Newfoundlanders and Labradorians came home for Come Home 2022 celebrations and the province welcomed many first time visitors too.  The weather coorperated with record breaking sunshine for one record setting NL  summer.

There was a little something for everyone to enjoy. Wonderbolt Productions celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022, and they dazzled and delighted audiences all summer long. The George Street Festival was a huge hit and so was the Churchill Park Music Festival with both attracting huge and enthusiastic crowds. 

But whether it’s the large concerts on George Street or the smaller gatherings on an outport wharf, it’s been quite a summer to celebrate, Premier Andrew Furey said. “To see this (Come Home 2022) come from a concept to reality, and then to see the return, well the actual numbers speak for themselves,” he said as he launched into some cheerful chatter about the rise in tourism numbers throughout Come Home 2022. And the fun continues through the fall too with Come From Away: The Concert and Tell Tale Harbour yet to be celebrated and enjoyed. 

What was your favourite Come Home 2022 experience? Was it the Stanley Cup or a concert? Was it seeing family or friends or was it a wedding celebration that was delayed due to the pandemic. 

Share your super summer story with us at letters@nfldherald.com 

Charles & Camilla’s 2022 Royal Tour

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived St. John’s on May 17th to begin a three-day Canadian tour largely focused on reconciliation with Indigenous people. 

The couple attended a welcome ceremony at the provincial legislature with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Gen. Mary Simon then it was off to Gov. House and Quidi Vidi.

Photos provided by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, taken by Alick Tsui Photography.

Kellie Loder Proves They’re Fearless

Not only is Kellie Loder selling out shows, but they are selling totally out of merch at these performances as well, they added when The Herald swung by for a chat. “The opportunity to be on a national television show, what that has done for me is amazing. People stop you on the side of the road and people shout at you from their cars. And it’s so positive,” they said of appearing on Canada’s Got Talent. 

 Had reality set in yet? Since being a  national sensation on CGT, so much had changed. “You work so, so hard for so long to get that sort of recognition that when you finally get it it’s a bit wild. Like, I still feel like I’m a small town kid from Badger and now people are wanting to carry my things and bring me water and food and steam my clothes. And I’m like, ‘What’s happening right now?’” 

Loder also felt “different” seeing their face on a NL Herald cover. “I would go to the store and The Herald would always be on the front counter, and I would see different faces every week on the cover and I always wondered if I was ever going to make the cover, do you know what I mean? I always wondered that, even when nobody knew who I was.” Well, now they certainly do! 

Show Your Pride in NL

Irma Gerd made NL proud as one of the contestants of the third season of Canada’s Drag Race. 

Gerd told The Herald that “The amount of support that I’ve gotten from all of Atlantic Canada, not just Newfoundland, has been overwhelming. Just positively overwhelming in the best way.” 

Pride events throughout NL recognized and celebrated the diversity of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community within the province and the Provincial Government sponsored St. John’s Pride Week as a part of Come Home 2022. Sponsored events included Drag on Water held on Saturday, July 23 as well as the St. John’s Pride Parade

Staycation with the OZFM Summer CREW

Kali Kenny and Noah Perchard hit the road in the OZFM Staycation Summer Cruiser and brought the cheer and the joy to many as they travelled the province throughout the summer of 2022.

Kenny told The Herald that being a member of the Staycation Summer Cruiser Team was a “dream come true.” 

The Regatta Returns

For the very first time in Royal St. John’s Regatta history, there was a Women’s Long course race. 

North America’s oldest annual sporting event concluded with repeat champions in both the men’s and women’s races. NTV were winners of the Men’s Championship Race and Hyflodraulic won Stirling Communications Women’s Championship Race with a time of 5:11.

This year’s Regatta saw crowds return to the banks of Quidi Vidi Lake for the first time since 2019.

Jaida Lee Makes History

At 16 years old, Jaida Lee became the first female to compete in Men’s Baseball at the Canada Summer Games in 2022. The teenage baseball sensation and her father, Dave Lee, shared with media how “unreal” the experience was,  included the fact that she got to throw an opening pitch at a Blue Jays game.

Alex Newhook Brings Home Lord Stanley

Colorado Avalanche forward and St. John’s native Alex Newhook couldn’t stop smiling the day he brought the Stanley Cup home to St. John’s! 

The timing couldn’t have been better and fans young and old couldn’t get enough of the party that came with Lord Stanley held during Come Home 2022 celebrations.

About being only the third player from Newfoundland and Labrador to win the Stanley Cup, Newhook shared how he received congratulations from the other two who had done so before he did – Daniel Cleary and Michael Ryder. Newhook cheered along with fans so loudly as he yelled, ’Our fans are the best in the world’ that Newhook seemed to  have lost his voice during part of the Stanley Cup parade.

Was it emotion or cheering along with fans that cause the brief quiet spell? Probably a bit of both, but whatever the reason, it was a grand day in the province and an unforgettable day for Alex Newhook and his family and friends. Congratulations! 

This summer The Herald has had the pleasure of meeting some incredible individuals who do some amazing things as they welcome come from aways and staycationers alike to their area of the province of NL. 

One thing has stood out: these men and women all had dreams and visions they’ve tenaciously – most against all odds – made reality. They saw what others couldn’t and went for it, proving that those who work in the tourism industry really are out of this world. 

Humber River Off Grid Tours ~ Humber River, NL

Ashley Hann is a treasure of a young woman. Passionate. Enthusiastic. Brilliant. Social. Compassionate. Strong. Hann is all those things and so much more. Her passion was evident even before we met. 

A scheduling fool up meant we were running late and Hann proved she was on pins and needles waiting for us to arrive when she tracked down my phone number and enthusiastically  asked; “How far away are ya now, girl? Are ya close?” Hann was waiting when we hauled up, not because she had business to attend to – her on the Humber River tent pods and her larger and more exotically luxurious glamping dom are pretty much serve yourself – but because she’s simply proud and excited to show off all she has to offer her guests. 

