

It should come as no surprise that here at The Walleye, we love a good book. On March 6, we celebrate World Book Day: a time for avid readers, writers, and bookworms alike to come together in an appreciation of the written word. However, as any true book lover knows, reading is an experience that extends well beyond the pages; cultivating the right atmosphere and equipping yourself with the best reading accessories can take your love of reading to the next level. Here is Stuff We Like for World Book Day.
The iconic statue of a curling rock in front of Fort William Gardens reads that Thunder Bay is the “Centre of Curling Canada.” That statement will ring true when the 44th annual Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be held at the Fort William Gardens in Thunder Bay from February 14th to 23rd.
There are some establishments that emanate classic Thunder Bay comfort and revelry. One such place is Madhouse, which has been serving single malts, good eats, and Kerouac quotes since 2001. But just because you’re entrenched in the local pantheon of restaurants doesn’t mean you can’t keep it interesting and delicious. This brings us to the carne asada tacos, available every Tuesday at Madhouse.
Take a moment and imagine this: a horrifying world where the birds cease to sing, and artists refuse to create new works for lack of a muse. That’s the dimension where hot dogs were never invented. Thankfully for all of us, Station 22, located inside Dawson Trail Brewery, is making all of our dreams come true with their Chicago Hot Dog.
Located downtown on Court Street, Redhead (Jennifer Biron) + the Chef (Derek Cyrenne) have a few phenomena that they are known for. First off, the restaurant is open on Mondays, when many others are closed. The second is their freshly prepared eggs Benedict. The amount of love and prep that goes into this dish is incredible.
“During the pandemic, I really wanted to take my still photography to another level,” says local photographer and videographer Damien Bouchard. Bouchard, who studied television broadcasting at Confederation College and Indigenous independent filmmaking at Capilano University in Vancouver, began following photography accounts on Instagram and learned more about astrophotography when he became friends with Thunder Bay photographer Kay Lee.
The collective’s name means “to awaken” in the Michif language. It’s fitting, as Métis leader Louis Riel is said to have once prophesized that, “My people will sleep for 100 years, but it is the artists who will give them their spirit back”—which is what Kooshkopayiw plans to do.
In 1987, acclaimed contemporary artist Rebecca Belmore wore a sculpture-like dress in a public performance entitled Twelve Angry Crinolines, which satirized the celebrations going on at Fort William Historical Park to welcome the Duke and Duchess of York to Thunder Bay while calling attention to the effects of colonization on Indigenous women. “I went back to Belmore,” says David Karasiewicz, Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s executive and artistic director. “Which is really what kind of sparked that interest later on when we started doing Derelicte.”
Are Beyoncé, Jelly Roll and Post Malone country? This was the seed of the idea that led me to writing this column. Beyonce—Queen B, perhaps the most famous performer in the world—is known for her soul, R&B, and hip hop music, while Jelly Roll and Post Malone are both American singers best known for their hip hop, rap, and R&B offerings. So the question is can a hip hop artist make a country album? Or even a rock or pop singer for that matter? And what makes country music country? Is it that sound of a fiddle, or steel guitar? A twang in your voice? Or where you were born?
Matt Sellick is a flamenco guitar virtuoso, composer, and performer. How did someone from Thunder Bay discover this passionate and intricate art form? We were lucky to have Sellick join us in the studio at Blueprints while in town for a live concert recording with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. We talk dreams coming true and more.
Once Darren Foley picked up the guitar, he never put it down. Since the age of 15, he's been writing, playing, and performing music of different genres with multiple bands and as a solo artist. He’s toured across Canada, but his latest collaborative project, recorded with his band the Luminescence, self-titled Darren Foley and the Luminescence, was recorded very close to home—in Albert’s Workshop, his home recording studio.
Okay, so you’ve made the big step in your life and decided to finally check out a drag show for the first time. Condragulations! Now, you might be wondering where to start. You’ve heard great things, but it’s your first time attending this kind of event and you have tonnes of questions. Don’t worry, we got you. It should be noted that while there are several options for drag events in Thunder Bay, here we’ll be talking exclusively about Wiggins Productions (WP) drag shows at Black Pirates Pub. It’s our home turf and where we tend to shine the brightest with the most performers.
It's now February, and the big day on a lot of people’s calendars is the 14th—Valentine’s Day. It’s a day of red roses, chocolates, love letters, candlelit dinners, and heart-shaped everything. But what if none of that speaks to you? What if the person you thought was “the one” cheated on you? Or what if the person of your dreams turned out to be a complete nightmare in real life? Or what if you just don’t buy into any Valentine’s Day hype? Well, my friend, do we have one hell of a show for you!
Sometimes, a good book allows us to escape the real world for just a minute. A musical does, too. But what happens when these two things collide? All the Daze’s latest musical Between the Lines will answer just that.
I’m often unimpressed with the vapidity of contemporary indie rock, but the newest album from Seattle, Washington’s Deep Sea Diver, Billboard Heart, is a notable anomaly. What sets it apart from others of its kind is its attentiveness to the interplay of lyrics, melody, and instrumentals in each song.
Although this tale offers up a distinctly suspenseful and creepy vibe, in the end what surprised me most is the strong underlying theme of mental health awareness, survival, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Hurry Up Tomorrow, which The Weeknd has said will be his final album, grapples with themes listeners have come to expect—self-destruction, isolation, addiction, lust, and heartache—but this time with a raw vulnerability that, in a lot of ways, feels like our first real peek behind his performing persona.
Two days before the 2015 federal election, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau marched into a pit of pandemonium at the Thunder Bay airport that looked less like local partisans and more like The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Hundreds of screaming people clamoured for selfies with this dreamboat who would rescue Canada from Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s stuffy preference to play by himself.
Seventy-two emergency beds, one case manager, rental costs vastly disproportionate to the rates of social assistance, barriers to entry at every turn—the vicious cycle continues.
Being a freelance artist is a hustle. I work really hard to do what I do, working long hours, balancing a lot of different skills and projects, wearing a lot of different hats. So, to me, seeing AI art popping up in my feed, in books, in film, in company logos, in memes, in my hometown and everywhere…is disheartening.