North Texans pay tribute to fallen heroes for Memorial Day
Across the country, it has been a day of solemn tributes to the men and woman who paid the ultimate sacrifice. FOX 4’s Alex Boyer reports on some of the tributes here in North Texas.
DALLAS – Thousands of people took part in an event in Dallas meant to remind people about the meaning of Memorial Day and who it honors.
Carry the Load began over a decade ago as a small march around White Rock Lake. Now it’s a worldwide tradition with five relays spanning much of the country to honor fallen heroes.
Those who took part all arrived at Reverchon Park in the Turtle Creek neighborhood of Dallas on Monday. Many carried the names and faces of loved ones killed in the line of duty.
“I think everyone needs to remind themselves what Memorial Day means. Bring it into their lives, bring it into their children’s lives,” said Stephen Smith, who walked through the night.
“I still have sleeves and gloves on my hands to protect myself from the sun but to be able to be out here and be able to talk and to be able to honor the heroes and put their lives on the line means a lot to me,” Perez said.
She continues to improve and said she is grateful to her brother who motivated her to get out and walk for her mental and physical health.
Since it started, Carry the Load has raised more than $32 million to support programs for veterans, including mental health services and help for the families of fallen service members.
Carry the Load event pays tribute to fallen service members
It’s a holiday but for some veterans and others its already been a long night and morning. FOX 4’s Dan Godwin talked to several people taking part in the annual Carry the Load event at Reverchon Park in Dallas.
At DFW National Cemetery, it was the first time the public could pay their respects in person since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Jimenez family was among the large audience who took part in the memorial service which included a wreath laying.
“We’re here to pay respects to our nation and those who have passed and made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Teresa Jimenez, whose father was in the Army.
The 638-acre cemetery has conducted more than 75,000 interments of veterans and eligible dependents. Sadly, more will follow.
“It means a lot to see this huge turnout to pay respects for those who have fallen for our country,” said Osario Rodriguez, a member of the U.S. Navy.
And at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth, the public was invited to take part in a one-hour Memorial Day service. This too was in person for the first time in two years.
“We really need to come together to remember where we are, where we were and where we need to go,” said Carl Davis, an Air Force veteran.
(Bloomberg) — The U.S. backed further away from any suggestion that its officials would boycott Group of 20 meetings if their Russian counterparts attend, as the Treasury Department said Secretary Janet Yellen will participate in some sessions this week.
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Yellen will avoid some meetings of the G-20’s finance ministers in Washington, but will attend others focused on the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That includes the opening session, which will be attended by Ukraine’s finance minister, a senior Treasury official said. Speaking on a call with reporters Monday, the official said Yellen doesn’t want Russia’s participation to stop work the U.S. and its allies must do in the context of the G-20 meetings.
Another official familiar with plans for the meetings said Yellen would not take part in sessions dedicated to international financial architecture and sustainable finance, meetings she would otherwise have attended.
The G-20 meetings in Washington are expected to be a hybrid of in-person and virtual attendees. The official said Russia’s finance minister might attend virtually.
Earlier this month Yellen had said U.S. officials wouldn’t take part in some G-20 meetings this year in which Russia is allowed to take part.
“I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there,” Yellen told lawmakers during a congressional hearing April 6. Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the group and is a key organizer for G-20 events this year.
The Treasury clarified while Yellen was still testifying that she was referring only to G-20 finance ministers’ gatherings scheduled for this week in Washington in conjunction with the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
President Joe Biden on March 24 called on G-20 countries to expel Russia from the group. There hasn’t been an indication that such a plan has gained traction.
For their part, Yellen and her deputy secretary, Wally Adeyemo, will each participate in multiple events this week as part of, or on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank meetings.
Yellen plans to prioritize efforts to punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, dealing with the economic fallout from that war and with other issues including climate change.
She plans to meet Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and will hold a press conference on Thursday.
The CNE will return to Toronto this August, but there’s a whole lot to do before then. (@theex/Facebook)
For all the hype, 2021 never turned out to be the Hot Vax Summer we were promised. What was missing? All the festivals and fun of the season. But as more and more events announce their return for 2022, Canadians might be feeling cautiously optimistic. Will we get the chance for a do-over?
CBC Arts reached out to folks in cities around the country, artists we haven’t checked in on since the days when Purel was liquid gold: Zoe Si, Simone Elizabeth Saunders, Emmie Tsumura, Diana Reyes and Mollie Cronin. Back then, this lot was settling into the forced introversion that is the quarlife. But now, they’re ready for real live Zoom-free entertainment.
What are the things they’ve been waiting all pandemic to do again? We’ve compiled their picks. Even if it’s just a fraction of what’s going on this spring and summer, fill your to-do list with these eclectic events happening around the country.