Show up with your grub, unzip, and enjoy, is pretty much all that needs to happen when you visit Hann’s little piece of heaven on earth, but Hann – along with her treasured Uncle Mel – are the real attractions at Humber River Off Grid Tours. Uncle Mel Cole, at 80, says that having Hann and her enthusiastic ways around “keeps him young.” 

Hann, who is actually Cole’s grand-niece, has lived on the property for over 20 years. While he owns both a business and a home in near-by Deer Lake, life on the river is so much more peaceful, he shared. 

“I’ve had this property about 50 years and I still loves it here. I came here salmon fishing when I was 17 and I always said if I ever found somewhere any nicer than where I’m too, that’s where I would go. But I didn’t. And I’m still here because I loves it here,” he said. 

So does Hann. What is it she loves about being on the Humber River? 

“Pretty much everything,” Hann opened with emotion. It’s easy to see why. Birds and goats and chickens literally eat right out of her hand, and she spends her time on the river just steps from her door. 

“I live here and I work here because my business runs out of here and I just absolutely love this place,” she said.  

Being outdoors is her happy place, she added. Growing up, she “lived and breathed sports,” she said. “I was always outdoorsy and always active, always on the go, game for anything. I done forestry in school and then of course when I came over here (with her Uncle) I started picking at the gardens and doing things like that just for something to do.” 

The vegetable garden Hann and Cole have on the property is amazing, and Hann often plucks the veggies right out of the ground for cook-ups on the Humber during her kayaking tours.  

She’s also started quite the strawberry garden. “I have a strawberry u-pick for next year for my guests. That’s three acres of strawberries, 10,000 plants I planted. So when it comes to outdoor stuff, I don’t stop. It’s nonstop,” she laughed.  

This is Hann’s fifth year in the tourism business. 

“You didn’t even think that anyone would come down this road yet it’s been booked solid for the past five years and just continues to grow.”

And they’ve hosted people from “all over.”  “People come from everywhere. It’s camping, only better. You get queen beds and all your dishes and your pots and pans and stuff like that. Same as camping, just that it’s fancier and a little bit different. You come here, you can camp, enjoy all the joys of camping without having to lug all your camping gear. Just bring food and water,” she said. 

There’s so much to enjoy. Remember, you’re off grid so there’s no cell service and no wifi, but that’s the attraction of the place and only adds to the magic of sleeping near the Humber River. 

There’s frogs and nature and beauty all around.  Hann’s is a place equally as enchanting for a romantic getaway with sunset swims or cuddles or for a family getaway – a place where a kid can be a kid and where life slows down for all. 

That’s what Hann loves about her tourism offerings. “Go back to the way things were. Enjoy each other,” she said. 

Of course Hann herself is busy as a beaver. From laundry and clean-up to tours and more, she’s got so much going on and she couldn’t be happier. A visit to Humber River Off Grid Tours “takes you back in time,”  she said.  “I feel like I’m sharing what I love and that feels great.”

Follow Humber River Off Grid Tours on Facebook and for more, subscribe to Hann’s YouTube channel, Adventures Off Grid

Smugglers Cove ~ Burin, NL

“For centuries, rogues, rascals, and renegades have found refuge here on the Coast of Legends,” the brochure for Smugglers Cove boasts intriguingly. There could be no better intro to this magical place that resembles the wild, wild west. 

Mike Brennan and Paddy Kavanaugh are the duo behind Smugglers and it’s all in memory of a friend, the late Tom Hollett who died in 2016. 

In Hollett’s honour, there’s Tom’s Roadhouse, “Where fellow rapscallions have a scoff and wet their whistle.” 

Chef and partner Clint Brewer is the king of the kitchen at Smugglers, and on the day we visit he delights us with halibut, a feed well worth the visit. But there’s so much to Smugglers. 

From special events and concerts to guided boat tours to Great Burin Island, Smugglers has a little something for everyone. Ever wished you could experience a sleepover a stone’s throw away from a frontier fantasy town? Well you can, in one of Smugglers cozy rustic but romantic (and practical) bunkhouses. The real draw, however, is the ‘town’ itself. Located on 1.7 hectares of land in Port-Au-Bras, the interactive ‘town’ of Smugglers Cove is a treasure built out of wood and sweat that has to be seen to be believed. While there, take a run into the town of Burin itself and visit more of Hollett’s Legacy left for others to enjoy. From  Hollett’s legendary Jiffy Cab Bug proudly on display as it welcomes all to Burin, to hiking trails, Brennan and Kavanaugh make sure ‘Tommy’s’ vision lives on. 

No one says it better than Brennan and the team in their own captivating way on their handout.

“Celebrating our notorious history, we tip our caps to those kindred spirits drawn to our shores. What calls the adventurous rebel home? Come and stay awhile – you’ll find out!” 

For more visit smugglerscoveburin.com

Jigs & Reels ~ Green’s Harbour

n the evening we visit, Natasha Hollett was happily greeting her guests  – which just happened to include Kellie Loder – with a smile. Passionate is one word that can be used to describe Hollett. Mom to two young boys aged six and eight, she has her hands full, but she doesn’t mind one bit. 

“People have always been a passion for me and I wanted to take a chance. When this came for sale, we jumped on it,” she said.

This Come Home summer has been good to them, she added. “Come Home has definitely been helping us bring people in. People are very excited to get home for the first time in several years. But summer usually brings people around anyway and we like to think there’s a lot of reasons to come here when they do.”

Jigs & Reels is beautiful. From the decor inside to the beautiful and inviting outside space, it’s a must visit location for sure. The food is good, the beer is cold, and the staff are friendly.  

The building was many things before becoming a spot to enjoy a meal and a beverage or to listen to some local entertainment. It was a sawmill for one thing, and then a gas bar and garage.    

