The University of Prince Edward Island announced it will host the first annual 'UPEI Panther ‘Ho Ho Give and Go' High School Basketball Showcase' this Friday, December 19, at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, game time 5:30 pm.

The Panthers are teaming up with the PEISAA to showcase a matchup of two of the top teams in the men's high school basketball league this year. The Charlottetown Rural Raiders, two-time defending provincial champions and winners of last weekend's Three Oaks Christmas Classic will take on their crosstown rivals the Colonel Gray Colonels, two-time provincial runners-up and silver medal winners at last weekend's Irving Cup in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Both teams have a strong group of senior players. The Raiders seniors include sharp shooting guards Jack MacAuley and Mark Lloyd, a versatile playmaker and scorer Logan MacDonald, and two strong two-way posts players in Fola Oluyede, and Brayden White. Two third-year starters Max Ramsay and Jeremy Thompson lead Colonel Gray, with a strong supporting cast in rookie Alex Campbell, point guard Yousef Sefau, a gritty hard working Mark Smith, and big man Zach Visser.

This will be the first matchup for the teams this year. It will be an exciting showcase of high school basketball. The Raiders are co-coached by former AUS standout point guard Ryan Keliher and long-term Athletic Director and basketball coach Mike Lloyd, now in is 35th and possibly final year at the Rural. The Colonels' head coach is Tim Butler who was a highly spirited point guard for four years with the UPEI Panthers. Also on the bench are Greg Morrison and former Panther David Canvin.

In promoting the Christmas spirit, admission to the game will be a non-perishable food item donation, a toy for a child, or a donation of one's choice to be given to support families across the province.

'We're expecting an exciting game between two strong teams-both of whom want to win-but we hope that a big turnout will help some Island families in need during the holiday season-and that's a bigger win,' said Keliher.

Butler agreed. 'We as a team are very excited to be a part of UPEI's Christmas outreach event. It's a great way to promote high school basketball and support a great cause. Playing against Charlottetown Rural always creates an element of excitement for the players, coaches, and schools alike. This year they (Rural) have one of the top starting lineups in Atlantic Canada. Our boys are excited to see how we size up,' he said.

Chris Huggan, Director of UPEI Athletics and Recreation and former Colonel Gray Athletic Director said he is pleased to host the high school showcase at UPEI. 'We are excited about starting a Christmas tradition of promoting high school basketball through this annual ‘showcase game,' while giving back to the community,' said Huggan. 'Colonel Gray and Charlottetown Rural have great programs with a long standing healthy rivalry, and we expect it will be an exciting game and a fun night for all.'

UPEI Panther Basketball kicks-off the second half of its regular seasons at home on January 9-10, with double headers against the league leading men's and third overall women's Dalhousie Tigers, game times 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

For information:
Ron Annear, UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

The University of Prince Edward Island congratulates its student-athletes who have earned Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Academic All-Canadian status for the 2013-14 season. UPEI received 75 awards, which represents 44 per cent of UPEI's total student-athlete population of 172 athletes; this percentage is amongst the top in the nation!

Student-athletes who have an academic standing of 80 per cent or higher receive this national recognition. UPEI student-athletes continue to strive for excellence in sport, academics, and in the greater community, and this level of academic achievement speaks volumes to their work ethic and the quality of our coaches, faculty, staff, volunteers, and those who support our athletes throughout the year.

'It is great to see that so many of our student-athletes are also excelling academically,' said Chris Huggan, UPEI Director of Athletics and Recreation. 'As much as we all value and enjoy the competitions offered through Athletics, at the end of the day, all of the athletes are students first. I am very proud of their efforts and accomplishments.'

'We are so proud of our student-athletes for their academic and athletic successes demonstrated during this past sport season,' said UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-El-Aziz. 'To be recognized at a national level is wonderful, and on behalf of the University community, I extend our congratulations and best wishes for continued success.'

The following is a list of UPEI's 2013-14 CIS Academic All-Canadian recipients by sport:

