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11 events to accompany Smithsonian exhibition in Essex

11 events to accompany Smithsonian exhibition in Essex

11 events to accompany Smithsonian exhibition in Essex | News | gloucestertimes.com  Gloucester Daily Times

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Rafael Nadal: ‘I missed a lot of important events because of…’

Rafael Nadal: 'I missed a lot of important events because of...'

Despite injuries and setbacks, Rafael Nadal has been a player to beat in 2022. The Spaniard has won two major titles and will have a great chance to return to No. 1 in the world after the US Open. Rafa withdrew before the Wimbledon semi-final due to an abdominal injury, and it is his main concern ahead of the last Major of the season.

Rafa admitted that he has to be very careful during training sessions, working on his serve while he tries not to aggravate an injury. Nadal will play in New York for the first time in three years, after winning the title in 2019 and skipping the next two editions.

Rafa came to New York after an early loss in Cincinnati, leveling him up on the practice court and setting up the first-round clash against Rinky Hijikata. Nadal is 35-4 this year, starting the season with three consecutive titles and securing his 14th Roland Garros crown.

Rafa moved ahead of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer after his 21st major crown at the Australian Open, his first in Melbourne in 13 years! Rafa conquered Acapulco and reached the Indian Wells final. He played it with a fractured rib and lost to Taylor Fritz in straight sets.

The Spaniard skipped his favorite events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona and did not play at his best level in Madrid and Rome. Hoping to improve his performance in Paris, Nadal outclassed Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev before beating Casper Ruud in the title match.

With a boost from him, Rafa set his sights on his first Wimbledon crown in 12 years.

Nadal is the second seed

Novak Djokovic’s absence from the 2022 US Open has been the talk of the town over the last few days, but Rafael Nadal feels that shouldn’t be the case.

“Well, in some way we know that Novak will not play for a while if nothing change in terms of the rules, no? We know that since months ago. From my personal perspective, is very sad news,” he said. “It’s always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons.”

Recalling how he has had to miss more than a few tournaments due to injuries, the 36-year-old pointed out how the world of tennis simply kept going regardless. “But on the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player.

I missed a lot of important events in my tennis career because of injuries, without a doubt,” Nadal said. “Last year I was not here. Two years ago I was not here. [But] the tournament continues. The world of tennis keep going.”

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Many are interested in events of Jan. 6

Many are interested in events of Jan. 6

To the Editor:

I recently read a Letter to the Editor from Kevin Kimpel, in which they said that the January 6th Hearings are “not important.” They are important. What happened on January 6th was unprecedented. That means it hasn’t happened before. We need to have an investigation into what led to the events of that day.

While I won’t reiterate the content of the hearings I will say this, January 6th was an attempted coup by the Republican Party.

Because of this, there are a lot of denials, disinterest and disinformation surrounding the day. That is why we need indictments, investigations and real jail time for the people who tried to destroy the foundations of our democracy.

Kevin Kimpel, you may not be interested, and I won’t speculate as to the reasons for that. But I will say that I am interested and so are those who want the freedom to vote.

Victoria Woods

Angola

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Red Lot viewing party a ticketed event for Game 7

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If you’re planning to watch Sunday’s night’s Calgary Flames-Dallas Stars game from the Red Lot Community Viewing Party, you’re going to need a ticket.

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Due to what they’re calling “incredibly high demand,” the Flames announced on Saturday that the game-night viewing party will be shifting to a ticketed event effective immediately.

“The decision to move to a ticketed event was made to enhance the fan experience by decreasing the line and wait times for the RED Lot and ensuring the safety of everyone in attendance,” the Flames said in a media release. “Tickets will remain free, but must be secured in advance, and will be available based on a strict capacity limit; those without tickets will not be permitted entrance to RED Lot under any circumstances and are asked not to come to the site.”

Tickets for the Game 7 viewing party will be made available — with a limit of two tickets per person — starting at 9 a.m. Sunday morning from https://www.nhl.com/flames/fans/fireitup. A Flames game ticket will not provide access to the Red Lot.

The Red Lot will open two hours prior to the scheduled 7:30 p.m. puck-drop.

“We understand that demand for RED Lot tickets will very likely outweigh supply, and would like to reiterate our tremendous gratitude for the extraordinary support of the C of Red,” the Flames offered in their statement. “Further updates will be provided through our social media channels.”

