Peter Rukavina's Podcast

The awards for the 2024 edition of Island Fringe were presented last night, and among them was The Oscar Wilde Award, which I sponsor every year, presented to the show that “most effectively celebrates non-conformity.”  This year the jury selected the show So an Autistic Priest and Dog Walk into a Bar…, written and presented by Jean-Daniel O’Donncada, described in the program as a “storytelling emotional comedy about autism, religion, and love, with a dog,” and with this “accessibility note”: The show is 60 minutes long. It is sensory sensitive with no loud surprises, and no dramatic or changing lights. There is a live dog present throughout the show. Attendees with service dogs are encouraged to come a bit early so all dogs may be aware of each other’s presence before the show begins. In previous years I’ve prided myself—and benefited greatly—from seeing all, or almost all, of the shows at each year’s Fringe; this year, however, circumstances meant that I saw only a single show, After the Chorus Line.

We’re posted up 50 m from the Adriatic, in Numana. About 280 km across the water in Croatia is where my grandfather was born. It is warm and, at least today, gloriously sunny.

While the La Festa dei Ceri on May 15 has a well-documented program, figuring out the timing and route of today’s first-Sunday-in-May repositioning event was more challenging, and involved piecing together bits of information from the web and Google Translated conversations. As it happens, we need not have worried, as it all played out on our doorstep on the Via dei Consoli. Anything we might have imagined this might have been was an underestimate by a factor of ten: hundreds and hundreds of people jamming the streets, a drum corps, a brass band, singing, and small children riding the ceri bareback up steep cobblestones streets. We jammed ourselves right into the middle of it, joining the claustrophobic procession up the street to the Piazza Grande where everything culminated in a cacophony, with the ceri being raced around in circles by their bearers and then up the stairs of the Palazzo dei Consoli where they will spend the ten days leading up to the 15th. It was all, to say the least, an experience.

Sunday morning in Serrazzano.

Lisa and I walked up to CBC Charlottetown this morning to record an interview with Matt Rainnie about our This Box is for Good project. As usual, Matt was an amiable and welcoming host.

Every year I sponsor the Oscar Wilde Award at Island Fringe, given to the show that “most effectively celebrates non-conformity.” The award-winning show is chosen by a jury, and evidence suggests that the process of jurying the shows is done with considerable thoughtfulness. Island Fringe is one of my favourite things, and watching the Oscar Wilde take on a life of its own continues to be a lovely part of it. This year’s award went to Riley Jane Carson for her show Transpectrum: Follow Riley Jayne Carson on a wonderful journey. This neurodivergent trans beauty queen explains how a love for Anne of Green Gables awakened her identity. And after over thirty years of self denial, it took another red headed Ann to help her rediscover her gender identity. Riley Jayne is a Jack (or should I say Jill) of multiple talents.  A background in theatre and very basic music allowed her to express her views, humour and attitude in a variety of forms ranging from stand-up comedy to drag. On the way over to the closing ce

The birds were alive and musical as I was pottering around with my bicycle in the back yard yesterday.

Sitting by the ocean on the western shore of Cape Breton. 

I have long enjoyed the 1980 Christopher Cross song Ride Like the Wind. Listening to it this morning I realized that one of the reasons I like it so much is the backing vocals by the estimable Michael McDonald (he of the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and a successful solo career). Oliver and I listened to the song this morning in the car: McDonald’s contribution–we counted–amounts to only four utterances of “Such a long way to go…” Nonetheless, without those the song wouldn’t be as delightful as it is. Like salt, sometimes all you need is a little, but without that little the food doesn’t taste nearly as good. (Clip from The Very Best of Christopher Cross, 2002)

The generous helping of topsy-turvy in the air caused me to think Thursday was Wednesday and thus to miss my scheduled 5:00 p.m. Charlottetown Farmers’ Market pickup. My penance was to ride my bicycle up today, a day late and in the rain; I was happy to find Caledonia House Coffee still open, and so I am currently fortifying myself with an espresso macchiato before heading back into the now-cats-and-dogs-style rain.