Field Hockey: Lauren Chamberlain, Michelle Clow, Leanne Doiron, Katherine Koughan, Danielle LeClair, Stephanie MacKinnon, Eliza MacLauchlan, Emily Ross, Sydney Stavert, Laura Young
Men's Hockey: Colin Beck, Tyler Brown, Cole MacMillan (dual sport), Travis McIsaac, Harrison McIver, Nathan McQuaid, Ryan Taylor, Reggie Traccitto, Alex Wall, Mason Wilgosh
Men's Soccer: Eric DaSilva, Thomas Flynn, Daniel Hill, Brett Hogan, Cole MacMillan (dual sport), Jeff Moore, Kieran Moore, Zachary Tweel, Trevor White
Men's Basketball: Geoff Doane, Lorenzo Parker
Swimming: Zachary Laustsen, Emma MacKay, Rebekah Nitschmann, Joseph Sulaiman, Katie VanLeeuwen, Rosa Wagemakers, Leif Wilm
Men's Curling: Andrew Cameron
Women's Basketball: Katelynn Donahoe, Elysia Drost, Holly Jones (dual sport), Nakita Newman, Laura Power, Kiera Rigby
Women's Hockey: Courtney Arseneau, Jocelyn Dougan, Olivia Doughart, Cornelia Geib, Maggie Grimmer, Jessie-Anne Howard, Christina Kelly, Amy Mountenay, Lyndsay Oakes, Kiana Strand, Samantha Sweet, Rebecca Watson, Anja Weisser
Women's Rugby: Amy Andrews, Rebecca Chapman, Leah Corrigan, Morgan Gertridge, Erika Groman, Amy Hickey, Holly Jones (dual sport), Megan Thorpe
Women's Soccer: Heather Crane, Anna Lazurko, Jenna Jo McDonald, Olivia Murphy, Lauren Myers, Lindsay Noonan, Katie O'Brien, Melissa Richardson, Lynn Symington

Congratulations to our CIS Academic All-Canadians!

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

Once again this year, UPEI hosted another successful New Year's Day Levee as UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Alaa Abd-Al-Aziz greeted approximately 350-400 levee-goers. Faculty, staff, and students were on hand to join President Abd-El-Aziz in wishing warm greetings for the New Year. A group of international students in particular provided a helpful hand as they welcomed attendees and helped to collect and hang up coats.

A New Year's Day Levee article in The Guardian explained that UPEI is often considered as the day's "lunch stop" as a variety of sandwich platters, appetizers, and sweets are provided. A member of the Secret Levee Society even told The Guardian that UPEI has been "shortlisted" for best levee of 2015.

Pictured below is a group shot of some of the first levee-goers through the receiving line at UPEI. Mayor David Dunphy (at back) and members of Stratford Town Council (Gail MacDonald, Diane Griffin, Keith MacLean, and Deputy Mayor Randy Cooper) are pictured.

UPEI Levee 2015

Pictured below are international students, Lucy Nguyen (third-year arts from Vietnam) and Ahmed Danna (third-year arts, economics major from Nigeria) helped greet guests at the annual UPEI New Year's Levee.

Pictured below is President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz and his wife Valerie, with Dean of Education Ron MacDonald and his wife Erin.

In 2010, Newfoundland-raised fiction writer Kathleen Winter embarked on a journey through the Northwest Passage from Greenland to Nunavut, including parts of the doomed Franklin Expedition's route. Boundless, the chronicle of her journey, blends travelogue and memoir, history, and nature writing.

Winter will read from Boundless and from her new fiction on Monday, January 12, at 7:30 pm in the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. A book signing will follow. As a part of the Winter's Tales Author Reading Series, her reading is sponsored by the UPEI English Department with support from The Canada Council for the Arts.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
Winter's Tales Author Reading Series
University of Prince Edward Island
rlemm@upei.ca

The organizing committee of the Salon du livre de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard (Prince Edward Island Book Expo) announced today that its second edition will be held here at UPEI, June 3-7, 2015. The Salon du livre de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard gives the Acadian, Francophone, and Francophile population the opportunity to access a wide variety of French language literary works and meet authors and illustrators.

With the success of the first edition of the Book Expo, the Executive Committee decided to extend the duration of the 2015 edition to five days, instead of three days. This second edition will be presented at UPEI's W.A. Murphy Student Centre. UPEI's Faculty of Education is pleased to be collaborating with the organizing committee to make this event possible.

"We are happy to be hosting the Salon du livre this coming year," said Ron MacDonald, UPEI's Dean of Education. "We have many French and Francophile students in our Faculty of education as well as UPEI generally, and it is a great way to further engage our students in French culture and language."

The Salon du livre de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard is an event intended to bring together the province's Francophones and Francophiles and promote reading and literacy in general as individual and collective development tools. Through its actions, it helps develop a love of reading and literature, from creation to distribution, while promoting the French culture and language.

Please mark your calendars!

For more information, please contact Natalie Pendergast, organizing committee at (902) 888-1679.

As part of the UPEI Music Department Recital Series, cellist Julia MacLaine returns home to PEI to present 'Fairy Tales and Fantasy,' on Sunday, January 11 at 2:30 pm in UPEI's Dr. Steel Recital Hall.

