Business in Calgary, Party in Banff

The Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival had the streets of Banff bustling last week. People from across the province strolled down the avenue, hopped on buses, and paraded into the Fairmont Banff Springs for a taste of gourmet fare and fine wine. An entire weekend of decadence was available.

At the Buffalo Mountain Lodge on Friday night, a small group sampled five varieties of Brunello di Montalcino and local fare crafted by Chef Linda Calabrese. While sommelier Roisin Hutchinson shared her passion for wine, coaxing guests into sharing their insights, platters of cheese, jellies, and local game were served. A peppered elk carpaccio and duck terrine, paired with a 2003 Pieri Agostina had guests gushing.

A much larger crowd gathered at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel on Saturday for the first session of the wine and food tasting. Over 2400 people attended the two sessions. Wine, beer and spirits from around the world were featured; guests enjoyed everything from unique coffee rum to organic vodka and vintage wines. Judie and Jim Keall were hunting for new labels on behalf of their son, who owns a wine shop in Calgary. Hellbent Shiraz from Australia did the trick, although New Zealand wines were top among many guests.

Meanwhile, local restaurants and hotels were tempting many with delectable plates. The Bison Restaurant turned out a steady stream of mini herb-rubbed pulled pork sandwiches on freshly made buns with house-made tomato jelly. It was a favorite among many guests, who were served by the restaurant’s owner Ryan Rivard.

Competition for best dish came from young South African chef Morne Burger of Maple Leaf Grill. His wasabi-crusted salmon, cooked to order and perfectly positioned on bite-sized polenta squares, attracted a high number of patrons and a huge amount of praise. Although not on their regular menu, the dish had a number of guests making early plans for dinner.

Among those attending the festival were: Harry Wells, vice president innovation and technology for Newalta (a happy side-trip to his week-long business excursion from Ontario), real estate agent Joe Badin, Alan Beres and Perry Fleming of Foster’s Group, Chef Martin Brenner of Sunshine Village, and Allan and Sonia Cavanagh.

It was back to business in Calgary the following week, at the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Luncheon. The inductees for 2009 were announced by Arlene Dickinson, president and CEO of Venture Communications, with comments provided by Colin Merrick, associate partner at Deloitte.

The laureates are: Edward (Ed) McNally, the lawyer and rancher who founded Big Rock Breweries, Allan Markin, the engineer and community leader who helped steer Canadian Natural Resources Limited to great success as the board chair, and Senator Patrick Burns, who will be awarded posthumously for his life of public service.

At the luncheon were Karen Chown of Calgary Economic Development, Murray Edwards of CNRL, Heather Douglas of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Eva Friesen of The Calgary Foundation, 2008 laureate Don Taylor, and Donald Seaman. The awards will be handed out at the Business Hall of Fame gala in November.
Published in National Post, May 23 2009

NOTE: My accommodation for the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine Festival was generously supported by the folks at Banff Tourism and the oh-so-splendid Fox Hotel & Suites. <- (click here to check it out) Many many thanks for their gracious hospitality, outstanding service and pristine, luxurious hot springs pool.

Bateman Offers Brush With Nature in Banff

At the Whyte Museum last week, guests dressed in vintage safari-wear pulled tiny keys out of a tiny treasure chest before striding down a red carpet into the main gallery. The keys were tied with various colours of ribbon, indicating your “team” for the night.

Robert Bateman, famed Canadian artist and environmentalist, stood on a small stage and spoke quietly about his work. A retrospective hung on the walls around him, work from the different decades of his life. The room was crowded. Finally, raising his sketchbook in one hand, he gestured at the crowd and ordered,

“Now go, get drunk, and spend a lot of money at the silent auction.”

Laughter. Before the audience could swarm or disperse, two figures took the stage - this time, dressed in elaborate Jumanji-style dress with head-set microphones. They directed the audience on an elaborate treasure hunt around the museum, where clues were hidden at various bars and food stations. Catering was provided by the Bison Resturant, which offered dripping, indulgent fondue bits, pan-cooked shrimp, crudités, and other assorted goodies.

Among the adventurers were Alberta Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, Ted Morton with his wife Bambi Morton, MLA Dave Rodney, curator at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Adam Duncan Harris, Under The Sleeping Buffalo (UTSB) researcher Peter Poole, executive director of Heritage Community Foundation Adriana Davies, sommelier Roisin Hutchinson of Bin 905, senior vice-president of BMO Financial Group Ted McCarron and his wife, Jane McCarron, and Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury with his partner, Rob Mabee of Axis Gallery in Calgary.

Proceeds from the evening will go to the Whyte Museum; Bateman is trumpeting another good cause - the “Get to Know” program, which connects children and the wilderness.

The evening closed with a very special connection to nature: two live owls and a giant hawk, brought in to the museum by animal trainers. The remaining guests crowded around the birds in awe, touching their feathers and watching the odd turning of the owl’s head.

Published in National Post, May 16 2009

Burtynsky's work hits home in Banff

Nestled amid the dramatic peaks of the Canadian Rocky Mountains is the thriving town of BanffWhyte Museum and within it, . Lovers of nature and art gathered there last week to welcome photographer Edward Burtynsky, whose work is the subject of a major retrospective on display until April 26, 2009.

The exhibit is called The Residual LandscapesOntario nickel mines and Alberta oil sands. and includes a collection of twenty-two images donated by the artist. Burtynsky’s work depicts human impact on natural environments, including provocative and strangely beautiful tailings ponds.

Nickel Tailings No. 30 portraits vivid veins of florescent orange toxins fluidly snaking across a blackened crust of earth. Oxford Tire Pile No. 1 is a whimsical but sad portrait of urban waste, the entire image consumed by tires stacked in spirals and layered across the ground.

“It’s a spectacular collection and an amazing gift,” said Robin Murphy, who attended the opening. Murphy is the director of public art for Torode Group, a company responsible for installing half a million dollars worth of sculptures in public spaces around Calgary. Earlier last week her company unveiled an eight meter high steel sculpture, inspired by tree roots, in the downtown core. The juxtaposition of nature and industry is even more potent in Banff.

“It’s extremely provocative,” said Michale Lang, executive director of Whyte Museum, “Given that we’re in a national park and that all these developments are going on nearby, just beyond our boundaries, it’s very important to be thinking of these things.”

Burtynsky’s work, which he describes as “metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence” and “a dialogue between attraction and repulsion”, has drawn international attention. In 2005 he won the exclusive TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Award, meaning he would be granted any three wishes. One of those wishes was a global dialogue on sustainable living, now available at WorldChanging.com. Two years later, he was the subject of critically acclaimed documentary Manufactured Landscapes. His photographs are in the collections of the MuseumModern Art in New York, the Biblioteque Nationale de France in Paris, and the National ArtGallery in Ottawa, among others. Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is thrilled to have so many of his photographs in one space, and expects they will draw a crowd well into the Spring. of

“His work makes a statement,” says Lang, “And we feel that’s what a good art gallery does – let the work speak for itself.”

Among the substantial number of guests at the opening were: Bob Sandford, author and chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative, Jason Stroh, co-artistic director of Alberta Dance Theatre, Graham Gerylo, Calgary city planner, Doug MacLean of Canadian Art Gallery and his wife, author Mary-Beth LaViolette, Blake O'Brien, co-owner of the Uptown Stage and Screen, photographer Maxine Achurch, communications guru Karin Poldaas and her husband, Quinton Rafuse, vice-president of geoscience at Ember Resources Inc, director Guy Clarkson, and Kirsten Evenden, the newly-appointed president of Glenbow Museum.

Published in National Post, February 14 2009