Category: In The News

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Rogers welcomes pop culture aficionado, and one of Canada’s most trusted entertainment news personalities, Tanya Kim, to the family beginning September 10 – just in time for TIFF!

Tanya is the new face of Entertainment City and Rogers Your World This Week alongside new co-host Adam Wylde of KiSS 92.5 fame. Kim is also joined by veteran entertainment reporter Teri Hart, another recent addition to the Entertainment City team in the role of reporter and senior producer. Beginning today, Tanya, Adam and the Entertainment City team will be interviewing the most buzz-worthy stars on every red carpet and at our exclusive City TIFF interview suite, giving viewers exclusive access from this year’s festival.

An entertainment and pop culture guru, Tanya is a respected part of Canada’s entertainment community with a career spanning more than 14 years.

“Tanya Kim is synonymous with entertainment news in Canada,” said Jordan Schwartz, Vice President of In-House Productions, Rogers. “Over the past 14 years, Tanya has cultivated a strong personal brand that resonates with fans from coast-to-coast. She’s a great addition to our Rogers family.”

Entertainment City is Canada’s first source for entertainment news, airing every weekday morning on Breakfast Television in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as Wheeler in the Morning in Winnipeg. Entertainment City is also available in the evenings on Dinner Television in Edmonton, CityNews in Toronto, or anytime on Twitter @EntCity. Rogers Your World This Week airs on Rogers Channel 1.

 

Follow Tanya Kim on Twitter:
@Tanya_Kim

 Follow Adam Wylde on Twitter:
@AdamWylde

Follow Pennant Media Group on Twitter:
@PennantMedia

-30-

 

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant  [email protected]
Amira de Vera [email protected]
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

 

 

HIV/AIDS specialty hospital Casey House has partnered with long-term care home provider, The Rekai Centres, to launch a brand new video series titled Compassionate Care in a Changing Landscape: HIV/AIDS and Long Term Care.  The eight-part educational series focuses on bringing awareness and increasing sensitivity to the ever-changing compassionate care needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

 

With generous contributions from the M.A.C. AIDS Fund, Casey House and The Rekai Centres have produced the video series, designed to assist anyone working in a long-term care setting. Through identifying the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and understanding the principles of empathetic care, frontline staff will have the awareness and tools required to build a compassionate and comprehensive person-centred approach. By including the voice of the clients, the series aims to increase empathy and improves care provider confidence and health care delivery. These training videos have been found to be useful for education at hospitals, AIDS Service Organizations and academic settings for health care professionals in training.

 

Topics covered include an introduction to HIV, reviewing safety for clients and care providers; cognitive changes, an exploration of health concerns that can emerge with age and how they affect people living longer with HIV; families and networks of support, an overview of families navigating the health care system; mental health and HIV care, stories of people living with HIV and their journeys with mental health and illness; pharmacology and HIV, an overview of the history and current state of anti-retro viral medications and treatment; substance use and HIV care, the personal stories and wisdom on living with substances, harm reduction and recovery; and complex care and HIV which highlights the concurrent diagnosis that people living with HIV often encounter and holistic care approaches that consider the individual and their life circumstances.

 

In Toronto, one in every 120 adults is HIV positive and in Ontario well over 7,000 people over the age of 50 are living with HIV/AIDS. With longer life expectancy and the potential complexities of care that can arise, Casey House provides sub-acute hospital care for these individuals.  As people living with HIV require additional resources long-term care homes, like The Rekai Centres, are admitting more clients. The video series will support staff to provide ongoing compassionate care.

 

“HIV positive clients have faced stigma and discrimination throughout their lives and care experiences,” says Karen de Prinse, Director of Clinical Programs, Casey House. “The videos are an educational tool available free to those practicing in care environments or learning to do so, with a goal to introduce the clinical issues impacting an HIV positive client to the care team in a long term care environment.”

 

“The Rekai Centres have a reputation for recognizing the changing needs of the residents of Toronto.  We were the first to embrace multiculturalism in healthcare hiring individuals who could communicate with the changing makeup of the residents of Toronto.” says Sue Graham-Nutter, Executive Director, The Rekai Centre at Wellesley Central Place. “When we noticed a number of inquiries from individuals living with HIV/AIDS, we sought the expertise available at Casey House.  We are pleased to partner with Casey House in providing educational videos so that all staff in long term care homes in Ontario can properly meet the needs of incoming residents living with HIV/AIDS.”