MacLaine will be accompanied by pianist Jean Desmarais in a program of music that is fanciful, mystical, at times, dreamy and very colourful. The recital will include three pieces by Webern, the 'Fantasy Pieces' by Robert Schumann, 'Fairy Tale' or 'Pohadka' by Leos Janacek (featured in the film 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'), and sonatas for cello and piano by Achille-Claude Debussy and Sergei Prokofiev.

Originally from PEI, MacLaine proudly joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Assistant Principal Cellist this year. She has performed worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician, in music ranging from classical to contemporary, and from ‘world' to her own compositions. She has performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Louis Lortie, Joshua Redman, Brad Meldau, and Enya - to name a few.

MacLaine spent ten years living in New York City, first as a graduate student, and then as a freelance chamber musician. After a performance of Schumann's 'Cello Concerto' with The Knights in Central Park, The New York Times praised her 'compelling serenity' and 'grace.' In New York, Julia was a member of The Orchestra of St. Luke's and of The Knights, and was co-founder of Decoda, a collective that produces chamber music residencies around the world. In Montreal, she is the cellist of the Parcival Project and String Quartet and of the duo Moon Palace, with horn-player Louis-Pierre Bergeron. Together, they were 2013-14 artists of the SAMS (Société pour les arts en milieux de santé), a program that brings music to hospitals and health centers in Montreal. MacLaine studied at McGill University and at The Juilliard School.

Jean Desmarais is an internationally acclaimed pianist and pedagogue. Last year, he performed as a soloist with Orchestre de la francophonie conducted by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, concerts with Arthur-LeBlanc Quartet, Jessica Linnebach, Isabelle Lacroix, Denis Lawlor, and Joel Quarrington. Desmarais has been a guest soloist of many orchestras including I Musici, Orchestre de la Francophonie, Les Violons du Roy, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. In 2007, he was the only Canadian pianist invited to perform at the Moscow Conservatory to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous recital given by Glenn Gould. Since the summer of 2013, he has been the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Under the Pines Music Festival in Bristol, Quebec. Desmarais has received the Commemorative Medal for the 125th anniversary of Canada, for his remarkable contribution to the arts in Canada and abroad.

Tickets for the upcoming performance are $15 general public/$10 students and seniors, and are available at the door, online at http://upeirecitals16.bpt.me, or in advance by calling (902) 566‐0507.

For information:
Susan Williams
UPEI Music Department
swilliamspei@gmail.com

Linden MacIntyre, distinguished Canadian journalist, broadcaster, and novelist, will read from his new novel, 'Punishment,' on Monday, January 19, at 7:30 pm in the chapel of The Mount on Mt. Edward Road in Charlottetown.

'Punishment' is a powerful exploration of justice and vengeance, and the peril that ensues when passion replaces reason, in a small town shaken by a tragic death. Forced to retire from his job as a corrections officer in Kingston Penitentiary, Tony Breau returns to the Nova Scotia village where he grew up. There, he finds that Dwayne Strickland, a young con he'd had dealings with in prison, has just been arrested after the suspicious death of a teenage girl, the grand daughter of Caddy Stewart, Tony's first love. One of Tony's school classmates also returns, Neil Archie MacDonald, recently retired in shadowy circumstances from the Boston police force. Neil stirs up the community's ire and lust for retribution. As Tony pits himself against vigilante forces, 'Punishment' propels the reader with twists, betrayals, and epiphanies.

MacIntyre has won nine Gemini Awards, an International Emmy, an ACTRA Award, and many other honours for journalistic excellence. His first novel, 'The Long Stretch,' appeared in 1999, and 'The Bishop's Man,' his second novel, won the 2009 Giller Prize for fiction. 'Why Men Lie,' the third novel in The Long Stretch trilogy, was published in 2012.

MacIntyre's reading is sponsored by the UPEI English Department. A book signing will follow, and admission is free.

For information:
Dr. Richard Lemm
Professor, Department of English, UPEI
Winter's Tales Author Reading Series
(902) 566-0389, rlemm@upei.ca

The UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week for the week of January 5-11 are Anne Kiberd, Women's Basketball; and Tyler Scott, Men's Basketball. UPEI Athletics and Recreation showcases these talented athletes to recognize their hard work and dedication to their respective sports. UPEI Athletes of the Week are also nominated to Atlantic University Sport and Canadian Interuniversity Sport for possible recognition in the region and/or country. Scott was also selected as this week's AUS Male Athlete of the Week. Congratulations, Tyler!

Who: Anne Kiberd, Women's Basketball; and Tyler Scott, Men's Basketball

What: UPEI Panther Athletes of the Week

When: Week of January 5-11

Where: University of Prince Edward Island

Why: Kiberd, a fourth-year nursing student from Halifax, Nova Scotia, had two strong performances in the Panthers' split of their two weekend games versus Dalhousie University. Kiberd averaged 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists during the Panthers' 76-57 loss, and 73-58 win. Kiberd put up a great showing on Saturday, scoring 12 points with eight rebounds and going four for six from the three-point line.

