Rhonda B Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 Good afternoon all my new friends here at ec.com. ..To celebrate my first week on the site I thought I would give you some information about the beautiful city where I live… Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is a very scenic city, built on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River ..close to 300,000 people. It is known as the city of bridges, currently there are eight. Celebrities who lived or grew up here: (the ones most notable... maybe you will even recognize some) -Joni Mitchell -singer/songwriter Susan Jacks- singer from Terry Jacks and Poppy Family -Kim Coates-actor - Gordie Howe- NHL(many players past/present are from Saskatoon) -Bill Hunter…hockey coach who tried to bring the struggling St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon in 1983 ( obviously he failed, but we did get a 15000 seat Arena built because of his promotion) -Catriona LaMay Doan -Olympic speed skater -Shannon Tweed actress model(Gene Simmons wife) -Yann Martel-author of Life of Pi (as far as I know he still lives here with his partner and children) -Keith Morrison -TV journalist The University of Saskatchewan is here and is known as a research University. This is the University where I attained my music education degree in 1980. Imagine my huge excitement my first year at this University in the music department when one of my professors starts talking about Eric Carmen and his use of Rachmaninoff and then we studied Rachmaninoff... brings great joy to my heart even as I type this. The U of S as we call it, is a renowned University for having a synchrotron. This is a high intensity light that allows for the study of disease mechanisms and high resolution imaging especially used in cancer radiation. There are only 7 in the world. Our University sports teams are called the Huskies. Saskatoon is a city of the arts and in the summer we have "Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan". This is a large performance tent erected on the banks of the river where many Shakespearean plays are performed. We have two large performance venues: an auditorium which holds about 2,000. The very first International group that played when our Saskatoon arts and Convention Center Auditorium opened was The Troggs (Wild Thing) in 1968. I saw my very first concert in this Auditorium I believe in 1971 when I was 13.. Kenny Rogers and the first Edition. I remember every minute of it. I was obsessed with their harmonies and background singers...Something's Burning and Heed the Call were my 2 favourites of theirs. Also in my 30 years of being a choir director and music teacher I have brought at least 15 choirs to this Auditorium and as well I've performed as a soloist a couple times and once with our Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. Our 2nd venue, our Arena opened 1988.. SaskTel Centre, holds 15,000 people... this is where all the main music artists perform. We have had huge entertainers and just about every rock band there is such as Elton John (4 times) Garth Brooks many times, The Eagles, Rod Stewart, Beach Boys, Boston, The Who. Metallica etc.etc. A statue of Gordie Howe is outside of this Arena. And a few years back at this Arena, I got to meet and shake hands with my hockey idol Bobby Orr who was there for a fundraiser, truly the highlight of my life I must say. Much about Saskatchewan is hockey, my dad was obsessed with it my brothers were in it, there's no way around it. And also we are pretty obsessed with our CFL team Saskatchewan Roughriders and curling. The Rolling Stones never played in Saskatoon, but did play at our big stadium in Regina the capital city. So of course we never had The Beatles or you know who, Mr. Carmen... I may have even written him a letter OR 2 that I have no clue where it went, telling him about Saskatchewan and how many fans he has here...way back in 1976. So to conclude, I always like to tell Americans this story. In a movie with Bing Crosby called, “ A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,” Bing says, “SASKATOON SASKATCHEWAN” when performing a magic trick. So much more to say about our City of Saskatoon, with its many restaurants, small performance venues, art galleries, and jazz festivals. I can go on and on. So proud to call Saskatoon Saskatchewan my home. Hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doreen Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 I say again, I learn so much from the people on this site 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 It also has a pretty darn good song named after it: (from one of my favorite concerts) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 26 minutes ago, Craig Benfer said: It also has a pretty darn good song named after it: (from one of my favorite concerts) Thanks for adding that Craig . How could I have missed talking about Burton Cummings and the Guess Who and their song,"Running back to Saskatoon"?? And I've been to Burton Cummings and the Guess Who concerts here as well. Saskatoon is mentioned in quite a few songs actually ..Johnny Cash.."Girl in Saskatoon" and others but my favourite, lyric-wise, is mentioned in a Sammy Kershaw song called "Anywhere but Here" ...lyrics in the song: 'I hear it's cold up in Saskatoon but it couldn't be colder than in our bedroom' LOL And it gets pretty darn cold here...let me tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew C. Clark Posted December 5, 2021 Share Posted December 5, 2021 Song went to # 96 (Hot 100) in October of 1972. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellie Posted December 25, 2021 Share Posted December 25, 2021 Hey Rhonda, welcome! I stayed overnight in Saskatoon a couple of years ago when I moved from Florida to Alaska and drove through Canada. Nice town. I wasn't planning on overnighting, but it started snowing real heavy and I decided to get off of the road and settle in early. They must have gotten 8 inches of snow by morning, but the roads were all cleared before I got checked out. It was beautiful. I loved the hotel. It had an indoor pool with a huge, very high water slide, and listening to the other guests kids giggling and screaming in there lifted my spirits. The room had a super long and more than knee-high deep soaker tub that was heavenly. The hospitality was exceptional. From your description, it sounds like a must-add travel destination to experience a bit more of what Saskatoon has to offer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted December 26, 2021 Author Share Posted December 26, 2021 Thx Mellie! Was it the Travelodge Hotel?..it has a huge water slide and jacuzzi in the rooms. Wow you had quite a journey across continent! So glad our beautiful city of Saskatoon treated you in the manner you deserved. The river banks are so beautiful in summer and fall. Merry Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 VBT welcomes you as well, Interesting members great site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellie Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 On 12/26/2021 at 7:57 AM, Rhonda B said: Thx Mellie! Was it the Travelodge Hotel?..it has a huge water slide and jacuzzi in the rooms. Wow you had quite a journey across continent! So glad our beautiful city of Saskatoon treated you in the manner you deserved. The river banks are so beautiful in summer and fall. Merry Christmas. Yes, it was Travelodge. I highly recommend it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 It’s nice to see Mellie back here along with LC.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda B Posted December 30, 2021 Author Share Posted December 30, 2021 Yes Lew... I feel honoured that I am conversing with these two prestigious members. I've been on here one month now and I am happy to see that I have put Saskatchewan on the map with over 42,000 views in one month, I am amazed. This is my first open social media site I have been on since I've had the internet. And yes, I have been on Facebook etc. but that is for my actual known family and personal friends. I feel like a giddy teenager or even a small child who is excited to watch the same movie over and over 20 times in a row! Thanks y'all.♥️ Rhonda B. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Benfer Posted January 1, 2022 Share Posted January 1, 2022 As I read mellies's post, I wondered how many people in the history of the world have moved from Florida to Alaska. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellie Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Craig, you would probably really be surprised. Based on the number of people I meet who came from Florida, that number could be pretty high. And then after we go back to Florida, we're reminded why we went to Alaska to begin with, and we just keep going back and forth. It is always good to try and keep those Florida connections, though. Is anyone on here from Key West? I'm in need of some thawing out and might need a sofa to land on if the hotels are sold out.😀 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellie Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Thanks Lew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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