Latest news with #GreatBigSea
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Games on: Opening ceremony gets Canada Games off to energetic start in St. John's
ST. JOHN'S — If the opening ceremony was any indication, the next 17 days of competition at the 2025 Canada Games are going to be full of energy and excitement. Thousands of young athletes from every Canadian province and territory marched into the sold-out Mary Brown's Centre to loud cheers, but the loudest were reserved for the hosts. Team Newfoundland and Labrador had the audience on their feet, waving flags, and cheering at the top of their voices as athletes entered to the upbeat sounds of Great Big Sea's Ordinary Day. Canada Games Host Society CEO Karen Sherriffs said the opening ceremony was a way to introduce "the richness of our local culture" but it also set the table for what's to come. "It's that 'welcome' to all these athletes that's gonna really set the stage for two really unforgettable weeks of competition," she said. "It's pretty magical when all those athletes start to come in and are the centre of attention as they walk in by province and territory. "These athletes have trained for over four years to get to this point …[and] this is the first time that they may represent their province or territory on a national stage." Sherriffs said the opening ceremony creates a lasting memory for many athletes simply because it brings everyone together. "We often hear from Canada Games alumni – whether that's athletes, staff or officials or coaches – sometimes our most memorable moment is the opening and closing ceremonies. Because it's really that sense of unity, pride [and] excitement that they carry with them," Sherriffs said. "When they walk into that [arena], it doesn't matter what province territory you're from, that crowd and the audience is cheering for them." WATCH | 'We need to fight for sport,' Catriona Le May Doan sits down with CBC Sports: For Catriona Le May Doan, there's nothing she looks forward to more than this moment. The Canada Games Council Chair – a two-time Olympic champion and three-time Canada Games athlete – said the opening ceremony is where the journey each athlete took to get to the Games is celebrated. "At every Games, regardless of what Games they are – whether they're Canada Games, whether they're Olympic Games, whether they're Special Olympic Games – I love the opening ceremony because they're so powerful. They're the start," Le May Doan said. "For every person that's been a part of this journey, this is where it starts. "The opening ceremony is, for me, always emotional. Because it's the culmination, and it's the beginning." Le May Doan also delivered a message of motivation to the more than 2,000 athletes on hand for the opening ceremony. "You have so much support here in this arena, and in St. John's, and across the country," she said. "I want to say to you today, savour the pride of representing your community, your province or territory. Use that pride as fuel, as you carry that further and push your limits." Stream live action from the 2025 Canada Games on CBC Gem, and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Check the broadcast schedule for full details. Local Para-swimming legend Katarina Roxon lit the Canada Games cauldron to officially open the Games, which also starts a very busy stretch for a fellow Para swimmer. Team Newfoundland and Labrador's Gavin Baggs is a dual-sport Para athlete and will compete in eight different disciplines in St. John's – five swimming events plus three track events. Baggs's goal is to represent Canada at the Paralympics and he said these Games offer a way for young athletes to showcase their talents as they progress in their sporting career. "These Games provide an arena for the best young athletes in Canada to really show off their skills, show off what they've been working on [and] how hard they've trained." Baggs said there are quite a few reasons for sports fans to watch the action from St. John's over the next 17 days. "The ability to just cheer for your province, cheer for the athletes that have worked so hard to see that all the effort they put in [has] finally paid off," he said. "It's very entertaining to watch and it's very uplifting, very emotional, dramatic stuff." St. John's Mayor Danny Breen said he's excited to take in as much action at the Games as he can because of the enthusiasm and heart shown by Canada Games athletes. "I'm a big softball [and] baseball fan. I still play softball – or try anyway – so I'm looking forward to [it]," he said. "I was at the Canada Games in P.E.I. [in 2023] and even sports that I wasn't that familiar with I watched because there was such excitement, and the camaraderie amongst the athletes – they're just putting their all into it, and how supportive they were of each other. "[There] was just such a feeling there that I'm gonna be taking in as many of the Games here as I possibly can." Those not in St. John's can watch live action from the Canada Games with CBC Sports. Live streams will be available on CBC Gem and the CBC Sports YouTube channel throughout the Games. Click here for the full broadcast schedule. WATCH | Canada Games represent 'the beauty of sport':
CBC
3 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Games on: Opening ceremony gets Canada Games off to energetic start in St. John's