 

The videos are available to stream at http://www.hivlongtermcare.com.

 

About Casey House

 

Founded in 1988, Casey House (9 Huntley Street, Toronto) was the first freestanding HIV/AIDS hospice in Canada, creating a specialty HIV/AIDS hospital with community programs including home nursing care and outreach. Free of stigma and fear, Casey House provides compassionate, interprofessional health services to people living with HIV/AIDS who have evolving complex health issues. We contribute our unique experience to a broader system of HIV/AIDS care, education and research.

 

About The Rekai Centres

 

The Rekai Centres are among the first dedicated long-term homes in downtown Toronto. With over 50 years of care and service in Toronto, The Rekai Centres are committed to providing care which recognizes the diversity  of the residents while fostering a spirit of togetherness. With locations at Sherbourne Place and Wellesley Central Place, The Rekai Centres are able to provide culturally sensitive care for 276 individuals.

 

For more information visit:

www.caseyhouse.com

www.rekaicentre.com

www.hivlongtermcare.com

Follow Casey House on Twitter:
@caseyhouseTO

Like Casey House on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/CaseyHouseTO

 

-30-

Available for Interviews:
Karen de Prinse, Director of Clinical Programs, Casey House

Maureen Mahan, Education Coordinator, Casey House

Sue Graham-Nutter, Executive Director, The Rekai Centres

 

For media inquiries please contact:

Pennant Media Group

Kevin Pennant  [email protected]

Toronto 416.596.2978

USA 855.596.2978

New documentary film Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future will be premiering in Toronto Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Rainbow Cinemas Market Square (80 Front Street East). Directed and produced by Toronto’s Kwame Damon Mason and Michael P. Douglas and written by Kwame Damon Mason, the film focuses on how black athletes are making a name for themselves in the sport of hockey. The film has also been selected as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival, with a screening date of October 7, 2015.

 

Taking over two years to complete, Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future looks at past, present and future black hockey players in all levels of hockey from the minor leagues to the majors. With their numbers on the rise, the film focuses on how the history of black athletes in hockey has influenced and encouraged more youth and their families to put their children into programs, regardless of race.

 

“Hockey has a long-standing history of great men doing great things but it also has a history hardly spoken of,“ said Kwame Damon Mason, producer, director and writer of Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future. “This film is the story of some great athletes from the past and present who have changed the face of the game called hockey.”

 

The film introduces us to Brampton’s Jaden Lindo, a young black athlete looking to get drafted in the 2014 NHL Draft. The audience follows Jaden and his parents through the season, seeing the stress and pressure he has to go through to achieve his goal.

 

Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future includes appearances from hockey legend Don Cherry as well as influential players such as Grant Fuhr who was the first black athlete to win a Stanley Cup and get inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as well as Wayne Simmonds, Devonte Smith-Pelly, and Trevor Daley to name a few.  These men talk about their experience of hardship and accomplishments that currently exist for black athletes in hockey today.

 

About Kwame Damon Mason

 

Kwame Damon Mason has been working in the Canadian entertainment industry since 1996.  Kwame got his name out there thanks to popular radio stations like KISS 92.5 in Toronto where he co-hosted 2 hour hip hop and R&B mix show Da Vibe with DJ Short. In February 2001 Kwame became the weekend announcer on Toronto’s first urban radio station FLOW 93.5. He eventually went on to work for the morning show and became the Saturday night live-to-air announcer.

 

In addition to hosting, Kwame used his experience and expertise to help launch countless radio stations across Canada and has co-hosted with some of Canada’s most well-known DJs and stars like former NHL tough guy George Laraque.

 

Not afraid of being in front of an audience, Kwame has made appearances on popular sports shows like Off the Record and was named number 23 on Cabbie’s (Cabbie on the Street, The Score) Top Canadians. His philosophy is summed up like this “There’s nothing to it but to do it, let’s keep it moving.”