Since owning Jigs & Reels, there’s been weddings and other events. The space holds 148 inside with an additional 100 who can enjoy the area on the beautiful back patio area. 

“We try to have entertainment regularly, like Friday and Saturdays. Typically, depending on what’s going on in the area, as we try not to compete too much if there’s something else on the go around,” she said.  

Hollett and her husband George are just getting ready to head home to the kids on the evening we visit. Still, the two busy themselves with whatever needs to be done. “We all do a little bit of everything. We come in and we just jump in and up whenever we can to help make our dream come true,” she said.

Not that every day is easy, they add.  “Taking over a business, it’s a lot of work, and there’s always something you can’t anticipate. But the locals are here for us and they support us and we appreciate that.”

We have to ask about the name Jigs & Reels. Any shout out to OZFM and Danielle Butt? “Absolutely. I mean, anytime Danielle wants to come here and host her show from here, come on out. It’ll be a fun time for sure and we’d love to have her,” Hollett says. 

From burgers to delight to nachos to rave about, Jigs & Reels is a special place run by some special people. Hollett smiles. “The staff here are the best and our customers are a blessing. The whole experience of owning a business has been amazing because it shows how good and supportive people are.”

For more, check out Jigs & Reels on Facebook

By The Sea Inn & Café ~ King’s Point

Krista and Corey Gillingham  are the proud owners/operators of By The Sea Inn & Café in beautiful King’s Point. With so much to do in the area – from hiking trails that lead to stunning waterfall views to shopping, dining and sightseeing – By The Sea is the perfect place to settle in for a few nights or longer and explore. 

This is the couple’s first year running this ultra-modern spectacular Inn and eatery with the most eye-catching view, though Krista worked there for over ten years before buying it. “It just started as a small, very tiny coffee shop and it kind of grew from there,” she said.

It was health issues that started the ball rolling, she added. Krista worked in the kitchen, but shoulder concerns meant she had to step back from kitchen duties and take more of a management-styled role. “That experience helped me be ready, I guess, so when this place was for sale, even though we are not related, it felt sort of like the business was staying in the family.”

While COVID had its challenges – including the loss of many of their scheduled bus tour stop overs – things have been good for the most part.   “That things are going back to what they were before COVID is wonderful for us and wonderful for the whole town,” she said.  

There’s a big sense of community pride throughout King’s Point. Even the garbage buckets are beautiful. With stores galore and incredible places to visit and enjoy, it’s a must see destination on any bucket list for sure. 

“The community as a whole and our town council does a great job and everybody in the town takes pride in what we have and what we’ve got. 

Everyone is constantly looking for new ways to improve what we have here.”

The food and the service is brilliant at By The Sea. “We do cater to a lot of locals when it comes to the menu but anyone who visits also loves to eat things like fish and chips and cod tongues,” she says. 

They have two seasons, she continued, the tourist season which runs from June till September, and their regular season, and both are important. The Inn – with one suite, The Eagle’s Landing, located in the main building with others next door, is a beautiful space to rest one’s head. And there’s more coming, Krista said proudly, as construction has begun on additional rooms.    

One bonus of a stay at the Inn is free breakfast in the dining area. “I find that a lot of people mention the food. People will say, ‘Who is the chef?’ And we always say that we don’t have chefs in our kitchen. We have cooks in our kitchen that were raised here in Newfoundland in a Newfoundland kitchen by Newfoundland mothers. We don’t have trained chefs in our kitchen, and here, salt is a seasoning, but the people in our kitchen were trained in life and there’s no better training than that, is there?”

For more visit bythesearesort.ca 

Roy’s Lighthouse Retreat ~ Catalina

Kristy Sweet has an interesting link to The Herald, she begins. “I was the baby of the year in 1980, and Suzanne Somers was on front cover. The Herald means something still to a lot of people, and having you here so you can tell our story means so much,” she said. 

There’s history here, Sweet continues. “Back years ago there were houses here, but they ended up towing them into town because they wanted people in the city to just make life easier for them I guess, but I can’t see wanting to leave here,” she said as her four-year-old daughter, Gracie Joe, played nearby on this picture perfect summer day. 

The setting couldn’t be more amazing. A lighthouse near the water in the beautiful town of Catalina with nothing around us but sea, sky and a stunningly inviting walking trail along the edge of the ocean.  Sweet appreciates the setting, and what the land around has to offer. 

“My grandmother is 89-years-old, my dad’s mother, and she’s out here every summer picking berries. My  grandma picks 20 gallons a year.”     

The reason why we are visiting on this day is to talk about Sweet’s late father, Roy Sweet. “My dad was a fisherman back years ago. He had two long liners, the Laura K and  the Laura K Two.” 

Laura was the name of Sweet’s great grandmother who lived on the now resettled Green Island. “When Dad wasn’t fishing he went into the woods in the wintertime to cut logs and then he opened up a sawmill and started selling logs,” she said, reflecting on old times.  

Sweet’s father’s grandmother’s father was a lighthouse keeper on Green Island: Joseph Sweet, and those old family stories captured Sweet’s imagination as a child and beyond. Her father also loved the family’s legacy and he always loved  lighthouses. 

Sweet’s dad passed away on March 15th, of 2020 and Sweet was crushed, she said. “He was my world. I just spent so much time with Dad, and I just wanted his memory to live on and this place here helps me. I come here everyday to the lighthouse and I remember him,” she shared. 

How this stunning lighthouse came to be is one incredible tale of a daughter’s vision fueled by love and devotion. 

With no formal plans, the work began on land Sweet’s father had purchased years before his death. Birchwood Construction helped Sweet’s dream become a reality and twins Terry and Perry Cullimore took over the inside finishing work. The end result is incredible. 

