Quirky Events for October 2014!

Whassup Lovely Peoples?

Here are our Oct. 2014 events!

★★★ Sherwin's CAT VIDEO Watching PARTY in MONTREAL - Wednesday, Oct 1, 2014 ★★★

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1562257674002861

This is a curated cat video watching party! We will show our very favourites, that may not necessarily be the most popular or most-watched cat memes out there. Indeed, you might notice a lack of memes and rather more cat videos that would never be included in larger cat video watching parties of this type.

♥♥♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE! - Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 - NUIT NOIR Edition! ♥♥♥

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/382939335191488

Our monthly Queer Slowdance in Toronto is back! This time the day before Nuit Blanche, and in a charming nod to that event, our theme is Nuit NOIR, so come in something black! Please note that this month we are on a FRIDAY night, and at the GLADSTONE HOTEL ballroom, a completely charming and accessible venue.

♥♥♥ Birmingham, UK - Fierce Festival SLOWDANCE! - Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014  ♥♥♥

Yes, this year we were invited kindly by the Fierce Festival in the UK to come to Birmingham and to put on a Slowdance for their attendees and art lovers as a quasi-closing party for the festival and we are very touched and chuffed to be going out there! So if you know someone in the UK region, we would appreciate it if you would let them know!

CHECK IT OUT here: http://wearefierce.org/events/sherwin-sullivan-tjia-fierce-slow-dance/

 ♥♥♥ MONTREAL SLOWDANCE!  Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014 - HALLOWEEN edition! ♥♥♥

As yet, we have not yet created a Facebook event page for this event, but we thought we would include it because it's technically in October! This Montreal SLOWDANCE will be for EVERYONE, whatever your orientation. I will, however, have coloured lights available if you want to signal a particular orientation or desire for folks who self-identify certain ways. But my hope at this slowdance is that everyone dances with everyone else and makes a new friend!

If you know of folks who like these weird events and who might want to subscribe to this newsletter, please send them this link: http://eepurl.com/QHnpb

♥ SNEAK PEEK @ UPCOMING EVENTS for the REST OF THE YEAR!

Save the Date! Events are subject to change, but realistically, in all likelihood, won't.

♥ Montreal SLOWDANCE (for everyone!) (at the Mainline Theatre) – Oct. 30, 2014 - HALLOWEEN THEME!

♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE! (at the Dovercourt House) – Nov. 1, 2014 - HALLOWEEN THEME!

♥ Toronto STRIP SPELLING BEE! (at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) – Nov. 28, 2014 - Harry Potter THEME!

♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE! (at the Dovercourt House) – Nov. 29, 2014 - NEON 80's THEME!

♥ Montreal XMAS CAROLOKE SINGALONG PARTY (at the Mainline Theatre) – Monday, Dec. 15, 2014!

Thank you SO MUCH for coming out and supporting quirky events this past year! We can only continue to put on these intimate and odd experimental events because you come out and you tell your friends what you did over the weekend and they were intrigued enough to come to the next one. So thank you.

EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2014!

So alas, summer is almost over. But our event season is about to begin! Every year we take a little break for the summer because people tend not to want to be inside that much. There are cabins and cottages to go to, patios to lounge on, weddings to attend. But when the brisker weather begins to suggest a sweater, our events return!

And we have a whole bunch for you starting in September!

♥ EVENTS THIS MONTH!

(SEPTEMBER 2014)

★★★ MONTREAL STRIP SPELLING BEE - Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 - Sunnydale Edition! ★★★

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1468375410078105/

♥♥♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE! - Sept 6, 2014 ♥♥♥

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/417170581754929/

★★★ TORONTO STRIP SPELLING BEE - Sept. 12, 2014 - Evil Twin Edition! ★★★

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1465741770341838

♥♥♥ Toronto STRAIGHT-ish SLOWDANCE! Sept. 13, 2014 ♥♥♥

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/613666322079480/

If you know of folks who like these weird events and who might want to subscribe to this newsletter, please send them this link: http://eepurl.com/QHnpb

♥ SNEAK PEEK @ UPCOMING EVENTS!

Save the Date! Events are subject to change, but realistically, in all likelihood, won't.

