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Upcoming, the Parkdale Festival, August 27, Masaryk-Cowan Park
Sometimes when you’re young and need help, you know that community services must be out there somewhere but you don’t know how to find them or whether they have anything to offer you. In Parkdale, they’re remedying this predicament through the first annual Parkdale Festival .
Meant to raise awareness about youth services in the Parkdale neighbourhood, the fest brings together music, including rockabilly guy Ian Fitzgerald and dance rock project KQuattro , street art, kids’ activities, vendors and more, with donations and raffle proceeds to be distributed among area organizations for youth. Most importantly, there will be a community information fair where local organizations can get the word out about their services. All activities are free.
Promoters hope the festival will lead to the creation of a database of area youth services so that a meal, a place to sleep or help getting a job won’t be so hard to find.
The Parkdale Festival happens Saturday (August 27) from 2 to 8 pm in Masaryk-Cowan Park at the corner of Queen and Cowan. In case of rain, all activities move to the Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre gym (220 Cowan). For more information, a schedule and a list of vendors and services, visit www.themarsbar.com/parkfest.htm.
Pattern Is Movement at the NOW Lounge, August 27
Meddling with the conventional math rock formula was always part of the Pattern Is Movement agenda, even before they started sharing bills with Franz Ferdinand, Minus the Bear, American Analog Set and the Album Leaf. But their forthcoming sophomore disc, Stowaway (NFI), proves the Philly foursome are capable of coming up with more than challenging time signatures. They can also knock out a hummable pop tune.
Evidently, the uncredited source of inspiration is Rodgers and Hammerstein. That’s right, Pattern singer dude Andrew Thiboldeaux is big on show tunes. So you can imagine how relieved he was when he found that the thieves who swiped the band’s trailer last week left behind his copies of the West Side Story and Sound Of Music cast recordings.
“Oh yeah, Drew’s a huge fan of musicals,” says long-time pal drummer Chris Ward . He also has the Sound Of Music DVD with commentary on tour with us, and fortunately that wasn’t taken either. Drew really likes the kitsch aspects and the overt nature of the melodies as well.
“It’s been pretty interesting to see how audiences react to the new material on this tour. We’re all pretty big dudes, and Drew, who played varsity football in school, is like 6-feet-2 and over 200 pounds, so when he starts singing these la-dee-dah tunes, people are quite often surprised. He just loves show tunes, and we love him for it.”
