Throwback Thursday vid and VOTING days/times/places in Campbell River in 2014!

After 6 years and two terms on Campbell River city council, it’s bittersweet to be watching the proceedings of the 2014 municipal election from the sidelines.  Since it’s a Throwback Thursday, I wanted to share this video reminder I put together for the 2011 election on how important it is to GET OUT and VOTE for the council that will have a direct impact on your daily life… this time for the next FOUR years!  The voting dates/times/places may be different in 2014 but the message is the same!  (Actual times/dates are AT THIS LINK)

It’s been an honour representing the community of Campbell River since 2008.  To those running in this year’s election, thank you for the time, courage and finances you’ve committed to the process and the desire to work on behalf of the greatest city in BC!

Sincerely,

Ryan Mennie

Canada Day 2013 in Campbell River, BC aka “The Continuing Adventures of the Canada Day Committee!”

As a member of the Campbell River Canada Day committee, and the wrangler of entertainment for the Eagle Telus Stage July 1st in Ostler Park, I try to capture some of the fun and uniqueness that makes the day so darn special. This video is a slice of that fun and uniqueness… visitors from as far and wide as Japan and Scotland, great entertainers from dawn to dusk, and Campbell Riverites putting on one heckuva good time for all to enjoy! -Ryan Mennie

Sunset Cinema in Campbell River Tuesday, July 9th 2013 at Willow Point Park!

Thanks to Coastal Community Credit Union, the really big inflatable movie screen returns to Campbell River Tuesday, July 9th at Willow Point Park (by the Sportsplex)!  It’s in support of Success By 6 in Campbell River.  The movie is FREE but if you’d like to support a great organization that helps make a difference for our youngest citizens in Campbell River, bring some pocket change along for popcorn, pop, and other goodies with proceeds to Success By 6 Campbell River.

Don’t forget your blankies, lawn chairs, pillows and more… the movie starts around dusk (9pm-ish) but show up early for some good lawn real estate!

More details HERE:  SUNSET CINEMA

New owners of the former Catalyst site in Campbell River… and their plans

The new owner of the former Catalyst pulp and paper mill site in Campbell River is Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc.  In a short amount of time since they purchased the site, they’ve been very interested in being open with their plans to both city council and the public.  This website has been set up specifically by Quicksilver to give folks a rundown of their plans and why they chose Campbell River for them!

DISCOVERY LNG – QUICKSILVER RESOURCES WEBSITE

Red carpet premiere of locally made movie “The Brother” at Showcase 5 Cinemas in Campbell River

A year in the making… and it’s finally time for the Campbell River premiere of Michael Stevantoni’s locally made film “The Brother” Thursday, January 24th!

“The Brother” by Campbell River director Michael Stevantoni

Thursday, January 24th at 5pm at the Caprice Showcase 5 Cinemas at Merecroft Village, you’ll get to see the latest short film of young Campbell River director Michael Stevantoni (now in high school). Shot in the Campbell River and Merville areas, and using locations like City Hall and Dolphins Resort, the film features local actors as well as an original script by Michael and Diana Stevan (his very talented grandmother, who also acts in the film as my mother, and has appeared in shows like The X-Files and Millenium!).  The details of the premiere are just below the trailer… hope to see you at the show!

“THE BROTHER” MOVIE TRAILER

-Thursday, January 24th at the Caprice Showcase 5 Cinemas at Merecroft Village

-Doors open at 5:00pm, short film (30 min.) at 5:30pm, followed by a behind-the-scenes presentation and a Q an A with the director.

-Admission is a suggested donation of $5 with all proceeds going to funding future film projects.

-Not suitable for young children. Strong language and mature themes.

-Theatre concession will be open

Click for more details:

FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

The 5 R’s… at Christmas time!

