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The fall season at the <strong>Club</strong> has been<br />
incredibly busy with lots of activities<br />
along with new <strong>and</strong> creative<br />
programming. I hope you have been<br />
enjoying it.<br />
It was great fun to officially cut the ribbon<br />
<strong>and</strong> open the Bar <strong>and</strong> Lounge on<br />
September 20. The general feeling on the<br />
part of the membership seems very positive <strong>and</strong> the space is<br />
certainly getting a lot of use!<br />
Here are just a few of the highlights of activities over the past<br />
month or so.<br />
The <strong>Club</strong>’s Public Art Openings continued, with Ed<br />
Yaghdjian’s superb l<strong>and</strong>scape <strong>and</strong> nude drawings show on<br />
Sunday, September 9, followed by Ed’s wonderful<br />
presentation at <strong>Club</strong> Night about his life’s work. These<br />
special openings to the public are an excellent way for the<br />
<strong>Club</strong> to reach out to the city <strong>and</strong> engage the public in our<br />
artists’ work <strong>and</strong> talent.<br />
The 1st Annual Camera Obscura Film Festival opened with a<br />
well-attended Friday night gala. Screenings continued<br />
throughout Saturday, <strong>and</strong> twenty feature films,<br />
documentaries <strong>and</strong> shorts were viewed during the two-day<br />
event. Thanks to Deborah Kelly <strong>and</strong> her committee for<br />
initiating this new film festival for the <strong>Club</strong> during TIFF.<br />
Member Natalie Logan had a number of films in the festival.<br />
Marianne Fedunkiw, our Vice-President, gave opening<br />
remarks on behalf of the Board.<br />
At our September Members’ Dinner, the <strong>Club</strong> was<br />
introduced to a multi-media presentation entitled the<br />
“Forgotten Soundscapes of the Group of Seven” by the<br />
Junction Trio. Congratulations to Kathleen Metcalfe for her<br />
excellent work in organizing her first Members’ Dinner event.<br />
We all look forward to many more exciting evenings under<br />
Kathleen’s leadership.<br />
In September, fifty-six <strong>Club</strong> members <strong>and</strong> guests headed off<br />
on a beautiful sunny day to Stratford to see Des McAnuff’s<br />
production of Henry V. It was an outst<strong>and</strong>ing performance<br />
that generated a lot of discussion between <strong>Club</strong> visitors <strong>and</strong><br />
the actors during the post-production chat. There was a<br />
round of applause on the bus to thank Marianne Heller for<br />
organizing the trip <strong>and</strong> to encourage her to continue her<br />
good work next season. Keep an eye open for Marianne’s<br />
future out-of-town <strong>Club</strong> jaunts.<br />
During the evening of September 29 <strong>and</strong> into the morning of<br />
September 30, the <strong>Club</strong> welcomed seven hundred visitors for<br />
White Night, Black Light. This was the first time the <strong>Club</strong> had<br />
participated in the Citywide Scotiabank Nuit Blanche at our<br />
Elm Street location. Guests walked through the basement onto<br />
President’s Column<br />
the stage to observe a highly creative <strong>and</strong> thought-provoking<br />
production in the Great Hall that ran twenty-four times during<br />
the twelve-hour event. Many thanks go to Jessica Virdo,<br />
Julian Mulock <strong>and</strong> Andrew Sookrah, who spearheaded the<br />
initiative, <strong>and</strong> to the more than fifty volunteers, of which<br />
twenty-five stayed up all night! Participating in these cultural<br />
activities is critical for the <strong>Club</strong>—it makes the necessary<br />
connections that will keep us relevant <strong>and</strong> of value to the city.<br />
To learn more about the success of this event, please refer to<br />
Julian Mulock’s article in this issue.<br />
On Monday, October 1, the <strong>Club</strong> hosted the Alcuin Society<br />
<strong>and</strong> the winners of the 2011 Alcuin Society Awards for<br />
Excellence in Book Design. <strong>Club</strong> member Stan Bevington of<br />
Coach House Press was awarded the Robert R. Reid Medal<br />
for Lifetime Achievement in the Book <strong>Arts</strong> in Canada.<br />
Congratulations go to Chester Gryski for organizing this<br />
evening, which he has done for the past five years. This is an<br />
excellent outreach initiative for the <strong>Club</strong> to link with<br />
organizations that share common interests <strong>and</strong> values, <strong>and</strong> to<br />
build our connections with national organizations. If you<br />
haven’t attended the event in the past, I would highly<br />
recommend attending next year. The books on display this<br />
year in the LAMPSroom were outst<strong>and</strong>ing.<br />
There are many activities coming up in <strong>November</strong>. Just a few<br />
highlights include the Members’ Dinner with Ontario’s<br />
Lieutenant Governor on <strong>November</strong> 1, <strong>and</strong> the Public<br />
Opening of Andrew Sookrah’s Art Show on <strong>November</strong> 11<br />
(with a prior <strong>Club</strong> Night opening on <strong>November</strong> 5). On<br />
<strong>November</strong> 15 the Vice-President <strong>and</strong> I are holding a very<br />
special gathering of <strong>Club</strong> members to talk about the <strong>Club</strong>’s<br />
future, through entertainment, conversation, good food <strong>and</strong><br />
drink. Please see the notice in this issue. I hope you will be<br />
able to attend.<br />
The <strong>November</strong> 12 deadline is fast approaching to submit<br />
nominations to the <strong>Arts</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Letters</strong> Award 2013. Each year<br />
the <strong>Club</strong> grants this major award to a non-member who has<br />
made a significant contribution to the cultural life of the city<br />
but has not yet been fully recognized. Look for details on<br />
what should be included in the nomination on page 4 of this<br />
issue.<br />
On a final, <strong>and</strong> sad, note, I must tell you that Paul Coroliuc<br />
passed away on September 28, <strong>2012</strong>. Paul was a staff member<br />
with the <strong>Club</strong> for over six years. He began his career with the<br />
<strong>Club</strong> as a bartender <strong>and</strong> rose to the role of Duty Manager a<br />
few years later. He was well liked <strong>and</strong> admired by staff <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Club</strong> members for his pleasant demeanor, attention to detail<br />
<strong>and</strong> professional approach to his work. He will be greatly<br />
missed by us all.<br />
Richard Moorhouse<br />
President<br />
<strong>November</strong> <strong>2012</strong> 5