What’s Brews & Views?

Glad you asked.

Brews & Views is a growing event held every month (or at the least every other month) for readers and Albertans alike to meet authors and thinkers on local issues. They are lively, informal panels where crowd participaction is encouraged. In fact, to aid in this, subscribers have a free beer on us.

Event is free for subscribers or you can buy a subscription at the door ($15 for a beer or wine, riveting discussion and year’s worth of a darn fine magazine—not a bad little deal in my opinion).

The last B&V featured four fine Crowsnest Passians (Passites?): author David Thomas, artist Lynnette Jessop, councillor Brian Gallant and realtor Randall Whiteside. The theme, “What will come to the Pass?” was a discussion of big changes in the works and what the Pass might look like in 5, 25, 50, 100 years … Adventure tourism hot spot? Thriving film industry? Artist mecca? Or perfectly quiet backwater?

The date of the next Brews & Views is Dec 7, 2011 at 7 p.m. at Calgary’s Shelf Life Books (1302 4 St SW). Topic: How do we measure happiness in Alberta? Featuring author Mark Anielski (The Economics of Happiness), Alberta Views’s 15-year columnist Fred Stenson, winner of the 2011 fiction contest Elaine Hayes and magazine founder Jackie Flanagan.

Click here for the Brews & Views  poster

In the meantime, please enjoy these photos from previous B&V’s, and we’ll see you in your town soon.

Sincerely,

The AV Club.

At the Art Gallery in the Crowsnest Pass. Topic: What will come to the Pass? From left, author and advocate for keeping the Pass just the way it is, David Thomas, touter of adventure tourism, councillor Brian Gallant, advocate for more outdoor art, artist Lynnette Jessop and local film industry proponent, Randall Whiteside.

A full fort at the N.W.M.P Fort in Fort Macleod. From left, authors Fred Stenson and Doug Horner, rancher Tony Bruder and (hidden) Western Producer Barb Glen discuss “what’s in the water” politically and literally in southern Alberta, while a crowd member raises some questions.

A “threeding” (three-person reading) at ShelfLife Books in Calgary. Left to right: Aritha van Herk (author), Kristjanna Grimmelt (winner of Alberta Views 2010 short story contest), Alex Rettie (Rettie on Books columnist, Alberta Views).

Water, conservation and bears, oh my! (Then, after the first round of brews, the existence of God, the meaning of life and other various philosophical musings) at the Canmore Hotel. Left to right: Jeff Gailus (author of the Grizzly Manifesto), Michale Lang (curator at the Whyte Museum), Bob Sandford (author Water, Weather and the Mountain West, water conservationist), and Ben Gadd (author Handbook of the Canadian Rockies, naturalist).

Topic: “Urban Farming,” at the Dish & Runaway Spoon in Edmonton. Left to right: Ron Berezan, the Urban Gardener (just behind the blueberry bush) Patty Milligan, owner of Lola Canola Honey, and Tracy Hyatt, first-time gardener (it’s her blueberry bush).

Topic: “Women in the Workplace,” at the Galt Museum in Lethbridge. Left to right: Writer Shannon Phillips, Glenn Scott (AUPE), Ian McKenna (labour rights lawyer) and Lisa Lambert (Womanspace).

Topic: “Mayoral Election Financing and Undue Influence of Local Developers,” at Broken City in Calgary. Left to right: soon-to-be-mayor Naheed Nenshi, mayor hopefuls Jon Lord and Paul Hughes and OPUS Dev’t Corp’s Hannes Kovak.

Share your views (over a couple of brews) on public issues that affect us all.

What’s Brews & Views?—I’m glad you asked.
Brews & Views was born of the incidental realization that ‘views’ (which we as a magazine specialize in the encouraging of) rhymes with ‘brews’ (which we as a magazine specialize in the drinking of). The result: a dynamic event of some regularity featuring a panel of writers, professors, politicians, pundits—you name it—discussing a hot topic from one of our issues. And of course, over a few brews.
Brews & Views is free to our subscribers who also get a free drink. We encourage you to bring a friend as people can buy a subscription at the door. Included in the $30 cost a for a year’s worth of Canada’s Magazine of the Year (thank you) comes a free drink—not a bad little deal in my opinion.

The next B&V will launch our December issue, Dec 9 from 7-9 p.m. in Calgary at Shelf Life Books, 1302 4 St SW. Topic: Old writers, new writers and writers who write about writers

Panelists will be writers, Aritha Van Herk and David Liepert, our Alberta Views book reviewer, Alex Rettie and winner of our 2010 short story contest, Kristjanna Grimmelt.

van Herk will be talking about Robert Kroetsch. Liepert is the author of Muslim, Christian and Jew: Finding a Path to Peace Our Faiths Can Share. Rettie reviews two notable books by two notable authors every month. Grimmelt is the author of the short story Northern Vegas, published in our December issue. She comes to Calgary all the way from Peace River.

The December issue includes our annual Books Guide, listing all 2010 releases from Alberta publishers as well as books by Albertans published outside the province. So it’s very fitting to have the launch of the issue in a bookstore. Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

The AV Club.

PREVIOUS BREWS & VIEWS

April 7—Calgary’s Broken City (Topic: Municipal election funding)
May 8—Lethbridge’s Galt Museum (Topic: Women in the workforce)
July 29—Canmore’s Canmore Hotel (Topic: Bears, water and conservation, oh my!)
Aug 17—Edmonton’s Dish and Runaway Spoon (Topic: Urban gardening)
Nov 20—Edmonton’s University of Alberta Dewey’s Pub (Topic: Healthcare Pub Quiz!)

Yes, Alberta Views was at it again–drinking on the job. Only, it’s OK when it is your job to generate lively discussion over a few friendly brews.

DEC 9

New, locally-owned bookstore. Three  writers. One darn good magazine—I’d say that’s reason enough to have a brew or two. Shelf Life Books hosted Brews & Views VI—”a three-ding,” that is, a three-person reading, by  Aritha van Herk (December feature of Robert Kroetsch), Kristjanna Grimmelt (winner of Alberta Views 2010′s short fiction contest) and Alex Rettie (books columnist, Rettie on Books.)

NOV 20

There are no such things as wait-rooms times at Brews & Views, come on in. It was a healthy dose of discussion and laughter (the best medicine in some cases) at the University of Alberta’s Dewey’s Pub for Healthcare-theme Pub Quiz. Expert panelists were the defib-rulating pundit Dave Cournoyer, author Cheryl Mahaffy with her prescriptive perspectives, and MLA for Edmonton-Centre, member of a healthy opposition, Ms. Laurie Blakeman.

AUG 19

Brews & Views Edmonton was based on an article written by Jennifer Cockrall-King in our summer issue called The Farm Next Door: How local food–really local food–is back on the political menu. It was a panel discussion and Show n’ Tell night with one guest even bringing a pig

The other (non-animal) guests for Brews & Views IV at the Dish Bistro were treated to the city seedsman, the Urban Farmer himself, Mr. Ron Berezan; the Best Beekeeper from Bon Accord, owner of Lola Canola Honey, Patty Milligan; and first-time gardener (though not her garden) the Commandeering Cultivator, Tracy Hyatt.

On the table last night were the topics of farmland development in the city, population growth, a perpetually elongating food chain and raising animals in the city.

A big thanks to Alley Kat Brewing Co. for supplying the ‘brews’ portion of the evening, the ‘views’ were allowed to blossom uninhibited into a generous thicket of ideas and solutions. This was all recorded by the good folks at CJSW who (check website) broadcast a good chunk of the talk.

Another fine evening of ventilating political exchange at the Canmore Hotel – only this time it wasn’t only tolerated by the bar staff at the Ho’ but in fact hosted!


JULY 29
Brews & Views in Canmore featured a panel of legendary mountain authors (left to right) Jeff Gailus (The Grizzly Manifesto),  Michale Lang (curator at the Whyte Museum and author of Bears: Tracks through Time) Bob Sandford (Water, Weather and the Mountain West) and Ben Gadd (Handbook to the Canadian Rockies).

If you weren’t there, you certainly should have. Planned subject: Alberta’s mountain parks and the long-time problematic balance of conservation and industry. Actual conversation: God, grizzlies, the human condition and how there are just too damn many of us.