Hitching a ride in the Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV2) with Tornado Alley’s Sean Casey
CVV Magazine’s Leanne Allen interviews Sean Casey of Storm Chasers and the new IMAX movie Tornado Alley, then hitches a ride in the TIV2 (Tornado Intercept Vehicle). Video copyright Martial Media. Be sure to check out the photo album from the shoot as well on our Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/CVVmagazineFP Read More »
Victoria Filmmaker Jeremy Lutter...
Victoria Filmmaker Jeremy Lutter discusses his film “Joanna Makes a Friend” with CVV Magazine’s Leanne Allen and John Threlfall. Read More »
CVV Magazine’s Weekly Arts and...
CVV Magazine reports on arts and entertainment events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week: Introducing CVV StyleFeed! (incorrectly referred to as “Stylewatch” a few times in this post, our apologies), Snow days, Dance days, Chinese New Year, and more! Read More »
The Drowsy Chaperone: A Gay Old Time...
Back in the old days, as we’re reminded right off the top of The Drowsy Chaperone, a gay old time “just meant fun”—which, simply put, is exactly what you can expect with Langham Court‘s latest. Absolutely the theatrical coup of the season (how did a community theatre company in its 83rd season manage to scoop this one ahead of... Read More »
Fashion Plates: Mario Szabo hips up...
When asked about North America’s fashion capitals, one immediately gravitates toward New York City or L.A. Extend your aperture to include the rest of the Western Hemisphere, and even major centres in that region often miss the cut. London, Milan, Paris…Victoria is far from in frame. And if our sister-city, Vancouver, even enters the style conversation, it’s due to... Read More »
Can Am Importique – A Motherlode...
I spent last week in Vancouver, catching up with friends from my university creative writing days, reading Roberto Bolano in the Public Library – a palace by our standards -and otherwise just enjoying a taste of the hyperurban way of life that sits a ferry ride away. During my stay, my old workshop buddy Roxby told me about a... Read More »
CVV STAFF PICKS – Jan 18 to Jan...
Each week CVV Magazine staff members post their personal recommendations on what to see and do in Victoria. Some events will be well known, some will be hidden gems, and all will be well worth checking out! See you out there! This round of picks are for the period Jan 18 to Jan 24, 2012. I’m as excited about Whisky... Read More »
Playa del Carmen – Blue Parrot...
CVV Magazine`s Leanne Allen and Phil Pierce visit The Blue Parrot Hotel & Beach Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Copyright Martial Media. Read More »
CVV Magazine’s Weekly Arts and...
CVV Magazine reports on arts and entertainment events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week: It’s Whiskey Week in Victoria!, Robbie Burns celebrations at The Castle, Langham Court’s latest, and more! Read More »
Martial Media Test Shot – Walking...
I saw Iain Russell of Outlooks for Men walking down Broad Street today and just happened to have my camera out. It`s amazing what a little super slo mo and a soundtrack does to video… although Iain`s strut is pretty sweet on its own! -L Camera (Canon 7D) – L Video/Sound Editing (Sony Vegas + Twixtor ) – PP... Read More »
CVV STAFF PICKS – Jan 11 to Jan...
Each week CVV Magazine staff members post their personal recommendations on what to see and do in Victoria. Some events will be well known, some will be hidden gems, and all will be well worth checking out! See you out there! This round of picks are for the period Jan 11 to Jan 17, 2012. It’s a tie for my... Read More »
Travel Well #1: Flying South for the...
If you’ve been following our CVV Staff Picks over the past month, you’ll notice my tendency to skip town. I spent three of the last five Wednesdays abroad: one in New York City, the other two in a little surf town outside of Manzanillo, Mexico. If there’s one lesson I’ve taken from my last four years as backpacker and... Read More »
CVV Magazine’s Weekly Arts and...
CVV Magazine reports on arts and entertainment events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week: Shake those winter blues!, Support Jung-Ah!, Flight of the Conchords’ Arj Barker, new Travel videos, and more! . Read More »
CVV STAFF PICKS – Jan 4 to Jan...
