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Gangbusters nab fugitive
Rocky Mountains, hi!
Siavash Askari arrived back in Canada from his native Iran Tuesday to be greeted by the Gang Task Force, who arrested him for outstanding warrants.
News reporter Michelle Hopkins travels from Vancouver to Banff by train via the Rocky Mountaineer. The two-day trip is just one of the routes.
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Veil between living and dead lifts
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Samhain a time to cleanse, honour our ancestors
Public art grows with Blue Trees
BY MICHELLE HOPKINS
acampbell@richmond-news.com
As little goblins and ghosts get ready for one of the most anticipated nights of the year, 42-year-old Liz Stockdale will as well. As a Wicca worshiper, Stockdale commemorates October 31 with Samhain. On Halloween night, the local witch will give thanks to the end of summer and the beginning of the dark winter, with a few traditional Samhain rituals of her own. “I will evoke the goddesses and gods by lighting candles and also wrap some sage up tight, then light it to cleanse and purify my space,” said Stockdale, who added she is a solitary worshiper and isn’t part of a coven. “I will also write down some negative things in my life that I want to let go of, place the pieces of paper in a cauldron and light it with incense.” Samhain is also a time to celebrate death and rebirth in all of its forms, said Sam Wagar, a Wicca priest at the VancouverBurnaby Temple. “Samhain, also known as the Feast of the Dead, is also a time to remember those who have died in the past year, as well as our ancestors and those we respected and admired,” Wagar said. “Some will cast spells, read Tara cards or find other ways to honour the departed. Samhain is when time is temporarily suspended and the thin veil between the worlds is lifted. In other words, Samhain is a time when we believe it’s easier to communicate with ancestors and departed loved ones.” In ancient times, Wagar said October, was the time to ask for the gods’ blessings to keep them healthy and safe during the harsh winter months when food sources were scarce. “It was the end of harvest time when any crops left in the fields were to be left as offerings to the spirits,” said Wagar. October 31, Wagar will don his black robe and will lead his coven in celebration. “It is usually our biggest celebration of the year,” said Wagar. “First, I will lead by cleansing the space at several of the altars.” That space is a ceremonial circle in which positive energy and power are kept in, and negative energy kept out. see Wiccans page 4
The city of Richmond is gearing up to spend another $25,000 on a Vancouver Biennale public art “opportunity.” This time, however, there will be no busts of former communist dictators or giant drips of water — this time, it will be a small grove of trees sprayed with ultramarine blue paint. Taxpayers worried about the city splurging cash on another public art installation can breathe a sigh of relief, though, because the trees would have been bought by the city at some point anyway. The 40 or so trees — which will have their root balls in sacking and be painted, then arranged in an artistic manner (in the shape of a seed pod) — will be planted in a city park after the two month exhibition next spring. City council’s parks and recreation committee was told this week how the “environmentally safe” blue colourant — which quickly fades over time when exposed to the natural elements — will be applied to the trees by Australian artist Konstantin Blue Trees art exhibit Dimopoulos in the comes to Richmond manner of a public performance. It’s proposed that the Blue Trees exhibition takes place next April in Garden City Community Park, adjacent to the new Alberta Road greenway. If city council approves the project next month, as expected, the Blue Trees would be the eighth Biennale temporary installation, most of which are due to come down next spring. The Blue Trees performance phase would take one to two weeks to complete and the exhibition itself would last for four to eight weeks, depending on how long it takes for the colour to fade. It’s hoped that the performance phase would coincide with Earth Day and the fact that the United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of the Forests. see Colour page 4
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Local witch, Liz Stockdale, prepares for her Samhain celebration in which she’ll write down some negative things in her life that she wants to let go of, place the pieces of paper in a caldron and burn them with incense. Samhain is a time to celebrate death and rebirth in all its forms, according to the Wiccan tradition. For other things to do on Halloween, FIND MORE AT www.richmond-news.com the city will be hosting a fireworks display at Minoru Park, look online for more details.
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BY ALAN CAMPBELL
mhopkins@richmond-news.com