The response of those who stay at Roy’s Lighthouse Retreat has been incredible, she added. “It’s overwhelming. I love to see people come and enjoy this place I built in memory of my dad. Besides Gracie, this is my everything because it brings me closer to Dad and I know he would have loved it here,” she said. 

Watching the boats and the clouds  from the deck brings peace, she added.     Sweet also owns Gracie Joe’s Place, an 88-year-old family home in Catalina not far from Roy’s Lighthouse, but it’s here that she feels closest to her dad. 

“Dad is here. I can feel it. And I know he’s looking down feeling really happy with what we’ve done on this land in his memory.” 

For more visit Roy’s Lighthouse Retreat or Gracie Joe’s Place on social media and Airbnb. 

A celebrated Labrador artist shares his story of losing everything because of alcohol and drug addictions ?–  finding his way back to sobriety by creating art

Scott Pynn,  born and raised in Labrador City, began painting and drawing at a young age under the guidance of his grandfather, Henry Pynn, also an artist. In school, Pynn studied engineering and psychology, neither of which he felt were the right professions for him. 

  “I said, I have to learn how to do something within the arts if I want to be happy in my life,” Pynn tells The Herald. 

It wasn’t long after that realization that he quit his job in construction to become a professional artist.

Success soon followed. Pynn, a talented visual painter, has sold his work and prints all over the world. His other business, a tattoo shop – the first of its kind to open in Labrador City – was also thriving. The business owner was living what remembers as “a great life.”

It was 15-years-ago when that life began to spiral. His struggles with addiction began as a teenager when he started drinking, leading to an alcohol addiction, and then to an addiction to cocaine. 

Says Pynn, “Addiction doesn’t take control of your life overnight,. It’s not like you drink once, and you’re an alcoholic, or you try cocaine once, and you’re addicted to coke. It’s a slow process.”

For Pynn, it came to the point where he was drinking hard liquor and using cocaine every single day. 

“I felt like I couldn’t even live without it. It spiraled to where I had no will to do anything else but drink and use.”

He lost everything that was dear to him? – ?his family, his money, his business and his health. He knew if he didn’t seek treatment for his addictions that he would die. “I always thought I was just one more night away from that fate.”

Pynn checked himself into the Humber Wood Rehabilitation Centre, in Corner Brook, in November 2021. The three weeks he spent there for treatment reconnected him to something he had replaced by drugs: ?his art. 

Pynn painted every day, realizing it was something that had gotten away from him over the years. “I painted maybe five pictures over two or three years. So when I went to Humber Wood, I promised myself that I was going to get back to my artwork.”

Today, he credits his passion for creating art, which kept his mind occupied, helping him towards his early recovery. 

At the end of his three-week stay, Pynn had painted between 20 and 25 pieces. Upon his release, he started a Facebook group, Scott Pynn Canadian Artist, which, in just one month, gained 25,000 members.

Life as an Artist

Pynn, who’s nearly 200 days sober, says his days now are rather routine. He wakes up early in the morning to practice yoga or meditate, listens to music, and paints all day long. It’s a routine that’s working out extremely well for him. 

“My relationships with my family are much better. The most important thing for any recovering addict to remember is people can’t help you if you don’t tell them what’s going on with you.”

He believes this is why he continues to receive such an outpouring of support from others? – ?it’s because he laid all his cards on the table. “I said, look, this is who I am, this is what happened to me, take me or leave me. But the support for me has just been unbelievable.”

It’s that level of support that gets Pynn through each day when, on any morning, he’ll see 500 Facebook messages from people all over the country, letting the artist know they are pulling for him. 

It’s that support that not only touches him, but gives him the accountability to stay committed to the path he’s on. “I’m not about to disappoint the 25,000 people in my Facebook group and go use or drink. That’s not an option for me anymore.”

Of the hundreds of messages left on Pynn’s group wall each day, he remembers one in particular from a young girl that particularly moved him. 

“She said my group is the most positive and addictive thing she’s seen on social media and my paintings look like they were done by someone who has crossed over to the other side and brought back the visions. I thought that was beautiful.”

Pynn says that everything he lost to his addiction? – ?his business, family, daughter, girlfriend and his health, he now has back. “Every day gets better than the last. I found it very easy to stay away from the drugs and alcohol once I had the knowledge of how to do it.”

Art of Recovery Program

For Pynn, it was important to him that addicts who have been suffering in silence have a place to turn. He recently launched an NFT project of 1111 different pieces and will be using a substantial portion of the revenues raised for his “Art of Recovery Program”, which helps pay for people to attend treatment centers and provides recovering addicts and people struggling with mental illness access to free art supply’s.

Since sharing his story, others have reached out to him to tell him he’s been an inspiration. “They’ll say I’ve been watching you, and you inspired me to decide to get clean. I know my story has made a difference in some people’s lives, for sure. Now that I’m helping other people, I feel amazing. Every day is better than the last.”

Find Scott Pynn at www.facebook.com/scottpynncanadianartist/ and www.spynnergy.com

As an artist, Michelle Rowe knows beauty when she sees it, generously sharing that beauty with others at The Cove B&B and in her art studio as well, Ocean View Gallery and Gift Store located in the town of Carbonear. 

Rowe, who was born and raised in the Carbonear area, shared that she never even knew “The Cove” existed, it was that well hidden and secluded. 

“We were thinking about an old saltbox somewhere on the water and we were just kind of driving through (Freshwater) and I saw a for sale sign on the road and we went, ‘Oh, I can’t believe this is here,’” she said.

She’s long gravitated towards the ocean, she said, and the second she saw the property – perched on the edge of the ocean overlooking Carbonear Island – she was hooked.  “It was immediate for me. I instantly fell in love,” she said. 

An artist’s dream

It’s easy to understand why. Most every window overlooks the ocean, and those that don’t have an ocean view showcases instead the serenity and the peacefulness of the garden or the history of the century year-old property.

As a painter, inspiration is often found in nature, and The Cove is an artist’s dream cone true. 