Each week CVV Magazine staff members post their personal recommendations on what to see and do in Victoria. Some events will be well known, some will be hidden gems, and all will be well worth checking out! See you out there! This round of picks are for the period Jan 4 to Jan 10, 2012. If you’re like me and... Read More »
New Year’s Eve with Atomic...
I have a tendency to be out of town around the tail end of December, since my family lives out of town. 2011 was an exception, so I figured I’d stop in to my favorite cabaret – who else but Atomic Vaudeville? I had heard good things about their end-of-year shows and wasn’t disappointed. New Year’s Eve accoutrements included... Read More »
New years Day Polar Bear Swim (dubstep...
CVV Magazine covers the 2012 New Years Day Elk Lake Polar Bear Swim. Read More »
Suzanne Sagmeister: Through the Lens...
Suzanne Sagmeister: Through the Lens – View the gallery by clicking any image then clicking NEXT or hit “n” to cycle through the pictures. Written article below. When I was looking for a photographer to do some promo shots for Enter the Ninja Boot, our short action spoof (currently in production) I knew Suzanne Sagmeister was the one. She had me at her edgy photos.... Read More »
Critics’ Choice Spotlight Awards...
Critics’ Choice Spotlight Awards for 2010/2011 Who’s Afraid of Picking Winners? JUMP TO THE AWARDS How quickly a decade can pass. Why, it seems only yesterday a curmudgeonly cabal of cagey critics crept into the Bengal Room at the Empress Hotel to sip champagne and quip bon mots while musing over the best and brightest of the local theatre... Read More »
CVV STAFF PICKS: Dec 21 to Dec 27, 2011
Each week CVV posts our personal recommendations on what not to miss in the Victoria arts and culture scene. Some events will be well known, some will be hidden gems, and all will be well worth checking out! See you out there! This round of picks are for the period Dec 21 to Dec 27, 2011 Jeff McAllister is... Read More »
From the Vault: CBC radio Lefse piece...
Every Christmas, it’s a tradition of mine to replay an old CBC radio piece I did with my mom about making Lefsa, a traditional Norweigan flatbread. Call me sappy, but I think mom summed up Christmas best: food, family and friends. Merry Christmas everyone. - Leanne Allen CVV Magazine (formerly Culture Vulture Victoria) Read More »
A Tipsy Quest! – Maryanne Carmack
This holiday season give a book to your favorite wine, spirits or culinary lover: Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest For The World’s Best Bargain Wines by Natalie MacLean. This timeless book is full of insider tips, hilarious humor, adventures, funny stories and key tips on how to locate wines with the best value. MacLean takes her readers on a wine... Read More »
Victoria’s Arts and Culture...
Culture Vulture Victoria reports on recent and upcoming arts and culture events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week we discuss a few must do Victoria Christmas Events and our new name: CVV Magazine! Read More »
Prince – Amanda Farrell-Low
Let me start off by saying I’m not a huge Prince fan. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I dislike his music, it’s just that I never really got into him. As an ’80s baby, I was just a little too young for the 1999 and Purple Rain era, and it wasn’t the kind of music my parents... Read More »
CVV STAFF PICKS Dec 14 to Dec 20, 2011
Each week CVV posts our personal recommendations on what not to miss in the Victoria arts and culture scene. Some events will be well known, some will be hidden gems, and all will be well worth checking out! See you out there! This round of picks are for the period Dec 14 to Dec 20, 2011 December is the... Read More »
Victoria’s Arts and Culture...
Culture Vulture Victoria reports on recent and upcoming arts and culture events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week: Ice Skating in Downtown Victoria’s Centennial Square, The Salvation Army’s Annual Toy Drive with the Naden Band, Miracle on 34th St. at the Empress Hotel, and more! Read More »
Odd Bits – Maryanne Carmack
“Once you knock an animal on the head it is only polite to eat the whole animal.” …Fergus Henderson I had the wonderful opportunity to be invited to The London Chef to meet award-winning author and James Beard Prize winner Jennifer McLagan, who showed us how to cook ‘Odd Bits’ – that part of the animal that generally is... Read More »
Mole – the specialty black sauce of Oaxaca
Victoria based food writer Maryanne Carmack takes her perspective on the road and researches the traditional mexican “Mole” sauce at Miguel Angel Restaurant & Bar – Bucerias, Mexico where they have been serving typical, authentic Oaxacan food for the past 15 years… The misinformed refer to mole (pronounced MOH-lay) as “that Mexican chocolate sauce”. Although chocolate is an ingredient... Read More »
Queso fundido en salsa verde at Casa...