Social Sharing ST. JOHN'S — If the opening ceremony was any indication, the next 17 days of competition at the 2025 Canada Games are going to be full of energy and excitement. Thousands of young athletes from every Canadian province and territory marched into the sold-out Mary Brown's Centre to loud cheers, but the loudest were reserved for the hosts. Team Newfoundland and Labrador had the audience on their feet, waving flags, and cheering at the top of their voices as athletes entered to the upbeat sounds of Great Big Sea's Ordinary Day. Canada Games Host Society CEO Karen Sherriffs said the opening ceremony was a way to introduce "the richness of our local culture" but it also set the table for what's to come. "It's that 'welcome' to all these athletes that's gonna really set the stage for two really unforgettable weeks of competition," she said. "It's pretty magical when all those athletes start to come in and are the centre of attention as they walk in by province and territory. "These athletes have trained for over four years to get to this point …[and] this is the first time that they may represent their province or territory on a national stage." Sherriffs said the opening ceremony creates a lasting memory for many athletes simply because it brings everyone together. "We often hear from Canada Games alumni – whether that's athletes, staff or officials or coaches – sometimes our most memorable moment is the opening and closing ceremonies. Because it's really that sense of unity, pride [and] excitement that they carry with them," Sherriffs said. "When they walk into that [arena], it doesn't matter what province territory you're from, that crowd and the audience is cheering for them." WATCH | 'We need to fight for sport,' Catriona Le May Doan sits down with CBC Sports: 'We need to fight for sport,' Catriona Le May Doan sits down with CBC Sports 2 days ago The Olympic champion, known for her speed on the ice, describes the value and importance of the Canada Games from her perspective as Chair of the Canada Games Council to CBC Sports host Anastasia Bucsis. For Catriona Le May Doan, there's nothing she looks forward to more than this moment. The Canada Games Council Chair – a two-time Olympic champion and three-time Canada Games athlete – said the opening ceremony is where the journey each athlete took to get to the Games is celebrated. "At every Games, regardless of what Games they are – whether they're Canada Games, whether they're Olympic Games, whether they're Special Olympic Games – I love the opening ceremony because they're so powerful. They're the start," Le May Doan said. "For every person that's been a part of this journey, this is where it starts. "The opening ceremony is, for me, always emotional. Because it's the culmination, and it's the beginning." Le May Doan also delivered a message of motivation to the more than 2,000 athletes on hand for the opening ceremony. "You have so much support here in this arena, and in St. John's, and across the country," she said. "I want to say to you today, savour the pride of representing your community, your province or territory. Use that pride as fuel, as you carry that further and push your limits." Stream live action from the 2025 Canada Games on CBC Gem, and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Check the broadcast schedule for full details. Local Para-swimming legend Katarina Roxon lit the Canada Games cauldron to officially open the Games, which also starts a very busy stretch for a fellow Para swimmer. Team Newfoundland and Labrador's Gavin Baggs is a dual-sport Para athlete and will compete in eight different disciplines in St. John's – five swimming events plus three track events. Baggs's goal is to represent Canada at the Paralympics and he said these Games offer a way for young athletes to showcase their talents as they progress in their sporting career. "These Games provide an arena for the best young athletes in Canada to really show off their skills, show off what they've been working on [and] how hard they've trained." Baggs said there are quite a few reasons for sports fans to watch the action from St. John's over the next 17 days. "The ability to just cheer for your province, cheer for the athletes that have worked so hard to see that all the effort they put in [has] finally paid off," he said. "It's very entertaining to watch and it's very uplifting, very emotional, dramatic stuff." St. John's Mayor Danny Breen said he's excited to take in as much action at the Games as he can because of the enthusiasm and heart shown by Canada Games athletes. "I'm a big softball [and] baseball fan. I still play softball – or try anyway – so I'm looking forward to [it]," he said. "I was at the Canada Games in P.E.I. [in 2023] and even sports that I wasn't that familiar with I watched because there was such excitement, and the camaraderie amongst the athletes – they're just putting their all into it, and how supportive they were of each other. "[There] was just such a feeling there that I'm gonna be taking in as many of the Games here as I possibly can." Those not in St. John's can watch live action from the Canada Games with CBC Sports. Live streams will be available on CBC Gem and the CBC Sports YouTube channel throughout the Games. Click here for the full broadcast schedule.