“I live, breathe and sleep art. I’ve been teaching art as a career now for 15 solid years and painting longer than that, but now there’s a freshness to what I create since owning the property,” she shared.

On the day we visit, Rowe decides to teach this writer to paint – something she says “anyone” can do. 

From hanging dried salt fish and icebergs to old fishing store doors and more, if you have seen it around this province of Newfoundland, she has probably painted it. On this day, it’s fishermen mending nets against a brilliant sky that we are painting. Beginning with a blank canvas, with every paintbrush stroke, the painting takes shape. 

 ‘It’s only paint’

“I think if you have the right person to guide you through a painting, it will take all the worry away. Yeah. There are things that I can do for you to make things much easier, but I think more than anything, I’m just a motivational speaker. And I’m there to say, ‘Try this or do this,’ and to remind each student that it is only paint.” 

With Come Home Year 2022 in full swing, what’s she looking forward to most? Making connections with people again, she said. “Over the years, we’ve always had people come through the doors. During the winter months, it’s very much community oriented, but during the summer months it’s always about visitors and the experience of getting around the bay to explore and we’ve always been about providing something for them to take away with them, whether it’s through the gift store or if they get to create their own piece. Either way, they get to know you a little bit and you get to know them. It’s not just a painting relationship. It’s an experience,” she said. 

With all the beauty of the area and with the view from The Cove, we surmise that she will never run out of inspiration. Rowe smiled.

“I will never be bored in my lifetime. There’s not enough lifetimes out there for me to create everything that I’ve had the honour of seeing or experiencing.”

Her main inspiration comes from this province’s unique outport history. 

“If I see a piece of wood sticking out of the ground, I’m like, ‘Oh, what was that?’ I’ll do the research and I’ll find out what it was. If I see an old house with a curtain blowing out a broken window I go, ‘Oh, somebody lived there.’ I’ve gone through abandoned homesteads, I’ve walked through people’s gardens and there you can see the pits and the raspberry bushes and the remains of a vegetable garden. And there’s an outhouse out back and there’s an old twine loft there. There was life then. It’s just so sad that it’s gone and I just want to hold on to it and give it life again.”  

Come Home Year 2022!

There’s much going on in the arts world this Come Home Year, she added. From artist showcases to live painting events where spectators can watch the magic happen in real time.

“You’re painting outside and you’re not going by a photo. You’re looking at the colors as they are changing every few seconds. The clouds are moving and the lighting’s changing and you have to think differently and your paintings are more expressive and much more free,” she said.

Rowe hopes this year of Come Home celebration is an inspiration to everyone. 

“I have a real passion for this province, and so many others do as well, and I’m privileged that I get to capture the beauty and share my version of that with others.”

For more, visit The Cove at The Cove Vacation Rental, Carbonear on Facebook or michellesfineart.weebly.com or Michelle’s Fine Art on Facebook

At long last, the sixth annual St. John’s Tattoo Convention returns amidst multiple pandemic delays this July 1-3 at the RE/MAX Centre in St. John’s.

Rising out of North America’s oldest city and hosted by renowned local tattoo authority Trouble Bound Studio, the convention will host 75 brilliant tattooists from across the globe over three days that celebrate a mutual love of art that literally goes skin deep.

For convention founder and Trouble Bound Studio owner and long-time tattooist Dave Munro, the ebb and flow of the tattoo industry, and indeed the gradual growth not only worldwide but here on the island, has been something to behold. 

“My industry has changed dramatically in the time period in the life-cycle of me being here,” shared Munro in a sit-down at Trouble Bound in downtown St. John’s. “I started visiting in ‘99 and I moved here in 2000.”

Munro, an Ontario born and bred student of the game who opened Trouble Bound in the summer of 2003, was long-aware of the opportunity to grow the market for tattooing on an island where the medium has often been appreciated far more readily than abroad.

“If you take Newfoundland versus the rest of Canada, where tattooing was linked to many of the trade bases of small communities or just the communities in general here, there’s always been a higher rate of people with tattoos in Newfoundland than there has been throughout the rest of Canada,” Munro shared. 

Changing the stigma

“As it has become far more acceptable you’re sort of seeing that number being one in four or dropping to one or two people between certain age gaps that have tattoos and then accessibility is a huge thing as well, and comfort to it. Television and shows and social media provides a certain comfort level. You have elements of tattooing that will still be sort of a renegade version of these things, but they’re going to be things that cross the line … So a lot of it comes down to, not just necessarily how socially acceptable it becomes, but understandable. If someone doesn’t feel threatened by a visual, they’re not likely to react in the same sort of way.”

A far cry from what Munro described as a “homespun backyard industry,” tattooing has emerged as a global phenomena, no longer reserved for punk musicians or sailors. No, everyone from your grandma to businessman is ‘tatted up.’ 

The now annual and much in-demand St. John’s Tattoo Convention capitalizing on that very fact, began modestly and by near word of mouth.

“When I started coming out here, part of the reason that I was approached on it was a large volume of, say, more custom based tattooing which I was doing, didn’t exist here. It was a very traditional shop,” Munro explained. 

“As I would travel to other conventions, which I used to do two or three Canadian and one international a year for years, it would be ‘I’ve always wanted to see this place’ (Newfoundland). And in particular with the first one, almost everybody that was coming to Newfoundland had family ties, whether they were one generation removed or six. 

“They needed to come home or see the place that their family generated from that had really no frame of reference other than nostalgic stories from their folks. So there was a really big sort of aspect of that for the first convention with the tattooists wanting to be here, wanting to sort of experience Newfoundland to a certain extent, get in touch with family.”

Morphing today into a well-attended event with over seven dozen tattooists from Canada, the U.S. and U.K., Munro describes the convention as having “a festival atmosphere,” and that, when you head through those doors, the odds of acquiring new ink rise exponentially.

