Sometimes there’s barely enough of me to go around. Such was the case this week when your Man on the Scene found himself in every corner of the city covering every event imaginable.
Thursday, I was cruising the World Trade and Convention Centre at the 11th Annual Dinner and Auction for Habitat for Humanity. The dinner and auction proceeds went toward the agency’s 2008 “builds.” This summer and fall, new Habitat homes are going up in Sackville and Spryfield — including a four-unit townhouse.
Talk about your flashbacks: Friday night, Phoenix House grooved back into the 1960’s with their Celebrity Dreamscape 2008. All things far out and out of sight were celebrated with a silent auction, raffle, dinner and live music with just about everyone dressed in their best 1960’s fab gear.
Bill Carr was your host for the night, but he looked and sounded a lot like Ed Sullivan. Mike Trask did his best Bob Dylan, Theresa Malenfant rocked out as Janis Joplin and Abbey Road brought the house down with their tribute to The Beatles.
Speaking of the Fab Four, all things Beatles were on display Saturday for the third annual Maritime Beatle Event. The brainchild of musician Hal Bruce, Beatle fans from all over the Maritimes flock to the 12-hour event at Olympic Gardens to get their fix of music and memorabilia. This year Hal was joined by The BlackBirds from Hungary and American Jay Goeppner, among others.
Friday night was off the hook with no fewer than four major events to swing by. Rock fans had George Thorogood blowing the roof off of the Forum with his Destroyers while over at The Marquee, Matt Mays and El Torpedo were showcasing some new material from their upcoming release. July will be a big month for the boys from Dartmouth, with a series of shows in western Canada with Kid Rock.
Friday marked the last time fans of the bodhran and the step dance were able to see the Riverdance troupe perform as their Farewell Tour hit the Metro Centre.
Finally, I swung by the Casino just in time to see the crowd let out after a performance from Australia’s Thunder From Down Under. To say the all-female audience was “worked up” would be an understatement. With ripped abs, bulging biceps, tousled hair and golden tans, the Aussies were a big hit. It was a rough ride to get to the Halifax shows, with the group losing a van load of costumes and props to thieves a couple of weeks ago in the United States. Somehow I think fans at Friday’s show were disappointed they found some new costumes.
Star power was in town Monday with Jason Priestly hanging with Terry David Mulligan. The ex-Beverly Hills 90210 star is filming a show for the Star channel with Mulligan called Hollywood and Vine. The series explores the best in wines and food from all over the world. The pair was in the valley before attending an invite-only reception at The Carleton.
