Laughs are like medicine

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published Feb. 16, 2005


Burnaby's best known comic, David Granirer, has always believed that laughter is the best medicine.

It's something Granirer has learned through his work as a psychotherapist. And it's also something that he's put into practice with his night school class, teaching people to make light of their problems by turning them into a comedy routine.

And now, Granirer is hosting a gala event that will allow him to bring his unique standup comedy class to the people who need it most - people with mental health issues.

Stand Up for Mental Health will be presented by the Canadian Mental Health Association on April 6 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam.

While Granirer will headline the event and Vicky Gabereau has agreed to be the master of ceremonies, the show will also feature graduates of his night school course - some with and others without mental health issues of their own.

"The course I took had a lot of middle-aged people and women, and to see them all blossom afterwards is amazing," said Marlie Oden, volunteer publicist for the event. "That really helped crystallize for me how important this could be for people with mental health issues."

Currently about 15 mental health clients each year take the course and dozens more are on the waiting list.

Tickets to Stand Up for Mental Health are $75 apiece and include a $55 charitable tax receipt from the main beneficiary of the event, the Burnaby Mental Wealth Society. Refreshments and both a live and silent auction are also included.

For tickets, call 604-529-1741 or e-mail janice@standupfor mentalhealth.com.

DREAM CHILD IS OUT

Helping a young child relax can be among the most frustrating tasks that a parent can face. But a longtime Burnaby resident has teamed up with some of the best-known children's entertainers in the country to develop a new CD of inspirational music and stories for children aged birth to seven-years-old.

Dream Child is a half-hour journey into a soothing world of positive affirmations and self-esteem building to help relax a child, reduce anxiety and maybe even get them to sleep.

"This started when I was reading books to my four-year-old daughter, and some of the older songs - like Hush Little Baby - just didn't turn me on," said Nancy Bradshaw, a Burnaby native and the creator of the Dream Child project.

The 30-minute CD features the voices of singer-songwriter Beverley Elliot, and Michael Creber, a Grammy-nominated and Juno Award-winning B.C. singer best known for his work with international children's entertainer Raffi.

"There's a lot of fun music out there, but not much that actually affirms the child," said Bradshaw. "This is a story of creative visualization with songs in it. So if a child is anxious, sick, disappointed or just hyper, ... we hope to get them to a relaxed and happy place."

The story is related as a journey that takes the child along a magical pathway with dancing flowers, beautiful birds, singing to the sun and running into the big, furry arms of a momma teddy bear.

The CD was created with help from family therapists and counsellors and is intended to help children feel gratitude, release their worries, accept unconditional love and connect with nature.

Dream Child was produced by Joyfilled Music and is available at a growing number of stores in the Lower Mainland or online at www.joyfilledmusic.com.

GOSEPL CHOIR TO PERFORM

Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit agency started by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter that is building an affordable housing complex in Burnaby, will be the beneficiary of a fundraising concert taking place in New Westminster next month.

Sharing the Spirit is a series of community outreach concerts being undertaken by the Universal Gospel Choir to make a little joyful noise and help some worthwhile causes.

The 50-member choir is known for its sense of musical adventure and its repertoire reflects African, Middle Eastern, African- American and Aboriginal influences.

Proceeds from the concert will benefit the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which is currently in the second phase of a planned 27-unit townhouse community in the Government Road district of Burnaby. A total of eight townhomes have already been built at the site, and the money raised from this concert will go towards the completion of four more units on the same site.

The concert, which runs at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 19 at Olivet Baptist Church, 613 Queens Ave., New Westminster, is $18 adults and $15 for students. Tickets can be obtained from the Habitat office at 604-681-5618.

THIS YEAR, NEXT YEAR

The Vagabond Players, who make their home in the cozy Bernie Legge Theatre in Queens Park, New Westminster, have lined up a moving story about women in England during the Second World War as its spring production.

This Year, Next Year, by Norah Harding, follows the trials and tribulations of a British working class family in the months leading up to D-Day.

The play, which runs Wednsdays to Saturday from March 2 to 26, stars Siobhan McConnell, Claire Lindsay, Nancy Ebert of Burnaby, Karen Lindh, Ted Staunton and Andrea Larochelle.

Tickets are $10 for the Wednesday and Thursday shows and $12 for Fridays and Saturday. For reservations, contact the theatre at 604 521-0412.

FANCY PHOTOWORK

Mark Madryga, the Environment Canada weatherman best known for his work on BCTV News on Global, was quite impressed with the photograph of the swirling clouds that graced the front page of the Burnaby NOW last Wednesday.

Describing the formations as "spectacular," Madryga explained that the strange shapes were produced by "the strong wind flow over the Olympic Mountains a couple of weeks ago ... basically swirling motion resulted over us and thus the wild clouds."