 

For more information visit:

Like Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future on Facebook: www.facebook.com/soulonicemovie

Follow Soul on Ice: Past Present & Future on Twitter:

@soulonicemovie

Follow Pennant Media Group on Twitter:

@PennantMedia

-30-

Available for interviews:
Kwame Damon Mason

 

For media inquiries please contact:

Pennant Media Group

Kevin Pennant  [email protected]

Toronto 416.596.2978

USA 855.596.2978

Toronto – August 24, 2015

Toronto actor Lara Jean Chorostecki stars as a health-fad loving, appearance-driven classmate in Boxing, a short film debuting at the 40^th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Short Cuts programme.

Toronto actor Lara Jean Chorostecki stars as a health-fad loving, appearance-driven classmate in Boxing, a short film debuting at the 40^th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Short Cuts programme.

Lara Jean’s character Laura brings a comedic flare to the film about Sheila (Kyra Harper), a woman who returns to boxing classes as a distraction from the recent death of her husband, only to find it may be more harm than good. Produced by Reign’s Katie Boland and Orphan Black’s Mackenzie Donaldson along with executive producers from Touchpoint Films and Aberrant Pictures, the film features an all-female Canadian cast, which includes Kyra Harper, Rachel Wilson, Hannah Cheesman and Martha Burns.

Familiar to the film festival scene, she has also starred as Michelle in the award-winning 2012 Toronto International Film Festival selection Antiviral, a film by notable writer and director Brandon Cronenberg.

Lara Jean recently wrapped up three seasons of NBC’s hit television series Hannibal, where she is known for her role as a fiery tabloid reporter Freddie Lounds. Currently, she is filming the second season of CBC’s new drama X Company, starring as Krystina Breeland, the bright woman in charge of overseeing the all-female staff at Camp X’s communications facility HYDRA. Krystina’s storyline has been further developed and the new season will premiere Winter 2016.

Lara Jean can also be seen making a guest appearance in We Are Disorderly, a web series about three dysfunctional best friends that launched in early August 2015. Other upcoming projects include short film The Girl Next Door premiering at the 2015 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival’s Short Circuit programme, full-length feature The Masked Saint opposite Diahann Carroll and the late Roddy Piper, and the development of her first short film with Farah Merani of Lifeguard Productions.

Lara Jean can be recognized for her film and television roles in the highly acclaimed series including Starz/CBC miniseries Camelot, and BBC America’s 1860s Irish cop drama Copper where she guest stars as Sybil O’Brien. Lara Jean has also guest starred on CW’s hit series Beauty and the Beast, CBC’s Republic of Doyle, CTV’s Dan for Mayor, The Listener and more.

Lara Jean discovered her love for acting at the early age of 8-years-old after watching a theatre production of Les Miserables. Beginning her acting career as a teenager at The Stratford Festival, she is the youngest member to ever be accepted into Stratford’s Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training. Lara Jean soon found herself in London, England where she completed her Masters in Classical Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

A frequent globe trotter, Lara Jean can often be found fuelling many of her personal passions of hiking, writing, discovering new restaurants and hidden parks in Toronto, relaxing with her cats at home, and teaching students from grades 2 through to university about the wonders of Shakespeare through workshops with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s Education Department.

For more information visit:
www.imdb.com/name/nm1892299

Like Lara Jean Chorostecki on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/LaraJeanChorostecki

Follow Lara Jean Chorostecki on Twitter:
@LaraJeanC

 

Follow Pennant Media Group on Twitter:

@PennantMedia

-30-

Available for interviews:
Lara Jean Chorostecki

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant  [email protected]
Amira de Vera [email protected]
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

Toronto, ON – April 10, 2015

Frantic Films’ popular series Buy It! Fix It! Sell It! will return for a second season of big finds and fixes on Thursday, May 21^st,  at 10pm ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

In each episode of Buy It! Fix It! Sell It!, top professional ‘fixers’ battle over items at auction before radically revamping each piece with amazing reveals. Creativity equals cash for these pros who are keen to get the lowest price on any item to turn it into a masterpiece – and profit.  Fixers Paul “Willy” Williamson, Mike and Joe Wolchuck (The Neon Brothers), Bob Krist, and Tiffany Pratt return for the brand new, 14 episode season.

