10 finalist’s have been chosen to compete for $5000 dollars in The Artreach Youth Art’s PITCH competition on September 20th. Each person will have 5 minutes to pitch there idea and win over the judges. Come out and support Your young local artist.

STARTS AT 7PM SHARP!
FREE EVENT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The 2010 Youth Arts Pitch Contest!
Monday September 20, 2010
99 Sudbury Street (King & Sudbury)

LINK: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2364713979&ref=ts

On this day in 1867 almost every great thing we love about this country officially began.

Maybe you get what July 1st really means; maybe you think it’s just another day off; maybe to you it’s the start of CFL (lol!)

Either way whatever you end up doing today.. Enjoy!

(responsibly of course)

And big shouts to Del Cowie for reminding me that one year ago today, every sick urban artist, producer and musician in this city (and country) inspired us to start this blog. So on behalf of the entire Cityonmyback team, we gotta salute y’all too!

Happy Canada Day!

There are countless excuses we can use to explain why we don’t financially show our support for the artists making the music we love.

Here’s one way that leaves no room for excuses.

From RochesterForever.com:

“Alyssa is my 6 year old daughter and she is suffering from Cerebral Palsy.

I love her so much and it’s hard to see my child grow up not being able enjoy the life of a normal child. She’s not walking and is barely talking so you can imagine all the frustration it causes for her and our family. Although we are blessed that we live in Ontario and there’s a lot of helpful programs for Alyssa, after 5 years me and her mother feel that what we’re doing is simply not enough.

We’ve done a lot of research on it and although there is no cure there are treatments that can help Cerebral Palsy be reduced significantly. Such as a Glutten-Free diet, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy & Stem Cell Treatment.

Problem is, these treatments are not covered under OHIP so we’ve decided to ask all our friends and extended family to join us for a fundraiser that will help bring awareness and the financial support needed to help Alyssa and other children like her get through this disability.

So come out on June 30th for not only a great time, a great show and a great cause

It would truly mean the world to me.

btw if you’re not available to come out for whatever reason you can still donate to WWW.HELPALYSSAWALK.COM which will be launching on June 30th”

Pretty self-explanatory, and if you’re from this/living in this city you know The Manifesto Festival has become one of the premiere Toronto Summer events of the year.

http://www.themanifesto.ca

http://www.themanifesto.ca/submissions

GIVE MONEY, MAKE CHANGE – PART 2 is an effort to raise enough funds to help keep The Remix Project alive and flourishing as well as
to complete the renovations and set-up of the innovative and award-winning programs fabulous new space. This year we will be continuing off the success of last year by raising funds through the production of a multi-faceted fundraising event that includes photography and visual arts installation, performances, a silent auction, culminating with a pledge-driven party.

This year’s fundraiser goes down this Thursday (June 10th) @ Revival. Definitely something worth supporting! More details about the event and the Remix Project story after the jump!

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Directed by Mike Portoghese.

Pretty dope trailer for an upcoming mockumentary called “Know Your Rights”, producedby  Jane-Finch.com founder Paul Nguyen with music from The Smugglaz.

Screening takes place this Friday (May 21st). Check the details below.

Know Your Rights is a public legal education film(with unreleased and official Smugglaz music) that aims to provide people, and particularly youth in at risk environments, with: basic information about their rights when dealing with police; an understanding of powers of arrest, detention and search; strategies to deal with various situations relating to police contact; and an understanding of the recourse available when someone experiences an abuse of police power.

Jane-Finch.com invites you to the premier screening of Know Your Rights on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at:

York Woods Library Theatre, 1785 Finch Avenue West, Toronto
Food and Refreshments will be served at 7pm, Screening at 7:30pm followed by Q&A

Free admission, free parking available onsite.

For more about The Smugglaz crew check out:
www.myspace.com/thesmugglaz
www.youtube.com/smugglaztv
twitter.com/smugglaztv

As part of their “Give Money, Make Change” initiative this year, the good people over @ The Remix Project are trying to get their movement seen and heard on Ellen and need your help. TODAY.

On Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 we NEED your support to get the attention of Ellen DeGeneres and her producers.  Our goal is to have as many people as possible both “Tweet” and post facebook comments on Ellen’s fan page and twitter account on the exact same day!!!

We would like everyone involved to post comments about why Remix is important to them and/or how it has made an impact on their lives.

Ellen DeGeneres Facebook Fan Page (remember you have to become a fan to post on the wall)

Ellen DeGeneres Twitter Page

PLEASE TELL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!!!!

Pretty simple initiative; and for those of you that don’t know what The Remix Project is and why it deserves some face time on Ellen, check the video after the jump!

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Ian Andre Espinet posted this up on his blog last Friday.

For anyone that’s enjoyed what the Worldwide Wakeup Show with Jester and Chief has provided to Toronto for the last decade and change (shouts to Dj Majesty!), you may be interested in what he had to say:

Good morning,

Today I write to you, as I understand that often, communities need to be pushed to action.  Enclosed, is my letter to officials at CIUT and members of the Board of Directors with respect to the cancellation of the “Worldwide WakeUp Show” which aired on Thursday mornings from 5:30-8am on 89.5fm for the last 15 years with radio personalities Jester and Chief.

