suntowertimes:

El Salvador Buenos Aires Pacamara (Taken with Instagram at Discovery Coffee)

Remember that Discovery James Bay will be open late on Thursday, Friday and Saturday serving up delicious dinner, spirits, coffee and treats.

On Saturday night we will have another local live musician to accompany your night out. Shanti Bremer will be joining us at 7:30.

Originally from Olympia, Washington, Shanti Bremer began playing bluegrass banjo at the age of 11. Upon moving to Victoria, B.C. Shanti began exploring clawhammer banjo and old time music. She has since been refining her sound in both styles of the five-string banjo, and continues to delve into the traditions she loves.

 Shanti plays with Victoria acoustic roots trio, The Sweet Lowdown. Their newest album, “The Sweet Lowdown,” was recently nominated for Album of the Year (Vancouver Island Music Awards). It is available now on CD Baby. The group is headed back to the studio this May. Please visit them at www.thesweetlowdown.ca for more info.

In addition to performing, Shanti teaches both clawhammer and bluegrass banjo styles to over thirty students weekly in Victoria, privately and at Larsen School of Music. Shanti also teaches regular workshops and has been an instructor at the BC Bluegrass Workshop (BCBW) in Sorrento, BC. This year she will be teaching at NimbleFingers Bluegrass and Oldtime Workshop and the Vancouver Island Music Workshop.

You can check out Shanti’s website at www.shantibremer.com

I don’t know if you have heard the news, but we have started to open late at our James Bay location (Michigan and Menzies) for dinner and drinks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The kitchen is open until 9pm with a full menu and one or two dinner specials. Last week, the chicken plate was AMAZING! I am excited to see what is cooking tonight! You can also pop by for a coffee as all of our usual daytime offerings will be available.

On Saturday night, some local acoustic musicians will be joining us for dinner.

Here is a little information about sidecar:

Sidecar is a new addition to Victoria’s music scene.  Members of sidecar are neighbours; they live within a few blocks of each other in the heart of Fernwood.  For the last few years, they have made a ritual of gathering in Jeanne’s living room on Sunday afternoons to play music.

The band is made up of Jasper DeGroot (Shillelagh) playing percussion ‘box’, accordion and banjo, Aaron Ellingsen (Shillelagh, Odd Hack Band, Banquo) on fiddle and mandolin, and Jeanne Tolmie (Big Yellow Taxi, Daisy Duke, JT King) on acoustic guitar and lead vocals.  All three members are drawn to singing, and all three pitch in to create a warm blend of harmony backed by a largely acoustic and ever-changing arrangement of instruments.

Sidecar has an unfettered sound, drawing from folk, blues, old-time country and pop.  Harmony and simple arrangements are the key ingredients to their music.  Playing mainly original songs, peppered by a wide variety of covers from Iris Dement to PJ Harvey, sidecar would be a welcome addition to many venues -  from a festival stage to a kitchen party.

Hiya, got old coffee beans kicking around? You can use them to dye stuff!

I had a white cardigan that was really stark white and didn’t match anything I owned, so I made two or three french presses, and soaked it in the boiling, fresh coffee for 1/2 hour.

After letting it cool, I rinsed it out to get most of the coffee off, and then threw it through a wash cycle by itself (with almost no detergent) and it came out this delicate cream shade that I really like now. 

Now coffee is in yet another part of my life….
ps. try it with something you’re not too fond of to start ;)

We are getting ready organizing our team for the “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes”—An awesome event which raises funds and awareness against sexualized violence. We participated last year, and were totally amazed by how many people came to speak out and engage in dialogue against the deep-rooted societal issue of sexualized violence. Not only was the event a total success, due to the numbers and obvious dedication and interest of the participants—It was also super fun! It’s a great way to get involved and speak out against an extremely problematic and prominent social issue. At Discovery, we totally share the view that there is no excuse for sexualized violence. Because of this, we want to help in any way we can to spread awareness, raise funds, and show our support for the Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Center and the work they do.

So, we are asking anyone who is interested to help out, and be part of this event with us! You can do this by sponsoring our team, or, if you are interested in being part of the walk you can sign up to be part of Team Discovery! The event is gender inclusive and all ages, which means that everyone who wants to stand up against sexualized violence is a welcome participant. You can sponsor us online, or donate at any of the cafes in person. We will also have a sign up sheet online (http://www.walkamilevictoria.com/) for anyone who wants to be part of the walk with us on Saturday May 12th from 2-4 in Centennial Square.

Note: All we ask is that we keep our focus on what the event is about; spreading awareness about sexualized violence, and not about making fun of each other for wearing high-heeled shoes! Walk A Mile Victoria wants the event to be safe and comfortable for everyone, which means that gender stereotypes and negative attitudes must be checked at the (hypothetical) door. The event also is NOT about targeting men as being solely responsible for the issue of sexualized violence. Sexualized violence is an extremely complex issue and we are raising awareness, not assigning blame!

There is some vibrant new art on the walls at our Oak Bay location. We will be showcasing the work of Wendy Oppelt for the month of April. You can also check out her work at the Fairfield Art Studio Tour on April 28th and 29th or look at her website: www.wendyoppelt.ca

STAFF ART AT DISCOVERY STREET

It’s Spring! For the past couple of years, we have used this time to gather the staff together and share our inspiration during an annual STAFF ART SHOW. Any staff who want to share their winter work are welcome to show up and hang it on the refreshed walls of Discovery. Quite an eclectic collection.

Thanks to Justus, Kat, Caitlin, Brad, Kyle, Kate, Kendra, Kathleen, Laura, Dave and Beth for your amazing visuals.

A fantastic video by our good friend, Kevin, that he shot at our Movember Throwdown to raise awareness and money for Prostate Cancer.