A six-week fest to celebrate Canada’s 150th
The National Arts Centre will celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday with the Canada Scene festival in Ottawa featuring more than 1,000 artists over a six-week period from June 15 to July 30.
The fest will feature concerts by Buffy Saint-Marie ( July 3) and Rufus Wainwright (July 12); a tribute concert to the late jazz great Oscar Peterson on July 10; a co-production with the Canadian Opera Company of the classic Harry Somers opera Louis Riel on June 15 and 17; and Cuisine & Confessions from Montreal circus collective Les 7 doigts de la main July 7 to 8.
Full festival programming will be unveiled in the spring.
As well, music director Alexander Shelley will lead the NAC Orchestra across the country next spring and fall with performances combining classic favourites with new Canadian creations.
The tour will feature Canadian violinist James Ehnes as soloist, and portions of the orchestra’s multimedia presentation Life Reflected will be performed in select locations.
The NAC will also remount the popular 2013 play Tartuffe in Newfoundland and Labrador in late 2017, with an education program linking youth and artists across the country.
A collective of French, English, First Nations and Métis theatre artists will also create the new play Gabriel Dumont’s Wild West Show, which will tour Montreal in the fall, followed by runs in Winnipeg and Saskatoon in winter 2018. Star staff, wire services
Downie’s WE Day earns TV spot
Gord Downie’s Toronto WE Day performance will be part of a onehour special airing on MTV and Much Monday at 11 p.m.
Downie performed a song from his album Secret Path at the Air Canada Centre in October for more than 20,000 students across Ontario.
The album and song he sang, “The Stranger,” are about Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old boy who fled an Indian Residential School in 1966 but never made it home, dying by the side of the railway tracks he was following.
Also part of the special are performances by R&B singer-songwriter Jason Derulo, hip-hop artist Macklemore, comedian and actress Lilly Singh, WE ambassadors Hedleyand singer-songwriter Coleman Hell. It’s hosted by actress, singer and dancer Zendaya.
WE Day 2016will air again Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. on MTV and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. on CTV, and can also be seen at MTV.ca after broadcast. Debra Yeo
Justin Bieber punches fan in face
Pop star Justin Bieber, currently on tour in Europe, has been caught on video punching a fan in the face.
It was shot in Barcelona, as Bieber rolled up to the concert venue where he was set to perform. The video began with voices of young women, speaking in Spanish, shouting, “Here, Justin!”
The pop star sat in the back of the regal black car, window down, when a man’s arm shot wildly through the open window.
With eager affection, it rubbed Bieber’s upper pectoral, clad in a white sweater. Quickly, the enthusiastic fan’s skyscraperlike coiffure came into view, as the car passed by the gaze of TMZ’s camera.
The fan hung on for a moment, until Bieber’s arm shot through the open window and his fist struck the perhaps overly passionate fan across the jaw.
The fan paced for a bit, back and forth and back and forth, his mouth agape, blood staining his lips.
“He punched me,” he yelled in exasperated Spanish. “I touched his face and he hit me.” The Washington Post
FBI drops case against Brad Pitt
The FBI says it will not file charges against Brad Pitt stemming from an alleged dispute with his family aboard a private flight.
The FBI released a statement Tuesday saying it has reviewed the circumstances of the accusations and will not pursue further investigation.
Sources familiar with the allegations have said they centre on the actor’s treatment of his 15-year-old son, Maddox, during a private flight in September.
Angelina Jolie Pitt filed for divorce a few days later. Her attorney said it was “for the health of the family.” Custody of the actors’ six children has been the primary issue in their divorce. Jolie Pitt is seeking sole custody, while Pitt is seeking joint custody. A final agreement will be part of the couple’s divorce judgment when it is entered.