After four years as either an alternate or a full time member of the Comox Strathcona Waste Management committee, I’m starting to think of new and fun ways to implement the 5 R’s at home with my little family.  By the way, the 5 R’s are RETHINK, REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.  You can get more info here:  THE 5 R’S

I have to give credit to this neat little holiday decorating idea to the AMAZING Christmas house on the corner of 13th street and 4th ave in Lethbridge, Alberta.  If you’re ever in that city during December, you MUST go see that place.  I tried my own small scale version of their milk jug Christmas lights last year (take a 4 litre milk jug, fill it partially with water to keep it from blowing away, and then stick a Christmas light bulb in the top), but January 1st of 2012 I made it my resolution to REUSE all the milk jugs my four year old daughter Reina drank during the year.  It came to about 50.  Yes, my 40 lb little girl consumed 200 litres of milk in the first 11 months of this year.  Osteoperosis?  What osteoperosis?  Anyway, as you can see, we put those jugs to good use… keeping them out of the landfill and bringing holiday cheer to passersby at the same time.  In 2013, how can YOU follow the 5 R’s? 

p.s.  To read the most up-to-date draft of the Comox Strathcona Waste Management Plan, check out THIS LINK and scroll to the bottom.

Two months into my second term on Campbell River City Council…

Today’s a big day!  It’s officially TWO MONTHS since election day in Campbell River, and I’m very excited to find myself a city councillor representing you once again.  Two months is a long time without a post, and I apologize.  This blog hasn’t been silent because of a lack of things to talk about.  On the contrary, there’s been a substantial amount of activity in that time… I just didn’t know what I should write about!  Well, that’s changed, thanks to some fantastic stuff going on in our city that I wanted to share.

First, a short summary before I get into the events you want to check out.  Since elected for a second term, I’ve been appointed as a full time director with the Strathcona Regional District, as well as the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital Board, and the Comox Strathcona Waste Management committee.  As a councillor, I’ve been given the Public Safety (Crime Reduction) and Youth portfolios, as well as School/City liaison.  For ALL the councillor portfolio and liaison appointments go here:

2011-2014 CAMPBELL RIVER CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS

Okay, now for the inspiration for this post… Campbell River YOUTH!

A young Carihi student by the name of Emily Koopman took on a fundraising initiative for the organization Spread The Net.  Spread The Net provides treated mosquito nets to protect children and pregnant women in African countries.  It was Emily’s idea to put on a music concert at the Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River Saturday, January 21st 2012 to raise some money!  Listen to my interview with Emily Koopman and celebrity MC Gig Morton from the YTV show “Mr. Young” in the video below.

There was an embarassing amount of congratulations to Emily on my part in the interview, but when someone takes the time to make the world a better place, they deserve some recognition.  Especially when that someone is a young member of our community who could easily be distracted with a million other things at the moment in their teenage life.  Show your support for Spread The Net and Emily’s hard work.  To get YOUR tickets to the show go to www.tidemarktheatre.com  and click on “Spread The Net”.  To get you even more excited, here’s a video of Brock Zanrosso, one of the entertainers of the night.  I’ll see you there!

Gearing up for the 2011 Campbell River municipal election…

Councillor Ryan Mennie at work in the Campbell River council chambers

Can you believe it?  Three years have passed since the 2008 municipal election in Campbell River.  It’s time once again to select a group of seven individuals who will represent your interests as a team in the council chambers at city hall and at large in the community, the province, and the country.  It’s been an honour to do just that in my first council term.  It’s also been one of the most incredible learning experiences of my life.  I’m looking forward to putting three years of municipal governance experience and an even stronger understanding and connection to the community to effective use in another term.  And it definitely hasn’t been just any three years of our city’s history to come to grasp with the true job of being on council.  It’s been the official school of hard knocks.  We’ve all lived the upheaval and transition our city has had to face the last several years in our daily lives.  In my press release sent to the media today, I reflect on some of the challenges we’ve had to face as a community, and the kind of environment I entered into at city hall as a new councillor.  But I also want to remind us all of some of our achievements during that time, and move forward with a sense of satisfaction and optimism that if we can survive those past few difficult years, we can survive anything.

COURIER ISLANDER story

PRESS RELEASE OCTOBER 7, 2011

Incumbent councillor Ryan Mennie has officially put his hat in the ring once again. As his first term on council comes to an end, he puts the last three years into perspective.

“It’s been an incredibly challenging time to come on as a new councillor. In three years, I’ve worked alongside three different city managers. As part of council, I helped to almost completely rebuild our economic development office Rivercorp, revitalizing their board with representatives from all areas of business in our community and helping them find a new CEO. The city was also severely short-staffed in several departments, including finance, making the first two budget sessions very challenging. And all of this took place while our community was losing millions of dollars worth of tax revenue with the closure of the Timberwest sawmill and the Catalyst pulp and paper mill.”