The scene inside the 2018 Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. (@vancouvercomics/Instagram)
Drop by this free two-day event, and you’ll have the chance to meet hundreds of comics creators. It’s a great place to just wander, says local artist Zoe Si, whose cartoons regularly appear in the New Yorker. And though she’s had a table at Vancaf for years, this’ll be the first time in forever that she won’t be working the show. Still, you can’t keep her away from this gathering of the city’s indie-comics scene now that it’s back.
“The comic community in Vancouver is not the hugest. It’s definitely not the same as in Toronto or New York,” says Si. (Incidentally, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival — TCAF — also returns this spring; circle June 17-19 in your calendar.) “But I’ve always met the loveliest people there, and everyone is super talented. It’s cool to see what other indie artists are coming up with.” (This year’s exhibitor schedule is still TBA.)
When: May 22-22
Where: The Roundhouse, Vancouver
Stand-up comedian John Mulaney is scheduled to appear in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto later this year. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
The Vancouver edition of the comedy festival was originally scheduled for February. Omicron, however, had other plans, and the schedule’s been bumped until May. But Si’s hung on to her tickets, and she especially can’t wait to see John Mulaney. (The stand-up is also set to appear at Toronto’s JFL and the O.G. festival in Montreal later this year.)
Toronto’s Emmie Tsumura is another comedy fan, and she’s been back at Yuk Yuk’s this spring to catch her favourite monthly event, a roast battle hosted by Danish Anwar (CBC Radio’s Because News). “I used to go to comedy maybe once a week pre-pandemic. It was one of the things I fell in love with about Toronto when I first moved here,” says Tsumura. “Comedy on Zoom just does not hit the same,” she laughs.
When: Monthly (next show: April 29)
Where: Yuk Yuk’s Toronto
Snowblink plays the Quidi Vidi Music Crawl during the 2014 edition of Lawnya Vawnya. (@lawnyavwnya/Instagram)
A global pandemic will make a person realize what matters most, and for illustrator Mollie Cronin, seeing live music is a top priority. The Halifax-based artist is actually working on a new graphic novel about the east coast scene (Swamp Girl), its many music festivals included — and Newfoundland’s Lawnya Vawnya is among her personal faves.
“It’s sort of my big trip every year,” says Cronin, who’s missed crawling across St. John’s to catch shows in cafes and record stores and “the best bar in the world,” a Quidi Vidi institution known as Linda’s. “One year they had a kind of oompa brass band walking with us to make a literal parade through the streets,” she recalls, and while this year’s line-up is TBA, past acts have included pretty much anyone who’s ever made the Polaris Music Prize short list, including past winners Cadence Weapon, Haviah Mighty and Backxwash. “I especially love a small city or small town music festival because I think it really enlivens those places,” says Cronin. “It gives everyone a chance to see the hidden gems of those places, the hidden gems of St John’s.”
When: June 8-11
Where: Multiple venues, St. John’s
If you love discovering new music, there’s nothing like a festival, and according to Cronin, this four-day event (formerly known as Obey Convention) has always packed a few surprises. “I think people often have expectations of what Halifax music is going to sound like,” says Cronin. (Read: “Celtic bar fare.”) But experimental sounds are Every Seeker’s specialty, she says. “[It’s] a really great opportunity to expose yourself to a more diverse kind of music scene in the city.” Set up in small venues, the event has a feel that’s “a little scrappier, a little cozier, a little more intimate,” she says.
When: June 9-12
Where: Multiple venues, Halifax
Toronto’s NXNE is scheduled to return June 14-19. (@nxne/Instagram)
Is it even summer in Toronto if you haven’t been to NXNE? For Emmie Tsumura, the city-wide music festival’s given her a few brag-worthy tales to tell. There was the time she caught a booze cruise with Future Islands, and she was one of the thousands of fans who smashed into Yonge-Dundas Square for a (free) face-melting show from St. Vincent. (Heck, that was all in the same weekend.) This year’s schedule is still a mystery, but there’ll be 20+ venues to hit when the action returns this June.
When: June 14-19
Where: Multiple venues, Toronto
Thousands of fans gather at Calgary Olympic Plaza to take in a show during Calgary’s Sled Island Music festival. (Allison Seto)
Over in Calgary, Simone Elizabeth Saunders is pumped for that city’s own indie extravaganza: five days of art, film, comedy — plus loads of music — that will occupy venues around town. (Past locations range from Studio Bell to a legion basement.) “I just love — I love — the energy that festival brings to the city,” says Saunders. (When the 2020 edition was forced to scale back, a storefront exhibition of Saunders’s tufted portraits was part of the Sled Island art program.)
The first wave of 2022 performers has already been announced, with Princess Nokia and (festival guest curator) Sudan Archives among the top acts on the bill.