“Buy It! Fix It! Sell It! will see even cooler transformations this season,” says Jamie Brown, Executive Producer, Frantic Films. “We look forward to audiences seeing the amazing creations of our fixers when the series airs.”

Buy It! Fix It! Sell It! is produced by Frantic Films with Jamie Brown and Jeff Peeler as executive producers.

HGTV Canada is a Shaw Media Network.

 

About Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw is a diversified communications and media company, providing consumers with broadband cable television, High-Speed Internet, Home Phone, telecommunications services (through Shaw Business), satellite direct-to-home services (through Shaw Direct) and engaging programming content (through Shaw Media). Shaw serves 3.3 million customers, through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw Media operates one of the largest conventional television networks in Canada, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY® and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX – SJR.B, NYSE – SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca.

About Frantic Films
Frantic Films is one of Canada’s leading producers of live action film, television and commercial content.  It has produced hundreds of hours of award winning programs that have set ratings records and sold to over 130 countries around the world.  The Branded Content Division specializes in creating original integrated multiplatform entertainment and has been recognized as an industry leader for over a decade.  With offices in Toronto and Winnipeg, Frantic has also won numerous awards for corporate leadership and innovation. www.franticfilms.com.

For more information visit:
www.hgtv.ca/buyitfixitsellit/

Like Buy It, Fix It, Sell It Toronto on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/buyitfixitsellit

Follow Buy It, Fix It, Sell It Toronto on Twitter:
@BuyItFixItTV

Follow HGTV Canada on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/hgtv.ca

Follow HGTV Canada on Twitter:
@hgtvcanada

Follow the Buy It! Fix It! Sell It! Fixers online:

Paul “Willy” Williamson
@WillysGarage
www.facebook.com/WillysGarage

Mike and Joe Wolchuck
www.facebook.com/pages/Neon-Factory

Bob Krist
@Bobsgaspumps

Tiffany Pratt
@thetiffanypratt
www.facebook.com/tiffany.pratt.9400

-30-

Available for Interviews:
Jamie Brown, Executive Producer, Frantic Films
Jeff Peeler, Executive Producer, Frantic Films
Paul “Willy” Williamson
Mike and Joe Wolchuck
Bob Krist
Tiffany Pratt

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant [email protected]
Amira de Vera [email protected]
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

Canada’s leading contemporary art gallery The Power Plant (231 Queens Quay West) in collaboration with Max Mara presents Power Ball: Appetite for Excess on Thursday, June 4, 2015, raising vital funds for its exhibitions and public programs throughout the year.

The Power Plant is thrilled to announce its partnership with luxury brand Max Mara as the Presenting Sponsor of the party this year, complete with an innovative brand installation. “The Power Plant is proud to partner with Max Mara, a company that has shown its steadfast support for the arts internationally and now for the very first time, here in Toronto,” said Gaëtane Verna, Director of The Power Plant. “We are delighted to share the Power Ball occasion with them and all of our supporters and are truly grateful for their support in our institution.”

This year’s Power Ball theme “Appetite for Excess” investigates the fine line between decadence and debauchery through visual art, music, fashion and food. From the art installations and performances to the food and drinks, every corner of The Power Plant will expose a multitude of thought-provoking excesses.

“We are extremely enthusiastic to be presenting this year’s Power Ball,” says Michael Liebrock, 2015 Power Ball co-chair, joined by Justine Deluce and Philippe Meyersohn. “Power Ball 2015 promises to be bigger and bolder than ever. With phenomenal masterpieces from some of the world’s brightest and most inventive, this year’s theme of excess will be sure to saturate all the senses.”

The evening will commence at 7 PM with a once in a lifetime Food Performance by renowned American artist Jennifer Rubell, notorious for her large-scale, food-centric works. The Food Performance, titled So Sorry, is inspired by the artist’s first visits to Toronto, and generously supported by The Drake Hotel. Guests of the performance will be pulled between competing desires and obligations, finding pleasure, intimacy, sustenance, human contact, deep emotion and sensual engagement in every direction. So Sorry will be supported by pioneering chef Grant Van Gameren, creator of one of the city’s most influential restaurants, Bar Isabel and recently Bar Raval as well as a coffee performance from Toronto coffee master Sam James, owner of the innovative and prolific Sam James Coffee Bar. The work will also include the world premiere of actress and writer Winsome Brown’s one-woman performance, This Is Mary Brown.

