Who’s Who in the Zoo
Are you big on fulfilling your civic duty? Do you exercise your right to vote? Before I scare you away, rest assured that today’s post isn’t meant to influence your decision in any way shape or form. Just in case you haven’t picked a winning horse, or if you’re torn between two nominees, I thought Kingstonist could help the selection process along. Today’s post isn’t geared towards giving you the low down on the respective party platforms, or report on results from telephone polls, but rather, the focus will provide background information on each of our local candidates. In no particular order, here’s what you need to know about Kingston’s Liberal, Conservative, Green and NDP hopefuls. Read more
You’re the Next Contest-ant
Last June, we gave away a pair of tickets for the Confederation Trolley Tour as a part of our regular comment contests. We’d been holding these contests for a few months to reward readers with prizes including gift certificates to locally owned businesses and restaurants. These competitions were a quick and easy way for us to encourage audience participation, and in my biased opinion, we were quite successful. The Kingstonist team never had to moderate a comment that wasn’t relevant to a given topic of discussion, nor were we inundated with massive amounts of comments from any one person. But a strange thing happened when we put the breaks on our contests over the summer. Your comments kept flowing in just as much, if not more than the days when we offered locally flavoured incentives. Just what does this mean for the future of contests at Kingstonist? Read more
Free Corn Roast!
Have you ever heard of “Fare on the Square“? Me neither, but to be honest any event that promises free roasted corn instantly has my attention. This Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, a dozen local restaurants will set up shop behind Kingston City Hall on Springer Market Square to tempt you with a variety of delicious dishes. Each plate will feature locally grown fruits, vegetables and meats from our famous Farmers Market. Tickets for the latter are $2, and can be purchased in advance from Tara Natural Foods or the Tourist Information Office. And in case you’ve forgot, the roasted corn is free! Read more
Now, Take Your Kingstonist With You!
When we announced the other day that a big announcement was coming, a commenter had guessed that we were working on a mobile version of Kingstonist. Well - the announcement turned out to be the calendar, but we were hard at work on a mobile version, too! I’m excited to be announcing the test launch of Kingstonist To Go - the mobile Kingstonist. It’s ust a starting point for us - we want your feedback - but we felt that it would be better to have your help guiding the development of this project then to surprise you with it. So check out http://m.kingstonist.com from a mobile device and let us know what you think!
Calendar Launch
So Kingstonist’s worst kept secret is out! I’m thrilled to officially announce the launch of the Kingstonist Events Calendar. Do you see it? No? Take a look on the right side of the screen and you’ll see a brief run down of current and upcoming events in the Limestone City. Click on any of these events, and you’ll be transported to a land filled with calendar goodness, which details community events in areas such as: music, art, theatre, sports, academia, the environment and much, much more! Although the calendar is maintained by the Kingstonist team, we rely entirely on you, our loyal reader, to keep it up to date. So let’s get to work! Read more
Last Movie in the Square
First off, I want to apologize to those who visited on Friday and did not find the regular event-related post you have come to expect from the Kingstonist team. I take full responsibility if you did not make it out to the Limestone City Blues Fest , which by all accounts was a complete success (if you like the Blues). While attending a wedding this past weekend, it dawned on me that I have yet to take in a movie in the square. A few weeks ago I was out for my regular evening jog and came across the rows of people who were taking in a movie I could not identify. This is probably owing to my super sonic running speed. With the final Movie in the Square set to go down this coming Thursday, I am determined to make an appearance. However, seeing as I’ve never heard of "Splash ", the last movie selected for screening, I am not sure it will be overly great. The one liner for this Tom Hanks flick reads: "Two days ago, this girl showed up naked at the Statue of Liberty. For Alan Bauer, it was love at first sight. Now, everyone is chasing her… trying to prove she’s a mermaid. From the first laugh you’ll be hooked." Wish me luck, and with any luck, they will add another movie to the schedule as was the case last summer.
Memories of PAB08
From June 20th until the 22nd, podcasters and new media folks converged on Kingston for the third annual Podcasters Across Boarders. PAB08 consisted of seminars on everything ranging from how to develop your own audio drama, to creating cell phone movies, and even how we can learn to podcast from The Beatles. During the course of the weekend, our friend, Saltwater Rob, got a chance to sit down with various attendees and discuss the phenomena known as podcasting. With a cast of characters including: Mark Blevis, Jack Ward, Christopher Penn, and many more, it’s both entertaining and educational. Give it a listen! As the file is large, it might take a bit to load.
Standard Podcast [59:32m]: Not Another (Insert Funny Here) Weekend
It’s been a busy week for me, as I’ve said goodbye to the world of renting, and hello to a new house. I can’t seem to take three steps inside without tripping over an unpacked box, or project that needs my attention. I am very much looking forward to getting out and about this weekend to take a break from it all. Before I get started, I would like to take the time to bid farewell to our resident podcaster David Bailey, who has now moved abroad to take on a challenging new position in Kosovo. His contributions will be greatly missed. As well, I would also like to officially welcome Oceanaria, a very active/local blogger who will be providing her unique spin on our great city. In the wake of her Canada Day fireworks display, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. Without further adieu, here’s what’s happening around Kingston this weekend. Read more
June Comment Contest Winner
It’s Canada Day, and if you’re like me, you got the day off! Thankfully the weather has been great thus far, and the forecast is looking promising, hence the fireworks display at Confederation Basin will go on as planned! I’ll be watching it from my new backyard. Without further delay, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our June Comment Contest Winner is Musicgrrl. She and a friend will receive free passes for the Confederation Trolley Tour, which departs in front of City Hall on a regular basis. It’s something every resident, new and old, must do at some stage of their Kingston experience. As the summer officially ramps up, we will be taking a bit of a break from our monthly rewards format. That said, we still want to hear what you’ve got to say, and promise that prizes will be coming back, better than ever, in the Fall. We’ll be here all summer long giving you the low down on Kingston. We want to hear from you, so as always, comment ’til your heart’s content.
Happy Canada Day!
Podcasters Across Borders 2008
As previously mentioned in the weekend wrap up, Podcasters Across Borders (PAB) went down this weekend in the Limestone City. This is the third year PAB was hosted in Kingston, and my first year attending. Alongside members of the Limestone New Media Group, CBC Broadcasters and podcasting talents from all over the world, we enjoyed engaging speakers and got to make a lot of new friends in the fishbowl that is new media. The connection to the community is ultimately the most important thing that I took away from the weekend, however there are certainly other aspects worth noting. Read more
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Friends & Supporters