When: June 22-26
Where: Multiple venues, Calgary
Calgary Folk Festival on Prince’s Island Park (Calgary Folk Music Festival)
As a born-and-raised Calgarian, Saunders has been doing folk fest since she was a kid, and though she put it off last year (the festival returned in 2021 with a few COVID-era tweaks), she’s finally feeling ready to break her tarp out of storage. “It’s my favourite festival in Calgary of the year. It’s just such a vibrant place to spend a weekend, to meet friends, to discover new music. It’s like fuelling the soul here, and it’s right in the middle of summer so it’s a very welcomed event.”
On April 27, this year’s line-up will be revealed. Meanwhile, in Alberta’s capital city, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival has already announced a few headliners. The National and Buffy Sainte-Marie are among the big names playing Gallagher Park Aug. 4-7.
When: July 21-24
Where: Prince’s Island Park, Calgary
Aerial view of the Hillside Festival site at the Guelph Lake Conservation Area. (Photo: Alex Ortega/@hillsidefestivalguelph/Facebook)
After a two-year hiatus, this outdoor festival near Guelph, Ont., is primed to return. The full details are still TBA, but passes are already on sale, and Emmie Tsumura is definitely getting one. A trip to Guelph Lake has been a summer tradition of hers for a decade. “They’ve had some amazing artists the last couple of years,” she says. (Acts at the 2019 edition included Orville Peck and Snotty Nose Rez Kids.) “It’s great because you’re camping and just listening to music outside all weekend.”
When: July 22-24
Where: Guelph Lake Conservation Area, Ontario
Toronto-based band U.S. Girls play Sappyfest. (Corey Isenor)
“Sappyfest feels like adult summer camp in all the best ways,” says Mollie Cronin. “The streets are just crawling with artists and musicians and dogs and kids for a weekend,” she says, and it’s that sort of giddy and wholesome scene that has brought her back every July … save for the last two years, of course.
A preview from Mollie Cronin’s new comic book Swamp Girl. The first finished pages appeared in Sappyfest’s print publication The Sappy Post. (Courtesy of Mollie Cronin)
For the 2021 edition, Sappyfest went online, producing a 28-hour variety show that was broadcast live from Struts Gallery. Cronin, though, misses the inimitable vibe of the real-live thing. “Interesting musicians and artists have made their home in Sackville,” says Cronin, Julie Doiron being the most top-of-mind example. “It’s an atmosphere that’s hard to capture.”
When: July 29-31
Where: Multiple venues, Sackville, N.B.
A bird’s eye view of the Vancouver Pride Parade. (@vancouverpride/Instagram)
While Pride celebrations are expected to return to cities across Canada this year, to Zoe Si, there’s something extra special about Vancouver’s festivities. It all comes down to timing. “Vancouver in the summer is such a special place. I feel like every winter, everyone who lives here is shocked at how horrible it is during the winter, just how dark and rainy it is. And then when the summer rolls around, like specifically those few weeks at the end of July, beginning of August, everyone remembers why we live here because it’s so beautiful. And the vibe on the streets, it’s like a street party for a whole week and everyone just feels really liberated and happy and carefree.”
Si will be at the Pride Parade July 31 — and she’s been going as long as she can remember. This year’s theme is Together Again, and if it’s anything like the Before Times, it’ll draw some 400,000 visitors to the city’s downtown.
When: (Pride Parade) July 31
Where: Starts on Robson Street. Route ends beside the Sunset Beach festival site, Vancouver
June 9: Dancers participate in Carifest, an annual festival held in Calgary, which showcases the arts and culture of the Caribbean. (Falice Chin/CBC)
Toronto’s Caribana Festival might get all the attention (and yes, it’s returning for 2022), but when summer hits, people in cities all over Canada come out to celebrate Caribbean culture. In Calgary, Carifest is a must-do for Simone Elizabeth Saunders, an artist with family roots in Jamaica. “It’s a place where the Black community really feels at home and really supports Black entrepreneurs and artists and restaurateurs. And so I’m very excited that that will be happening again.” Its annual parade takes place on Aug. 13.
When: Aug. 12-13
Where: Shaw Millennium Park, Calgary
For some 1.4 million people, the summer’s not over until they’ve filled their bellies with funnel cake — and whatever else you can scarf on the midway. So here’s some good news: the CNE will return this summer after a two-year hiatus. Diana Reyes will be there with her nephews in tow. “It brings me back to my childhood growing up in Toronto,” says the artist, a dancer and DJ who now lives half the year in Montreal. “I’m excited to bring them and show them what we used to love doing when we were kids.”
“Obviously, there’s the food hall” — and the games and the rides and a million gaudy sights. “Even as a like-40-year-old, I can’t wait to go.”
