leonardcohenforum.com

There is a brand new book about Edmonton "Weird Edmonton" which contains many facts about the city you probably never knew!
See http://weirdyeg.ca/ http://www.amazon.ca/Weird-Edmonton-Won ... 1926700430
http://vimeo.com/90725019

You may already know Edmonton as the Festival City (with close to 40 festivals held year round, including the largest Fringe Festival in North America) and the city with the largest mall in North America (West Edmonton Mall), but did you know Alberta’s capital city is also downright weird? Edmonton is home to:

The bush pilot who valiantly fought the Red Baron in his last dogfight of World War I
A miracle baby who came back to life after spending an hour outside in frigid weather
Ghosts that throw beach balls around a city swimming pool
A psychic who lived in a cave in the river valley
Steampunk groups who dedicate themselves to the fashions, ideas and innovations from science fiction in the Victorian era
Prehistoric fish in the North Saskatchewan River
A waterfall higher than Niagara Falls

Read about these weird events, people, places and more in Mark Kozub’s loving tribute to his home city, Weird Edmonton.

That brings me to another question: who do we want the event to be for? Do we want it to be a lavish affair with first class (and expensive) musicians or should we accept that it will always be a small, more limited event for maybe 80-100 people? A chance to meet up and little more. If the latter then the possibilities for suitable locations are much wider as it's basically a social gathering and little more.

At least to date and from my perspective, the formal Events have been a lot more than a chance to meet up and little more. Our numbers have been higher in the past, and I believe they'll increase again after Leonard is no longer touring. We've become quite spoiled by our multiple opportunities to meet up.

The variety of things that organizers have brought us, however [well known, at least to us, entertainment aside... has been both educational and enriching], has been immense. Their coordination efforts have been HUGE. For the Events, I agree that location is everything... as are activities of interest. North America doesn't have history in the sense that Europe does and never will, but it does have matters of extreme interest... and I love the idea of continuing to get to know each other better at the same time that we learn more about each other's worlds. We may sort of be running out of 'Leonard-related spots, but there remain some... and that element has always rather driven our choices, along with some other major factors already mentioned. I like the idea of Nashville.


~ Lizzie

Even though I think it is a bit early to talk about what comes next at a time when all focus is on the Dublin event, here is my general position about the future of these events. In the past we have thought of the Leonard Cohen Events of gatherings with bigger numbers of attendees. This all started at a time, when Internet became available, at a time when Leonard hasn't been around for a whle. There was a huge interest in sharing and communication and it became real. Now after gigantic tours with plenty of smaller gatherings the time might have come to look at our official event with different eyes. Many people have detected the LC Files and the Forum in the past years. Only a very limited number of them can afford travelling huge distances. Which leads me to the point that we should free our LC events from certain rules concerning year and place. If someone is willing to host an ambitious event no matter when, no matter where, he or she might feel free to ask Jarkko about the LC Files support re: Information, Registration, whatsoever and there will be advice from the highest place. We don't know what will happen with more LC touring, we can never have enough of the real thing, I miss him already. It is true that I want to invite people for an organized gathering in Hamburg. I don't like to be restricted about the year. I want to decide this myself and with Jarkkos help I will make sure that the weekend will not collide with other events.

I like your thinking Henning and hope to be able to support a Hamburg event of whatever nature and whenever it is.

Wendy

Me too, Henning. My full support and warm greetings from Saint Petersburg!

