Posts in category Life & Style

Egbert Gaye In the darkness that the COVID-19 pandemic has cast over Montreal, Mrs. Sylia Goin remains a special light shining for members of the Goin, Boldon and Corbie families, all prominent in the Black community here in Montreal as they are in their native Trinidad and Tobago. On August 19, the woman who stands as the matriach of the highly regarded clan, marked her 100th birthday surrounded by her son Colin, daughter Sharleen as well as grand-children and other family and friends for a golden celebration, which was dampened only slightly by the Covid-19 outbreak. The occasion offered those …

Egbert Gaye Sure Shailene Garnett is now making her home in Los Angeles, California, and has been appearing in more and more movies on television and on the big screen, but get her talking about the CBC Television drama Diggstown and the Montreal-born actress goes into full-fledged excitement mode. “I’m so proud of this show for so many reasons… some might consider these reasons to be good or bad, but I’m absolutely proud to be part of a show that features the first Black female lead on prime time television in Canada,” she told the CONTACT, referring to Canadian-born Vinessa …

The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power. Doubleday Canada, 2020. Nonfiction. 246 pages. H. Nigel Thomas On the evening of February 12, 2020, I hurried from a talk I’d just delivered to Amnistie international to the bookstore Drawn and Quarterly, hoping to hear most of what Desmond Cole had to say about his book The Skin We’re In: A year of Black Resistance and Power. I think I heard about half of the answers he gave to Emily Nicholas, who was interviewing him. I was glad that I made the trip. Hearing Cole talk about the …

Former Black Star executive director named Chair of Ph.D. program in the Social Work Faculty Contact Staff Former Montrealer Dr. Michael Baffoe continues to scale the ladder of academia at the University of Manitoba, where last month he was named chairman of the Ph.D. candidates in the Faculty of Social Work. His appointment for a three-year term came less than a year after he became full professor last March. And according to the dean of the department, Dr. Michael Yellowbird, Dr. Baffoe is part of the university’s forward-looking positioning for the changing global reality. “With the need for a new …

Rudy Mills’1968 hit John Jones became an anthem for skinheads and other counter groups in Europe Egbert Gaye Before 2019, the last time Montrealer Radee Beyah performed on stage he was in his early 20s and a rising star in Rock Steady music in his native Jamaica, with a string of hits to his name. Back then, he was known as Rudy Mills and burning music charts across the Caribbean with mega-hits such as A Long Story and John Jones, anthems for rock-steady lovers in the Caribbean and ska loving skinheads in the UK and across Europe, respectively. Fast forward …

Longevity in any business means that one must always adapt and change with the times as the market dictates. From the beginning, that is what Lady G was all about. Born and raised in Spanish Town, Jamaica, she hit the scene early and hasn’t missed a beat since. It has been over 30 years since she recorded her first hit “Nuff Respect” and still Lady G is just as relevant today as she was back then. With dozens of hits and graced stages all over the world, her positive vibes (and lyrics) and class represent well. In late 2018 she …

Contact Staff Andrea and Dave Gordon You know what they say about a family that cooks together… apart from staying together they make great food. So it is with Andrea and Dave Gordon and their little catering service that they operate out of their home in LaSalle. A business, driven solely by the love, others like family, friends and supporters have for their cooking. Obviously aware of the perils of self-aggrandizement, Andrea can’t help but accept just how good the food that comes out of their kitchen is. “To be honest, I don’t think that there’s anyone in Montreal who …

First Black player in the National Hockey League Contact Staff At 83-years-old Willie O’Ree still commands attention. Articulate and poised, the man who became the first Black player in the National Hockey League 60 years ago remains a powerful ambassador for the game and an inspiration for the generation of stars following in the tracks of his skates. O’Ree, who at 22 years of age made his debut on January 18, 1958 as a winger with the Boston Bruins in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. The Bruins won. A few nights later he played in the return game in …

Former standout athlete and educator to receive Montreal Cares Lifetime Award By Maria Anastasia Weekes Sometime this past March, Denburk Reid and his Montreal Community Cares Foundation team unanimously voted for Ivan Livingstone to receive the Montreal Community Cares Lifetime Achievement Award. And he will be honored on May 11, at an award ceremony at Loyola High School, 2477 West Broadway. The annual event is an elegant fundraiser themed ‘It Takes A Village’, which celebrates role models and community do-gooders. And it will be an opportunity for Montreal to learn more about Ivan Livingstone, a man born in 1929 in …

Egbert Gaye With the much-anticipated release of her latest single, Hotel Key, from her debut EP, Best Life, Montrealer Ana Stasia continues her upward trajectory on the R&B/Pop music scene. The excitement around her continues to build because of the commotion her previous single, Shade, created being shortlisted in several of the major categories in the 61st Annual Grammy Awards ballot. The single is competing for Best R&B Performance, Best R&B Song and Record of the Year, while the EP, Best Life, is competing for Best R&B Album. The multi-talented singer/songwriter who honed her musical skills at The University of …