♥ Sherwin's Cat Video Screening Get-Together in Montreal – Oct. 1, 2014

♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE! (at the Gladstone Hotel) – Oct. 3, 2014

♥ QUEER SLOWDANCE in Birmingham, UK as part of Fierce Festival – Oct. 11, 2014

Check it out here: http://wearefierce.org/events/sherwin-sullivan-tjia-fierce-slow-dance/

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:

CHAT PERDU PRODUCTIONS creates stimulating, quirky, and all-natural events in Montreal & Toronto. We like to put on events that are participatory and lovely. Rather than ironic cool, we are after cat-belly warm. We like it when the people who "attend" are also the people who "perform". We see events as little experiments. We don't know what will happen & we do them to find out. The ultimate goal of everything is for folks to forge new friendships & to make life a little less lonely & manifestly more lovely. LESS LONELY! MORE LOVELY! Take a chance on a Chat Perdu event!

LINKS TO OTHER WEIRDO PRODUCTS I HAVE CREATED!

You Are a Cat!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat/

You Are a Cat in the Zombie Apocalypse!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat in the Zombie Apocalypse:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat-in-the-zombie-apocalypse/

The E-Z-Purr: The Virtual Cat!

Over an hour of cats purring.

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-virtual-cat!/id509240768

On CdBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theezpurr

---------- CONTACT ME IF YOU LIKE ----------

Sherwin Sullivan Tjia

email: inconsolablecat@hotmail.com

Events Blog: http://janesheisaclerk.blogspot.ca/

EVENTS FOR JUNE 2014

Dear Lovelies, so summer is finally here. Seriously. With a vengeance. I actually had my air-conditioner on the other week. But my problems with humidity aside, I am moist pleased to present to you the upcoming events for JUNE 2014.

Please note that we are taking a BREAK for JULY and AUGUST 2014. But we will be BACK in September with more quirky, intimate and odd events.

♥♥♥ EVENTS THIS MONTH! ♥♥♥

MONTREAL STRIP SPELLING BEE – The 'FRINGE' EDITION – June 4, 2014

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/251295188393012/

MONTREAL FAUX PROM at the Fringe Festival– June 6, 2014

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/291035447724295/

TORONTO QUEER SLOWDANCE – PRIDE EDITION – June 20, 2014

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/811480778864737/

If you know of folks who like these weird events and who might want to subscribe to this newsletter, please send them this link: http://eepurl.com/QHnpb

♥ A SNEAK PEEK @ UPCOMING EVENTS!

Actually, we are taking a break for the months of July & August.

But rest-assured, we will be back in September!

Thank you SO MUCH for coming out and supporting quirky events this past year!

♥ OUR MISSION STATEMENT ♥

CHAT PERDU PRODUCTIONS creates stimulating, quirky, and all-natural events in Montreal & Toronto. We like to put on events that are participatory and lovely. Rather than ironic cool, we are after cat-belly warm. We like it when the people who "attend" are also the people who "perform". We see events as little experiments. We don't know what will happen & we do them to find out. The ultimate goal of everything is for folks to forge new friendships & to make life a little less lonely & manifestly more lovely. LESS LONELY! MORE LOVELY! Take a chance on a Chat Perdu event!

LINKS TO OTHER WEIRDO PRODUCTS I HAVE CREATED!

You Are a Cat!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat/

You Are a Cat in the Zombie Apocalypse!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat in the Zombie Apocalypse:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat-in-the-zombie-apocalypse/

The E-Z-Purr: The Virtual Cat!

Over an hour of cats purring.

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-virtual-cat!/id509240768

On CdBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theezpurr

The E-Z-Purr is a CD that is exactly what it says it is: over an hour of cats purring. People have asked me if the purring is on a loop, if it's only a 2 minute purr looped for an hour. Adamantly NO. A few years ago I cat-sit my friend Dawn's cat for a week and every day I would go over for a few hours and read and he would come over to my lap and I would stroke him and record him, putting the microphone very close to his voice-box. I actually have hours and hours of raw purr recording and I edited it down to find the most effusive and vibrant purrs to put on the album. People have used it while getting a massage. People have used it to relax them and put them to sleep. People have played it to alternately calm or freak their own cats. Played loudly, it sounds like an idling motorcycle, or like a ten foot tall cat is sleeping in the room with you.

---------- CONTACT ME IF YOU LIKE ----------

Sherwin Sullivan Tjia

email: inconsolablecat@hotmail.com

Events Blog: http://janesheisaclerk.blogspot.ca/

EVENTS FOR MAY 2014!

Dear Lovelies,

So I just looked out the window and the tree that was bare just a week ago is now budding. People are on the street flirting. At night I hear the cats fucking. Something is happening to the world, and I'm excited to be part of it!

For those of you who don't know, I have an EMAIL list now! It's very lovely because it allows me to send each and every person who wants to keep apprised of future quirky events a personal playlist of upcoming events. You can sign up right here if you are so inclined: http://eepurl.com/QHnpb

So without further ado, here are the...

♥ EVENTS FOR MAY!

TORONTO STRIP SPELLING BEE – The 'Matrix' EDITION – May 2, 2014

Kindly RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/652041148183388/

TORONTO QUEER SLOWDANCE – Pajama Party EDITION – May 10, 2014

Kindly RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/682948021765945

♥ A SNEAK PEEK @ UPCOMING EVENTS!

Save the Date! Events are subject to change, but realistically, in all likelihood, won't.

♥ MONTREAL STRIP SPELLING BEE @ The Fringe Festival – June 4, 2014

♥ MONTREAL FAKE PROM @ The Fringe Festival – June 6, 2014

♥ TORONTO PRIDE QUEER SLOWDANCE @ The Gladstone Ballroom – June 20, 2014

♥ TORONTO STRIP SPELLING BEE – July 4, 2014

♥ TORONTO QUEER SLOWDANCE – July 5, 2014

LINKS TO OTHER WEIRDO PRODUCTS I HAVE CREATED!

You Are a Cat!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat/

You Are a Cat in the Zombie Apocalypse!

A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Style Book from the POV of a cat in the Zombie Apocalypse:

http://www.conundrumpress.com/new-titles/you-are-a-cat-in-the-zombie-apocalypse/

The E-Z-Purr: The Virtual Cat!

So about three years ago I recorded this cat purring and then I made a CD of it and put it on iTunes and every 6 months I make about fifty bucks! It's very amazing and magical and absolutely ludicrous, which, I have discovered, is my style.

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-virtual-cat!/id509240768

On CdBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theezpurr

Events For March & April 2014

So normally I invite folks to my events over Facebook.
It's proven remarkably robust.
But recently, Facebook labelled me a spammer, and now I'm
actually unable to invite folks to anything.
Which is deeply unsettling.

Which is why I am moving back to an emailing list solution.
Seriously.

If you like quirky events, please join here!

http://eepurl.com/QHnpb

HERE ARE THE QUIRKY EVENTS FOR MARCH - APRIL 2014:

★★★ MONTREAL STRIP SPELLING BEE - Dark Knight Edition! ★★★
https://www.facebook.com/events/1512302732329876

♥♥♥ MONTREAL QUEER SLOWDANCE! Fling yourself into Spring! ♥♥♥
https://www.facebook.com/events/1382566705352635/

♥♥♥ Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE - PROM Edition! ♥♥♥
https://www.facebook.com/events/701530073232327

***

It's funny. I never planned to be an event planner.
My whole life I thought I would draw comic books.
And then I went to university and thought I would paint portraits.
And then I got out of university and became a medical illustrator.
And then I wrote a bunch of weird books.
And then somewhere along the line I started putting on events.

The events started as a lark. A bit of a joke.

One night at a event my friend dragged me to, I just got sick
of all the flailing and the music that was relentlessly loud.
I remembered my first slow dance from grade 7.
How nice it was. You held someone and even though you
were rotating, it was like the world was rotating around you.
The two of you, embracing, created your own world.
That memory tugged at me, and like succumbing to a gravitational
pull, I thought to myself, we should do that instead.

I looked over the dancefloor that night. The pounding beat.
Folks standing by themselves, throwing their arms in the air.
Me feeling so alienated from it. I thought to myself,
I want to slow dance again. What's more, I want people to do it
all night long. I laughed to myself. Instead of all these fast songs,
let's just play slow ballads! That would be hilarious.

Would people do it? Why would people do it?
Why would they willingly put themselves in that kind of position
ever again? Where they had to ask someone to dance?

The first person I ever asked to dance said no.
She was a good friend of mine. In grade 4 we used to walk
home together because we lived near the same place.
So when they announced that the next song was the last dance
and that it would be a slow song I went up to her, scared
out of my mind and asked her to dance and she went, "Uh. No."
And I walked away. But then I went back. And I went,
"C'mon. It's the last dance of the night."
And she sighed.

I knew who she wanted to ask her.
She'd been very clear throughout grade 6 about the huge
crush she had on this blond boy in the class.
For the life of me I can't remember his name now.
But anyway, she sighed, said, "All right," and
came out on the dancefloor with me and we danced
to Tiffany's "Could've Been."

She really didn't want to dance with me.
And in truth, I am not sure she was who I would have chosen
were circumstances not what they were.
But I think she was pleased to be asked.

And that's when I realized how lovely it was to slowdance
with someone. What a gift it is that humans can do this.
What a tragedy that folks do it only at weddings and in grade 7.

So why would people willingly put themselves in a position
where they had to risk rejection and ask folks to dance again?
Because it's wonderful.
It's a way of relating that is perfectly in-between
acquaintance and intimate.

So standing by the dancefloor, watching all these solitary dancers,
and remembering my own early experiments with intimacy I thought,
What the hell. Let's try it.

OUR EVENTS FOR THE REST OF 2013

OUR EVENTS FOR THE REST OF 2013

Dear lovelies! So as we fast approach the end of the year, we have a smattering and a pitterpattering of interesting and amusing events for you. Thank you for listening, and thank you for coming out and taking a chance on weird events!


Montreal LAUNCH OF YOU ARE A CAT IN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! - Nov.21:
https://www.facebook.com/events/380159835448133/


Montreal STRIP SPELLING BEE - Nov. 22:
https://www.facebook.com/events/729039700457991/

Montreal DRUNKEN XMAS ALBUM RECORDING SINGALONG - Dec. 2:
https://www.facebook.com/events/595494147154254/

Toronto QUEER SLOWDANCE - Dec. 7:
https://www.facebook.com/events/536788319748664/

Toronto LAUNCH OF YOU ARE A CAT IN THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! - Dec. 8:
(details forthcoming)

OCTOBER 2013 EVENTS!

Dear Lovelies!

So October and early November has quite a number of weird and wonderful events!
One notable exception is my first art show in a decade, so if you happen to be in Montreal, the Opening is Oct. 2, but the show is up all month. Here are the rest of the events! Thank you for taking a chance on events that try to make the world a little less lonely, and more lovely.


OCT. 2 - THE MOVED & THE SHOOK: 100 Drawings by Sherwin Tjia
https://www.facebook.com/events/166311013571419/

OCT. 5 - TORONTO QUEER SLOWDANCE - '80s EDITION
https://www.facebook.com/events/698428363519991

OCT. 24 - MONTREAL STRIP SPELLING BEE - Halloween Edition!  

The game is played a lot like strip poker, but it's a spelling bee. Ten contestants compete in front of a live audience of hooters, hollerers and hecklers who want to see some smart and sexy skin!
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013
The Wiggle Room
3874 St. Laurent (across from Schwartz')
Sign-up at 8:30 PM sharp!

Bee from 9:00 to midnight
$12 at the door
(Contestants do not pay cover and get a free drink!)
Please RSVP at the Facebook event page! https://www.facebook.com/events/216599261840917/

OCT. 25 - MONTREAL QUEER SLOWDANCE - Halloween Edition!

With a lending library of designated dancers for all you wallflowers, and a dancecard-booklet to set up dances in advance (should you choose to), Queer Slowdance has all slow songs, all night long! It's high school with a happy ending. Come and experience why slow is beautiful, and why love is not ironic. You don't have to be queer to attend, but you must have an open mind, an open heart, and open arms!

Friday, Oct. 25, 2013
The Wiggle Room
3874 St. Laurent (across from Schwartz')
Doors at 9:30 PM
Dance from 10 PM to 3 AM
$12 at the door includes your dancecard!
Please RSVP at the Facebook event page! https://www.facebook.com/events/433771126729428

NOV. 1 - TORONTO STRIP SPELLING BEE - HALLOWEEN EDITION!

Friday, Nov. 1, 2013
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
12 Alexander Street
(1 blk east of Yonge)
Toronto, Ontario
Sign-up at 10:30 PM sharp!
Bee starts at 11 PM
$10 at the door
FREE if you compete! (AND we buy you a drink!)
19+
Please note that we must cap our number of strip-spellers at 10 to ensure an expedient and entertaining evening.
Please RSVP at the Facebook event page! https://www.facebook.com/events/173237846201244

NOV. 2 - TORONTO QUEER SLOWDANCE - HALLOWEEN EDITION!

Dovercourt house
805 Dovercourt Rd. (1 block North of Bloor, 3 blks. west of Ossington)
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013
Doors at 9:30, Dance from 10 PM - 3 AM.
$10 admission includes your Dancecard-booklet!
Regretfully, the Dovercourt House is not wheelchair-accessible.
19+
Please RSVP at the Facebook event page! https://www.facebook.com/events/166446816887719