‘Festival atmosphere’

“It has a sort of festival atmosphere to it like, ‘There’s a bunch of stuff all in one room and I need to see it all.’ I would say most of the people that come through the door get tattooed. A very, very large amount of people who come through the door get tattooed. Just by our average weekend numbers, one in three get tattooed. It could be something big, it could be something small. A very large amount of people coming in, that’s their intent from the get go.”

What can the inexperienced convention layperson expect? Munro smiles.

“The first encounter will be walking into a room with probably 75 tattoo machines going. So there’s a buzz. It’s in between like a swarm of bees and a small propeller going on a boat. It’s quite dramatic,” he laughs. 

“Coming into that room, there’s already this tension that you can almost feel because of the noise. As you sort of move through it, if you’re unfamiliar with, I guess, tattooists, you’re slowly getting embraced into that reality. 

“There’s a fever pitch that hits,” he adds. “There’s a number of people who come to the convention that I’ve literally watched get seven or eight tattoos over a weekend, just happily bouncing from booth to booth … it’s just not unusual. It happens a lot. So the room in itself becomes a generation point. A lot of the genesis to the process is built out of that particular environment and ambiance.”

Weekend passes are available online only for $30 at brownpapertickets.com/event/5412985. Day passes will be sold at the door daily for $15. For more info call 709-754-5590 or visit www.stjohnstattooconvention.com or troubleboundtattoos.com

Matt Wells knows his way around a story. An artist, actor, musician and longtime television personality and host, the Newfoundland native owns credits across MTV, MuchMusic, Bravo and The New Music across decades in the entertainment industry.

Now, Wells has made the transition to the land of podcasting, and he’s doing so with the aim of spreading good.

“I had been flirting with the idea of a podcast for a long time because there are 45 billion podcasts,” Wells joked in a sitdown with The Herald. “And I’ve had this conversation a couple of times now, and my answers vary because I’ve had people ask me when I’m doing interviews about this. And the answer that I’ve come to now is something I’ve learned from doing the podcast. 

“One of our guests, Sharon Lewis, this wonderful producer and director, she said something like one of the things that she has grown into or helps her get through what it is she wants to do and motivates her through her life is asking herself the question, ‘how is it that I can be of service today?’ And that really hit me, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

Wells, a devoted husband and father, explained that listenership and advertising dollars came second to a desire to share inspiring stories of triumph and perseverance, aiming to throw out some good vibes and positivity into the ether with Good Things with Matt Wells.

“My motivation for doing it truly was observing how hard we are on ourselves, observing how difficult it is for all of us, no matter what age we are, to live through this filtered existence where we’re comparing ourselves to what we see on our phone of people living through a filtered life. Perfect skin, staged photos, staged days. And as a dad, I’m very acutely aware of that,” Wells shared, impassioned. 

Darkness before light

“I wanted to create a space on this podcast where I could use the connections I had built over the years to get folks who are well-known on the podcast, who perhaps are admired by some people, to talk about those low moments before the high moments. To talk about the darkness before the light. Because I believe that, at least for me, hearing other people talk about it makes me feel a little bit better about my own journey.”

Across a dozen episodes and counting, Wells has swapped stories and memories with a who’s who of the entertainment world and beyond, from Canadian sports icon Clara Hughes to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, Big Brother Canada host Arisa Cox, and Great Big Sea’s Séan McCann, to name a few. 

“What I wanted to do was create a space where people could hear those types of conversations and understand that we are all connected by the struggle, the daily struggle. Some have it worse, some have it not so bad. But we all have it and good things are coming,” Wells explained. “They’ll hear conversations with Jagmeet Singh or Clara Hughes or Séan McCann, about the low, low moments. But they’ll go, they got through them, good things are coming.

‘Transcends colour’

“I want people to be able to relate to it,” he adds. “So it could be a music executive, it could be a musician, it could be a politician, it could be a TV host, it could be an author, it could be a chef. I wanted it to be a way to show that this transcends career choice. This transcends colour. This transcends anything. This is a very human idea that things get sh***y, but if we can somehow find a way to not give up, they’re not always going to be sh***y. And that affects everyone.”

Combining past reflections of his over 1,100 pro-interviews across television over 12 years, with names ranging from Chris Cornell and Ozzy Osbourne to Katy Perry and Mariah Carey, Wells balances insights and stories and weaves connections through his current crop of guests, finding theme and meaning in a rarer form of conversation, the often forgotten deep dive.

“So what I’ve done in the podcast is that before each interview starts, I recall a moment I’ve had through from the past and I connect it to the interview I’m going to do,” Wells explained, sharing that his own personal bucket list for guests continues to grow as he embraces this new and seemingly boundless format.

“Because I’m revisiting this after ten years, the list is limitless, it’s endless right now. If I wanted to throw a couple names at you, I wouldn’t mind interviewing Stephen King. I’d like to interview Paul Simon. I’d like to interview Lauryn Hill. I’d like to have those deep dive interviews with someone like that. That’s what the podcast allows me to do.”

Still learning

Explaining that he’s still learning on the job – modest for the seasoned interviewer – Wells admits that, as long as there’s a need to absorb some positivity, he’ll continue to explore Good Things.

“This was just an idea that I wanted to throw out into the universe. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if I would do more than two episodes, and all of a sudden it turned into something way bigger than I ever imagined it would. So I’m going to just keep going with it, because as long as people are connecting with it, it’s worth my time. And that’s all that really matters to me.”

Good Things with Matt Wells is available on your go-to podcast provider. Stay tuned for our deep dive sitdown with Wells and bandmate Mike Rowe for our reunion interview with NL rockers Bucket Truck!

Composed in a time of true change both career-wise and globally, That Was You And Me finds the chemistry of the duo in full force, with raw and honest songwriting meeting a stripped down vulnerability and unquestioned talent.

