Welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. My name is Eric Anderson and it has been a busy week for the podcast.

Last Monday, I dropped an episode that took listeners to Beaver Creek Conservation Area to enjoy a Dark Skies event put on by the Meewasin Valley Authority.

On Thursday, I spoke with Katayoon Navabi about the Diaspora Film Festival she was helping organize at the Remai Modern. I saw a great documentary yesterday as part of the film festival called Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story. My congrats to Katayoon and her team for putting on such a wonderful event.

Today, I am sharing a conversation about an upcoming fundraising event that has raised more than three million dollars since 2007.

Choc’la Cure is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds to purchase cancer treatment equipment used at the Saskaoon Cancer Centre. It formed 18 years ago and has impacted the lives of so many people in Saskatoon and throughout our province.

Choc’la Cure’s annual gala event takes place on November 7th at Dutch Growers, and I learned more about the organization and its impact on the Saskatoon Cancer Centre thanks to Kim Swiatecki, Breanne Cooper and Dr. John DeCoteau.

Kim is a volunteer on the Choc’la Cure committee and a previous guest on the podcast way back in season one. Breanne is the Chair of Choc’la Cure, and Dr. DeCoteau is the Medical Director of the Advanced Diagnostic Research Lab at the Saskatoon Cancer Centre.

The goal of this year’s gala is to raise money for a new piece of medical equipment for the Cancer Centre, which Dr. DeCoteau explains in fascinating detail in our conversation.

I met Kim, Breanne and Dr. DeCoteau at Citizen Café a few weeks ago and learned so much from all of them. Best of luck to the entire Choc'la Cure team on their upcoming fundraiser!

Listen and follow YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Please feel
free to leave a 5-star review if you enjoyed this episode. I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers...Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. I am excited to share with you an interview with Katayoon Navabi.

Katayoon is the Program Director for the Paivand Society, which is a non-profit organization in Saskatoon that promotes cultural dialogue, and is on the organizing committee of the Saskatoon Diaspora Film Festival.

This film festival, now in its third year, shows movies that tell stories of migration, immigration, and of people settling into their new homes while trying to create community.

It’s taking place this weekend (October 24th-26th) at the Remai Modern’s beautiful theatre, and you can learn more by visiting paivand-society.ca.

I was introduced to Katayoon by our mutual friend and amazing human being, April Sora, and I am so glad she made this interview happen because, as you are about to discover, Katayoon is simply wonderful.

She is originally from Iran where she grew up in a family that loved to tell stories. Whether it was reading, listening, or cinema, Katayoon, was surrounded by rich storytellers. She attended university in Edmonton before moving to Saskatoon in 2010, and is passionate about sharing stories of migration and immigration with our community.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and hopefully see you at the film festival!

You can follow and listen to YXE Underground wherever you find your favourite podcast including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or the YXE Underground website. Please feel free to leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear!

Cheers...

Eric

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis

Hello and welcome to a special bonus episode of YXE Underground. I’m Eric Anderson, and if you are listener of the podcast, you probably know I am a big fan of the Meewasin Valley Authority.

The organization does an incredible job of protecting and enhancing our beautiful river valley, and its conversation efforts are always worth celebrating.

Meewasin also puts on really great events, and in this episode, we are highlighting one that takes place at Beaver Creek Conservation Area.

Dark Skies at Beaver Creek gives people the chance to explore the wonders of the night sky along with learning how to photograph constellations, galaxies and if you’re lucky, like I was in this episode, the Northern Lights.

These Dark Skies events sell out quickly. I know this because I’ve been trying for a few years to get a ticket. It finally happened in late August on a beautiful and clear Friday night. I wanted to do a bonus episode to share with you the joy and wonder of a Dark Skies event, and I hope that comes through in what you are about to hear.

The next Dark Skies event at Beaver Creek will take place on Saturday, November 1st, starting at 7:30pm.

A big thank you to the Meewasin team, especially the great Sam Cowan, for making this episode possible. I also want to thank Tim Yaworski, also known as the Living Sky Guy, for sharing his knowledge of the sky and photography with all of us at the event. Be sure to check out Tim's YouTube page to learn more about the stars and how to capture them on your camera.

Enjoy the Night Sky, Saskatoon!

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis