Don’t mourn the soup kitchen, ask what’s next?
For the volunteers who served at the soup kitchen, it was a labour of love and giving back to the community. Closing the doors simply means, what’s next?
Whitehorse United Church
Honouring sadness at Christmastime
“It’s okay to not be okay,” said Reverend Bev Brazier. That’s the concept around the Blue Christmas service held at the United Church on Sunday, December 3. The annual service anticipates that Christmas can be a very intense and challenging time for some people.
Nicole Edwards and friends lift up their voices for local charity
This project gives Yukon audiences another opportunity to create a new and beautiful memory of what Edwards can do with music.
Blessing of the Animals
At 10:30 a.m. on August 6, some members of the congregation at Whitehorse United Church had whiskers, a tail and four legs! This is because the first Sunday in August was the Blessing of the Animals service. Blessing of the Animals is a service customary across all United Churches in Canada. Though different churches host …
Come as You Are
Don’t wait for your invitation in the mail – Yukon Pride isn’t an exclusive event. “I think sometimes that some of our straight allies, they feel like they need to be invited to an event, which I totally understand,” says Rian Turner who, along with Fi Griffin, Chase Blodgett and Stephanie Hammond, is one of …
Like the Beauty of the Yukon? You’ll Love Hiking Japan
He would leave home at 6:30 a.m. and return at 10 or 11 p.m. When Japan’s economy faltered, he wanted a change. He came to Canada, trained as a mountain guide, and moved to the Yukon to set up its Yamnuska branch in 2007. Today, he still works in an office, marketing and organizing. “But …
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The Walking Monk Comes to Whitehorse
“I have always had a fascination with the North.” I am on the phone with Bhaktimarga Swami, a 63-year-old monk in Toronto. We are talking about the visit to Whitehorse he has planned for late September. Better known as The Walking Monk, at 63 he has already walked across Canada four times, as well as …
Learning how to Live Joyfully
Ever since she was a little girl, Teva Harrison drew. She studied art after high school. But, as it often goes, “needing to make a living, I digressed.” After the explanation, Harrison laughs. A joyful, full, belly laugh. To make a living, she worked as the director of marketing for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. …
Love, Honour, and Equality Under the Midnight Sun
Just when you think Yukon Pride is all about the party, the world reminds you that it’s not. Though the cheery posters and advertisements for 24+ Hours of Funky Gaylight promise a party not to be missed, they were created months before the shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando reiterated there are still many …
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An International Celebration of Talent
The Folk Society of Whitehorse has been hosting the famous Yukon-Alaska Coffee House for more than 25 years. This event features two coffee house evenings, back-to-back, in Skagway and Whitehorse. The Yukon evening of talent, which takes place on Saturday, will also serve as the finale to a series of Whitehorse coffee houses that happen …
Jamaican Baked Bananas for Christmas
Delicate and fine, the American Beauty Rose china service was surrounded by gleaming silver cutlery, platters and serving bowls passed down through family generations. All set on crisp, freshly ironed linen tablecloths, the dining room was ready for royalty. I was 10 years old. A working class Caucasian kid on a mixed family street in …
A Host Mom’s Story
The city bus stops right in front of our home in the Whitehorse. I still watch every day for “my boys” to get off and come home, even though they’ve been gone for weeks. I was privileged to be a host mom for the Canada World Youth program from October 2014 to January 2015. We …
‘Feels Like Woodstook Organized by Canadian Army Engineers’
At the monthly coffee house events in Whitehorse, it’s all about the music, not the drinks. Anyone of any age is welcome to get up on the stage. Taking place in the Whitehorse United Church,t They provide an alcohol-free, smoke-free environment, opening up the possibility of young musicians practicing their art, and allowing audiences to …
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Music talk in surround sound
The Whitehorse United Church basement is filled – amidst chatter and laughter – with the sounds of setup. Somewhere a guitar is being tuned; elsewhere the “Check one, two; check, ch eck, check one, two” is heard as microphones are readied for the Folk Society night. What an appropriate setting for an interview about the …
All Apologies
What do you do if your family is “the most apologized-to family in Canada?” If you’re Mitch Miyagawa, local writer and filmmaker, you create a documentary about it. Miyagawa’s documentary, A Sorry State, chronicles his family’s experience of receiving three official government apologies for historical injustices: one issued to his First Nations stepmother for the …
Blue Christmas
Blue is more than a colour. And that is why Whitehorse United Church minister, Beverly Brazier, is planning another Blue Christmas service. “Often when your life isn’t at all like a Hallmark Christmas card … the conclusion that you draw is that there is something wrong with you,” begins Brazier, resting her chin in one …
Tone and Diction Rule
It’s 7: 25 on a Monday evening. Over the past few minutes, 67 members of the Whitehorse Community Choir have arrived at the Whitehorse United Church and taken their places. Microphone in hand, Barbara Chamberlin calls out, “OK, let’s stand up. Let’s have a massage.” The atmosphere is lighthearted as the singers turn in their …