Too often do things of this nature take place, and we feel annoyed or upset, yet do not take the steps to defend the issues.  And then it happens again.  And again, until there’s no one LEFT to defend it.

Please take a moment out of your busy day if you are a fan of this radio show to contact the powers that be, in a polite and respectful manner to express your opinion on the cancellation of the show.

I have included my own letter to them below.

Thank you for your time.

SIMPLY CLICK HERE TO CONTACT CIUT

Read IAE’s letter to CIUT after the jump!

(Imho) Loving the city we live in requires more than just saying we love it, or cheering from the sidelines wearing patriotic paraphernalia; basking in accomplishments that boost our sense of identity.. not realizing they require authentic, constructive reciprocation to be sustainable representations of ourselves.

If there isn’t a willingness to build, cultivate and sustain the things we claim to love is it really love?

(think about what love of your family, kids and cherished friends entails)

And it’s not enough to show it just when it’s politically convenient and/or immediately self-serving.

True love is defined when it really sucks to have to get up and do something for it.

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MAY IS…
MONTH OF THE DJ SERIES

Each and every Monday throughout the month of May, CHRY 105.5FM will celebrate Canada’s nightlife culture and the art of DJ’ing. Expanding the formula of their 2nd Annual Pre-Stylus Awards Radio Broadcast Series CHRY’s flagship morning show TORONTO MORNING LIVE will invite a number of Canada’s foremost DJ’s and club lifestyle personalities in-studio to showcase their talents and discuss the burgeoning culture of DJing in Canada. Toronto Morning Live is pleased to present the following weekly roster of stellar in-studio guests who will set the table for the Stylus Pre-Award Show Broadcast scheduled for Monday, May 31, 2010:

Monday May 3rd (7-10AM)
Guest DJ – DJ SPOONZ (Toronto), nominated RATED NEXT DJ of the YEAR (2010)
Guest Alt. – MIKE ZAFARIS, Founder and Director of STYLUS GROUP

Monday, May 10th (7-10AM)
Guest DJ – DJ WRISTPECT (Toronto), CLUB DJ of the YEAR 2009 (multi-nominations 2010)
Guest Alt. – RICH KIDD (Ridgeway), nominated 2010 CANADIAN PRODUCER of the YEAR
Guest Alt. – TRIXX (Comedian), 2010 HOST MARK ECKO STYLUS DJ AWARDS

Monday, May 17th (7-10AM)
Guest DJ – DJ JESTER (Toronto), SOCA DJ of the YEAR 2009 (multi-nominations 2010)
Guest Alt. – KID KUT (Toronto), CLUB MC of the YEAR 2009 (nominated 2010)
Guest Alt. – SIMONE HOLNESS, Director of Events & Administration STYLUS GROUP

Monday, May 24th (7-10AM)
Guest DJ – DJ WHITEGOLD (Kitchener), nominated CENTRAL DJ of the YEAR (2010)
Guest Alt. – DAVID ‘CLICK’ COX, STYLUS SPINFEST DJ AWARDS (DJ Liaison)

Interview/Set will take place each Monday in May beginning at 8:15AM. Toronto Morning Live broadcasts from 7-10am Monday(s).

Shouts to TML for a dope month long initiative to take us into the Stylus Award Weekend. Expect a lot of good discussion on these panels.

Previously: AUDIO: Canada’s Getting Colder: A Joint Perspective On Canada’s Hip-Hop Culture!

From Path Mark Media:

Toronto, ON (Canada) April 30, 2010 – After an illustrious fifteen years of amazing and entertaining broadcasts, the dynamic on-air duo of DJ Chief and Jester closed the final curtain on Canada’s beloved Worldwide Wake Up Show. Last Thursday at 8:05am, Jester and Chief were informed that last week’s broadcast would be the show’s final airing on CIUT 89.5 FM.

Boasting what was undeniably one of the most polished on-air productions in Canada, The Worldwide Wake Up Show is a two-time award-winning institution in college radio broadcasting. Worldwide beat out shows across the country in 2008 and 2009 consecutively to claim the title of College Radio Show Of The Year at Canada’s esteemed Stylus DJ Awards, and fans across the country voted to nominate the show again this year (2010). The Worldwide Wake Up Show now stands ready to potentially three-peat at the Stylus Awards this year – a feat which would place Jester, Chief and Worldwide in the history books for this particular highly-coveted Stylus Award category.

To say this is a pretty big blow to the city’s already shaky urban infrastructure is an understatement and points to the sobering reality that we cannot afford to take our local urban media for granted. It also points to the importance of all our local media outlets to stop acting like omnipotent, autonomous islands. Our strength is in our understanding that we are still in an era of building, not competing. If there was more synergy between ALL local radio shows, deejays, blogs and associated media claiming to have the city’s best interests at heart, there’d be less of a chance of something like this happening on our collective watch.

Respect to Jester & Chief for doing what they’ve done for so long (with little in the way of tangible reciprocated returns).

The bottom-line is if we continue to think intangible, self-serving gestures of ‘love’ for our local urban scene are gonna cut it then we’re all in for a pretty big surprise.

Full press release after the jump!

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