When: Aug. 19-Sept. 5
Where: Exhibition Place, Toronto
Art in the Open
The March of the Crows at Charlottetown’s Art in the Open festival. (Courtesy of Art in the Open)
On the East Coast, there’s another way to mark the end of summer. Art in the Open is Charlottetown’s answer to Nuit Blanche, says Mollie Cronin, who makes a pilgrimage to P.E.I. every August. An all-night art crawl caps this summertime festival, and Cronin can never predict what she’ll discover on the street. One year, for example, she was chilling at a cafe when the annual March of the Crows breezed by. (Get a load of it yourself.) “I think festivals are one of the things I’m most excited about coming back. It’s such a great opportunity to meet new people, and for artists, especially, to gather together,” says Cronin. “It’s very much the kind of artistic food for the soul that I’m really craving these days.”
These women in tech events are calling the feminist in you. Here are the top 10 must-attend events in 2022.
In recent years, the number of women in tech events has increased a lot. Analytics Insight brings the top 10 most prominent women in technology conferences happening in 2022. These events focus on empowering women through conferences like Women in Cybersecurity, Women Transforming Technology, Tech Up For Women, and more that help attendees learn new skills, make valuable connections, discuss innovative trends, promote intersectionality, and access motivational leaders. Here are the top 10 must-attend women in tech events of 2022.
Women in Cybersecurity 22
Date: March 17-19, 2022
Location: Cleveland, OH
The 9th annual Women in Cybersecurity conference is not only the flagship conference for women in cybersecurity but, regardless of gender, is the largest cybersecurity conference with equal representation of professionals and students. This conference help organizations recruit, retain, and advance women in cybersecurity — all while creating a community of engagement, encouragement, and support at a technical conference.
7th Annual Women Transforming Technology Conference
Date: April 11-12, 2022
Location: Virtual
Women Transforming Technology is a consortium of companies and organizations committed to building a community and tackling issues that are top of mind for women in technology. 7th Annual Women Transforming Technology Conference is one of the best women in tech events you should consider attending in 2022.
Women of Silicon Valley
Date: May 10-11, 2022
Location: San Francisco
Women of Silicon Valley will be celebrating the power of resilience as the event unite 1500+ leading women in technology, from global leaders to disruptive start-ups, to shine a spotlight on the technology, people, and businesses that are driving change. This is where women in technology connect and share ideas to build a better future.
Women in Tech Texas
Date: May 19-20, 2022
Location: Houston, TX
Women in Tech Texas unite 1000 women in tech leaders, decision-makers, innovators, and pioneers from the most successful tech companies and disruptive start-ups, to celebrate the power of resilience. This is the only women in technology conference where people connect, ideas are shared and the future is made. It is one of the best women in tech events you should consider attending in 2022.
European Women in Technology
Date: June 8-9, 2022
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
European Women in Technology is Europe’s highest-rated, largest, and most dynamic technology conference, designed to help women supercharge their careers in the tech sector. Returning as a two-day hybrid event, experience inspirational keynotes by Europe’s most influential Women, unrivalled networking opportunities, and gain access to leading content engineered to assist you in maximizing your career in technology.
Women Impact Tech Accelerate (WIT) Seattle
Date: May 24-25, 2022
Location: Seattle, WA
The Accelerate conference is a celebration of women in technology who are breaking barriers, innovating, and striving for inclusion and equity. Join hundreds of inspiring female industry leaders & technical experts from across Seattle, and network with innovative technology companies that are paving the way for women in tech.
Tech Up For Women: IFA Berlin Conference
Date: September 2, 2022
Location: Berlin, Germany
Explore new tech trends, education, and networking opportunities to take the fear factor out of technology. Attend the conference to stay current through our website resource pages, TECH UP TALKS Webinar Series, Podcasts, and Workshops on innovative new technology, advancing your career through new tools, resources, and powerful community.
International Women’s Day India Summit
Date: April 2-3, 2022
Location: India
IWD India Summit is described as “a celebration for all women in technology”. The event is virtual, inviting women from across the country to learn through the exchange of inspirational examples and experiences. The conference aims to empower women through learnings, curated sessions, exchanging best practices, and more. It is one of the best women in tech events to attend in 2022.
Tech Up For Women
Date: November 15, 2022
Location: New York City
Explore new tech trends, education, and networking opportunities to take the fear factor out of technology. Attend this one of the best women in tech events to stay current through our website resource pages, TECH UP TALKS Webinar Series, Podcasts, and Workshops on innovative new technology, advancing your career through new tools, resources, and powerful community.
WITI Virtual Summit
June 20-21, 2022
In their 28th edition, the Women in Technology International (WITI) aims to advocate, recognize, and encourage women’s contribution to the tech industry. The event includes insights, inspirations, and action items from women worldwide. WITI’s membership consists of over 3 million industry professionals, 300 partners, and 60 networks, with various global events to support women’s collaboration across the globe.