At 9PM, partygoers can also experience The Power Plant’s art-filled gallery spaces, including a commissioned project from Toronto-based art collective 8-eleven; a site specific installation by Montreal-based artist Karen Kraven whose works set up unexpected encounters between sculptures and images; and a light sculpture by Orest Tataryn, a practicing artist, designer and curator who uses light as his expressive medium. Guests can expect signature cocktails developed by Diageo’s team of mixologists with brands Ciroc, Grand Marnier, Johnnie Walker Gold Label, and Tanqueray No. 10. Catering will be provided by Parts & Labour and executed under the creative mind of chef Matty Matheson.

Setting the standard as the most influential, vibrant and original contemporary art party since its inception in 1999, Power Ball has grown to become the gallery’s largest annual fundraiser, attracting a crowd of more than 1,500 guests including artists, fashionistas, celebrities, financers and more. For ticket information, please visit:  http://bit.ly/1NLfYa6

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Jennifer Rubell

Jennifer Rubell creates participatory artwork that is a hybrid of performance art, installation, sculpture, and happenings. The pieces are often staggering in scale and sensually arresting, employing a wide range of media, both durable and ephemeral.  Her food performances at museums around the world are legendary, and have come to define the medium. Viewers are encouraged to partake in the work, violating the traditional boundaries of art institutions and engaging senses usually forbidden in or absent from museum and gallery contexts.

Some of Rubell’s notable previous participatory performances include Old-Fashioned, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; The de Pury Diptych, Saatchi Gallery, London; Icons, Brooklyn Museum; three commissioned food performances for Performa, the New York performance-art festival; Made in Texas, Dallas Contemporary; and Landscapes, Fondation Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland. Rubell, 44, received a B.A. from Harvard University in Fine Arts. She lives and works in New York City.

8-eleven

8-eleven is a collective of artists and non-artists running a gallery, a sculpture garden, a sauna, a music venue and a performance space. It was formed in 2014 in Toronto. 8-eleven adopts diverse structural elements from a number of institutional platforms to commission and present new projects, multiples, performances and texts. Since its founding, the collective had commissioned and executed projects by Nadia Belerique, Brad Tinmouth, Brad Phillips, Bridget Moser, Laurie Kang, Walter Scott, Rosa Aiello, Daniel Joyce, Lili Huston-Herterich, Jordan Loeppky-Kolesnik, Katie Bethune Leamen, Maryse Lariviere, and Sona Safaei-Sooreh, working in collaboration with several artist run centres, agents and collectives. Currently the collective counts Cameron Lee, Christine Atkinson, Xenia Benivolski, Stephanie Fielding, Sean Procyk, Simon Schlesinger, Sarah Kilpack and Sona Safaei-Sooreh among its members. In addition to programming exhibitions, the collective collaborates to program and develop site specific projects workshops, performances, events and readings in the project space it holds in as well as offsite locations, in an effort to establish a new type of artist collective / collaborative presentation model.

Karen Kraven

Karen Kraven’s works exploits the illusion and attraction found in such pursuits as sports, hunting, fishing, and playing card games. These motifs take the guise of everyday items, handmade surrogates and decoys. Kraven received an MFA from Concordia University (Montreal) where she lives and works. Recent solo exhibitions include Razzle Dazzle Sis Boom Bah, Darling Foundry, Montreal (2014) and Institute for Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art Portland (2015),  A Mucker and a Grinder, Parisian Laundry, Montreal (2014), and As Above, So Below, Centre Clark, Montreal (2013). Her work has also been shown at Centre Dare-Dare, Montreal (2010), Leonard & Ellen Bina Gallery, Montreal (2011) and Blackwood Gallery, University of Toronto, Mississauga (2011). From 2013-2016, she will have a Montreal Artist’s Creation Studio at the Darling Foundry, Montreal, and upcoming exhibitions at Mercer Union and 8-eleven, Toronto.

Orest Tataryn

Orest Tataryn is a Toronto based light sculptor, designer, collaborator and consultant.  He was a founding member of the guerilla neon collective called SKUNKWORKS / Outlaw Neon. Orest’s mandate seeks to elevate the status of neon through his artistic pursuits where he explores colour relationships, text and form.

