a Blue Jays-Red Sox game (and in the middle of a Jays rally, which had Peter laughing hysterically back home at 1411 Fort ... I was alternating between book reviewing and play-by-play sportscasting) ; losing it while doing the "Kids' Korner" portion after Peter tore apart a book I just reviewed on the history of the TV series "Hee Haw!"; and Peter's "walk out" from the studio as I was about to review Kitty Kelley's latest celebrity bio.

In 1999, another phase of my CJAD involvement at 1411 Fort began with my involvement as one of the on-air regulars on "Freeze Frame", the entertainment-oriented show that aired every Friday night as part of the "Al & Era" show that aired throughout the week, which was hosted by veteran broadcasters Al Gravelle and Eramelinda Boquer. What I liked about doing this show was that everyone involved with "Freeze Frame" were entertainment junkies, which ended up with lively on-air discussions about classic and current TV and movies. I did everything from being a movie and TV expert, to "Survivor" authority, to comedy correspondent. I'll never forget doing a special Saturday night broadcast with Al about "Survivor" in August of 2000 ... while sick as a dog with bronchitis (yet I did a solid two hours on-air like a true showbiz trouper); letting Mark McKinney, of Kids in the Hall fame, do our weekly "Top Ten" lists that were complemented by his snarky comments ("BECKER!!! Who watches BECKER?!?"); and comedienne Lisa Lampanelli making us permanent fans of her when she demolished some arrogant members of the Upright Citizens Brigade improv troupe during a live "Late Nite Laff Zone" broadcast at the Delta Hotel.

Being a "comedy correspondent" for CJAD during the 2000s had its fringe benefits. One of them was during the 2002 and 2003 festivals, in which Just For Laughs hired me to be a special festival correspondent when Ric Peterson hosted the morning show (2002) and the afternoon drive home show (2003). Basically, I was armed with my notepad, flashlight, stopwatch and several Digital Audio Tape (DAT) cassettes to record several of the Club Soda shows (thanks to Club Soda's tech guy Yves Moquin's DAT machine), select some choice lines from the comics who performed that night and do a live 5-minute report on Ric's show the following morning around 7:30 (in studio, I might add). So during those two summers, my daily routine was to catch and record that evening's Club Soda shows, head back to the Delta and appear on "Late Nite Laff Zone" from midnight to 3 a.m., make a beeline to CJAD to edit and compile that night's selected highlights (based on my copious notes), go home to grab a couple of hours of sleep, and then head back to CJAD to do my live report on Ric's show. Exhausting, but a lot of fun (and all of my selections made Ric laugh out loud, so I guess it was mission accomplished).

The last time I appeared on-air at 1411 Fort was last summer. It was a sort-of "Freeze Frame" reunion, when Al, Era and myself did a couple of Saturday afternoon fill-ins and discussed the jazz and comedy festivals, and which shows were highlights and not-to-be-missed. It was just like 2000-2001 all over again, and I couldn't find a better way to make my CJAD swan song.

I always enjoyed coming to do radio at 1411 Fort Street, wander the halls after hours and revel in the laid back camaraderie with the on-air and tech operators, who were and are the backbone of the operation. Although like the previous generation of CJAD personnel who had fond memories of its previous home on Mountain Street, the 27 years I spent as a guest and regular contributor for CJAD at 1411 Fort Street will always give me great memories of how much fun radio broadcasting can be. And I am sure that the next generation of CJAD/Virgin/CHOM personnel will garner their fair share of memorable moments in their new Papineau Street digs.

And most of all, it was the numerous people -- past and present -- whom I encountered and befriended during that time that helped to make it such a joy to go to 1411 Fort, no matter which day or time of day it was.

First, there's the on-air personalities as Michael Libling, John Oakley, Peter Anthony Holder, Al Gravelle, Eramelinda Boquer, the "Freeze Frame Gang" (made up of Oliver Sedra, Jim Pacheco, Jason "Video Boy" Wiley and Wayne Appleby), Jake Lawrence, the late, great Mark Rennie, Abe Hefter, Ric Peterson, Dave Fisher, Chrys Goyens, David Edey, Shuyee Lee, Kathy Coulombe, Richard Deschamps, Jennifer Potvin, Laurie and Olga, Sharon Hyland, Pete Marier (the world's number1 Rodney Dangerfield fan), Too Tall, Billal Butt, Rob Kemp, Derek Lind, Rob Kemp, Dan Delmar and Mark Bergman.

And there's the unsung heroes of 1411 Fort Street, the technical operators who always pushed the right buttons and literally made the shows happened: Keith Tomasek, Peter Wilkinson, Earl Eichenbaum, Mitch Beim, Glen Wildemon, Mark Silverman, Peter Lopata, Leo D'Estrala, Shawn Starr, Anthony DiBiaso, Sheldon Fried, Corinna Vierek, Derek Stanbridge, Esteban Vargas, Matt Stone, Merv Willaims, Toby Goodfellow, Brandon Craddock, Tina Lullham, Larry Martos and John Collette.

Finally, there were the people who ran CJAD, Virgin and CHOM in its different managerial departments on a day-to-day basis: my sister Nancy (who spent five years in the commercial traffic department), Rick Moffat, Lisa Fuoco, Matthew Wood, Joanna Bennett, Pat Burke, Stewart Currie, Andrea Elias, Mickey from the mailroom (who always placed my bulky parcels filled with review copies of the latest book releases in a safe place for me to pick up, for which I am eternally grateful), and last but not least, Rob Braide who took the time to listen to my "Book Banter" pitch back in that fateful tete a tete at 1411 Fort in the fall of 1990.

Good bye, 1411 Fort Street. You will be missed. Hello 1717 Papineau.

Pictured below is a copy of a profile that was written about me in November of 1997. It appeared in the employee newsletter of CAE Inc., the flight simulator company where I was working as a technical editor at the time, and was written by Tech Pubs colleague and friend Craig McPherson (whom I have known since we worked at The Suburban newspaper in the late 80s). The photo of me -- taken by Craig during one of my "Book Banter" broadcasts -- is a rare one of me "in action" at 1411 Fort; the reproduction is not the greatest, but it did complement the profile).