Food writer Maryanne Carmack’s second installment from her latest Mexican adventure… While in Guadalajara, our hosts Jeffry and Brenda Fernandez treated us to lunch at Casa Fuerte Restaurant in Tlaquepaque, our most impressive and memorable Mexican dining experience. The restaurant leans towards fine dining, with an elegant bar and refreshing garden patio surrounding a magnificent old tree. The added... Read More »
The Importance of Local Farmers’...
Former Public Market: CVA# CVAM08758 CLICK TO SEE LARGER VERSION Island consumers who want their food fresh, seasonal and local, who want to talk to the person who gathered their free-range eggs, and who seek safe, sustainably grown products increasingly appreciate and know the importance of local farmers’ markets. The stability, increasing strength and diversity of the Victoria Downtown... Read More »
Fresh Tortillas: Life is Good in Mexico
Video shot on location by Maryanne Carmack I have to say adios to my Mexican food adventure and move on but not before I bring attention to the tortilla. A great tortilla is a marvel: warm, fluffy yet dense with a chewy texture. One bite and you begin to curse the grocery store variety for its lack of... Read More »
Culinaire and Virginity Lost
By Danielle Green, photos by Maryanne Carmack Have you ever wondered what you were missing as you loyally dined at your favoured hot-spot with repetitious patronage? Have you ever had a recommendation from a friend for an interesting dish but couldn’t tear yourself away from your usual order? Culinaire, aptly titled Victoria’s Premier Food Tasting Experience, is the answer... Read More »
Maryanne Carmack explores Saffron
At $2,000 to $10,000 a pound, saffron is by far the most expensive food on earth: way more than truffles, caviar, and real balsamic vinegar. Its history is epic, its flavor revered. International organizations employ lab equipment to fuss over grading crops for flavor, colour, and richness. Why is it so expensive? Saffron threads are the stamens of the... Read More »
Chive Blossom Vinegar – Maryanne...
PHOTO GALLERY - click any image then click NEXT or hit “n” to move through the pictures… All photos by Maryanne Carmack. Chives are members of the Allium family, and just in case you didn’t know, many members of this family (including chives, leeks, onions, and garlic) produce edible flowers. As an herb, they produce edible stems and... Read More »
For the love of GARLIC!
“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; Wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; Lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; Garlic makes it good.” ~Alice May Brock PHOTO GALLERY – click any image then click NEXT or hit “n” to move through the pictures… There’s more to garlic than just the... Read More »
STOP THE PRESSES! Former MONDAY...
All of us here at CVV are incredibly excited to welcome John Threlfall to the team. We have a huge respect for John and his accomplishments and are honoured to have him aboard. We see this as the beginning of an exciting new phase for both the online magazine and the company. Welcome John! -PP -L A specialist in media... Read More »
The Most Delicious Book Club
I do not recommend food limitations of any kind. I recently survived a pizza starvation diet. The scratches are healing. The ones I got when I was clawing my own skin and wailing on my balcony, lamenting the pizza I was denying myself. And though I wouldn’t wish this self-induced depravity upon anyone, it was worth it. I broke... Read More »
Billy Bishop Goes to War
In this Canadian classic, writers John Gray and Eric Peterson explore the life of Canadian fighter pilot William Avery Bishop and his accomplishments during WWI. The play humanizes the “hero” and examines Canada’s station within the colonial empire at that time. It displays all the youth, adventure and pathos of war and while the context might not exist for... Read More »
Victoria’s Burlesque Scene for...
