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Impress your Guests! Wayzgoose Balderdash | Open Book: Toronto

Impress your Guests! Wayzgoose Balderdash | Open Book: Toronto.

Everyone in the publishing industry deserves a good party once in a while, in appreciation of a job well done and for fighting the good fight. As it turns out, the tradition of fêting a printer’s staff with an annual celebration (usually at the end of August, when typesetters would have to start working by candlelight) goes back a long way — to the very origins of the word “wayzgoose.”

A Wayz-what? True, it’s not a word you hear every day, though a game of Wayzgoose Balderdash can bring spice to any party. A sampling of possible definitions in a recent Balderdash blitz (provided by randomly selected members of my family located across the country) includes:

    • Wayzgoose (noun, culinary): A meal prepared from food harvested from the stomachs of harvested migratory animals.
    • Wayzgoose (adjective, slang): Of, having to do with, appropriate to, or relating to the seasons changing from summer to autumn. “Dude it is like totally wayzgoose out, I think we will need to use the the heater in the vw bus on our way to the surf.”
    • Wayzgoose (verb): the act of sneaking up on a rival political party and stealing supporters from the rear. In Northern Alberta this is referred to as Moozegoosing.
    • Wayzgoose (adjective): a marching step used by soldiers in Wayznia
    • Wayzgoose (noun): A berry found in the Amazon originally used for decorative body paint. Its rich color and dark seeds saturate the skin for days, even after being washed by the rain.
    • Wayzgoose (noun): A lazy goose who halts its migration south at the half-way point
    • Wayzgoose (noun): indigestion brought on by an excessive intake of fowl. Symptoms include strong flatulence accompanied by “honking” sounds.
    • Wayzgoose (acronym): Wear a yellow zipper going out on Saturday evening.

The authentic Wayzgoose, of course, is held annually on the last Saturday of April at theGrimsby Public Art Gallery and brings together the finest members of the international print arts community. Participants include letterpress printers, printmakers, paper makers and hand bookbinders. Though it was a modest event when it first launched in 1979, Wayzgoose now welcomes between 2,000-2,500 visitors every year. People of all ages come to enjoy demonstrations and displays of paper making, calligraphy and book binding.

via Open Book Toronto!

Letterpress broadside by wood engraver Wesley W. Bates

The design and creation of a limited edition 4-colour letterpress broadside began here with the hand coloured drawings in renowned wood engraver Wesley W. Bates‘s studio and is now ready to launch at The 2012 Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair in Grimsby Ontario this Saturday April 28th.

Printed on a hand-operated letterpress at West Meadow Press on archival rag paper from the fine Saint Armond Paper Mill in Montreal, it will be presented in an elegant handmade archival chemise detailed with period features by Waterloo bookbinder Marlene Pomeroy.

They will offer three very special limited editions of “Glory is the Sodger’s Prize” a War of 1812 Broadside. It is a unique opportunity during this bicentennial celebration of the War of 1812 and a substantial creative offering from two exceptional artists. Find the details on their dedicated 1812 Broadside website. And watch for the continuing saga on video with the exciting contribution of Living History reenactors!  Let them know what you think.

The 1812 Broadside Project

I want to share some exciting news of an artistic collaboration! With it comes the opportunity to follow the project’s journey in a mini series on video – Episode 1 is now available of The 1812 Broadside Project!

Renowned wood engraver and letterpress printer Wesley W. Bates and artist and bookbinder Marlene Pomeroy are commemorating the War of 1812 Bicentennial with the design and creation of a limited edition 4-colour letterpress broadside. Printed on a hand-operated letterpress at West Meadow Press on archival rag paper from the fine Saint Armond Paper Mill in Montreal, it will be presented in an elegant handmade archival chemise detailed with period features.

Illustrated with wood engravings and handset type reflective of the period, it is a fresh and unique artistic response to the British and American soldiers and First Nations warriors who fought in the October 13, 1812 Battle of Queenston Heights, an event that was seen to have set into motion Canada’s formation and rise to nationhood.

Follow the exciting journey of the broadside project from its conception to the final detailing of the presentation and all the adventures in between replete with the crack of musket fire, the search for historical accuracy, the exclusive creation of handmade St. Armand paper, the strains of fiddle music and poetry, and the passion and perfectionism of exceptional artists.

We are pleased to soon offer here two very special limited editions of “Glory is the Sodger’s Prize” a War of 1812 Broadside. Keep checking in!

Toronto’s Underground Market to bring gourmet ‘street food’ to the masses – The Globe and Mail

Toronto’s Underground Market to bring gourmet ‘street food’ to the masses – The Globe and Mail.

“In just a few months, Ms. Aviles, 30, has gone from being a food-loving Guelph mother of two with dreams of some day running a restaurant to being the linchpin of a new gourmet-street-food movement in Toronto.”

 

And the 2011 book is… « One Book, One Community

OBOC One Book, One Community of Waterloo Region, Ontario is pleased to announce that the 2011 book selection is Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny!From Louise’s website:“As Quebec City shivers in the grip of winter, its ancient stone walls cracking in the cold, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache plunges into the most unusual case of his celebrated career. A man has been brutally murdered in one of the city’s oldest buildings – a library where the English citizens of Quebec safeguard their history. And the death opens a door into the past, exposing a mystery that has lain dormant for centuries…a mystery Gamache must solve if he’s to apprehend a present-day killer.”Explore our website for more information on Louise, the book and upcoming events. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for live tweets from events, contests and discussion.Congratulations to Louise! Stay tuned as we update our website with all the 2011 book and author information.Bury Your Dead

via And the 2011 book is… « One Book, One Community.

Blogging TEDx

Worth sharing! I have just been to the TEDxWaterloo in Ontario and it was invigorating and inspiringly — Discover, Explore, Challenge the UNCHARTED. Click on the blog below for a great introduction to the experience and the amazing individuals who speaks at these events. I hope to write of my experience soon.

Jack Abbott is the Organizer TEDxSanDiego and TEDxYouth@SanDiego, a TEDx event in San Diego, California. This is his experience from Tuesday, March 1st at TEDActive

 

As a TEDx organizer and 4-year TEDActive attendee, you’d think I’d take TED in stride by now. I came to TED 2011 figuring it couldn’t possibly surpass TED 2010. The theme “Rediscovery of Wonder” made me think Disney; entertaining, but not necessarily substantive. But, boy was I wrong. I was blown away by three amazing, aptly named sessions: Monumental, Majestic and Mindblowing. My head is still spinning with everything I saw, heard and experienced.

Creating community

“Bookstores help create community for people in the places where they live. People may think they can live online, but in reality they live in real towns and cities, and physical bookstores help to enrich those places.” — Suzanna Hermans, a bookstore owner. Image Source

“Bookstores help create community for people in the places where they live. People may think they can live online, but in reality they live in real towns and cities, and physical bookstores help to enrich those places.”

— Suzanna Hermans, a bookstore owner.

(from Quote Vadis)