About The Power Plant

The Power Plant is Canada’s leading public gallery devoted exclusively to contemporary visual art. It is a vital forum for the advanced artistic culture of our time that offers an exceptional facility and professional support to diverse living artists while engaging equally diverse audiences in their work. The Power Plant pursues its activities though exhibitions, publications and public programming. It fulfills its mandate by generating: exhibitions that represent the range of advanced practice in visual arts; publications that increase knowledge of contemporary art; lectures and symposia that encourage debate and further understanding; interpretative tools that invite visitors to question, explore and reflect upon their experiences; programming that incorporates other areas of culture when they intersect with visual art.

For more information about exhibitions and public programs at The Power Plant, please contact:

Charles Bolduc
Head of Marketing & Communications
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery
416-973-4927
[email protected]

 For more information visit:
www.thepowerplant.org

 Like The Power Plant on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/ThePowerPlantTO

 Follow The Power Plant on Twitter:
@ThePowerPlantTO

 Join the conversation about Power Ball:
#PowerBallTO

 -30-

Available for Interviews:
Gaëtane Verna, Director of The Power Plant
Select participating artists

 SPONSORS

 Presenting Sponsor

Partnering Sponsor
ONEX

 Food Performance Sponsor
The Drake Hotel

 Sponsors
TD Bank Group
Remington Homes

 Travel Sponsor
Porter

 Volunteer Program Sponsor
Manulife Financial

 Spirit Sponsor
Ciroc
Grand Marnier
Johnnie Walker
Tanqueray No. Ten

 Beer Sponsor
Kronenbourg 1664

 Catering
Parts & Labour

 Media Partners
Blog TO
Flare Magazine
Next Issue
NOW Magazine
Proud FM
Toronto Star
View the Vibe

 Event Production
Candice & Alison Event Group

 Creative
Monnet Design Inc.

 Printer
Annan & Sons

 Public Relations
Pennant Media Group

 In Kind Sponsors
Adrian Armstrong
Bar Isabel
Bar Raval
Demarco-Perpich Flowers
Exclusive Affair Rentals
Fogo Island Inn
Ikonica
Luxe Furniture Rentals
Sam James Coffee Bar
TicketBreak
W Hotel
Westbury National Show Systems Ltd.

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant [email protected]
Amira de Vera  [email protected]
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

Growing to over 25,000 users in just a few short months since its official launch in October 2014, the social media vocal network Beep has entered the New Year with record breaking stats reaching over 50 million people near and far,  from the United States to the Philippines.

In comparison to Twitter’s growth in its early days, Beep is growing twice as fast. As new users come on board by the hour, Beep is expecting to quadruple its users in 2015.

“I was drawn to Beep because it brings the personal, human element to social media,” says Jesse DeCosta of DECOSTA Marketing Inc., Canada’s leading branding manager to Hollywood stars and now Beep’s CEO. “It’s common to send a line of text to a loved one or read about a celebrity in a magazine, but to instantly connect and hear that person’s voice on-the-fly will change everything we know. It’s the audio version of Twitter, and the entertainment industry is catching on quick.”

Beep stands out as the social voice app leader thanks to users like Hollywood actor Will Smith. Will Smith chose Beep to personally thank millions of fans for their birthday wishes, and most recently wishing them a happy new year in several different languages.

Beep allows its users to record short voice messages called beeps whichcan then be sent to a friend, shared openly with the world, or posted on other social networks like Facebook.

Available on the App Store and Play Store, Beep is continuing to grow in popularity. With additional major updates being unveiled in the next six weeks, Beep will continue to gain the attention of celebrities and every day social media users alike.

For more information visit:
www.atthebeep.com

Like Beep on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/beepapp  

Follow Beep on Twitter:
@beepinc

-30-

Available for Interviews:
Jesse DeCosta, CEO
Pieter Parker, Beep Developer
Traci Nakagawa, Beep Los Angeles

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant  [email protected]
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

SNAP! is Toronto’s most exciting annual auction of contemporary photography in support of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT).