Last month my girlfriend took me to the Burlesque Bonanza at the Victoria Event Centre. I’d never so much as set a drunken foot in Monty’s and any sort of disrobing-based live entertainment was alien to me. The show was so refreshing that I tracked down some of the people responsible for the spectacle of local burlesque. If I... Read More »
Suzanne Vega : Remix
I am sitting in the theatre Suzanne Vega Sunday evening I am seated left of centre which of course is kind of fitting and at first we hear the Idols but they cannot hold a candle to the calm yet solid presence of the the one we’re here to hear - – - It is lovely just to listen... Read More »
The Lynda Raino Project
Martial Media profiles modern dance icon Lynda Raino. Copyright Martial Media. Read More »
Pea Shoots – A taste of Spring
My favorite thing about Spring? Pea shoots! If you have never had pea shoots before, you are in for a real treat! Tender and bright in flavor, they are a lovely cross between salad greens and pea flavor. Pea shoots or pea tendrils are often overlooked and usually very cheap to buy. If you are a gardener and you... Read More »
Fernwood Bites – Ryan McGregor
Last Sunday June 26th, the second annual “Fernwood Bites” took place in Fernwood Square. The event is a fundraiser for the Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group that showcases local food and drink from Vancouver Island. The sold out event was a true example of how food can bring a community together. A sea of people invaded the square. There was celebration everywhere with glasses... Read More »
GUST – Photo Shoot – Leanne...
GUST Art Direction: Leanne Allen Body Painting: Kristin Grant Photography: Michelle Munkittrick Model: Leanne Allen Post-production: Philip Pierce Location: Sunset Labs Gust was a shoot that was inspired by the cherry blossoms of Victoria. I’ve always loved how the wind turns them into a sort of snow in the air and in the gutters. I’ve also just recently discovered... Read More »
Victoria’s Arts and Culture...
Culture Vulture Victoria reports on recent and upcoming arts and culture events in Victoria BC, as well as the latest CVV news. This week: VDPMS winter market opens in Market Square, Phil kicks off Movember, Leanne lunch and learns with London Chef Dan Hayes, Pacific Opera’s latest, and more! Read More »
Gnomeward Bound – June 2010
Ingrid Hansen in Gnomeward Bound This show is exactly why I love small venue theater: you just never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s debatable (which can also be fun) and sometimes if you’re lucky you stumble upon something like Ingrid Hansen’s Gnomeward Bound. It’s performances like this one that prove there is no... Read More »
CHALK: Same Same but Different
Presented by William Head On Stage and SNAFU Dance Theatre Ingrid Hansen of SNAFU Dance Theatre is queen of the weird /good camp in my books. And CHALK lives in that realm, for sure. First of all, going out to a prison to see a show? That’s weird/good in itself. The grounds of William Head Institution are amazing, and... Read More »
Kung Fu Robot Dance Techno Pushup Party
Culture Vulture Victoria’s parent company, Martial Media, specializes in video production as well as the online magazine CultureVultureVictoria.com. Sort of a cross between a dream sequence set to a 90′s workout mix and a fitness competition… Read More »
CVV Video Review: The Laramie Project
Culture Vulture Victoria reviews Langham Court Theatre’s production of “The Laramie Project”, 14 January 2011. Copyright Pierce Media. Read More »
The Mexican Connection
A little sun in January? Yes please! Who could blame me? My first thought after reading Maryanne Carmack’s articles on Mexican cuisine was “so what ‘new’ twist could I put on the Margarita?” While I am not here to debate whether the classics should be left alone or not (I see no reason that we should limit ourselves), I... Read More »
The Cryptogram – Something to Keep...
Another positive review? I’m going to have to go see something bad to save myself from being typecast. The upside (for the both of us, readers!) is that this just means there’s still no shortage of nifty theatre in town. This time around: David Mamet’s The Cryptogram, courtesy of the Belfry. It seems to be the 1950s at its... Read More »
Colour Your Palate
Colour Your Palate is a delicious fundraiser for the Capitol Region’s artsREACH project that delivers multimedia artistic learning opportunities to local elementary school students. Colour Your Palate is a night in which Victoria’s foodies can indulge their gluttony and leave their guilt at home. If you didn’t attend last month’s 4th annual Colour Your Palate food tasting event, wipe... Read More »
High Spirits, Indeed – Blue...
Building an audience for a new company and breathing fresh life into old classics are two of the most difficult things to do in the world of theatre. Fortunately, Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre has proven a dab hand at doing both, as proven by their third season opener, Blithe Spirit. True, there’s nothing particularly new about Noel Coward’s 70-year-old... Read More »