In spite of the hurdles in his first three years, Mennie remains positive about his time spent on council and optimistic about the future. “During those challenges of inner turmoil at the city and the loss of a substantial amount of tax revenue and local jobs, there were some major achievements. We extended our runway and made improvements to our airport. We replaced a massive amount of aging water and sewer infrastructure on the highway in Willow Point on time and on budget . Both of these projects, totaling about $22 million, were done without borrowing thanks to the majority of funding coming from the provincial and federal governments. In the end we have a new airport authority promoting the facility as an industrial investment opportunity that can attract larger aircraft, and the seawalk was made even more beautiful and enjoyable as part of the highway project. Now imagine what we can achieve as our city gets on it’s feet again!” Amongst all the work done in the city the last three years, there’s one project Mennie is most proud of. “Being the voice of young families in the community, I fought hard in my very first budget session to make sure the rest of council was aware of the need for replacing the playground at Willow Point Park. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids enjoying that new playground as I push my daughter on the swings made those long, late night budget sessions all worth it.”

With election day looming, Mennie has some thoughts on how to move forward as a community. “We have a soon to be adopted sustainable official community plan that many people provided input into. That maps out the direction Campbell River needs to go over the next 25 years or so. In the short term, the city needs to continue to work on public engagement and communication. Improved communication was a big key piece of why I ran three years ago, and although we’ve made some big steps in the right direction, we need to continue working on that. The engagement side really paid off with some smaller projects in partnership with folks in the community like the Laughing Willow community garden, the building of the lacrosse box and the continuation of the Greenways Loop. I’m really excited about working with other community members who come forward in the next three years to help them achieve their goals.”

You can read more of what Mennie has been up to in the community during his time on council at www.ryanmennie.com.

Join the discussion on the Re-elect Ryan Mennie for Campbell River City Council facebook page.

Follow on twitter at www.twitter.com/ryanmennie

Red carpet premiere of Campbell River movie “Cipher”!

 

EDIT:  MISSED THE RED CARPET PREMIERE?  Watch CIPHER on SHAW in CAMPBELL RIVER, POWELL RIVER, and the COMOX VALLEY!  Here are the TIMES:

Air dates and times:

CIPHER

Thursday October 20 @ 9pm in CR/CV/PR

Friday October 21 @ 10am in CR

Friday October 21 @ 11pm in CR/CV/PR

Sunday October 23 @ 3pm in CR

Sunday October 23 @ 8pm in CR

CR is Campbell River, CV is Comox Valley, PR is Powell River

EDIT:  Thanks to FANTASTIC ATTENDANCE and SUPPORT at the one night only showing of CIPHER, we raised over $500 for community theatre group RIVERCITY PLAYERS!  Way to go, movie fans and theatre-goers!

EDIT:  THE FILM PLAYS ONE NIGHT ONLY IN CAMPBELL RIVER, TONIGHT (WED. SEPT. 28 2011)!    SUGGESTED $5 DONATION TO RIVERCITY PLAYERS (Campbell River theatre group, with several of their actors featured in CIPHER).  Doors open at 5:30pm at Showcase 5 Theatre at Merecroft Village.  Short film and behind the scenes start at 6pm sharp.  All done by 6:45!

CLICK FOR MOVIE TRAILER!

——————————————————————-

After a YEAR worth of work, it’s finally done!  And you get to see it!  On the big screen!!  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let me back up a bit.

Summer 2010.  Rivercity Players (one of Campbell River’s fantastic community theatre groups) sends out a call for interested adult actors to perform in a local film production.  Turns out the director of the local film production is 14 years old.  Okeydokey.  Well, I remember being 14 and interested in the world of multimedia (a path that eventually led me to becoming a professional broadcaster, and volunteer cameraman at multiple community TV stations) so I thought “what the heck”.   With my job as a councillor and on the air, and a dad of a 3 year old, I have much less time to enjoy creative pursuits these days.  A short ‘n sweet two week shooting schedule squeezed in here and there would be fun.

 At the same time, it’s great to be able to support up and coming talent in our community, a portion of the mandate the folks from the CRCIC (Campbell River Creative Industries Council) I’ve worked alongside for a couple of years now also live by.

