In August 2011, Calvin Locke set out in his 1987 Chevy Beauville van nicknamed the Classy Lady with a mission of driving across Canada to play 100 shows in 100 days. Travelling from the Yukon to St. John’s he played shows big and small, some of them out of the back of his van.
Locke recorded his journey by blogging. Two years later he is releasing a book that includes those blog posts bookended by an introduction explaining why he embarked on the trip and a retrospective at the end.
The book will launch at a fundraising event on November 14 at 6 p.m. at Festival Hall. Tickets are $40 and proceeds go to the Alberta Children’s Hospital. The evening will include live music by Locke and Ryan McMahon, limited edition copies of Overhaul designed by Euny Choi, installation art and limited edition prints by local artists.
Joey Camacho a designer and principal of Studio Coalition (the group behind the event) shares seven reasons why you should go to this party.
All of the money goes to charity
“When Calvin originally went on his big trip, he was inspired by a young girl with terminal brain cancer. The whole reason that he went on this trip was because of meeting her. He was forced to ask himself ‘what’s my excuse for not pursuing what I really love?’ Carrying that torch through, he wanted to raise funds for her through his tours and through his album sales online on iTunes. When he returned he wanted to take this one step further.”
The event showcases work by ACAD alumni
“We’re all ACAD alumni including the book designer, Euny, and all the designers and illustrators behind the prints. It’s a good touch point in the community.”
Inspiring stories
“When you read Calvin’s blog that he wrote as he went on this trip, you read about breakthroughs and breakdowns. There are some really touching stories about the people and characters that he met through this adventure. The journey and the adventure’s really what it’s all about. Take that leap. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. ”
Pretty coffee table books
“Euny Choi spent a lot of time with Calvin getting to know his blog and his story. She spent the better part of a year designing something that could be that book on a coffee table that you pick up and maybe read a couple of blogs and chuckle or cry or laugh.”
Limited edition prints by local artists
“We have four limited edition prints. They’re 18 x 24 and they’re all done by ACAD alumni. One of them is called Canadian Constellations by Komboh. It’s tongue-in-cheek constellations about Canada ranging from Tim Hortons to Wayne Gretzky. Kyle Metcalf is an illustrator and he did one called Unity and it’s more of a graphic illustration about bringing people together. That ties into the theme of the event. Then Byron Eggenschwiler did more of a traditional illustration called Open Road. His work is really colourful and shows him being on this journey. I did one that was a typographic illustration called Remarkable Destination. It is a photo and hand lettered typographic print.”
Installation art
“Ian MacFarlane is also an ACAD grad who is now at 2Stone Design where they do more architectural stuff. He uses a fiberglass kind of concrete mixture, which allows him to do really crazy cool stuff.”
Live music
“Ryan’s out of Victoria and Calvin’s obviously a local musician. Ryan’s music, the way he says it is it’s as rock as folk can get before it starts to roll. It’s upbeat and it will make it a fun night.”
Overhaul presented by Studio Coalition will take place at Festival Hall on November 14 at 6 p.m.. Tickets are $40. For more information, visit iplaymusicforpeople.com.