The Flames and Stars are tied 3-3 in their best-of-seven first-round NHL playoff series. Winner of Sunday night’s Game 7 advances to the second round.

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Ignite the Arts offers 10 days of superb events

Weekend events guide

The enthusiasm for the first-ever Ignite the Arts Festival from co-organizers Paul Crawford and Julie Fowler is contagious.

The 10-day event kicks off Friday and runs through until April 3 at various venues across the city.

“We want people to know there’s all these incredible artists coming, but as well, we have a lot of free stuff to offer,” Fowler said in an interview. “We have the more-traditional ticketed festival on the final weekend, but a lot of what we offer is free, especially in the first week.”

Fowler coordinated the Arts Wells Festival in Wells, B.C. for 17 years. She retired on good terms in 2019 and then COVID — combined with a shortage of accommodations — basically sealed the fate of the event.

Much of what was done in Wells will be mirrored in Penticton.

“A lot of this will be an experiment for the first year,” Fowler admits. “We will learn a lot and we are hoping to lay down a foundation for years to come.”

Ticket buyers might be confused by the fact a lot is going on — all at the same time.

Organizers encourage visitors to go online to research the artists and then plan their week accordingly.

Part of the festival’s concept was to involve all of the partner groups from the community and many are hosting their own events during the 10-day period.

“There’s always been a notion that arts are fractured in our community,” Crawford said. “We want to gather everyone under one umbrella. This is not the Penticton Art Gallery’s festival, even though we’re the ones organizing it. It’s Penticton’s festival.”

Fowler, a board member with the Penticton Arts Council for four years, said she’s never witnessed so much positive collaboration in all her years in Penticton.

On the first weekend, a free concert, “Awakening: First Blossoms/Spring Equinox” will be held at the Cleland Theatre. Victoria Jaenig and Ullus Collective, Devyn Destinee, Mariel Belanger, Rich n Beka, The Melawmen Collective and Curtis Clearsky and the Constellationz will all perform sets on Sunday, March 27 from 7-11 p.m.

Other week-one highlights include the unveiling of the square mini-murals on opening night and then a parade to nowhere, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. outside the gallery. The parade’s walking route will be determined spontaneously based on the number of people who show up.

On the weekend of April 1-3, the festival will have simultaneous performances at venues including the Penticton Art Gallery, Slackwater Brewing, Cannery Brewing, The Dream Café, Tempest Theatre and Okanagan Lake Park.

Vaccine passports will be required at most indoor venues as provincial health orders are not being adjusted until April 8.

The format for the final weekend is similar to the Pentastic Jazz Festival where visitors can travel from venue to venue or remain at one venue for the entire day.

Among the recognizable names scheduled to perform are Juno nominee Al Simmons, a longtime collaborator with children’s performer Fred Penner; internationally-renowned Aboriginal musician Kym Gouchie; and Juno nominees Oot n’ Oots.

“Ours is offering a much more diverse lineup of artists than other festivals,” Crawford said. “If you listen to CBC or go to folk festivals, you will have heard a lot of the artists we have coming here. Just because you haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy them. With the exception of the Cleland (Theatre), our largest venue seats 100 and everything is going to be an intimate performance.”

While the final week of March seems like a strange time to host a major festival, Ignite the Arts team believes it’s perfect.

“By having this over spring break, there’s a lot of people who traditionally leave (for holidays) and we’re looking to have people stay here,” Crawford said.

“Why do something over the summer when you’re competing against 100 other special events?”

Fowler echoes, “With climate events such as forest fires, summer is now becoming a challenging time to organize anything. In the spring, the worst thing we’re looking at is maybe a major snowstorm that will make it hard for people to get up here from the mountain pass.”

While most of the attendees are expected to be from the Okanagan, tickets have been purchased from as far away as Vancouver Island.

Tickets for the final weekend are available until Thursday at the reduced rate of $100 which includes a $15 voucher for select businesses, gallery and artist merchandise.

Tickets for students ages 13-17 are $25 for the weekend and children 12 and under are free. Adult tickets are $125 as of Friday at midnight.

To view the entire schedule, purchase tickets, sign up to volunteer or view artist biographies visit: pentictonartgallery.com/ ignite-the-arts-festival