June 24 - Issue #142 - Paul Yanuziello

“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” — Hans Christian Andersen

Hello all and welcome to another month. Summer has arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere. Join me as I share 5 points of interest: things to do, things to see and something to read too.

The featured photo is of my garden in the Grey Highlands, the peonies are in full bloom.

1. The summer solstice happened this week on June 22nd, 5:13 AM, to be exact. I missed the sunrise, I was up a couple of hours later and working out before setting out on a trail adventure. Hiking on one small part of the Bruce Trail.

International Day of Yoga is on the same day, I always mix in some yoga in my training. This year’s theme is Yoga for Humanity.

2. My friends at Settle Stories celebrated Summer Solstice Storytelling with some great stories for the children from Internationally-renowned storyteller Dominic Kelly.

I watched it live, however, a recording will be available to watch until 12pm on the 5th of July. To access the recording you will need to register for the event. Enjoy!

3. Events for summer are happening, live and in-person, a first in over two years. This week I visited Toronto and spent time at the Italian Food Festival. My family and I also ate dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, Bella Vista Trattoria.

I have signed up for accreditation to the Toronto Jazz Festival. I’ll be writing for the LatinJazzNet. Most of the events are free, I’ll be looking to catch up with some great Canadian talent.

I received my tickets to Kuné, performing at the Collingwood Music Festival. This will be my first time attending the Collingwood Festival.

This weekend my daughter is performing at Blue Mountain as part of the annual Salsa at Blue Mountain. Guess who will be at the Blue Mountain Village this weekend cheering her on.

4. My summer reading looks like this: Spirit Dance by Douglas Smith, a novelette that I just completed reading. Smith is a master of short story fiction. This story is just perfect for National Indigenous History Month.

A story of indigenous lore meeting modern ways. Nature versus mankind in a war of shapeshifters, the animal kingdom and the righteous government of the day. A great story.

Speaking of books, my next book will be the third in The Samba Dog series, Samba in Switzerland. My illustrator Joshua Miller and I will be meeting later this week to discuss the layout for the illustrations.

5. My musical tastes have run the gamut from classical to the blues. One new release that has received plenty of spins, is, El Tinajon from saxophonist Luis Deniz.

As you may have surmised the album is Latin Jazz with heavy influences of Afro Cuban Jazz. I dislike labels though, the primary element is simply good toe-tapping music.

Deniz plays soprano and alto sax’s on the album, his playing is magnificent on every track. He is joined by a group of stellar musicians who provide beautiful accompaniment and wonderful musical interludes.

Thank you for reading, if you think someone you know would be interested in my newsletter please pass it along.

All of my books are now available at your favourite bookstores, support local bookstores with your online purchase.

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong and keep going.