“The pandemic was this ultimate kind of audit of life,” shared O’Brien in a sitdown with The Herald. “And then when I got down to it, we were able to focus on important life changes and just rest and self-care, getting back to each other. And that was the catalyst for all this kind of creative, almost like a personal, creative renaissance.”

Adds Allan, “One thing about having that extra time, because the majority of the songs were written pre-pandemic, we really got to like live inside them when we actually demoed them ourselves and bounce ideas back and forth with Josh (Van Tassel, producer). We really got to live them and it was such a good distraction and sort of therapeutic to really get inside those songs.”

‘That Was You And Me’ arrives on June 3rd. For more information on the album and touring information visit fortunateones.ca. Stay tuned to The Herald for our full-length sit-down with Fortunate Ones. 

To belong to a place is a gift. I have been blessed with a profound and abiding sense of belonging to Newfoundland,” quoted self-taught photographer and photo book author Dennis Minty in his 2015 publication; Newfoundland, An Island Apart. 

Minty was strutting around, Kodak Brownie camera in hand, by the age of 12, connecting his love for photography with his love for nature. He went on to become a wildlife biologist and environmental educator. His love for growing and nurturing his link with the natural world landed him amongst the team of creators behind Salmonier Nature Park, and he managed the place for over 20 years. His first photo book, Wildland Visions, was released in 1993 after having shot photography as an amateur for more than 25 years. 

“It was the film days, so the images were just piling up in boxes in a cupboard. Occasionally, I’d have a projected slideshow with family and friends, but that was it,” Minty shared in an interview with The Newfoundland Herald. 

“A photo is a useless thing unless it is seen, so for what was I doing all of this?” 

Out of frustration, he gathered together a collection of photographs set around the theme of ‘wild Newfoundland and Labrador.’ Minty called up local publishing company Breakwater Books, which led to the publishing of Wildland Visions. 

This was followed by another release through Breakwater titled Wildflowers of the Rock in 1995. Minty began gaining recognition, going on to publish multiple photo books over the years including Enchanted Light, The Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, and Labrador, The Big Land. 

Sharing Connection

“When I make and share photos, I’m celebrating and sharing that connection. I want to do more than record what I see,” Minty shared. “Rather, I hope I can inspire an emotional response in the viewer that might echo what I feel when I am making the image. I hope that the eye sees and the heart listens and that I can spread some awareness and respect for the natural world around us.”

An emotional response is exactly what Minty was aiming for with his latest photo book, Slow Photography, Images with Intent. With 240 pages of images chosen carefully by the photographer himself, each photo represents the idea of slowing down, being thoughtful and reflective, and showing intention through art. 

“‘Connection’ is the word, and lord knows our society is in deep trouble because of the broken connection between people and nature,” Minty explained. 

“Slow photography is one way to improve the person to nature connection, both to our own benefit and to the benefit of the environment. There’s a lot to love about the digital world and I embrace it, but I fear that some aspects of photography, ones that are especially important to me, are eroding away.” 

Between the pages of beautiful landscapes and wild sightings, Minty showcases simple exercises that help reinforce the idea behind slow photography, and dive further into the shooting experience. 

As a society, we’ve become so accustomed to the digital world and having everything readily available with the click of a button that sometimes we forget the intention behind what we’re doing. Experiencing photography as an art takes patience and composition, slowing down and being present in the moment.

The ‘artful’ side 

“I simply felt like doing a book not just showing pictures, but about my thinking on photography. I felt I had something to say about it. I had been teaching some of the concepts in the book through presentations and workshops for years. It didn’t start out as Slow Photography, but more of a collection of my thoughts about the craft. The technological aspect of photography is well covered in scores of books and articles, but I thought the ‘artful’ side of photography was more obscure.” 

Purchase your eBook copy of Dennis Minty’s Slow Photography, Images with Intent via Payhip at payhip.com and check out his other work at mintynaturephotography.ca

Marina Sexton loves to show off her hometown of Norris Point and Trails, Tales and Tunes, a ten day festival showcasing and highlighting the best the region has to offer on so many levels, is just as good a reason to extend an offer to visit as any, she opened.  

The festival has been warmly received for over a decade, she continued. Even through the challenges of COVID-19, Trails, Tales and Tunes – now in its 16th year – received a MusicNL Award for Event of the Year in 2020.

“It was a different year for all of us and thanks to our board, amazing event producers, sponsors and partners we delivered a virtual festival and it really was a great celebration of culture and community,” Sexton said proudly.  

‘Our Sweet 16’

The Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Arts Society has also  recognized the festival’s founder, Shirley Montague, for her many contributions to the province’s folk arts, naming her the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.  

“This is our 16th year, our sweet 16. While we had to go online, or do a combination of online and socially distanced events because of COVID over the past two years, this year, we’re back,” Sexton said. And are they ever! 

With performances by Craig Young, Angus Stewart, The Mixed Tapes, Rum Ragged, Peter Jacobs, the French Shore Fiddlers, Chris LeDrew, Sherman Downey and more, it’s one event not to be missed for the music alone. 

The calender for Trails, Tales and Tunes is jam-packed with events to delight one and all. From supper at the Lions Club to wine pairings and bike rides to Bonne Bay Loop or the lighthouse, it’s one ‘must see’ festival. And bring a friend! 

“There’s going to be our trails part of the festival that so many enjoy and we organize a number of different hikes and there’s storytellers to share tales about the region and of course there’s music and food too,” she said. The festival requires “many actively engaged volunteers,” and those involved “are so excited and are having so much fun,”  she added.

“Back when Shirley (Montague) had an idea and she gave birth to this festival, it’s been said that everyone else just helped with the labour,” Sexton said with a chuckle.  

‘A Beautiful Area’

The festival, happening from May 20-29, boasts some “fabulous hikes throughout the area,” Sexton shared. 