CTV News
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Music is medicine, we need a dose right now': Great Big Sea member stopping in Edmonton on Canadian tour
Séan McCann of Ottawa and St. John's, N.L., is invested as a member of the Order of Canada by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. McCann was a founding member of folk rock band Great Big Sea, and now advocates for mental health as a solo artist. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang) Séan McCann, founding member of Great Big Sea, is taking the road less travelled this summer as he tours Canadian cities and towns. 'The Great Big Canadian Road Trip' tour kicked off in May in Sudbury, Ont., and is something of a love letter to Canada. McCann will be hitting venues that are off the beaten path in towns less travelled. 'It's about reminding Canadians, from Kamloops to Kenora, that their stories matter and their voices count,' said a press release. 'Together we are strong enough to overcome every challenge we may face as a country moving forward.' McCann will be bringing his one-man show to the Grace United Church in the Fulton Place neighbourhood on June 14. The Order of Canada recipient said the tour isn't about hating on Americans, but embracing his home country by bringing music to people who need it most in places that don't always make the tour poster. 'I love Americans,' said McCann in a statement. 'I love them so much that I even married one, but I won't return to the states until the current president is gone and our neighbours change their angry tone.' McCann has already hit Medicine Hat and Calgary, playing at the public library and Parkdale United Church, respectively. Before coming to the city of champions next week, McCann will play a benefit concert in Jasper on June 13 at the Historic Jasper Baptist Church to raise funds for victims of last year's wildfire. 'I believe that Canada needs a little more singing and a little less shouting.'
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Séan McCann embarks on cross-Canada unity tour
Northern Ontario Watch Rick Wyman chats with former Great Big Sea member and Order of Canada recipient Séan McCann has he sets out to embarking on a 2025 cross-Canada tour – eschewing U.S. stops due to political tensions – to foster connection through intimate performances in small venues, promoting unity and resilience. McCann will make several stops in northern Ontario.
CBC
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Need a musical apprenticeship? Look no further than Uncle Harry's Bar, says Alan Doyle
Before he became a Newfoundland superstar, Alan Doyle had to learn the musical ropes, which he credits to a west coast Newfoundland band. Uncle Harry's Bar Band was made up of Wayne Parsons, Charlie Payne and Rufus Drake, who played country music as well as traditional Newfoundland tunes in the 1980s and 1990s. "The presentation of the shows were always extremely professional, even when they were in places that could have easily just been, like, a bar band, you know? Like a little throw together kind of thing," Doyle told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning. "Uncle Harry's Bar were always slick and sounded great and looked great." As a young man in St. John's, Doyle said he and his friends would go to every concert they could, even if it meant sneaking into places like the Strand at the Avalon Mall. He said he was already playing in bands and wanted to learn everything he could, including what equipment bands were using, how to front a band and keep the dance floor swinging. Doyle says he enjoyed Uncle Harry's Bar Band so much that he wrote a glowing review in a 1989 issue of MUN's student newspaper The Muse. "Uncle Harry's Bar was just the best ones at it. Every time the song stopped, Wayne had a joke and everybody sang really well — it was a really polished show," said Doyle. Parsons recalled Saturday afternoons at the nightclub First City where Doyle and other musicians like Dave Stack would drop by to come up with some "licks." "I always prided myself on being able to read a room," said Parsons, who has been performing with Anchors Aweigh in Rocky Harbour for almost 30 years. He said he's kept up the skill set from his days performing with his Uncle Harry's Bar Band bandmates. A musical 'apprenticeship' Doyle says he considers himself lucky to have gotten such a musical "apprenticeship." He says that through travelling around the world in his professional career he found that not all musicians have the type of skill set that Uncle Harry's Bar Band had. "You'd be surprised how rare that skill set shows up," Doyle said. "People who walk into a room and know how to organize the next 35 or 40 minutes of a concert instantly in their minds, or rearrange it or switch and change … that's a rare thing." Parsons said a reunion with his other bandmates isn't likely to happen anytime soon, but the trio did play at Woody Point's come home year in 2016. More than a thousand people attended that concert. "We were so popular over here. So that was really good," said Parsons. Doyle says he was also taken with a particular guitar that Parsons played, describing it as a skinny Yamaha. It later became possible for him to buy it. "I thought it was like halfway between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar and I thought it was the coolest thing I've ever seen," he said. While hanging out at First City, Parsons mentioned to Doyle he was looking to sell that guitar. Doyle jumped at the opportunity. He said he ended up playing it for some early Great Big Sea music videos, including Mari-Mac. "And I still have it," Doyle said.
