Keeping it real, community-style.

This morning’s encounter combined with my daily internet reading list has me thinking about community. Community being a fairly constant theme in my musings, it’s something I have a lot of ideas about—unfortunately more than I currently have time to express. But, suffice to say for now, I think we all have a longing to belong somewhere and I think that part of the key to both surviving and thriving as a starving artist is to feel that you do belong somewhere. The creative community is a powerful place…and the best way to belong is by participating, however you see fit. Here are some suggestions on how to participate from today’s web surf:

Mike Sheerin, a documentary filmmaker in Toronto, set out to make a film about what kids say to Santa Claus. What Mike Sheerin got was a film about the lives of three local Mall Santas. These three men don the red and white suit for the last month and a half of each year and engage the imagination of every wee one to sit on their knee. For them, this is a calling; it is the highlight of their year. And the end comes abruptly each December 25th, bringing a bittersweet break until next year. Chronicling this, Mall Santa, airs tomorrow night, Thursday, December 18, at 8:00 EST on Global. You can also bring joy to your own local Mall Santa by visiting between now and Christmas Eve!

Check out your local independent bookstore! I know, I have a huge love of Indigo, but I am always on the prowl for a good independent specialty bookstore—on which note, does anyone know of a good drama bookstore in Toronto? Chances are that the staff at a local bookstore are doing it because they love it and because they know their stuff, while Indigo can be great, the case may not be the same. And it turns out that the service they can offer is part of what is keeping them in the game—their connection to the community. So if you have a local bookstore, go see what they have to offer!

And finally (for now), there is a great profile on a Toronto singer/songwriter, Simone Fornow. In addition to her accomplishments thus far just being very neat, I appreciate the locality of her songwriting. It’s immediateness to a specific community, as well as her commitment to community. I won’t write more about her here, you have to go to BlogTO to check out their profile/interview. It’s definitely worth it.