“Of course, we’re located in Gros Morne National Park, so it’s a beautiful area and it’s amazing in May and it’s a great time to get out and explore. People have been tied down for so long and behaving themselves doing what they were supposed to do to keep everyone safe and now we’re breaking out and this is a perfect opportunity to do just that in the most perfect setting.” 

One person who sings the praises of Trails, Tales and Tunes is Kevin Blackmore from Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers.

“Whether one goes as a performer, or just a person who likes to attend sessions, or to experience the place and partake in the events, the festival never gets old. My wife and I have gone for so many (years) that we have a whole other set of friends we get to see but once a year. For us the festival is part of our May and really it wouldn’t seem right to skip it. Life just wouldn’t be the same,” he shared.

For Sexton, Trails, Tales and Tunes is a celebration for the entire province and beyond. “There really is something for everyone and it’s something that shouldn’t be missed. It’s a beautiful area rich in culture and history and we hope to see people visit from all over as we celebrate this beautiful province of ours and what it has to offer from our unique culture to our community.”

www.trailstalestunes.ca

The brand is recognizable for its colour and style and the name itself is unforgettably adorable: Mernini. 

It has to be asked, where did the name come from? Mernini’s owner, Maria Halfyard, explains it was a name put upon her by her siblings growing up.  

“It was my name as a kid. Maria, it’s hard to say, and there are six of us siblings. So they just said ‘Mernini’ and the family still call me that, or ‘Nini,” she began with a reflective chuckle. 

So, when it was time to name her raincoat business, the choice was simple. 

“When I was trying to figure out a name for the raincoat brand, it was two years in and I had six different logos. My friends were sick of drafting up slogans and my sister was like, ‘just pick a name.’ But it had to have longevity. It had to be something that people would remember.” One night she said, ‘Mernini. That’s me,’ and she went for it, she explained. “It kind of sounds fashion like, so I just stuck with it. And my nieces and nephews, they fell in love with it because that’s what they call me.”

‘Make one myself’

Besides the name, how was the ‘Mernini’ born?  The answer, again, is simple: It was her response to the unpredictable NL weather. “Newfoundland weather inspired me. I work in the maritime sector and I manage research and development and business development. And so it was my job to help people bring their ideas to life, to solve a problem or expand an idea in the maritime world.”

She would dress up for meetings   and struggle with what to put on over her fancy attire, she said. 

“I would go to meetings, and I like to dress up. I like Canadian fashion or local fashion, and you dress up and by the time you get into the office or go to a meeting half your outfit would be drenched. As my sister says, the Newfoundland word is satched.” 

She knew what she needed, and what she wanted, but it wasn’t available.  “I was six month looking online, looking and looking across Europe. And I said ‘I can’t find one.’ So I said ‘I’m going to make one for myself.’”

She hired a designer to help with the pieces she struggled with and the idea began to take shape.

a passion project

“I sketched out something that I wanted. I wanted something that was obviously fashionable that I could wear with business clothes, but that was also kind of maritime. So it brought out our maritime culture and history. You look at a Mernini and say ‘oh, that looks like an old maritime slicker, but fashionable.’” 

Halfyard wanted to make sure the product was “unique to Newfoundland,” wanting it to look different, but making sure it could be “worn everywhere too.” 

There were a few bumps in the road as she moved her “passion project” along. There were four – maybe five – prototypes, she shared, before settling on the right fit.  

As to her audience? Women around 35 and older, but anyone can wear a Mernini. “It’s for working women, it’s for mothers who stay home. I wouldn’t say it’s a hiking coat, but if you’re going to watch your kid play soccer, it’s great for that.” 

Halfyard still treats this as a passion project (as she juggles a full-time job), but it has certainly added joy to her life, she shared. 

“In the beginning I was pretty much up until 3A.M, but now it’s a little bit more manageable because I’ve got my rhythm going and the marketing is catching on.”

From Dildo to Whitbourne, to Corner Brook and online, the Mernini is available. It’s also available in some big outlets across Canada, currently selling in eight provinces. The Mernini has also been featured on The Shopping Channel and in Chatelaine, as well as on The Social, Halfyard added. 

“Business is pretty darn good and I’m proud to be a brand coming out of the East Coast,” she shared proudly.

The weather here gives the Mernini the truest test of all, she added. “The wind and rain and fog here just tests the product and I’ve had people from all across Canada write me and say ‘You know how long I’ve been looking for a coat like this?” So now my biggest markets are here, Ontario and B.C..” 

‘a great compliment’

Her styles are “classic”, as are her colours, but she’s possibly looking at designing something a little shorter as well. But as for her main focus? 

“I don’t want to be like everyone else. I want the Mernini to be unique.”

The best thing about this venture? “For me it’s bringing my ideas to life and seeing the reactions from people going, ‘oh yeah. I really wanted this,’ but also taking their feedback and making improvements.”

The compliments are many, but certain ones stand out more than others. 

“One lady said ‘I was at Costco pumping gas and the guy beside me was cringing because he was getting soaked and I was just standing there taking my time and I was just smiling and I loved it.’ That was a great compliment.”

There’s some fun news coming up, with the brand soon be featured on a television series, but the best part is seeing her Mernini clients happy, she said proudly.

following a dream 

“I’m so proud how people have embraced it. It makes me feel like all this hard work is worth it and I feel that anybody can follow their dream with a lot of hard work, a lot of research, and a plan.” 

Part of the honour goes to her mom, she added. 

“My mom is my biggest supporter and she’s a businesswoman herself. So I think I got my grit and determination from her. She had six kids. She was a teacher. We didn’t have everything we wanted, obviously, but she worked hard and we had a great upbringing.”

Her mother worked hard for the family, and she’s been a fantastic grandmother as well, she added. Now looking back, from her business name to her positive outlook and determination to drive the Mernini brand, it all came from family. 

“It’s been a great experience and I’m equally humbled and proud.” 

For more visit mernini.com