Just one thing (although there's no doubt you keep it in mind): Big Events are announced beforehand. In 2010 I knew that I won't be able to attend the 2012 event, so I'd be looking for something else. In 2012 I knew the same about the 2014 event.
The less time is left, the harder it is to deside.

i for one wouldn't make the journey over to edmondton for an event nor would I suspect would many other europeans…a situation which combined with the low registration figures for dublin would indicate that maybe a rethink is needed for our biennial event…..
if we are having difficulty in reaching our target registration figures for dublin despite all the hard work that paula and the committee are doing to organise such a exciting programme of events for us then I fear that a scaling down for events could be the way to go in future…

dublin is one of the most exciting and culturally sophisticated cities in the world a city steeped in history architecture poetry music theatre and literature with more galleries museums and theatres than you could shake a stick at.. and of course combined with all the former delights you have the opportunity to visit the city's world famous pubs …so if we are struggling to persuade forum members to come and join us in such a brilliantly endowed city I can't see a future for our biennial events on the same scale as we have been enjoying in the past

for me I would like to see the events pared down and made into an annual affair alternating between europe and the USA.. a move which i'm sure would help to ease the workload of the organisers by doing away with such items as the expense and hiring of artists from other continents ..and I'm sure it would also help to reduce the worry of balancing the books and also help those organisers who can still boast of having a full head of hair (sorry henning) from the long months of tearing it out in handfuls at the frustration of trying to persuade enough forum members to attend their event .... with this plan folk could then choose which event suited their needs and budgets…i know my suggestion will cause a bad feeling amongst our regular american attendees but we have to take a reality check and look at what the figures are telling us

we seem to enjoy our more intimate hydra meet ups and walking weekends with the minimum of organisation so I'm sure there is no reason why the events can't do the same

anyways that's my 2 cents worth …i'll now go and hide in a cupboard….ta ken

Before deciding where our next Event should take place, we should think as a community in the Event fact itself.
I don't think we should mix aims, goals, figures, motivation and results of the "pre-tour-age" with the "during-tour-age" and even with a "post-tour-age".


The evident aim of the pre 2008 events was to keep the LC flame burning, to give all the "preachers in the desert" mutual support and to make this comunity "visible" enough in the hope of helping LC decide to start touring again.
Those were "hard" times for LC true lovers ( I always feel a bit guilty about those years...) but as there was the start, they found a strong motivation and the perfect settings, Hydra, Montreal, NY and Berlin.... Succesful great events.

Then we all had the wonderful and in a way unexpected new of LC touring again. Thousands of cohenites merged to suface, but obviously they were more focused (in terms of interest and money spending) in concerts, setlists and obviously.... in privileged presales than in events. On the road many of us discovered this wonderful comunity and true friendships have started. We love gathering and want to keep doing it!
Maybe Goldin could help with figures, but I think the number of attendants should have been going down since Edmonton 2008.
No one could have expected LC was going to spoil us with so many venues and for six exciting years.
To resume, I think the motivation to spend time and money, to attend and Event without Cohen himself in less relevant locations having the possibility of atending concerts and meeting cohenites all the time, goes down and down....

Probably these premises will change again in a (hopefully far) future post-touring-age.

There is a reasonable hope to think 2016 would be a "touring-age" Event or at least a "transitional" one.

I think the idea of a huge, international Event has still a place in our community.

We should consider if a two years periodicity is not too short when we have been travelling and gathering so much in the past years.

An extremelly appealing location is a must. LC cover concerts, interesting writers meetings, film previews or meeting old friends won't be enough for a long, long time.

The most important is a human team knowing and well known by all the forum-files community through the years, sensible to most foreigners and local needs and expectations. Loved but also in the position to answer to all the logistic chalenges involved.

I don't think we should go ahead with a new "official" LC Event if we don't find the equilateral perfect triangle LOCATION-ORGANISERS-DATE.
Which doesn't mean that smaller gathering like Hamburg, Edmonton or St John's shouldn't take place.

I see that while I was trying to put my thoughts in an undestandable English we were all more or less in the same direction.....

Hi All,
I agree with most of what Bea has said and virtually all of Henning’s and Ken’s posts ( honest….)

I think the strict timetable of biennial events alternating between America and Europe has reached a conclusion.
The pressure on the organisers is unfair and the need to ‘balance the books’ around set in stone dates is an added concern.

To have to persuade people to attend gatherings is not right; as is to have to decide between the merits of various prospective venues.
The best events are the ones that are crazy dreams that gather momentum.

