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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2011-08-25, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2011. PAGE 19. Entertainment Leisure&Blyth Red Green show sold out, second date opened Steve Smith Jr., better known as Red Green, has made his duct-taped mark on every aspect of Canadian culture and now he’s coming to Blyth. Smith will mount two shows in his Wit and Wisdom tour locally – one on Nov. 1 that is sold out and a second that was just added to the bill on Nov. 2. The selling out of the first show was great, according to him. “It’s great to have a show sell out, and so far in advance as well,” he said. Smith starred in and had writing credits for all 15 seasons and 300 episodes of The New Red Green Show as well as having directing and producing credits. He starred in and wrote the 2002 full-length Red Green movie Duct Tape Forever before retiring from television and film. That retirement wouldn’t stick, however, as Smith soon found himself writing a book “I retired and then got bored,” he said. “I wrote a very successful book, [How to do Everything]and went on tour to promote it, and it was fun.” From there, Smith, who was inducted into the Order of Canada earlier this year, decided he wanted to stage a one-man show. “We did a test show in Minneapolis,” he said. “It was great, I had a lot of fun and the audience enjoyed it.” The success of the show lead to the American leg of the Wit and Wisdom tour which ran through 2010 and 2011, and the Canadian leg will begin on Sept. 8 with a show in Surrey, British Columbia. The show won’t compete with The New Red Green Show according to Smith, but will share the same humour as he once again dons the guise of Red Green. “This is going to be a Possum Lodge meeting,” Smith said. “I’ll be mainly giving advice to men and teenagers, but trying to make you laugh. “I won’t fix your life in two hours, I’ll give you a break from it,” he said. Smith said that the shows have been well received and that he guarantees at least one person will be having a great time – himself. The character and Smith himself seem to be fairly similar, with him being the handyman that Red Green always tries to be. When asked about the most ambitious project he has ever tackled, Smith said that he got ahead of the curve with the alternative fuel vehicles that are being produced today. “Personally, I made my own hybrid car,” he said. “It generated hydrogen with water and baking soda.” Smith said that he got somewhere in the neighbourhood of 49 miles to the gallon until the transmission broke. He then said that, sometimes, there is a very blurry line between himself and Red Green. The handyman image is one that Smith finds empowering, stating that it puts power in the hands of those willing to try and fix things. “It makes people independent and self-reliant,” he said. “As long as it’s easy on the neighbours and saves money.” Possum Lodge, for those unfamiliar with the fictional locale was the setting of The New Red Green Show. The lodge sat next to Possum Lake and its membership consisted of colourful characters portrayed by famous, or then soon- to-be famous Canadian actors. Canadian actors like Graham Greene, Patrick McKenna, Rick Green and Gordon Pinsent filled out the ranks of the lodge. Tickets are available at the Blyth Box Office and must be paid for with cash or cheque. Keep your stick on the ice Red Green will be making his way to Blyth Memorial Hall stage as part of his Wit and Wisdom Tour. Blyth has the distinct honour of being the first show to be sold out on the Canadian leg of the tour and a second show has been opened. Tickets are still available for the second show on November 2 at the Blyth Festival box office. (Submitted photo) Upcoming Wedding VANDER VEEN/MEYERS Andy and Darlene and Bill and Susan are pleased to announce the upcoming wedding of their children Andrea and Brent on August 27th at the Christian Reformed Church in Blyth at 2 pm Reception to follow at the Blyth Community Centre. Andrea is the granddaughter of Johan and Derkja Wesselink and Frances and the late Abraham Vander Veen. Brent is the grandson of Pat and George Langlois. 50th WeddingAnniversary RR oo ss ss && MM aa rr gg BB ee nn nn ee tt tt The family of Ross & Marg Bennett invites you to help celebrate their parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary Saturday, August 27th Open House from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at the Brussels Legion Best wishes only Happy 75th Leola Hood From Lyle, Doris, Les, Cathy, Veronica, Steve & kids By Denny Scott The Citizen 4H group named Community Cats The third meeting of Wawanosh’s Community Involvement Club was held Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. in the home of Mary Ellen Foran. President Maisy Jefferson led roll call which asked the members to demonstrate a way of greeting people. The members hugged, shook hands and pounded their greetings. Next, Maisy read the minutes from the second meeting. A couple of corrections were made. Mary Ellen then suggested that the members brainstorm names of the club; Loretta Higgins’ suggestion of Community Cats was selected. The business part of the meeting continued and the members and leaders shared their ideas for achievement including a bake sale, a clothing drive, a fundraiser for the Girl Effect, a beach clean-up, helping at Lucknow’s Music in the Fields, the Auburn Village Pumpkin Party or the Huron County Plowing Match. Together the group decided to look into volunteering at the Auburn Village Pumpkin Party in October. During the discussion part of the meeting, the members learned about budgeting, creating action plans and determining the differences between needs and wants. They did this by reading sections from their books and by creating plans for community events and other activities. The Community Cats also discussed different ways to market events. They came up with newspapers, Facebook, radio, word of mouth, flyers, poster and online events calendars. Leader Cathy Drennan introduced the members to a quote by Craig Kielburger, the founder of Free the Children: “Often assumed to be the leaders of tomorrow, our generation must be the leaders of today.” The members used this as a starting off point to brainstorm ways to combat opposition to volunteering. They discussed how it is possible to find ways to fit volunteering into your life, what it gives back to you and why it is important. Maisy Jefferson closed the meeting with the motto and the members enjoyed some vegetables and juice. Country Gospel Concert with Thursday, Sept. 1 7 pm at Heartland Community Church Clinton Admission ~ Freewill offering George Hamilton IV (Grand Ole Opry)