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Terrific Tunes… Tasty Food… It’s Foodstock!!! Saturday at Elks Lodge

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6 minute read

Rob Lamonica

Terrific tunes and tasty fare for a great cause – gearing up for Foodstock

By Mark Weber 

A partnership between the Red Deer Food Bank and the Central Music Festival Society continues to not only spread the joy of music but also helps meet a critical need in the community.

Foodstock runs Sept. 14th.

There will be plenty of food, festivities and a ‘mini-international’ music festival at the Elks Lodge featuring the exemplary talents of David Essig, Nine Second Ride, Rob Lamonica, Laurelle, and the mesmerizing magic of Kyle Key.

The fun kicks off at 5 p.m. and runs through to 11 p.m.

As the Society’s web site points out, ‘Thousands are expected to pack the parking lot with donations (for the Food Bank) while feasting on the Red Deer Food Bank BBQ Crue’s sizzling fare.”

At 7 p.m. the music starts inside and runs through to around 11 p.m. All profits go to the Red Deer Food Bank.

Tickets are $30 each in advance or $35 at the door. Kids aged 12 and under are admitted free when with a responsible adult.

“Our goal for this event is to raise over $5,000 for the Red Deer Food Bank to help meet the demand for the holiday season,” said Mike Bradford, president of the Central Music Festival Society.

“We like to create a festive atmosphere,” he explained, pointing out that stilt walkers will be onsite to showcase their skills as well.

“They will also be giving lessons to interested kids on shorter stilts.”

After everyone eats and takes in the fun outside, the tunes kick off in the Elks Lodge.

“If you look around, and you are in a position to help somebody out, the very basic need for all of us is food,” he added. “That’s what it’s all about.  “So in my mind, it’s just a way of giving back to the community,” he said.  Indeed, it’s a service that is always in high demand as well.  “There is no shame in needing a helping hand.”

The partnership at the annual Foodstock event also led to the Food Bank setting up at Central Music Festival Society shows through the year as well. The Society also matches Food Bank financial contributions dollar for dollar, said Bradford.

To date, close to $9,000 has been raised. “It’s something that has worked out pretty well for both of us! If we can help out, we are glad to do it.”

Feedback from all sides has always been fantastic, he added.

It’s a rewarding experience for Society volunteers to be a part of and the Food Bank is always very happy for the solid support of course. The musicians are also thrilled to pool their efforts behind such a great community cause as well.

“It’s also about raising the awareness of the Food Bank. Anyone can fall on hard times, and anyone can lend a helping hand.

“We are all human, and we have to get through this life together.”

As for the folks at the Food Bank, they couldn’t be more pleased – or thankful – about this terrific partnership.

“It’s been a tremendous relationship, and it’s been ongoing for a couple of years now,” said Fred Scaife, executive director of the Red Deer Food Bank.

“They invite us to all of their events, too,” he noted, pointing out that Food Bank representatives, as mentioned, are at performances through the year to receive donations from patrons and also make further connections in the community.

“And the shows are always so good!”

But ultimately, Scaife emphasized that it’s partnerships like these that really help to make such a critical difference in the day-to-day operations of the Food Bank.

And with Foodstock, the timing of the event couldn’t be better as food and financial reserves at the Food Bank can be running quite low at that point of the year, said Scaife.  “Not only does it give us an opportunity to solicit some donations that we need at that time of year, it also gives us the opportunity to be in front of the public,” he noted.

Scaife also explained that the consistent support of the Central Music Festival Society is what helps with the unpredictable nature of collecting food and funds through the year for the charity.

“It’s such a good, solid relationship. It’s great for us.”

For more info and tickets… www.centralmusicfest.com

 

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Arts

Trump’s Hollywood envoys take on Tinseltown’s liberal monopoly

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Quick Hit:

President Trump has appointed Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as “special envoys” to Hollywood, aiming to restore a “Golden Age” and challenge the industry’s entrenched liberal bias. According to RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson, the move highlights the necessity of reclaiming cultural institutions from leftist control.

Key Details:

  • Trump’s Truth Social post described the trio as his “eyes and ears” in Hollywood, advising on business and social policy.

  • Hollywood’s leftist dominance, as seen in Disney’s political agenda and the cancellation of Gina Carano, has alienated conservatives.

  • Watson argues that Trump understands “politics is downstream from culture” and that influencing Hollywood is vital to shaping American values.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump’s latest move to reshape Hollywood has the entertainment industry buzzing. By appointing Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson as his “special envoys” to Tinseltown, Trump is signaling that conservatives no longer need to cede cultural institutions to the left. As RealClearPolitics’ Ethan Watson writes, “Donald Trump understands something many right-wingers haven’t for a long time: It’s time to take back institutions.”

Trump, who has long criticized Hollywood’s liberal slant, sees the entertainment industry as a battleground for shaping public opinion. “Although studies have shown that many Americans, particularly younger people, are unaware of the biggest news story of the day, nearly all of them consume media produced by Hollywood,” Watson notes. This cultural dominance, Watson argues, has been exploited to push a left-wing agenda, alienating conservative voices.

The case of Gina Carano exemplifies Hollywood’s intolerance toward dissent, Watson writes. The former “Mandalorian” star was fired by Disney in 2021 after posting a historical comparison on social media. “In truth, her cancellation was most likely due to her mocking pronoun virtue signaling and COVID-19 precautions that were essentially an entrance fee into the upper echelons of Hollywood,” Watson states. The politicization of entertainment didn’t stop there—Disney executive Latoya Raveneau openly admitted to inserting a “not-at-all-secret gay agenda” into children’s programming.

Watson pushes back against the idea that conservatives should simply “build their own” Hollywood, arguing that the industry is too integral to American culture to be abandoned. “Casting it aside would be like trying to create an alternative to Mount Rushmore or baseball – it’s irreplaceable,” he writes. Trump’s decision to highlight conservative-friendly stars like Stallone, Voight, and Gibson sends a powerful message: conservatives in Hollywood no longer have to stay silent.

Trump’s envoys are a step toward restoring balance in an industry that has become a one-party echo chamber. “Hollywood, along with social media, has become the ‘town square,’ the medium by which Americans share ideas,” Watson explains. With leftist cancel culture stifling dissent, Trump’s initiative is not just about entertainment—it’s about ensuring freedom of expression in America’s most influential industry.

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Business

Donald Trump appoints Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors to Hollywood

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From LifeSiteNews

In a surprise post on Truth Social, Trump announced, ‘It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California.’

In an unexpected move, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Mel Gibson, along with Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, to be “special ambassadors” to Hollywood in his next administration.

“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday.

Elaborating on his decision, Trump continued:

They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!

These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest. It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!

All three of the Hollywood stars are baptized Catholics and have, to varying degrees, professed and defended their beliefs both in God and in conservative principles more generally.

The appointments come just days after Gibson, who is well-known as an outspoken Catholic actor and director, appeared on the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, making headlines for defending the resurrection of Christtalking about the post-Vatican II crisis in the Catholic Church, and speaking candidly about the important role his faith has played in his life. Gibson’s house was also one of many to have burned down in the fires ravaging Los Angeles, describing it as a form of “purification.”

Similarly, Stallone, who talked about his return to Christianity in the early 2000s after drifting away in his younger years, was also in the news recently for saying for the first time publicly that he is the survivor of abortion.

As for Voight, he was raised Catholic and attended the Catholic University of America, and is well-known for holding conservative views and talking openly about his belief in God. He is also the father of famous actress Angelina Jolie.

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