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Special visitors at Louis Brier

photo - Loni the Percheron Horse comes in the entrance of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital

Loni the Percheron Horse comes in the entrance of the Louis Brier Home and Hospital. (photo from Louis Brier) Loni the Percheron Horse and his side kick Beau the Shitzu visited the Louis Brier Home and Hospital the afternoon of…

Many Switzers attend reunion

photo - Almost 80 people attended the Switzer family reunion Aug. 21

Almost 80 people attended the Switzer family reunion Aug. 21. (photo by Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh) A reunion at Beth Israel synagogue recently brought together branches of one of Canada’s largest Jewish family trees. The story of this Canadian family began in…

Feeding those in need

photo - Mazon Canada’s Izzy Waxman, left, and Kathleen Novelia at Valley Community Learning Association in Nova Scotia

Mazon Canada’s Izzy Waxman, left, and Kathleen Novelia at Valley Community Learning Association in Nova Scotia. (photo from Mazon Canada) Mazon Canada, a grassroots community foundation that helps feed Canadians of all ages, abilities, beliefs and ethnicities on behalf of…

Masa Canada visits the coast

photo - Mahla Finkleman, Canadian national manager of partnership and outreach for Masa Israel Journey (standing, fourth from the left), at Kits Beach in July with participants of the Shalom U’Lhitraot event

Mahla Finkleman, Canadian national manager of partnership and outreach for Masa Israel Journey (standing, fourth from the left), at Kits Beach in July with participants of the Shalom U’Lhitraot event. (photo from Masa Canada) While the skies were closed for…

History of “left coast”

image - Solidarity book cover

David Spaner’s new book, Solidarity: Canada’s Unknown Revolution of 1983, forms an archival testament of one of this province’s most dramatic epochs. One of the funny things about watching the 1976 movie All the President’s Men, about how Washington Postreporters…

Solving a family cold case

image - The End of Her book cover

Wayne Hoffman’s latest book is about his efforts to solve the 1913 murder of his great-grandmother before his mother’s dementia takes full hold of her mind. Well into his book The End of Her: Racing Against Alzheimer’s to Solve a…

Recollections of youth – Hatzaad Harishon

Sybil Kaplan, whose food articles often appear in the Jewish Independent, has a broader life experience than those articles would suggest, of course. In a recently self-published memoir, she shares a little of that experience: her time as a youth…

The elements of a hit song

image - Insider Secrets to Hit Songwriting in the Digital Age book cover

I freely admit it, I was one of those angsty teens who wrote bad poetry to express all my big feelings. I also wore a lot of black, but that’s not relevant here. What kind of surprises me about myself…

Making the best of a mess

image - The Very Best Sukkah book cover

Two picture books recently released by Kalaniot Books exemplify the publisher’s mission “to help young children and their families explore the diverse mosaic of Jewish culture and history.” On the face of it, The Very Best Sukkah: A Story From…

Bafflement part of life

photo - open Torah scroll

Just as in life outside shul we don’t understand everything we encounter, we don’t all necessarily understand the Torah reading and other parts of the High Holiday service. The High Holidays serve as a metaphor for life itself. (photo from…

New year, new attitude

One of my twins urges us, after every meal, to offer him dessert. What started as a “desserts on Shabbat, weekends and holidays” and “dessert is a sometimes food” became ”let’s have dessert after nearly every lunch and dinner,” all…

Solace in accomplishments

When I assess all the positive things that Jews have contributed to humanity, and contrast that with the treatment my people have undergone as recompense, I am at a loss. Jews conceived a supreme being responsible for the creation of…

Back to the magic – Camp Miriam

Earlier this summer, I gave each of my Tzofimot (Grade 8 campers) metal kitchen tongs and told them that we were crabs. Then we all ran around the camp click-clacking our tong pincers and yelling “Crabs!” at the top of…

Albania’s many legends

photo - A bunker in Tirana, Albania, that is now the Bunk’Art art and history museum

A bunker in Tirana, Albania, that is now the Bunk’Art art and history museum. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) Albania is a country of great contrasts. It has stunning, clean beaches, so gorgeous that locals refer to them as the…

Some basics of goalball

photo - This past summer, Israel’s male youth goalball team won the European ParaYouth Games

This past summer, Israel’s male youth goalball team won the European ParaYouth Games. (photo by  Lilach Weiss) Can you imagine a sporting event in which the audience sits in silence? Well, this is how goalball is played. Why? So that…

Chicken with a French twist

Chicken always makes for a nice holiday meal. For a special treat, however, try out these French kosher chicken entrees. CHICKEN DIJON (8 servings) 1/4 cup water or vegetable oil 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 1 tsp…

ביורוקרטיה קשה נוסח ישראל

במדינת ישראל הבירוקרטיה חוגגת ומקשה על החיים. לאחר מותי אמי, אחי ואני נדרשנו לטפל בצוואתה ובצוואה של אבא, ולוודא שהיא בוצעה כהלכה. אחי וחמשת ילדיו ואני יורשים את דירת ההורים בתל אביב, ואילו הכסף שהיה מונח בחשבון הבנק של ההורים…

Gili Yalo returns to city

photo - Gili Yalo performs in Vancouver on Sept. 24 for a Chutzpah! Plus event

Gili Yalo performs in Vancouver on Sept. 24 for a Chutzpah! Plus event. (photo from Chutzpah!) Israeli singer-songwriter Gili Yalo returns to Vancouver for a Chutzpah! Plus concert on Sept. 24. It’s his first time back in the city since…

Occupying the same space

photo - Megs Gatus’s solo exhibit, Leaves in Space, runs until Sept. 22 at the Zack Gallery

Megs Gatus’s solo exhibit, Leaves in Space, runs until Sept. 22 at the Zack Gallery. (photo from Megs Gatus) Megs Gatus – whose solo show, Leaves in Space, opened at the Zack Gallery on Aug. 24 – unexpectedly stumbled onto…

Must confront lies

Leslyn Lewis, a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership that will be decided in the coming days, made a stir last week when she invoked the Nuremberg Code, apparently with regard to coronavirus vaccines. The Nuremberg Code is…

Vancouver Island campaign

photo - Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island will extend its hours for the Sept. 18 community resource fair that launches the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island’s annual campaign this year

Jewish Family Services Vancouver Island will extend its hours for the Sept. 18 community resource fair that launches the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island’s annual campaign this year. (photo from jfsvi.ca) The Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver…

Many reasons to learn improv

photo - Students Adrianne Fitch and Brian Nguyen, with instructor Irwin Levin behind them. Levin and Cass Freeman teach a free workshop on Sept. 13

Students Adrianne Fitch and Brian Nguyen, with instructor Irwin Levin behind them. Levin and Cass Freeman teach a free workshop on Sept. 13. (photo by Adam Abrams) “When I teach a series of eight classes, I see people who are…

At the Fringe this year …

photo - Rita Sheena

Rita Sheena (photo by Kristine Cofsky) After an acclaimed run at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2021 and the Edmonton and Montreal Fringes this year, Everybody Knows returns to its creator’s hometown and the Vancouver Fringe Festival. In this semiautobiographical,…