Mulligan Stew

From his humble beginnings in sketch comedy with the Toronto branch of Second City to his rise to fame in SCTV and Hollywood film classics like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Uncle Buck, John Candy captivated audiences with his self-deprecating humour, emotional warmth, and gift for improvisation.
Now, for the first time since Candy's tragic death, bestselling biographer Paul Myers tells the full story of the man behind the laughs.
Drawing on extensive research and exclusive interviews with many of Candy's closest friends and colleagues, including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Steve Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, and many more, John Candy: A Life in Comedy celebrates the comedian's unparalleled talent, infectious charm, and generosity of spirit.
Through ups and downs, successes and failures, and struggles with anxiety and self-doubt, Candy faced the world with a big smile and a warm demeanor that earned him the love and adoration of fans around the world.

I had the distinct pleasure of working with John on commercials, then going back to Second City and watching the whole gang make fun of the commercial. Hosting the second city talent when they hit Vancouver and shooting a TV pilot called Terry and the Tiger, where we took John salmon fishing on Vancouver Island.
 Later that night,  he and hockey legend  Tiger Williams closed down all the bars. They still talk about it in Campbell River.

Harry Hertscheg pours another glass. 
 
It's a blend uniquely Harry
The  47th annual Festival.  March 7/14- on opening the room is filled with information, numbers and a hint of Nardwuar.
 
The palate is full. Surprising with stories of Bacchanalia (Mar 7), The Soul of Napa (MAR 9), The mid-palate is totally France!  (the feature region)
Harry takes us through 
The Spirit of Languedoc Roussillon
Rioja
Chablis. 
And, most importantly, fundraising for Bard on the Beach
 
In 2026, the festival will feature 114 wineries from 14 countries, pouring and discussing their wines at 33 events over seven days.
There are 34 wines from Canada. All BC. I think the number represents the resiliency of BC wine growers and makers. 
Harry Hertscheg will supply the rest of the numbers. There are lots of numbers, but only one Harry!!
 
All the details you need can be found at  www.vanwinefest.ca

AW Cardinal and Jasmine Colette continue to create very new and very different music.
The last album was recorded over several days in New Orleans.
The new album,  Get Your Feathers Ready, was a meeting of Coast Salish and Treaty 6 in Maskwacis, Alberta.
One day of rehearsal with AW, Jas, and the Northern Cree Drummers and Singers.
Jas and AW had discovered that early 1920s blues from the deep south and Northern Cree traditional pow wow had a commonality.
They each brought their songs and met in the middle.
It feels like the start of a historic journey. Two legendary music communities, making new music in 2026.
Steve Wood, the much-admired leader and drum keeper of Northern Cree and his son Joel complete the music circle.

The Vancouver personality, born John Ruskin, is among 80 appointees announced on Wednesday, 
Unlike most of them, the 57-year-old will be inducted under his stage name, "Nardwuar, the Human Serviette," a rare exception for one of Canada's highest honours that meets the spirit of his off-the-wall personality.
For the uninitiated, Nardwuar might be described as a Canadian enigma who gradually invaded pop culture over several decades, propelled by his interviews, which all finish with his trademark phrase "Doot doola doot doo...doot doo."
David Friend, Canadian Press
I've had the pleasure of knowing Nardwuar since his high school days in West Van. He and Craig Northey would be the first to knock on my front door on Halloween. Looking for record handouts instead of candy.
During my years at Much Music as host/producer of MuchWest,  great cameraman Jay Mirus and I would always be running into Nardwar.
Usually around the concerts and soundchecks.
Jay and Nard became great friends, and eventually, when I moved on, Jay became the host of MuchWest, and he asked Nardwuar to co-host. That was the first national television exposure for Nard. Now he was on a roll.  He became the famous media character the World now knows. 
He's a guy with Nike making a skateboard shoe in his Tartan colours ,and the following week, induction into the Order of Canada.
 
And he's not done yet.
 
Congrats Nardwuar, and a big shout-out to Jay Mirus.

We've all been in the right place at the right time.
 
For me, one of those times was to be hosting and producing MuchWest in Vancouver when Sarah McLachlan moved from Halifax to Vancouver to begin what would become an amazing career.
Sarah ended up on the West Coast because in Halifax,  her home,  she had opened for a band from Nettwerk Records in Kitsilano.
They wanted to sign her immediately, but Sarah's parents insisted she finish her schooling.
It felt like she came to Vancouver with songs already written and ready to go. It wasn't long before  Sarah released her debut album Touch.
That's when I first met and interviewed her.   The gift she gave the world was songs cutting deep into memory and self-awareness.
Since 1989, the gift she's given me was to tell part of the story through our interviews.


 
That's one of the reasons why I asked Sarah to come to Thailand and Cambodia with me in 1991 to tell the story of World Vision's battle with the aids epidemic.
 
Sarah is on record as saying the journey changed her life. It helped her understand the power of giving back. It also leads directly to her involvement with the Sarah McLachlan School of Music.
Some of our interviews showed up in the Lilith Fair Documentary.
It's been 11 years since Sarah recorded and released new music.
Her new album is called Better Broken.
We'll talk about a lot of things.  Better Broken,  Motherhood, today's music world and her place in it, the legacy of Lilith, the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy 30th anniversary  Tour and Canada – O Canada.