Justin Langlois, ACWR Executive Director and Broken City Lab director, explains the "Sites of Apology/Sites of Hope" project.

In the second segment of their five-part series called “Save The City”, local arts collaborative Broken City Lab have tackled the task of designating some local “Sites of Apology” and “Sites of Hope”. The idea is simple- asking the public what locations in Windsor they feel have let them down, as well as those places that we feel proud of, and then giving these sites the recognition they deserve.

Dan Griffin of Arkells celebrates their one year anniversary of Jackson Square at the Chubby Pickle Oct. 28, 2009. The band will be opening for Canadian indie rockers Metric on April 4 at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre.

Canadian indie rock stars Metric are set to play April 4 at the Windsor Family Credit Union Centre.

Recognized this year by the success of their singles Gold Guns Girls, Help I’m Alive and Stadium Love, Metric’s album Fantasies hit the Billboard Top 200 at 162.

Broken City Lab's ongoing event series "Save the City" continues this afternoon

Broken City Lab, Windsor’s urban and arts advocacy collective will host their second event of “Save the City”, this afternoon starting at 1pm.

Back in January, ‘Lab held “Listen to the City” at Phog Lounge.  You can read more about that here.

See today’s event on the windsoriteDOTca Event Calendar for all the info you need to make it there!

METRIC comes to the WFCU Centre on April 4th

METRIC and the Arkells are coming to the WFCU Centre on April 4th at 8:00pm!

Get your tickets for METRIC right now with a presale from windsoriteDOTca!!

Visit www.wfcu-centre.com/password and enter the code FANTASIES

Hurry, this presale ends at 10 o’clock tonight!

The Detroit skyline, as seen from the Windsor Club in downtown Windsor. A cross border effort to shed light on homelessness issues will run all night tonight, broadcast live on CJAM 99.1 FM.

While scrolling through Facebook this morning, I came across a status that read something along the lines of, “All these Haiti fundraisers are great, but let’s not forget about those who are suffering right here in our own city.” It seemed almost serendipitous that I stumbled across a news piece from Chicago about an annual event spotlighting homelessness that’s taking place in the Windy City, Detroit and here in Windsor.

The Homelessness Marathon is a radio broadcast that will begin tonight at 7pm, and will continue until 9am tomorrow. The marathon is in it’s 13th year, and will originate from a building in the Cass Community Social Services Complex, at 12025 Woodrow Wilson Street in Detroit. Homeless Detroiters will be on location to speak to the community, and the nation.

The live broadcast will also feature a live remote from Bloomington, Indiana, and a discussion with homeless people in Los Angeles.  There will also be stories told about Safe Haven, a tent city in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and updates on the rebuild effort after Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

Of interest to Windsorites is the cross-border discussion that’s set to take place. A toll free phone line will be open all night to take calls from people across the continent, homeless or not. The goal is to get people sharing ideas and “comparing notes”, on how to get help with medical problems, finding suitable shelter, etc. An open forum spotlighting the unique issues that face the homeless will hopefully spark up meaningful discussion, possibly leading to some feasible solutions.

CJAM (99.1FM) will be airing the Homelessness Marathon in its entirety. The toll-free number to call if you have any questions is 877-NOBODY-8. For those who are homeless (now, previously, or in fear of becoming) may also call 877-LEFT-OUT to voice their concerns.

Phog Phest: HOLY FUCK! by westerntragedy

Last year, the Windsor music scene was thrust into the spotlight after winning the CBC Radio 3 Searchlight contest for the best live music venue in Canada. The venue was Phog Lounge, and the win was made possible by a loyal following of Phogheads that showed their dedication by voting (probably more than once) for their favourite watering hole/show stage.

The CBC radio Searchlight contest is an annual affair, and each year they choose a musically important endeavor. In its first year, Meow Records in Prince George, BC was elected the top independent music shop in the country. Last year, Phog Lounge won for best live music venue. This year, Windsor makes the long list again, with the annual film/art/music extravaganza FAMFest.

The Harvesting the FAM Fest evolved from an idea for a simple film screening/art show in 2006, into Windsor’s first independent mixed media art festival. The successful inaugural event took place in January of 2007, and since then, with help from the university/college, local business owners, and arts enthusiasts, the FAM Fest has gained a dedicated following of artistic minded individuals that look forward to the event each year.

With the Searchlight contest nomination, FAM Fest now has the chance to gain national attention. As witnessed by the Phog Lounge’s success following the contest last year, a win could mean great things for this local fest. It’s up to us, now. Vote now, vote daily, and we’ll see if lightening can strike the same place twice.

To vote in this year’s Searchlight contest, simply register on CBC Radio 3 (quick and easy), visit the contest website, click on FAM Fest and hit VOTE. You can cast a vote once per day.