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!

“We have so much that we can share,” says Liliane Breiland, organizer of the upcoming Afro Vibe Fest, Thunder Bay’s newest summer festival celebrating the vast and varying cultures of Africa. “This festival is going to be an occasion for us to share our culture with our new home.”

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. 

“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.

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.

Hey TBay, will you go out with us? With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we’re highlighting a handful of local date ideas. Whether you’re looking to spend time with that special someone, planning to spend the day with friends, or hitting the town solo, here are seven things to do around the city to celebrate. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

As part of their mandate, Health Canada conducts an annual survey on the nation’s cannabis use. Summarizing the attitudes and habits of 11,000 Canadians, the survey shows ongoing changes in the public’s relationship to cannabis.