Scott, a second-year business student also from Halifax, Nova Scotia, continues to lead the country in scoring with a 25.8 points/game average. During the Panthers' sweep of league leading Dalhousie Tigers over the weekend, Scott had 43 points, 13 rebounds, six steals, four blocks, and two assists. The points from Friday's 89-82 in overtime and Saturday's 94-89 moved the Panthers into sole possession of first place in the AUS league standing.

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca

Tyler Scott, Men's Basketball

On Friday, January 16 at 7:30 pm, the UPEI Music Department Recital Series continues with the women's choral ensemble "Sirens" with Songs of the Sea.

Songs of the Sea includes repertoire that combines themes of loss, remembrance, purification, mythology, and folklore. During the first half of the program, "Sirens" will guide its audience through the loss of a loved one at sea - from departure to death, through grief to acceptance, haunting harmonies, and seamless movement will create a stirring set. The second portion of the concert examines the role of the sea as a source of purification and rebirth, while exploring its unknown depths.

Repertoire will include works by contemporary and classical composers. Featured are beautiful settings of Christina Rossetti texts by Steven Chatman, Allan Bevan, and Eleanor Daley. Arrangements of well-known spirituals and folksongs include: Wade in the Water and Frobisher Bay. Classical works to be performed are Lili Boulanger's Les Sirènes, Gustav Holst's Hymn to the Waters, and Samuel Barber's To Be Sung on the Water. "Sirens" will be joined by pianist Stephanie Cole for several pieces.

Named after the singing femmes fatales of Greek mythology, "Sirens" is a self-directed women's choral ensemble committed to fostering the development of choral music through performance and community involvement. Since its formation in November of 2012, "Sirens" has produced four full-length concert programs, while maintaining a busy schedule performing at numerous community concerts, services, and community events and fundraisers. The group has developed a strong following of supporters and has been lauded for its pure tone quality, sensitive musicality, and tight ensemble. "Sirens" is the recent recipient of a grant from the PEI 2014 Sesquicentennial Public Arts Program that was administered by the PEI Council of the Arts. Members include: Alli Blom, Annette Campbell, Suzanne Campbell, Andrea Ellis, Jennifer Gillis, Allison Kelly, Kelsea McLean, and Mary-Claire Sanderson.

Tickets for the UPEI performance may be purchased at the door, online at http://upeirecitals10.bpt.me, or in advance by calling (902) 566-0507. Tickets are $15 / $10 for seniors and students. The concert's storm date is Saturday, January 17.

This weekend will mark the fourth swimming competition for the UPEI Panthers this season. The meet will be hosted by UPEI at the CARI Complex Aquatics Facility, January 17-18. Teams from Dalhousie, Memorial, Acadia, UNB, and Mount Allison Universities will descend on Charlottetown for the two-day swim competition. The meet is an opportunity for AUS swimmers to test their preparation leading into the AUS Championships, February 6-8, at Dalhousie University.

The UPEI Panthers will field a team of seven strong swimmers for the upcoming meet. All swimmers will use this meet as a development opportunity for their swim events. They will look to improve on starts, turns, and general race strategies being developed in practices. Team captain Rebekah Nitschmann will lead the squad in the pool with top performances in the freestyle events. On the men's side, Joël Legault will tackle the butterfly and individual medley events. All seven swimmers are looking forward to displaying their skills in front of the hometown crowd.

This weekend will also involve the dedication and naming of the swim competition after a longtime swimming coach in Charlottetown, Dave Mills. Mills, affectionately known as 'Millsy,' was a builder of competitive swimming in both Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island. As the Charlottetown YMCA Aquatics and Fitness Director, Mills took it upon himself to organize and develop the Charlottetown YMCA Bluephins Swim Club. Mills was much more than a coach; he was a true friend, mentor, father figure, and life coach to hundreds of Island swimmers. Without his leadership and vision, Island swimming would not be what it is today. The UPEI Panthers Swim Team is honoured to dedicate its UPEI invitational meet to Dave Mills.

A reception and naming ceremony will take place at 3:00 pm on Saturday, January 17 in the CARI Complex lobby. Light refreshments will be served. The swim events will take place immediately following the ceremony. The events are free of charge and all are welcome to attend. Come out and support your UPEI Panthers! Go Panthers Go!

Schedule:

Saturday, January 17
4:00 pm racing starts

Sunday, January 18
10:00 am racing starts

For information:
Ron Annear
UPEI Athletics and Recreation
(902) 566-0991, annear@upei.ca