Follow filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and his circle of friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of L.A.’s supermarkets. In the process they uncover thousands of dollars worth of good food and an ugly truth about waste in America: grocery stores know they are wasting and most refuse to do anything about it.

Watch the trailer here.

FIX takes you from Beverly Hills to Watts, and places in between, in one day, as documentary filmmakers Bella and Milo race to get Milo’s brother Leo from jail to rehab before 8pm, or Leo goes to prison for three years. Inspired by true events, we follow the trio as they document their trip from a suburban police station in Calabasas through mansions in Beverly Hills, East LA chop-shops, rural wastelands, and housing projects in Watts as they attempt to raise the $5,000 required to get Leo into the rehab clinic. Along the way the audience meets dozens of colorful characters, each with their own anomalous perspective on Leo’s larger than life personality and style, and each with their own excuse for why they cannot help out. In the end, it may take a drug deal to get the necessary funds for rehab.

Watch the trailer here.

A freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters’ fabled road trip across America.

Watch the trailer here

The plot of this comedy crime cult classic from the Coen Brothers pivots around a case of mistaken identity complicated by extortion, double-crosses, deception, embezzlement, sex, pot, and gallons of White Russians (made with fresh cream, please).

One of the laziest men in LA, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) enjoys hanging with his bowling buddies, pompous security-store owner Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) and mild-mannered ex-surfer Donny (Steve Buscemi). However, the Dude’s life takes an alternate route the afternoon two goons break into his bungalow, rough him up, and urinate on his living room rug.

Why? Come by the Morningside this weekend (Fri Nov 10th & Sat Nov 11th at 7pm) to watch the dude unfold…or just to count him say “man” 147 times in the movie, (btw, that is nearly 1.5 times a minute!)

Watch the trailer here.

maliha sanyal, the café’s new entertainment and community coordinator, said the intimate performance events located on the covered patio have already garnered a good response since starting up just six weeks ago.

“the tourists love it and the locals who know about it are die-hards now,” she reported.

folk music, spoken word and storytelling are set to be joined by everything from comedy acts to inspiring documentary films through the coming months. taking place every saturday and sunday night (continuing on through fall and winter with the addition of heat lamps), the entertainment unfolds for guests seated at the same level as the performers.

sanyal said the space itself and the high quality of performers from on and off island have combined to create a unique experience.

“what we’ve found is that it’s just magical on these nights. the enclave is so intimate it can only hold 40 to 45 people, and it’s filled to the brim. everybody is feeding off the energy of each other.”

vegetarian and organic foods prepared for the café include heritage grain baked goods, veggie burgers and specialty sandwiches, while sanyal also recommends the spicy homemade chai, superfood smoothies and raw chocolate.

to harmonize with the menu and the business intention, the performers she books are also a careful choice.

“it’s very important that they fit energetically. it’s a small, intimate venue so we feed off the performers as well,” sanyal said, but added, “it’s been effortless because the talent continues to pour in.”

local participants so far have included ahava shira, oscar kempe and james mujuru. off-island guests include vancouver recording artists buckman coe, alessandra naccarato and moe clark, while sooke-based musician ty cooke has faithfully returned each week. at least three performers take the stage each night, although an incredible total of 17 passed through on one recent weekend.

“after these performances people are uplifted — friendships are made and bonds are formed that will last forever,” sanyal said.

“it’s pretty special.”

entertainment takes place between 7 and 10 p.m. with special weekday dates on occasion. check event listings for line-ups each week. music is by donation.

I had been to the Morningside once before at the end of my first real bike trip, a fact I recalled when I arrived there on a beautiful, hot Saturday afternoon. The cafe’s hard to forget. It looks like it has been carved out of a mountain and a giant tree. If hobbits or dryads melted out of the woodwork, I wouldn’t be surprised. Alan and Manon, the owners, are omnipresent, and along with a rotating staff of earthy, calming folks, they are doing something amazing. Mind-blowing, even. They make a selection of amazing sandwiches, on their own bread, heavily infused with amazing Salt Spring goat cheese. I had the fortune of trying most of them, served up on sweet wicker platters along with long stalks of green onion, as well as the raw, sprouted granola, coconut milk ice cream (amazing! and I’m not an ice cream fan usually), muffins, a chai latte, and a london fog. As I said to Alan, “If London Fogs were always this good, I would drink them all the time.” Same goes for everything I tried there. Raw food became suddenly appealing to me; sandwiches never tasted so decadent yet felt so healthy; nothing disappointed, even as one item after the other raised the bar higher. And then there’s the books…

