Host Christine Vezarov and Shalu Mehta, all set for another Midweek show.
February’s final week was another busy one for the Midweek crew. Listeners learned about the little-known but therapeutic 613 Casual Choir, an Ottawa board game guru, and the holistic healing taking place inside The Real You. Tuning in also earned the audience an exclusive trip into the past with Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Muir’s high school drama teacher.
Producer Keegan Hughes and chase producer Maggie Parkhill teamed up to shape the show with the help of our music curators Maureen McEwan and Heather Keary.
Reporter Shalu Mehta may not be an Olympic skater, but she does have something in common with Scott Muir: they both went to school in Windsor. Mehta caught up with Muir’s high school drama teacher to find out how the average Canadian can relate to an Olympic star — because stars in many ways are not so different from the rest of us.
Another star shone on the show: Alex Wilkinson knows how to play over 600 board games and despite not receiving gold medals for his skills, he still manages to inspire people who visit The Loft Board Game Lounge in Ottawa where he’s a resident games guru. Reporter Rachel Levy-McLaughlin told us how (and took the photo of Wilkinson, above in the neat sweater).
A couple enjoys their meal at a Syrian lunch catered by the Baraka Syrian Home Cooking project. (Photo by Salma Mahgoub)
Wilkinson isn’t the only one with a long list of options, though: Listeners also got a sample of the many name-options being put forth for the 40 new trains that will hit the tracks when the new Light Rail opens. Creativity points go to: “Eh-Train”, “Lester B.” and “TrainyMcTrainFace,” though one of these was cut from the running – tune in to find out why.
Among new Ottawa projects is a Syrian catering organization called Baraka Syrian Home Cooking. Midweek’s Salma Mahgoub met with some of the women in charge and learned about their hopes to expand local taste to include Syrian cuisine and the ways they are overcoming communication challenges using food.
Though not food related, reporter Maddy Hadfield spoke with a Sugar Baby from Carleton about why she signed up for the Sugar gig and what the rules of engagement are. Think: Sugar Daddy. Yup, that’s right.
Producer Keegan Hughes and chase producer Maggie Parkhill (on the left) lead The Last-Minute Ceremonial Splitting of the Scripts, a weekly Midweek ritual.
On the flip side, we learned about what unfortunately isn’t seeing much change despite there being need – these stories included accessibility challenges for Carleton students and the still-too-high number of birds meeting early demise against glass windows. Ouch. Midweek’s Emily Fearon got the details from Safe Wings about bird-friendly glass and how we can keep the avian creatures in the city out of pane.
The topic of animal pain continued with the co-president of Carleton Animal Defence when Midweek’s Mamta Manhas stopped by to explain about cruelty-free cosmetics, what brands play nice, which ones are on the naughty list and how, as a consumer, you can learn the difference.
All that and more packed into this week’s show, so tune in and turn up the volume.