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Prohibition Party to raise funds to buy Philippine fishing boats

Organizers hope to buy 10 boats for those who lost their livelihoods following Typhoon Haiyan
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Members only Prevail (right) and the rest of Swollen Members are coming to Whistler to promote their new album Brand New Day. File Photo

It's a little bit of the Roaring '20s and a little bit of helping others — and a lot of fun.

The annual Prohibition Dance Party will bring together dancing and drinking for a good cause, raising money for victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

"It's usually a big bash every summer for desk and concierge staff as a thank you, but this year we're mixing it up a bit and working with the (Whistler) Film Festival and the RYOT Foundation and we are making it a fundraiser for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan," says organizer Brittia Thompson.

In keeping with the prohibition theme, the dress code is faux fur, gangsters and flappers, swing, burlesque, and boas.

RYOT has a fund-sourcing project that will buy fishermen a boat for $800 each, and the goal of the party is to buy 10.

Music comes from DJ Blondtron, DJ KitKat, and there will be a burlesque show for those who like their dancing on stage.

The party takes place on Thursday, June 19, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at a secret barn location, says Thompson. Tickets are $45 and available at the Canadian Wilderness Adventures Desk in the Carleton Lodge (cash only). There is shuttle access to the site only, and shuttle spots must be booked.

Swollen Members celebrate new album with Moe Joe's gig

In their 2011 song Night Vision Vancouver hip-hop trio Swollen Members rap, "Always tell the truth in interviews!"

And to that end, one third of the group, Prevail, says the truth has been easy, with the band's current tour in support of their new album Brand New Day being a "whole lot of fun." The album was released on Tuesday, June 17.

Along with touring, Prevail has also been busy with being the Vancouver Craft Beer Week spokesperson for ECPW brewers and selling beer named after him to raise funds for the charity Music Heals.

"I'm one of the ambassadors and it's a charity that is close to my heart and it feels good to be able to give back to the community. To have a beer with your name on it is pretty endearing as well," he says.

He's also busy with his online lifestyle magazine, prevailprevail.com.

Prevail said his fellow Swollen Member Madchild will soon move to Los Angeles to reopen Battleaxe Records with members of Suburban Noize Records.

"I really look forward to Battleaxes being back at the forefront of not just underground independent hip hop, but I believe the master plan will be a much broader picture (musically). I'm very curious and very excited to see where it all leads."

Along with Swollen Members, Whistler band Animal Nation is also performing. The band has played a supporting role through the whole tour. The two appear at Moe Joe's on Tuesday, June 24.

Said Garnet Clare of Animal Nation: "The tour was incredible. My first experience with live hip hop was watching Swollen Members rock shows at our local skate park when I was 16. It was amazing playing on the same stages as them, and learning from the people that we've been looking up to all these years. It was great hanging out with the boys and getting to know them as people.

"Three months is the longest tour we've ever done. It was actually three tours, but we had three days off in total in between tours, so it felt like one long trip."

RMOW selects banner art for Fall and winter 2014

The Resort Municipality of Whistler has chosen designs by Whistler artist Ron Denesson for its 2014 fall and winter street banners.

He said in an email that the theme for the banners is "The Colours and Shapes of the Whistler Landscape in Fall and Winter."

"My surroundings are the inspiration for my work. Through abstracting the landscape into pure form and colour, I attempt to capture the essence of what I see," he said.

Denesson is developing four designs to represent four different interpretations of the resort: "Sunset," "First Tracks," "Alpenglow," and "First Snow Fall."

Ron is a member of the RMOW's Public Art Committee; members are allowed to participate as the proposals are chosen anonymously.

The new street banners will be installed in October 2014.

Whistler violinist at Our Lady of the Mountains

Young Whistler violinist Madeline Reid is holding her first recital at the resort.

Reid will perform works by Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church on Tuesday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Reid has been playing since the age of five and completed her Bachelor of Music in Performance degree at the University of Victoria in 2012.

She will be accompanied by fellow UVic music graduate, Barry Tan, on the piano.

Save the Sound Summer Solstice Party

Walk-on Dead and the Will Ross Band are playing a fundraising and information night to save Howe Sound.

The Save the Sound Summer Benefit evening takes place at the Cliffside Pub in Valleycliffe, Squamish, on Saturday, June 21.

Representatives of four grassroots community organizations will also be there: My Sea to Sky, The Squamish River Watershed Society, The Future of Howe Sound Society and The Gambier Island Conservancy.

Tickets are $15, with all proceeds going towards the cause. Tickets are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/694964, and in Squamish at Kelly's Eclectibles and at the Cliffside Pub.

Children's Festival workshop registration opens

The creative workshop registration is now open for children wanting to participate in the Whistler Children's Festival, which takes place on July 12 and 13.

The classes on offer include soap stone carving, circus skills, tin can robots, and fire-breathing dragons. For more information and to register visit www.artswhistler.com.