I’m no food reviewer, as should be evident, just a food enthusiast. But books, I know. And if I wasn’t such a broke-ass poet, I could blow a small fortune at the Morningside on books alone. As far as poetry goes, they covered the gamut from Hafiz to Gil Scott-Heron, along with some amazing literature from the likes of Kerouac and Vonnegut. Along with that, I found myself ogling books on healthy eating, critiques of big business, environmental issues, yoga… which isn’t to say one should go thinking the revolution alone is represented on their shelves. I found myself simply overwhelmed with the number of amazing authors and intriguing titles I saw. More than I can even safely remember. I had to shut them out, in fact, because otherwise I was going to blow my fare home and chance of making September rent. Not a shitty book to be found, a tonne of them there.

BUT EVEN BETTER!? (can it get even better?) The reason I was on Salt Spring was to perform at the Morningside a Saturday and Sunday evening. My friend Maliha Sanyal had moved to Salt Spring earlier in the summer (or was it late spring?) and found work at the Morningside. With the support of Alan and Manon she had started hosting weekend evenings (and some weekdays). Everything I heard, from the likes of Alessandra Naccarato and Moe Clark, was that the evenings were not only fun, but amazing. And how amazing! For two nights, I saw a line-up of steady talent. Not just decent folks making decent art, but a tremendous range of highly skilled artists playing for an enthusiastic and varied crowd of folks, many of whom hitched in across the island to be there (and in true Salt Spring fashion, received rides home from those in attendance at night’s end). And not everyone was even an islander: it’s not uncommon for artists or audience to arrive from off-Island for the nights at the Morningside.

As far as my experience went? A blessing, didn’t I say? Alan and Manon are ridiculously gracious hosts, without losing any of their down-to-earth vibe. Between the two of them and Maliha, as well as the warmth of the audience, I felt I was in great danger of getting “home” to Vancouver a few years later than expected. The first night was a personal success, in a way, as I did a nearly hour-long set of entirely poems written between January and July this year; the second night I turned to more stock material, dedicating a performance of “The Revelation Will Not Be Televangelised” to Alan, covering Shayne’s “America Loves Styrofoam,” and then doing many more of my older poems. During The Revelation I jammed with a drummer with a drum machine who would jump in on any of the artists. He played thunder and lightning. Literally. That night also saw a jam with the sound guy, another new experience for me, on the scream-o poem, “Words Are Beautiful,” wherein, at the right moment, he amped up the reverb so I suddenly was screaming with about three of me echoing everything. Or at least, that’s how it felt. Both sets felt quite different, with a more subdued, but highly attentive and supportive audience the first night, and a smaller but very loud audience the second night.

Overall, everyone involved – artists, audience, Morningside staff, Alan, Manon, Maliha – made the experience one I won’t soon forget. A blessing at every turn. And whether you’re there for the arts or the food or just because you’re waiting for the ferry, you won’t be disappointed with the Morningside.

See the original blog post here

Daniel is a biologically human organism living in BC. He originated from Salt Spring Island, a place rich with imaginative stimulation. Because of his ascension, he prefers the title ‘Lord of Rock’ to the more mundane ‘Mister’ or ‘Sir.’ The artist-as-genius is long dead, but because Daniel is unable to explain his own awesomeness (it defies ALL explanation) we can only assume some godhead acts its will through his own. If he starts screaming and thrashing his guitar, we will know it is in fact Beelzebub, Lord of Flies, but until then, sit back, and absorb his dulcet tunes.

the edgy & beautiful danielle savage & the miscreant from penticton, is coming here for a saturday night performance. her songs reflect her interest in variety— many modes of living, exposure to many locations and persons, and even morphing ideals have become a part of the music that emerges from her in it’s many genres creating a soundscape that ebbs and flows between goofy and noteworthy, dance-able and sit-able, subtle and reveling.

autumn in the oak tree

Autumn in the Oak Tree is a folk duo from Winnipeg MB. Their music is best listened to next to a babbling brook, under the shade of a mountain.

Her material has a touch of easy-flowing café culture running through the arrangements (September Promise), and her songs stand alone with minimal adornment. They’re evocative and direct (Making Eyes), and the clarity of the production allows the best part, Ryan’s voice, to shine through.