The tours over the past years have allowed us all to gather at interesting places and if other concerts hopefully happen, I’m sure that one or two day trips will be extended to longer stays and to more organised meet ups around the concerts, as happened in Pula, London, New York and Las Vegas.

People traveling from one continent to another will, I believe, not travel just for the duration of the event but will incorporate it into a longer holiday and the expense involved to do this is not justifiable (or possible) when concerts and many other commitments need to be paid for.

If there are no more concerts, I’m sure friendships, Hydra, walking weekends and disorganised meetups will continue, and allow us all to enhance our community as will other ideas and visits to hometowns of various forum members.

One downside to this course of action is that newer members of the forum may feel inhibited in joining smaller groups, but I’m sure the friendliness of all will counteract this.


I’d like to thank all the Dublin organising committee for what looks a fantastic time in August and I look forward to seeing all.

Take care
Dave

Hi Folks!
This is Vicky Hynes here in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
I am the Producer of Feast of Cohen: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, an annual music event presenting Leonard Cohen's songbook.
This December will be our 15th year.
Feast of Cohen invites you to the most easterly city in North America, St. John's Newfoundland Canada, for the International Cohen Event in 2016.
August in Newfoundland is the height of our cultural season for folk, jazz, classical, theatre, and literary festivals.
Our City is the capital city of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and is the crossroads for European/North American travel.
My plan would be to take the annual Feast of Cohen music event from its regular time in December and stage it in August.
Hopefully it would be at Holy Heart Theatre where Cohen first performed here several years ago or at the Arts & Culture Centre where Anjani Thomas joined us for Feast of Cohen this past December 2013.
Wonderful music, beautiful people and die-hard fans of Leonard Cohen, live here!
Vicky

Hi Vicky! I don't think Edmonton and St. Johns are mutually exclusive, I think both events could occur in partnership rather like the way Andrew Darbyshire brought the fresh video tape from the just concluded Toowoomba Australia Event to our September 2002 first Leonard Cohen Nights event in Edmonton. http://www.leonardcohennights.org/event.htm I still have that tape and it is wonderful! http://cybernephrology.ualberta.ca/misc ... ndrew3.mov

If you read the messages above I think one can quickly conclude that the people who moan and complain about Edmonton will also likely moan and complain about St. Johns, but the people who attended the 2008 event event in Edmonton, enjoyed it, and will come back again in 2016 are also likely to attend a conjoint event in St. Johns and there will be new people keen on the adventure of experiencing a "cross-Canada" Cohen event and coming to both of our fine cities. There will also be people who do just one and not the other and that is OK too. You have a strong local fan base in St. Johns just as we do in Edmonton.

I would favour late August. That way people can finish their summer holidays on a real Cohenesque high point!

All the best. - Kim

Hi all, I have just seen this discussion about 2016....many point of views and new ideas.
I simply think an event should not take place twice in the same city, the only exception here I would think is Hydra...as this is really special place . As far as I calculate 2016 should be the 10th LC Event (is it correct counting the 1998 UK small one ?) , so it should/could be a special Event anniversary.

For the rest I also agree to the different ideas having been discussed here (Henning, Ken etc.) and yes times have changed also economically in certain european countries,surely a lot of europeans just cannot afford to travel to another continents.

Looking forward to Dublin soon,
Andrea

The plan is to have the Edmonton 2016 Event coincide with the Edmonton International Film Festival http://www.edmontonfilmfest.com which would put it end of September or early October. The Edmonton Queen river boat ride would still be nice at that time of year.

KimSolez wrote:The plan is to have the Edmonton 2016 Event coincide with the Edmonton International Film Festival which would put it end of September or early October.

That would definitely rule me out as we always head for Nova Scotia/ Cape Breton & the Celtic Colours festival in early October.

Wendy

Wendy that is not a conflict at all. This year that festival is October 10-18. https://www.facebook.com/celticcolours That is well after the dates we are proposing.