So we shot the film locally, I met some great new folks and reconnected with some Rivercity Players buddies from productions past (Harvey, Bus Stop, Death Of A Salesman).  Then we waited.  We had the easy part.  The 14 year old director put a lot of blood and sweat and time and talent behind the scenes working on the final product.  He wrangled musicians and effects people from across the globe.  He edited.  He re-edited.  His computer crashed.  He used other computers from around Campbell River.  They crashed too.  Or didn’t do what he needed them to do, like computers do from time to time.

Back to that first statement… after a YEAR of work, it’s finally done!  A very slick, intense little thriller “short” (18 minutes long) called “Cipher”.  And thanks to the assistance of Joan and Tanya at INfilm (the Vancouver Island North Film Commission), among other things, we now have a press release (see below).  The now-15-year old director is about to showcase his film to an audience.  In a real movie theatre no less.

And how cool is this?  It’s also being featured at the TULSA, OKLAHOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL on Friday, September 23rd!  Here’s the summary AND the movie trailer:  After the Campbell River premiere Wed. Sept. 28th (a suggested $5 donation for Rivercity Players, doors opening at 5:30pm, the 18 minute film to be followed by a 15 minute behind the scenes video) it will ALSO be featured at the International Student Film Festival in HOLLYWOOD in November!  CLICK for the MOVIE TRAILER and details.

Okay, okay… can you tell I’m excited?  No, it’s not my big screen debut (I was an extra in Legends of the Fall, Big Bully, and Excess Baggage) but it is in a “speaking role”!  And of course I’m very excited for the young director’s efforts to finally be realized.  He’s earned some attention!  In case you missed it, here’s the FACEBOOK EVENT page.  And without further ado… the press release from INFILM.

N E W S R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release

September 14th, 2011

YOUNG CAMPBELL RIVER DIRECTOR PREMIERES SHORT FILM

Campbell River

On Wednesday, September 28th 15-year old Michael Stevantoni will premiere the short film “Cipher” at Caprice 5 Showcase Cinemas in Merecroft Village. The event is by donation with proceeds to the local theatre group, Rivercity Players.

“Michael is a talented young filmmaker,” says Joan Miller, Vancouver Island North Film Commissioner. “From the initial phone call with his production crew sourcing information on film locations and permitting, our staff always felt like we were working on a professional film project. The story revolves around an explosion that destroys a city landmark,” comments Miller. “It is interesting to see how access to new technology through the art of visual effects enabled Michael to shoot and edit using a software program on his home computer.”

Produced by Michael Stevantoni and Diana Stevan, Cipher features local actors and locations. The story follows detective, Harry Crichton, played by Ryan Mennie, who receives a cryptic message from a bomber. With the city in a panic it is a race against time to find hidden clues in the message before the bomber strikes again but little does Harry know what is really at stake.

“Cipher has been selected for the Tulsa International Film Festival under the emerging filmmaker category focused on students and their work. Official selections within this subdivision will have a high degree of exposure, and their submissions screened at the Tulsa Center for Creativity’s cutting edge facility,” says Miller. “We encourage everyone to support local talent and come out to watch this homegrown production.”

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., show at 6:00 p.m., followed by a behind-the-scenes presentation and question and answer session with the director.

For further information contact:

Producer Diana Stevan

Tel. 250-286-6960

Hatcheries and health centres and grizzlies, oh my! Adventures with Homalco First Nation…

Boy, what a summer it’s been for the Homalco First Nation!  First, they celebrated the culmination of eight years worth of work in opening the Homalco Health Centre on July 15th.  I was honoured to speak as Acting Mayor at the opening on behalf of Campbell River city council and congratulate them on their achievement.    Unveiled at the event were several carvings and works of art that would find a new home further north at Orford Bay during another prestigious event a month later.  That event was to celebrate the opening of the Homalco First Nation interpretive centre, a key piece of their Homalco Wildlife Tour program that gets you up close and personal with grizzlies feeding in the Orford River.  It was a great opportunity to hear how the returns of their salmon hatchery efforts would literally feed into the success of their grizzly tours.  Thanks to local adventure tour company Eagle Eye Adventures, their fantastic and knowledgeable guide Nick,  and their new owner Jos I was able to attend the event by zodiac, and capture our adventures at the event and along the way.  Make sure you watch the video not only for Chief Richard Harry’s summary of the big day, but for some great footage of orcas, black bears and other wildlife we witnessed that day.   Then say hi to Jos and Nick and the gang at Eagle Eye Adventures to book your trip to see the grizzlies through Homalco Wildlife Tours!