Fresh Air
with Mary Ito

0730 It's a Festival...in a Forest. The Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, to be precise. And it's a music festival...with a few artistic flourishes. It's the brainchild of Canadian Brass original and Porkbelly Futures co-founder Stuart Laughton. He dropped by the studio to tell Mary Ito all about the Festival...beginning with its unusual location.
Listen (runs 10:44) to Stuart and Mary.
The Forest Festival runs from Wednesday August 18 - Sunday August 22.
Check out the Forest Festival website for all the details.

0800 Ontario's Pakistani community has mobilized to to assist
the citizens of that flood-ravaged country. But general support has been slow to materialize in this province. That puzzles Khalid Usman. He's past president of the International Development and Relief Foundation' He joined Mary to discuss the
severity of the flooding in his homeland and the reasons for the slow response to
calls for assistance. The Foundation is hosting a "Canadian Friends of Pakistan" Fundraising Dinner tonight (Aug 15) at Le Parc Banquet Hall in Thornhill. For more information, visit the IDRF website.

0830 He's a university professor by day...and a jazz musician by night.
His name is Sundar Viswanathan. He's both a multi-talented musician...and a professor at York University in Toronto. His latest album pairs his vocal talents with his saxophone skills. The album is called What A Dream I Had. Sundar joined Mary to talk about his childhood in Sudbury and his career progression from a rock band there to trading riffs with jazz great Wynton Marsalis.
Listen (runs 11:33) to their conversation.
Sundar and jazz guitarist Reg Schwager will perform at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto this coming Wednesday (Aug 18)---it's at noon and it's FREE!
Learn more about Sundar's multi-faceted musical career at his website.

0730 Summertime is a great opportunity to make mouth-watering salads from fresh vegetables. All you need is a little incentive to get the chopping and dicing underway. Cue For The Love Of Salad. It's a new book from author and artist Jeanelle Mitchell. But she took an unusual route to become a cookbook writer. Would you believe...by way of her career as a flight attendant? Jeanelle came by the studio to chat about her past and present lives with Mary Ito. Jeanelle's book is published by Whitecap Books. Visit the Whitecap
website for more info about it.

0800 The new Julia Roberts' flick Eat Pray Love is the latest in a long line of movies about people undergoing transformative experiences. Fresh Air's entertainment columnist, Karen Gordon, joined Mary with some of her favourite films on the topic. Take a trip to Karen's column to hear her conversation with Mary.

0830 It's a crime. It's a Crime Machine. That's the name of novelist Giles Blunt's latest book. Giles has a reputation for dark, creepy, disturbing novels... even among his fellow crime writers. But he's popular... both with fans and critics. Giles joined Mary to talk about treading that fine line between riveting and repugnant.
Listen (runs 11:06) to their chat.
Crime Machine is published in Canada by Random House.
For more information about his books, visit Giles' website.

0730 The Right Road To Pontypool is the 4th Line Theatre's latest
production. The play tells the story of this small Eastern Ontario town's heyday as a summer resort for Jewish Canadians in the early to mid-20th century. Director Kim Blackwell and playwright Alex Poch-Goldin dropped by to tell Mary about it.
Listen (runs 14:19) to that conversation.
Visit the 4th Line Theatre website for more info about the play.

0800 CBC web producer and book worm Hannah Classen joined Mary to talk about CBC Books Online. It's a terrific site for anyone with an interest in things-literary. Visit CBC Books Online to learn more.

0830 Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto is running a contest this summer called FilmPossible... asking budding film makers to dispel myths about children living with disabilities. Twenty-two year old Gabriella Carafa was a patient at Holland Bloorview and is now a student at Ryerson University. She's also a Bloorview ambassabor. She joined Mary to talk about living with a disability as a young person.
Listen (runs 11:36) to their conversation.
Visit the FilmPossible website to loarn more about the contest.

0730 What Is Classical? That's the name of a music programme at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre this weekend. Mitch Smolkin is the lead programmer for the event and an artistic associate at Harbourfront. he joined Mary Ito to talk about what people can hear if they drop by. Get more info on what's happening at the Harbourfront website.

0800 Ohhh...your aching back. Summer is prime season for back injuries. Fresh Air's favourite medico, Dr. Mike Evans, came in to separate fact from fallacy on the back file. Mike's the director of the Health Design Lab at the Lee Ka Shing Institute at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto...as well as an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Toronto.
Listen (runs 11:58) to their conversation.
Stay healthy by checking out Dr. Mike's website for people who'd like to know more about medical matters.

0830 John Mays has sung and appreciated just about every style of music throughout his career---everything from doo wop to gospel, R & B, soul, rock, pop, jazz, hip hop and of course the blues for the last 20 years as lead vocalist for Fathead. He's also racked up a lot of awards along the way... five time winner of the Maple Blues Awards' Male Vocalist of the Year and two time Juno winner with Fathead. John joined Mary to talk about his career in music.
Listen (14:01) to their conversation.
John and Fathead will be in Matawa for the runs a for the Blues, Jazz & Arts Festival TONIGHT (Aug 7) and in Kitchener TOMORROW (Aug 8) for that city's Blues Fest.
For more info about their music and dates, visit the Fathead website.

0730 Mark Rheaume dropped by to share some new music with Mary Ito. There was a running theme---performers who do things differently, either in their musical approach or the way they've managed their career. For a listing of the artists, their albums and the songs that Mark played, just visit Mark's Ontario Musicians column.

0800 It's a marathon...for snappers. It's the Toronto Photography Marathon. It takes place the weekend of Aug 7/8. And it challenges participants to take 12 pictures (and only 12) on 12 themes over 24 hours. Lalo Porto is co-founder of the TPM. He joined Mary to tell her about it.
Listen (runs 11:36) to their conversation.
For full details, including how to take part, visit the
Toronto Photography Marathon's website.

0830 We are...what we wear. And our attachment to certain pieces of clothing can be as strong as the memories they engender. Mary discussed the relationship between articles of clothing and what they can mean to us with Alexandra Palmer, a costume and textile historian at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Listen (runs 10:10) to that conversation.

This is it---Food Day in Canada. Fresh Air's Culinary Columnist, Anita Stewart, is the brains of the operation. She's inviting everyone across Ontario to take part. It's as easy as a trip to the Food Day website to learn how you can join the edible fun. Just remember to post your Food Day menu on the website!

0730 Taking a trip to the cottage this weekend? Is it a REAL cottage...or a wanna-be? Fresh Air's favourite fan of architecture joined Mary to talk about the differences between REAL (read: OLD) cottages and the new-fashioned variety. Shannon Kyles favours the former. Shannon is a professor of architecture at Hamilton's Mohawk College. She's created a terrific website that illustrates Ontario's architectural heritage. Have a look at Shannon's website to get the full picture.

0800 What a summer we've been having. Lots of sunshine and lots of high temperatures. Let's give Dave Phillips at least SOME of the credit. Dave is senior
climatologist at Enviornment Canada. This is what he called for and he joined Mary to
talk about the weather we've HAD...and what to expect for the REST of the summer.
Listen (runs 10:17) to that conversation
If you'd like to check out Environment Canada's long range predictions, visit the
Weatheroffice website.

0830 Sharon Jennings' latest novel for younger readers is a finalist for the 2010 Canadian Children's Literature Award. The book is called Home Free and it's a coming-of-age narrative that's aimed at 9-12 year-olds. Sharon joined Mary to talk about the similarities between her own adolescence in the1960s and the experiences of the book's heroine.
To learn more about Home Free and her other books for young people, visit Sharon's website.