Featuring a live and silent auction, SNAP! takes place Thursday, March 26, 2015 at the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon (Toronto Reference Library, 2nd Floor, 789 Yonge Street), the first time ever for SNAP! to be hosted in this vibrant space. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.snap-toronto.com.

Featuring work from some of the industry’s leading and award-winning photographers, SNAP! draws over 700 guests, all while showcasing the incredible photography by  established and emerging artists. For attendees, SNAP! provides an opportunity to purchase from a curated selection of works from local, national and global artists. The live auction collection is valued at $300 to $6,000 and the bidding for silent auction items, excluding the category and the overall winner, starts at $120.

“The SNAP! Gala evening is a key fundraising project for ACT to help fund our crucial support services and HIV prevention programs,” said ACT Director of Development, Daniel Knox. “With its stellar collection of contemporary photography and stylish crowd, SNAP! is also one of our most exciting annual events. We urge all art enthusiasts and collectors to join us on March 26th, bid on their favourite pieces, enjoy a great evening, and support ACT’s important work in the community.”

Prominent artists that will be featured at this year’s SNAP! include Vivian Maier, Richard Johnson and David Leventi. You can find the full list of artists here: http://bit.ly/1BOW1au.

All funds raised at SNAP! support ACT’s programs and services for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Since its inception in 2002, SNAP! has raised over $2.3 million to help gay men, women and youth increase their knowledge, skills and resilience, and reduce HIV transmission.

SNAP! and ACT are very grateful to the generous sponsors and supporters who help make the event possible, including TD Bank Financial Group, Dimensions Custom Framing, Toronto Image Works, Akasha Art Projects, Colourgenics Fine Art Imaging, and many others.

About the AIDS Committee of Toronto

The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) has been a respected leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS for over 30 years. Unfortunately, more people than ever in Toronto are living with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that one in five gay men in Toronto are living with HIV.

ACT works with gay men, women and young people to increase their knowledge, skills and resilience in the face of HIV/AIDS. ACT also helps to reduce HIV transmission by working with our communities to develop information about HIV, and provides outreach and education. We also help support and train people living with HIV so that they may lead healthier, more productive lives.

With your support, ACT can continue to deliver innovative programs and services to those living with, at risk, and affected by HIV/AIDS.

For more information visit:
www.snap-toronto.com

Like SNAP! Toronto on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/snaptoronto

Follow SNAP! Toronto on Twitter:
@SNAPtoronto

-30-

Available for Interviews:
Daniel Knox, ACT Director of Development

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant  [email protected] 
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978

Toronto actor Mena Massoud stars in the highly anticipated family mystery series Open Heart, premiering on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 on YTV and TeenNick US.

From the producers of the award-winning television series Degrassi, Open Heart follows Dylan Blake (Karis Cameron), the rebellious daughter of a fractured family of doctors who uses her time as a hospital volunteer to secretly investigate the disappearance of her father. Directed by Stefan Brogren and Samir Rehem, Open Heart also stars The L.A. Complex’s Tori Anderson, Degrassi’s Justin Kelly and Cristine Prosperi.

Mena’s character Jared Malik is the snarky and upfront head of the Youth Volunteer program. He plays by the rules and relishes in the marginal authority his position gives him, but beneath the layers of jerk, Jared has secrets of his own.

Mena’s credits include his roles in television series including Global’s Combat Hospital, Showcase’s King, The 99, and more. Upcoming, look for Mena in the short film Master of None, a comedy heist film created by some of Toronto’s most talented young and upcoming filmmakers.

Freshly graduated from Ryerson University’s theatre program, Mena was born in Egypt and raised in Markham, Ontario. He has always had a passion for health and wellness. Sports like basketball have always been an important part in his life, and during his high school years, he was a member of the Ontario Basketball Association. He has also developed a passion for recreational horseback riding and hopes to one day own his own horses.

Mena is excited for the premier of Open Heart.  He feels it’s the perfect next chapter in his emerging career.

For more information visit:
www.imdb.com/name/nm4565815/

Follow Mena Massoud on Twitter:
@MenaMassoud

-30-

Available for Interviews:
Mena Massoud

For media inquiries please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant  [email protected]   
Toronto 416.596.2978
USA 855.596.2978