The 2009 (Cult)ure Magazine and Ecology Ottawa Post Earth Day Extravaganza

Kimberly Sunstrum moves the crowd with her sexy performance. Photo by Ryan Davies

 She was followed by the Woodrunners, an electrifying rock band performing their own original songs. And finally, the No Fly List band took the stage by storm and showed us all how to party on until the late hours of the night. The crowd was attentive, some danced, and others looked on longingly as they weaved their way to the front to watch these great musicians perform.

No Fly List band performing at the (Cult)ure & Ecology Ottawa Post Earth Day Extravaganza - Photo by Ryan Davies

Delicious organic cupcakes were provided by L’Oven, to mark the celebration. Earth cakes, Maccarroon 5, and Green with Envy were just some of the top selling cupcakes donated by L’Oven for the event. The option to choose from: vanilla cake with coconut cream icing or organic chocolate cake with matcha green tea butter cream, topped with shards of premium dark choclate, was enough to tempt any stomach in the room. These deserts were so irresistible that we ran out of them within an hour.

Jackie and Holly Hutchings creators of L'Oven provide delicious cupcakes for the party. Photo by Ryan Davies

Candid moments were captured on video and photographs by Ryan Davies and Alroy Fonseca from Dawghaus Studios. With a spotlight and light metre on hand, they were ready to capture the crowd’s thoughts about sustaining the environment, and promoting the arts in Ottawa.

Furthermore, the energy in the room was ignited against a backdrop of mixed media, with DJ Andrew O’Malley spinning ambient music throughout the night, and installation artist Deborah O’Malley projecting images of the bands through custom lighting and live video feed. Sharing new sounds with a broad audience, these two visionary artists magically united the room with their raw talent.

DJ Andrew O'Malley spinning ambient music to set the mood for the night. Photo by Ryan Davies

 With raffle prizes to give away, and an on the spot opportunity to take a photo of yourself hugging a tree, it became clear, that there was enough going on in the room to entertain the diverse crowd in attendance. (Cult)ure will use the proceeds from the fundraiser to maintain the website, and establish an honorarium for local artists and writers to passionately write about the issues that affect them. Furthermore, Ecology Ottawa will use the proceeds to support environmental outreach initiatives which work to educate the community about the many ways we can play our part in sustaining and improving the environment.

An Nguyen (Cult)ure's Editor-in-Chief and Sabrina Bowman Project Leader for Ecology Ottawa thank everyone for showing up at the fundraiser.

Photo by Ryan Davies

Aside from throwing great parties, (Cult)ure magazine has had a lot to celebrate over the past 12 months, as it has grown significantly since it’s inception in 2007. Aside from publishing on a monthly basis an impressive twenty-two issues, all with the help of volunteers of course, the magazine has mobilized its local popularity to a national and international scale.

A recipient of a 2009 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, (Cult)ure magazine has been invited to report on the 2009 Governor General’s Awards in Visual Arts and Media Arts as well as the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards ceremonies. At the international level it has created timely discussion with big cultural icons. Marked interviews with the Food Network’s Chef Michael Smith, comic artist Kate Beaton, comedian Russell Peters, and artistic activist Kim Ondaatje (coming later this month) have demonstrated the magazine’s ability to engage and critique big ideas which matters to Canadians.

(Cult)ure editors Kevin Johns, Brendan Blom, Alroy Fonseca and An Nguyen pose for a photo at the party. Photo by Ryan Davies

Being invited to these exciting events and having the opportunity to interview these exceptional people in the arts, culture and political field has made involvement in (Cult)ure a fun and nourishing endeavour for all of the contributors involved.

Along the way, the magazine has never forgotten its mission to create a forum for impassioned voices to share their ideas and engage in issues that truly matter to them. To this end, (Cult)ure has achieved what it has set out to do, as it has successfully moved a community of talented writers, musicians and artists towards doing what they love to do best: to create.

I’ve been lucky enough to be the Editor-In-Chief of (Cult)ure magazine since the very beginning, and it has been a journey marked by a desire to understand different perspectives, a love for community, and a perseverance in sustaining the arts. I can only hope that you, the loyal readers, volunteers, and talented artists want to be engaged in these issues with as much passion as we have.

Thank you to everyone who came out to this year’s fundraiser. Also, to the person starring back at this screen, thank you for reading (Cult)ure, we’re lucky to have your support.

For more photos of the fundraiser check out Ryan Davies' photo gallery: http://www.ryandavies.ca/photoset.php?set=2009-04-30-cultureecologyfundraiser