Stop 4: Saint John

The editor was commenting to an old friend all week at how he was able to walk around his former home town for days and not see anyone he knew. So imagine Taddle Creek’s surprise when it randomly ran into noted Toronto-based cartoonist Jason Kieffer on Germain Street the day of the July 22nd Saint John happening, just an hour after his plane landed. The magazine showed Jason some of the sights, including the old favourites Loyalist City Coins and Backstreet Records, then prepped for the night’s big show at Happinez Wine Bar. (For the record, Saint John is Canada's first incorporated city, currently celebrating its 225th, the former capital of the province, and its largest city, with a population of 68,000.)

Two local friends of the magazine, Shannon Merrifield (co-owner of Handworks Gallery) and Peter Josselyn helped get the word out about tonight’s event, and apparently nearly sixty people attended, which was even more shocking for the fact that the editor didn’t know most of them (of course), though two two-time Taddle Creek cover stars, Laura and Ken Tobias, were in attendance. 

Never, in Taddle Creek’s experience, has a computer projector worked properly anywhere near in advance of the time it was needed, and tonight was no exception. Thankfully, Handworks’ other half, Cliff Turner, came to the rescue, and the magazine was able to show a selection of Ian McEachern’s vintage Saint John photos from the summer issue, and Kieffer was able to read and display his Zanta comic from the Christmas issue and charm the crowd. He was joined by Jesse Patrick Ferguson, who drove in to make his second appearance on the tour (now it’s a real tour) and local poet Robert Moore. (Needless to say, all readings were good yet again.) A lot of subscriptions and issues were sold, making Saint John the most successful stop to date. Much drinking was had post-show, with the after party eventually moving to O’Leary’s and, later, the boardwalk.

Thanks to Saint John, except to the idiot who reviewed the summer issue in the Telegraph-Journal the following Saturday. (Here did a much nicer piece.)