Volunteering to Help with Animals

If you are an animal lover, perhaps you've thought about ways that you could volunteer with animals. Or perhaps you are looking for ways to volunteer with your pet.

There are many ways that you (and your pet) can help our furry, scaly and feathered friends. These are just some of the areas that you could lend a helping hand: administrative support, animal care, animal transport and special events.

Opportunities to Volunteer with Animals in Calgary

To ensure that most of donors' contributions go to caring for animals in need, animal shelters and societies rely on caring volunteers to help with office administration. For instance, the Calgary Humane Society gladly welcomes volunteers to assist with office reception. Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation and Oops-a-Dazy Rescue and Sanctuary Society have several areas to help with everything from pet insurance administration to marketing. The Animal Rescue Foundation relies on responsible volunteers to interview families for the pet adoption program.

For those who want more hands-on experience helping animals, volunteers can help with picking up animals that have been found in the wild, attending to animals' daily needs or ensuring that the needed supplies are on-hand. Dog walking, laundry and cleaning are other areas of animal care that would benefit from volunteer assistance.

Volunteers can also help by fostering animals. Foster families provide a safe environment for an animal as well as prepare them for the adoption program.

Most animal organizations run fundraising events on an annual basis. This can take the form of a casino, a fun run or an auction. People can assist as event volunteers or on the organizing committee.

Opportunities to Volunteer with Your Pet

There are numerous ways that you can volunteer with your pet. When Maestro was younger, we participated in the SPCA Dog Jog as well as the Fathers' Day Walk:

You and your pet can also foster animals. Your pet is your number one assistant in socializing a rescued animal before he or she is adopted.

Another area that you and your pet can help the community is by providing animal therapy. You would work together as a team, bringing smiles and comforting long-term care patients.

Volunteering with animals - whether it is to help animals in need or you are volunteering with your pet - can be a rewarding experience for both you and your pet. For more information, check out the books and links listed below.

Related Reading:

6 Ways to Volunteer with Your Pet by Sidney Stevens (Mother Nature Network)

A Guide to Volunteering with Your Pet (Healthy Pet)

Five Ways to Volunteer with Your Dog by Cesar Milan (Cesar's Way)

The Unusual Diary of an Animal Shelter Volunteer (book)

Volunteering to Help with Animals (book)

Wanted!: Animal Volunteers (book)

Explore Japanese Culture at the 2013 Calgary Japanese Festival

It always looks like the characters are having so much fun at Japanese festivals in anime shows - the lanterns, the takoyaki, the yakisoba, the games, the neat marriage of old and new. If only we have something like it here...

As of the summer of 2011, we can say that we have our own Japanese festival. Now in its third year, the Calgary Japanese Festival Omatsuri offers frugal family- friendly activities to do in Calgary worth checking out.

The Omatsuri offers plenty to do in Calgary next weekend, including music, dance, food, games, cultural displays and merchandise. This year's celebration is slated for Saturday, August 17 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Bridgeland Riverside Community Centre & Park. 

After the opening ceremonies, there will be an Omikoshi parade (portable shrine). There is also a yukata contest open to anyone who is dressed in this traditional festival outfit.

The Kotokuki Senior Group will be treating attendees to several performances, including the Sumida-gawa play, the Tankou Bushi dance and  Aowa dancing. Having volunteered with many of the Kotokuki seniors at the Calgary Japanese Community Association's 2011 tsunami and earthquake relief efforts, I can tell you that this is one energetic group!

Other performances include my Calgary Japanese Language School classmate Martial Simard on shakuhachi, Midnight Taiko Drums, the Minyo Dancers of Lethbridge and a koto performance featuring Mizue Asai-Kaufmann and Kaori Akiyama. Closing this diverse cultural and entertainment program will be the anime and cosplay band Anything Goes.

There will also be a couple of Japanese martial arts demonstrations. Seiichi Yamashiro-sensei and Frank Prystupa-sensei from the Karate Alberta Association will do a demonstration, while Dave Rathnow-sensei of Shin Ken Kai Nobara dojo will do an Iaido demonstration. 

This is the first year that there will be a J-pop and Anime Talent Show. This will feature singers from throughout Alberta.

My role has varied with the Calgary Omatsuri. The first year, I went as a normal attendee. Last year, I was on the entertainment committee, helping with the sound set-up and conscripting recruiting volunteers. This year, the entertainment chair, Kathleen Irulanne Boucher-san has asked me to interview the entertainers, collecting audio/visual footage of the Calgary Omasuri. 私は楽しみにしています! Stay tuned for interviews and my review of this Calgary cultural festival here! じゃあまたね!

The Evolution of an Anime Otaku

Just like the ever-changing landscape, our tastes change. Nothing makes that clearer than when I look at my anime list.

For the purpose of this reflection, I'll leave out the anime that I watched as a child. That was, after all, before anime became big in North America. My otaku story really began with Pokémon and Card Captor Sakura. Thus began my stint watching shonen and magical girl anime. Mostly coming of age stories with a hint of supernatural, like Fruits Basketand Magic Knight Rayearth.  I even started buying Furuba messenger bags and plushies!

At the time, anime provided a nice way to escape the stresses of the day and reconnect with my inner child.

Next came more shonen like, Bleach, Kekkaishi, History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi and Samurai X. This led to me finally picking up the martial art Iaido. I joined the Calgary Iaido Club (now "Ka Muso Kai") and worked my way up to Ikkyu and publishing three articles in The Iaido Journal.

My next big shift was towards "spirited away" tales, such as 12 Kingdoms, Spirited Away, Magic Knight Rayearth. Escapism once again.

Actually, one of the reasons I started to study the Japanese language is because there are some light novels that haven't been translated into English. Or, they are being translated at an extremely slow pace. 12 Kingdoms is one of them.

I think mecha came next: Neon Genesis Evangelion(because everyone has to at least once, right?), RahXephon, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040. One of my favourite shows as a child was Battle of the Planets (AKA "Gatchaman"). Between G-Force and the Transformers, I guess I've always been a mecha fan. There's something fantastical about these humungous machines.

I even delved into a bit of horror (to my own horror). However, it was the story that drew me in. However to this day, I still wish they told us who the murderer was in Umineko no Naku Koro Ni.

After that, the shifts came in terms of storyline. Sure, there were still elements of shonen or magical girl, mecha or being spirited away, but the stories were getting deeper.

One season, I watched only post-apocalyptic shows, such as Shinsekai Yori. Another season featured strong female leads (Soul Eater, Moribito). Anime with a bit of mystery and intrigue, as well as samurai ones remain a hit with me.

One thing that remains constant is that this otaku seeks a balance, a balance between light and dark, funny and serious, fantasy and reality. My otaku bookcase spreads across my home (anime and manga in one area, plushies and figurines in my office - because I want a cool workspace).

And wow, have I ever watched a lot of anime through the years! すごい です ね？

Free Summer Concerts by the Calgary Wind Symphony

Looking for a frugal and enjoyable activity for the entire family? How about summer concerts in the park by the Calgary Wind Symphony?

Bring a picnic, a book, Frisbee and enjoy some great concert band classics performed by the Calgary Wind Symphony. Even the family dog can come too!

The concerts take place at Riley Park, Calgary 

(Map).

  The CWS summer concerts are on Sunday, August 11 and Sunday, August 25, 2013. Concert start time is 2:00 pm.

The CWS is directed by Dr. Jeremy Brown. For more information on the Calgary Wind Symphony or to check out the 2013/14 concert season, visit their

website

or their

Facebook page

.

Piano Shopping with my Adult Student

Last month, one of my adult students asked me to accompany her as she went piano shopping. It was a delightful experience for both of us.

Our search began at Steinway Pianos of Calgary. I had booked a Look Inside the Piano workshop and Owner/President Brent Hay gave a fantastic presentation. His passion for our instrument was infectious we learned lot about how pianos are made. My student zoomed in on the Boston and Essex lines, which are Steinway's student models.

We learned about the manufacturing differences between the three product lines as well. For instance, Boston pianos are manufactured in Japan, whereas Essex pianos are manufactured in China. Steinway designs.

We learned to look at the posts in the back to determine if their functional posts or mere decoration (think joists in a home). And, we learned about little adjustments manufacturers make when the frame is just a teensy bit too big for the guts.

Our next trip was to St. John's Music to test out Yamaha pianos. I got to try the "silent" model of the piano I grew up on, the U1. It truly is a hybrid piano. It has the similarities to the piano I honed my skills on but the benefits that technology has to offer. Turn on the unit underneath and this acoustic piano becomes a digital piano. However, unlike digital pianos, this is first and foremost and acoustic piano.

We also tried Yamaha's new "B" line, manufactured in China (Yamaha has design control). The piano I tried had a nice, rich tone and for families just starting out, a nice price tag. The Cable-Nelson piano just felt heavy compared to the Yamaha's.

My student fell in love with the GB1. Those Georgian legs, the rich dark finish. More importantly, the piano sang for her. There was an instant connection, akin to when Harry Potter's wand chose him in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. For a 5'0" grand, it sounds more like a 6' or even a 7' grand piano.

Our last stop was Michael Lipnicki's Fine Pianos. She tried the student line (the Palatino) but found it a little "clunky". Then we both tried the Bechstein (I think it was the B120 but I'm not 100% sure). What beautiful tone. So rich. And those pedals! We're still talking about how smooth the pedal action is. It was on sale too! We even liked it better than the Grotrian pianos.

Just to give her a frame of reference, I urged my student to try the top of the line pianos in each store. Steinway & Sons, C. Bechstein, Fazioli and Yamaha's best melted for her - as they should! Half-jokingly, I compared it to test driving a Ferrari.

There is undoubtedly a difference between handcrafted and mostly machine manufactured pianos. Personally, I think both have their pros and cons.

In the end, the Yamaha GB1 was the winner. It was love at first sound and first touch. She went back a second time to just confirm.

Accompanying my student was a learning experience for me too. When I purchased my Yamaha WX-7F, I was a music student. My music teacher didn't accompany me. However, my brother and I were at a high enough level and on enough pianos to know what to look for in terms of sound and touch. Piano shopping as a teacher is a little different. I learned a bit more about piano construction and what to look for in terms of the soundboard and the the posts in the back. I paid more attention to the key action and the voice of each piano I played.

However, next time I go shopping for an acoustic piano for my studio, once I have a short-list, it will still come down to sound and touch. And which piano chooses me. For I think, like Harry Potter, the piano chooses the musician.