Where Do Lottery Funds Go?

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When you buy a ticket for Lotto Max or Lotto 6/49, where does that money go?

The answer, indirectly, is the Cultural Exchange. We’re one of the over 12,000 groups across our province who benefit from the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund for Sport, Culture and Recreation. Funding administered by SaskCulture makes what we do in this province possible.

So next time you’re buying a lottery ticket, know part of your money is going towards improving the cultural life of Saskatchewan. For more information on this topic, go to Saskatchewan Lotteries’ website.

Queen City Rocks Off and Running

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We’re not quite at the halfway point yet, but a lot of Queen City Rocks has already passed us by.

Every year, 104.9 The Wolf gathers local bands together for a huge battle of the bands spanning weeks. For the fourth year running, Regina’s rock station is giving out prize packages including cash from Jim Beam, gift cards to Long and McQuade and Taco del Mar, and tons of airplay on the Wolf.

Weeks 1 and 2 have already taken place. Amongst crowded fields of talent, Circles and Revolution and League of Wolves were the two winners who’ll be moving on to the Grande Finale.

That still leaves an awful lot of music left to go, with Week 3 happening on February 26 –– the only Friday date this year –– and Week 4 on March 3, with the Grande Finale coming up on March 24.

If you’re looking for action past, present, and upcoming, there are plenty of places to find that! Kamiki Piks Photography covered the second week of QCR this year, and has an album up on Facebook. The Wolf posted a video of just how they figured out the playing order for Week 3. And be sure to keep an eye on the #QCR16 hashtag for continuing updates.

(Also, while you’re at, why not follow us on Instagram? We’ve posted some of our photos from QCR and pop in with show updates on occasion!)

Queen City Rocks continues on February 26 and March 3 and 24. Doors for each night are at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m. $10 at the door with funds going towards Music Heals, a charity devoted to music therapy. All ages and licensed.

Recently Announced: Pop Evil

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104.9 The Wolf and the Cultural Exchange are proud to present Pop Evil on April 3. After over a decade of existence, it’s about time the Michigan rock band made their way to the Exchange.

The quintet was formed by lead vocalist Leigh Kakaty. He’s led them through five albums so far, the most recent, 2015’s Up, having a pair of charting singles, “Footsteps” and “Ways to Get High.” They’ve supported those records with a hard-touring live show, driving fans to their hard rock sound across North America.

“The energy from being onstage is the addiction and having your fans sing your songs back to you is any musician’s dream,” Kakaty told Loudwire.

This is the latest partnership from 104.9 The Wolf and the Cultural Exchange. Regina’s rock station keeps bringing new and emerging bands to light, whether it’s on the air or through their long-running annual competition, Queen City Rocks, now in its fourth year.

Pop Evil are in the Exchange on April 3. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at the door barring a sell-out. All ages and licensed. Advance tickets are now available online at Ticketfly and will be in stores at Vintage Vinyl and Madame Yes soon.

Outreach Program in Humboldt

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On February 5 and 6, the Cultural Exchange was in Humboldt, making memory journals with seniors. The Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils and Common Weal Community Arts have a touring exhibition of such works, Hello in There/Hello Out There, so Outreach Coordinator Rowan Pantel took the opportunity to bring Project Artist Chrystene Ells to Humboldt for an artist’s talk and workshop.

The Humboldt Journal was there to document the occasion. From the article:

Cognisantly, she had a lot problems with memory and felt really depressed where she was. But she loved playing with her cow box that she made, says Ells.

“You could see her change from being sad, depressed feeling out of place, missing her former life even though her husband is there. It’s almost as if she’s in a really dark place and this box with the cows in it was a light beam into her experience.”

Look out for much more in the future from the Cultural Exchange’s Outreach! Go to the program’s page for more on this and upcoming initiatives.

Recently Announced: Jason Collett

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The Cultural Exchange is proud to present Jason Collett in the Exchange on Tuesday, April 19.

Collet’s got a career to reckon with, his releases counting six albums to date along and his collaborators in the dozens and dozens. He’s been a part of Broken Social Scene and has bounced around the Toronto music scene for years, hooking up on and off with the likes of Bahamas’ Afie Jurvanen and Zeus.

Those partnerships carry through to his latest, Song and Dance Man. Jurvanen produced and played on the record, helping bring out a bouncy, dancier side to Collett’s singer-songwriter musings while keeping true to his songwriting voice. Members of Zeus also joined him in the studio, and that Toronto-based rock group will be with him on tour as his backing band.

Advance tickets will be available at Vintage Vinyl, Madame Yes, and online at Ticketfly. Be sure to keep an eye on our page for the event for any other further information!