Kelly Hughes

Today in Canadian History - February 24, 2011

Lawyer Harry Walsh dies in Winnipeg at the age of 97. Still practising up until a recent fall, the Order of Canada recipient was Canada’s longest-serving lawyer.

(He was called to the bar a decade before my own father, Joseph Barry Hughes, who died in 2000.)

Last week, we lost a good friend over here. You may have read that writer Michael Van Rooy died of a heart attack in Montreal last Thursday. He was 42.

Michael Van Rooy was our second writer-in-residence at Aqua, and I almost instantly liked him. I was a little intimidated by him, because of his imposing stature (6’6”, 20+ stone), and also because of the rumour of his prison time. But although he wrote some dark and wonderful stuff, there was no secret menace he was masking. He was just truly kind and soft-spoken.

I soon realized that we had a lot in common. Like me, he was someone who almost never let an opportunity pass him by. (Most recently, he was Winnipeg’s Arts Ambassador for Lit, Thin Air Winnipeg publicist, Prairie Fire board president, and administrator for the Writers’ Collective and also for CMU’s writing program.) And he seemed tireless. Despite all the extra work he took on to support his family and advance his career goals, he never stopped honing his craft. Most of A Criminal to Remember was written in a studio right above my head. This was while he was here as writer-in-res, and while he was working all of his various jobs, teaching and being a husband and father.

When someone dies at 20, it’s a shame because of the potential that was there. When a person dies at 80, it’s sad because they’ve lived a long life and touched many people. When a friend dies halfway through their life, it’s a tragedy because they’re not finished yet. So many wonderful things done, so many to do. Michael had so many more stories in him. (I had recently pitched a piece to CBC’s The Next Chapter, promoting Michael as Canada’s Stieg Larsson. An unfortunately prescient thought.)

Michael Van Rooy truly belonged to so many of us in the writing community and beyond. Aqua Books will be hosting a Tribute to Michael Van Rooy on Saturday February 12/11 at 7pm. We will have an open mic, food, and drinks. In addition to an opportunity to publicly remember Michael, we will give people a chance to help in a practical way. A writer’s living in Canada is a tenuous one, and we’re setting up a bank account in the name of his three kids. I will also have an announcement about another way we’ll be honouring Michael, long term. So I hope to see all of his friends, students, admirers, readers and fellow writers that evening. Bring your memories, stories, favourite MVR passage, (and your chequebook). See you then.

Winnipeg photography superstar Bryan Scott has just published a book of his one-of-a-kind photos of Winnipeg and its architecture.

Jaxon Haldane (above) of the D.Rangers is my musical guest on Kelly Hughes Live! On the Barge I, part of the inaugural River Barge Festival at The Forks.

dineoutwinnipeg:

The name of the place is Kraut King. My friend told me about this place a few months back, and it became one of my favorite places to eat. They served traditional Bavarian food aka SCHNITZEL and SPAETZLE. 

The reason it is closing is because Winnipeg has a big problem with bums in the downtown area, and they have not been able to establish a consistent clientele base because of the bums that are usually passed out in the back alleys and in the streets…

Long live the Kraut King.

Downtown Winnipeg’s getting buried in piles of negative criticism this past week, after the owner of Kraut King gave one parting shot as he exited stage right. I unfortunately never made it down to Kraut King for lunch (though I wanted to). I heard the food was good, like the above tumblr suggests, so I’m going to assume the food wasn’t the issue. I’d also like to suggest, however, that the so-called “bums” weren’t the issue, either.

Frankly, downtown Winnipeg (and the surrounding areas of the West End, Osborne, River Heights, etc.) are full of excellent places to nosh. A combination of factors need to come together for a business to succeed, and it’s irresponsible to pin blame on people for just existing. As a business person, I believe you need to make choices that support and encourage growth of the community you’ve chosen to be part of.

Kelly Hughes, owner of Aqua Books and Eat!Bistro right across the street, puts it best, so I’ll let his words do my talking:

So our neighbours from the Kraut King have closed their doors due to drunks and drug gangs that clog the arteries of Garry Street.. Now I won’t pretend that Winnipeg doesn’t have social ills that need to be addressed, but a non-story like this is always just an excuse for people to trot out their prejudices.

[…]

One of the owners, Raven Thundersky, complained that the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs needs to “deal with their people.” Aside from the fact that downtown drunks are brown and white, the Aboriginal Community is not a monolith. It’s made up of a multitude of individuals with different ideas. I presume she wouldn’t want the AMC telling her what to do. People will drink, and they will do it somewhere…

EAT! bistro turned away 25 people at lunch on Friday, while others waited almost an hour to get in… Thanks to those of you who aren’t afraid of drunks (who don’t do it from the comfort of their own home) or people from a different social class, we’re doing alright. Keep up the good work. 

Former Aqua Books Writer-in-Residence Michael Van Rooy named Winnipeg’s Arts Ambassador for literature as part of the Winnipeg Cultural Capital of Canada 2010 ARTS FOR ALL program. Congrats big guy. He’s truly the hardest working guy in the local lit biz. (Michael is pictured with me on Kelly Hughes Live!, September 2009)

This Week’s New Books page is now live

Richard Aregood, Charles R. Johnson Professor of Journalism at University of North Dakota

(He said this to me on his first visit to Winnipeg after nine months trapped in North Dakota. Truly awesome.)

This Year in History - 1300

In honour of our 1300th follower, I give you Bilbao, Spain, founded in 1300. Bilbao was put on the cultural map with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum in 1997. Winnipeg will hopefully have the same fate when the Canadian Museum for Human Rights opens here in 2012.

He has dubbed himself the mayor of Winnipeg’s cultural city hall. “And if you find yourself saying, ‘Hey, I didn’t vote for you,’” jokes Kelly Hughes in front of a live crowd, “well, you probably didn’t vote for Sam Katz, either.”

branduponthebrain:

The Saddest Music In The World (2003)

Directed by Guy Maddin

I don’t usually use SMS terms, but OMG, I have a real life stalker. This is very funny. Thanks Les. (Oh, and it was an omelette. And I’m sitting with actor Kris Bratton.)

nameles:

My Brush with Greatness

While out with my family at The Forks yesterday afternoon, I came this close to world famous Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes! Yes, THAT Kelly Hughes, mayor of Winnipeg’s Cultural City Hall. There he was, just sitting in the food court with the regular people, drinking Dole orange juice and eating an unknown food item with a white plastic fork.  My whole family was astonished by this unbelievable event. 

Later, while browsing the fruit stand, I nearly brushed right up against him as he took his time choosing just the right retro candies to fill up his little basket. (No, I was not stalking him). While next to him, I thought I should buy him a drink and see if he would do us the honour of recording an impromptu episode of Bookstore Owner Kelly Hughes Tastes and Then Reviews an Exotic Drink Thursday which has been off the air since his personal videographer Dave left for greener pastures. Unfortunately it was Sunday, not Thursday so this was out of the question. 

This was an amazing event that I will never forget.